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Tuesday 18 July 2023
New Hampshire Woman Charged in Tyngsborough Daycare InvestigationRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A New Hampshire woman and the former intimate partner of Tyngsborough, Mass. daycare worker, Lindsay Groves, has been charged with child exploitation.
Stacie Marie Laughton, 39, of Nashua, N.H., was charged with one count of sexual exploitation of children – and aiding and abetting. Laughton will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
According to the charging documents, a preliminary forensic review of Groves’ cellphone allegedly revealed over 10,000 text messages between Laughton and Groves that included discussion about, and transfer of, explicit photographs that Groves had taken of children while employed at Creative Minds daycare – including at least four sexually explicit images of children who appear to be approximately three to five years old, as well as explicit descriptions of sex with each other and others, including children. The investigation remains ongoing.
Groves was arrested and charged on June 22, 2023 with one count of sexual exploitation of children and one count of distribution of child pornography. Following a detention hearing on July 13, 2023, the Court took the federal government’s motion for detention under advisement. Groves remains in state custody in New Hampshire.
Members of the public who have questions, concerns or information regarding this case should call 617-748-3274. Case information, including links to charging documents and victim resources, can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/victim-and-witness-assistance-program/united-states-v-lindsay-groves
The charge of sexual exploitation of children provides for a sentence of at least 15 years and up to 30 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Michael J. Krol, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Nashua (N.H.) Police Chief Kevin Rourke made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire; Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office; and the Hudson, N.H. Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anne Paruti and Jessica L. Soto of the Major Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Muskegon Man Sentenced to 300 Months for Armed Trafficking in Fentanyl, Heroin, Cocaine, and MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten announced that Saul Douglas Briggs, 33, of Muskegon, will serve 240 months in prison for possessing fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine with the intent to distribute them. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney sentenced Briggs to serve an additional 60-month prison term for possessing firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities. Briggs was also ordered to forfeit more than $225,000 in cash, multiple vehicles, and jewelry that he purchased with drug proceeds. Upon release from prison, Briggs will be on supervised release for a period of 10 years.
“The egregiousness of Mr. Briggs’ crimes cannot be overstated. He possessed enormous quantities of fentanyl to sell in our community and beyond,” said U.S. Attorney Totten. “Fentanyl is deadly, and it is made even more fatal when combined with other drugs and loaded firearms. My office is committed to disrupting drug trafficking rings and bringing the people who peddle this poison to justice. Mr. Briggs’ sentence is a vital step in ensuring the continued safety of the communities we serve.”
The facts presented to the court during the case were that, beginning in at least March 2002, Briggs and his associates began using a house on Letart Avenue in Muskegon to store drugs, drug trafficking materials, and guns to protect their drug dealing business. In March 2022, Briggs and one of his associates sold a total of 1.5 kilograms of fentanyl to a Missouri-based drug trafficker. At least some of that fentanyl appeared to investigators to have come from the Letart residence. Later, during a search warrant executed at the Letart residence in June 2022, investigators found approximately 5 kilograms of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues, nearly a kilogram of heroin, and smaller amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine, and morphine. Investigators also found all of the hallmarks of drug trafficking, including digital scales, baggies, presses used to package drugs for sale, cutting agents, and a money counter. At the time, Briggs also possessed seven firearms, four of which were stolen. The guns included a loaded pistol he stored under the driver’s seat of his truck and several assault-style guns and a handgun with an extended magazine that had been staged throughout the Letart residence.
The amount of fentanyl in the case could have killed millions of people across the State of Michigan and in the other locations where Briggs distributed. In sentencing Briggs, Judge Maloney noted that this was “a major fentanyl distribution crime” and that Briggs possessed seven firearms of which four were stolen. Judge Maloney also noted that Briggs committed these crimes after having previously served a sentence in federal prison for cocaine trafficking.
“Briggs convictions come after a lengthy investigation involving both state and federal law enforcement,” said Detective Lieutenant Andrew Ambrose, Commander of the West Michigan Enforcement Team (WEMET), a division of the Michigan State Police. “Cooperation between federal, state, and local agencies allow for entities to work larger cases. The seizure of fentanyl by WEMET detectives and DEA agents undoubtedly saved lives.”
The following photographs shows some of the evidence seized as part of the investigation:
This case was part of Operation Interstate Zeus, an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation that began in 2019 and was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and members of Michigan State Police’s West Michigan Enforcement Teams (WEMET). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie M. Carowan.
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Missouri Woman Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for the Sexual Exploitation of ChildrenRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Brittany Bailey, 34, of Columbia, Missouri, was sentenced today to 15 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release for the sexual exploitation of children, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Sarah Linden of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division.
Bailey pleaded guilty, on August 25, 2021, to advertising child pornography. In addition to the prison term and supervised release, U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates ordered Bailey to register as a sex offender for 25 years, and to pay restitution in the amount of $25,000 to the minor victims she harmed.
According to court documents, in 2019, Bailey was involved with an online Internet group called “Taboo Parents.” She engaged with a person she believed to be another member of the group, but who was actually an undercover law enforcement officer. Believing that she was chatting with a pedophile, Bailey sent photographs of herself telling him she wanted him to sexually abuse the child shown in the images that she sent. Bailey went on to create other online chat group dedicated to exchanging child sexual abuse material, and she invited users to and banned users from the group. She setup rules for the members of the groups, and she told members about her sexual preferences and encouraged them to share child sex abuse material with the group. After making these comments, multiple users shared child pornography in the group chat. Bailey shared four different videos of child pornography in the chat. The videos all depicted young girls, some as young as toddlers. One month later, on May 1, 2019, agents executed a search warrant at Bailey’s residence in Columbia, Missouri. They recovered her electronic devices, including her cellular phone, which contained images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.
This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI's Washington Field Office and MPD. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, with assistance from the Kansas City Field Office’s Jefferson City Resident Agency. It was prosecuted, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri, by Assistant U.S. Attorney Caroline Burrell of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Michigan Insurance Salesman Sentenced to Prison for Tax and Bankruptcy CrimesRead the Press Release
A Michigan man was sentenced to 36 months in prison today following his conviction in February of filing false tax returns, making false statements to a bankruptcy court and making false statements to the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Donald Stanley LaVigne, formerly of Lake Orion, Michigan, did not report insurance commissions and other income on tax returns he filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for 2013 through 2019. In letters he sent to the IRS, LaVigne also falsely claimed that these commissions were not income to him.
When LaVigne filed for bankruptcy in 2018, he did not disclose the IRS as a creditor on the schedules attached to his bankruptcy petition even though he knew he owed the IRS five years’ worth of taxes. On one document he filed in the bankruptcy case, LaVigne also understated his income for 2016 and 2017.
After he was notified that he was the target of a federal investigation, LaVigne sent a letter to the Tax Division in which he falsely claimed that his bankruptcy attorney had reviewed his 2017 income tax return and advised him that it was “correct and complete.” In fact, his bankruptcy attorney testified at trial that he had never advised LaVigne that his 2017 income tax return was accurate.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson also ordered LaVigne to serve two years of supervised release and pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $80,732.11.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement. IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Trial Attorneys Melissa S. Siskind and Catriona M. Coppler of the Justice Department’s Tax Division prosecuted the case.
Mercer County Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Heroin Trafficking, Unlawful Possession of Firearms, and Possession of Firearm in Furtherance of Heroin TraffickingRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Mercer County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 300 months in prison for heroin trafficking and firearms charges, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Timothy Wimbush, aka “Young Money,” 33, was convicted in October 2021 of conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, distribution of heroin, possession of a firearm in furtherance of his heroin distribution, and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon following a three-week trial before former Chief U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson. Following Judge Wolfson’s retirement, the case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner, who imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in the case and the evidence at trial:
In 2018, defendant Wimbush and others participated in a large drug trafficking conspiracy that operated in various areas of Trenton, which sought to profit from the distribution of heroin.
On Sept. 6, 2018, law enforcement officers stopped Wimbush’s green 2002 Volkswagen Passat after observing Wimbush’s co-defendant, Taquan Williams, a previously convicted felon, enter the vehicle carrying a yellow plastic bag believed to contain contraband. The Passat was driven by and registered to Wimbush, who also was a previously convicted felon. During a subsequent search of Wimbush’s vehicle, law enforcement recovered from a secret trap compartment installed under the rear passenger’s seat 57 bricks of heroin, four semiautomatic firearms – including a .223 caliber assault rifle linked to a shooting in Trenton four days earlier – hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and the yellow plastic bag that Williams had carried into the vehicle moments earlier. Law enforcement discovered in the yellow bag two boxes of .45 caliber ammunition and three .45 caliber firearm magazines, which matched one of the semiautomatic firearms also found in the trap compartment. One of the firearms concealed in Wimbush’s secret trap compartment was used in connection with a violent and reckless shooting in the City of Trenton. On Sept. 2, 2018, four of Wimbush’s associates, including one of his co-defendants, one of his relatives, and one of co-defendant Williams’s relatives, were shot in a drive-by shooting in the area of Stuyvesant and Bryn Mawr Avenues in Trenton. Evidence also showed that a likely retaliatory shooting in the area of Lee and West State Street occurred shortly thereafter the same day. Ballistics analysis of a shell casing recovered from the site of the Lee and West State Street shooting conclusively linked the .223 caliber assault rifle Wimbush possessed in the trap compartment of his vehicle on September 6 with the Lee and West State Street shooting on September 2. Telephone communications intercepted during the court-authorized wiretap between Wimbush’s conspirators linked Wimbush and his associates to back-and-forth shootings on and after September 2 and to heroin trafficking activity in the City of Trenton.
Law enforcement identified the heroin in the trap compartment of Wimbush’s vehicle as having been supplied by Wimbush’s conspirators, including Jakir Taylor and Tacques Hall. Taylor pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin and firearms charges and was sentenced by Judge Wolfson earlier this year. Hall pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin and was sentenced by Judge Wolfson in 2019. Wimbush’s codefendant Taquan Williams was convicted at trial of possessing firearms or ammunition as a convicted felon and was sentenced by Judge Wolfson in 2022.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, Newark Division, Trenton Resident Agency, under the direction of under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Denney in Newark; special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Newark Division, Trenton Satellite Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Bryan Miller; officers of the Trenton Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Steve Wilson; officers of the Princeton Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jonathan Bucchere; officers of the Ewing Police Department, under the direction of Chief Albert Rhodes; officers of the Burlington Township Police Department, under the direction of chief John Fine; and detectives of the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. He also thanked officers of the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Superintendent Col. Patrick J. Callahan; detectives of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Angelo Onofri; officers of the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff John A. Kemler; and members of the New Jersey State Board of Parole for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution of the case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Ramey of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Mason City Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing a Firearm While Distributing MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
A man who possessed a firearm while distributing methamphetamine was sentenced today to over eight years in federal prison.
Michael David Dalluge, age 28, from Mason City, Iowa, received the prison term after a February 17, 2023 guilty plea to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
At the plea hearing, Dalluge admitted that, on May 6, 2022, he was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped by law enforcement. Both the driver and Dalluge fled the vehicle, and Dalluge was apprehended a block away. A backpack Dalluge was carrying was found to contain methamphetamine and a loaded, stolen, firearm.
Dalluge was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Dalluge was sentenced to 102 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Dalluge is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jack Lammers and investigated by the Cerro Gordo Sheriff’s Office, Clear Lake Police Department, Mason City Police Department, Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement, and the North Central Iowa Drug Task Force. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 22-CR-3021.
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Martinsburg man admits to falsifying passport to flee the United StatesRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A Martinsburg, West Virginia, man has admitted to illegally obtaining a passport to travel overseas, violating a court order.
Bobby Allen Stark, age 52, pled guilty today to a charge of making a false statement in application for a passport. Stark was on bond from a charge pending in Colorado and was ordered to surrender his passport. Four days following the surrender of his passport, he applied for a new one, claiming his passport was lost. Stark then used his new passport to flee to Guyana, where he was later apprehended by authorities.
Stark is facing up to 10 years in prison. He will be sentenced at a later date. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). The U.S. Marshals Service and the Guyana Federal Police assisted.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Kane is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Man Who Robbed Armored Car in St. Louis County Sentenced to 121 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Tuesday sentenced a man who stole a bag of cash at gunpoint from workers servicing an ATM in St. Louis County, Missouri to 121 months in prison.
Mark Anthony Diggs, now 21, robbed two employees of ATM Solutions on May 31, 2022 as they were servicing an ATM machine at a Vantage Credit Union. Diggs emerged from the back seat of a white Kia Optima, armed with a fully-automatic Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 firearm and demanded that an employee throw him a bag of cash. The robbery was captured on video.
Diggs, 21, pleaded guilty in April to one robbery charge and one count of possession and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Diggs’ driver, Gregreonia Hampton, pleaded guilty in May to one count of aiding and abetting a robbery. She is scheduled to be sentenced August 23.
The St. Louis County Police Department, the FBI, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Lane is prosecuting the case.
Man Sentenced to 21 months in Prison for Committing Perjury in His Federal Trial by Lying About His Sexual DysfunctionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, announced today that John Dompierre, 60, of Avondale, Arizona was sentenced to twenty-one months in federal prison for committing perjury in his Federal Criminal Trial.
A federal grand jury indicted Dompierre with Conspiracy and Transportation for Illegal Sexual Activity on September 10, 2020. On November 3 and 4, 2021, Dompierre testified in his own defense during a trial in Federal District Court in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Subsequently, the United States obtained Dompierre’s comprehensive medical records, the content of which unequivocally refuted Dompierre’s own testimony at trial. Dompierre pleaded guilty to Perjury on March 28, 2022.
In addition to the twenty-one-month prison sentence, Dompierre was fined $2,400 and will be on supervised release for three years following his release from the Bureau of Prisons.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated this case with substantial assistance from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the Albuquerque Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Letitia Carroll Simms and Thomas Outler prosecuted the case.
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Koreatown Man Convicted in Scheme to Illegally Sell FirearmsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A federal jury today convicted a Los Angeles man of participating in a scheme that illegally sold 27 guns, including a “Glock switch” that converts a semiautomatic firearm to a machinegun.
Following a five-day trial, William Nirion Peña, 40, who resides in the Koreatown neighborhood, was found guilty of conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing in firearms without a license. The evidence presented at trial showed that Peña provided approximately 10 of the firearms and a substantial amount of ammunition that were sold by a co-conspirator to an undercover agent. The firearms included two silencers without serial numbers and the Glock switch.
A second defendant in this case – Ellourth Eladio Simon 32, of the Mid-City neighborhood of Los Angeles – pleaded guilty on May 25 to one count of engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license and one count of possessing a machine gun. Simon specifically admitted engaging in eight illegal gun transactions, several of which involved multiple firearms, including a November 10, 2021, sale for $8,400 in which Simon sold an ATF undercover agent four handguns and a “ghost gun” AR-type rifle.
From at least September 2021 until late February 2022, Peña provided Simon with information about the prices and nature of numerous firearms – frequently sending photographs of firearms that Simon could sell to Simon’s gun customers.
“Peña and Simon frequently coordinated efforts to sell [guns to the undercover agent] by communication over the phone about the price and availability of firearms and firearms components, and arranging the logistics of specific sales to customers during evening transaction in supermarket parking lots and similar locations,” according to court documents. Evidence presented at trial indicated that Peña was obtaining firearms from sources in other states, primarily Arizona.
Peña is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge George H. Wu on September 18, at which time Peña will face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.
Simon is scheduled to be sentenced on August 10. As a result of his guilty pleas, Simon faces a statutory maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated this matter. This case is the result of an investigation by the Los Angeles Firearms Trafficking Strike Force, which is spearheaded by the ATF and the United States Attorney’s Office.
Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chou of the Violent and Organized Crime Section, along with other members of that section, are prosecuting this case.
Kansas Chiropractor Pleads Guilty to Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A Kansas man pleaded guilty to money laundering in connection with a federal relief program designed to help United States business owners during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to court documents, Timothy Dale Warren, 59, of Haysville served as owner of Titan Medical Center which offered chiropractic care, school sports physicals, and other services in Wichita. In May 2020 and April 2021, Warren submitted false documents to banks in order to fraudulently obtain two loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of the CARES Act.
In August 2020, the defendant converted $35,500.00 in criminally obtained funds into a cashier’s check then deposited money into a business bank account at another financial institution. Warren acknowledges his actions caused the SBA a total loss of $145,877.70.
“The federal government created programs to provide economic relief to businesses struggling to stay afloat during the COVID-19 related shutdowns,” said U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher. “Unfortunately, Timothy Warren manipulated a well-intentioned program into a mechanism of personal financial gain and must now be held accountable.”
Warren is scheduled to be sentenced on October 3, 2023. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The U.S. Department of Defense- Defense Criminal Investigative Service and Defense Contract Audit Agency, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, and the IRS-Criminal Investigations are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Smith is prosecuting the case.
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Justice Department Files False Claims Act Complaint Against Laboratory Companies and Their OwnerRead the Press Release
The Justice Department has filed a complaint against Patrick Britton-Harr and multiple laboratory companies owned by him alleging False Claims Act violations for submitting claims to Medicare for laboratory tests that were not ordered by health care providers, not medically necessary, and sometimes never performed.
According to the complaint, Britton-Harr owned and operated Provista Health LLC as well as multiple other corporate entities that allegedly sought to profit from the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic by offering COVID-19 tests to nursing homes as a way to bill Medicare for a wide array of medically unnecessary respiratory pathogen panel (RPP) tests. The complaint alleges that these RPP tests were not medically necessary because the beneficiaries had no symptoms of a respiratory illness and because the tests were for uncommon respiratory pathogens.
The complaint also alleges that Britton-Harr and Provista Health submitted claims for RPP tests that were never ordered by physicians. Multiple physicians denied ever ordering the thousands of RPP tests for which Britton-Harr and Provista Health allegedly submitted claims to Medicare listing one of these physicians as the ordering provider. The complaint further alleges that Britton-Harr and Provista Health submitted claims to Medicare for RPP tests that were never performed, including over 300 claims that stated that the nasal swab test sample was supposedly collected from the beneficiary on a date after the beneficiary had died.
As alleged in the complaint, Britton-Harr wholly owned and operated Provista Health, AMS Onsite Inc., Britton-Harr Enterprises Inc., Coastal Laboratories Inc. and Coastal Management Group Inc., and these companies – together with Britton-Harr – conspired to carry out these schemes.
“The Department of Justice is committed to holding accountable individuals and entities who exploited the COVID-19 pandemic for their own illicit purposes,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to protect our federal health care programs, their beneficiaries, and taxpayers from fraud and abuse.”
“The complaint alleges that these individuals and their companies took advantage of a national health crisis to line their own pockets,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland. “Our office has and will continue to bring to justice those who used the COVID-19 pandemic to defraud individuals or the government.”
“Providers who saw the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity for illegal profit undermine the goals and integrity of critical public health measures,” said Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who attempt to defraud these crucial public health measures and steal money from federal health care programs.”
“Patrick Britton-Harr and his co-conspirators took advantage of vulnerable adults during the public health emergency,” said Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “The FBI and its partners will continue to aggressively investigate those who try to exploit the American people and swindle funds for their own profit.”
The United States’ pursuit of this lawsuit illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800‑HHS‑TIPS (800-447-8477).
This matter is being handled by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. Investigative support is being provided by HHS-OIG and the FBI. The allegations in the complaint were identified by a government investigation that arose from a proactive analysis of Medicare claims data.
The Civil Division's Fraud Section Trial Attorneys Jonathan Hoerner and Vincent Vaccarella and Assistant U.S. Attorney/Deputy Civil Chief Tarra DeShields for the District of Maryland are handling this case.
The claims in the complaint are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
ComplaintJury Finds Pittsburgh Man Guilty of Firearm and Drug Trafficking CrimesRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – Randale Chapman was convicted of firearm and drug trafficking crimes at the conclusion of a jury trial, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
Chapman, age 35 of Pittsburgh, was convicted of committing the following crimes on April 30, 2020: (1) possession of fentanyl, methamphetamine, or methylenedioxyamphetamine with intent to distribute, (2) possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and (3) possession of a firearm after a prior felony conviction. He was also convicted of possessing oxycodone or methamphetamine with intent to distribute on February 5, 2021.
Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the United States Marshals Service and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police conducted the investigation leading to the convictions in this case. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Jury Finds Former Correctional Sergeant Guilty of Perjury During Investigation into Cover-Up of Assault of a CSP Sacramento InmateRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A jury found a former California state correctional officer guilty yesterday afternoon of perjury in connection with a federal grand jury investigation into a conspiracy to cover up an assault of an inmate, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. Following a three-day trial, Brenda Villa, 32, of North Highlands, was found guilty of one count of perjury.
According to the court records and evidence presented at trial, Villa was a correctional sergeant supervising other officers at California State Prison – Sacramento (also known as New Folsom State Prison or CSP-Sacramento) when correctional officer Arturo Pacheco unlawfully assaulted an inmate under color of law. Following the assault and the inmate’s death, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) initiated an internal investigation. As the CDCR internal investigation proceeded, a federal grand jury began investigating federal criminal charges in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Villa was called to testify in front of the grand jury about her role and the actions of her fellow officers in covering up the unlawful assault. Villa lied under oath to the federal grand jury investigating the incident.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Anderson and Rosanne L. Rust are prosecuting the case.
Former correctional officers Arturo Pacheco and Ashley Aurich pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 12½ years and 21 months in prison, respectively.
Villa’s sentencing will be scheduled in front of U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb at a future court hearing. The next hearing in the case is on Monday, July 24, 2023. Villa faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison for perjury and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Judge Finds Fort Myers Felon Guilty of Unlawfully Possessing A Loaded Firearm with an Obliterated Serial NumberRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Steven Dewayne Barnes, Jr. (26, Fort Myers) has been found guilty, following a bench trial before United States District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell, of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Barnes faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not been set.
According to court records, on November 15, 2022, officers from the Fort Myers Police Department were on patrol when they encountered Barnes walking on Washington Avenue in Fort Myers. During a conversation with Barnes, officers became concerned that Barnes, a multi-convicted felon, may be concealing a weapon, and he was subsequently searched. Officers located and removed a loaded Smith and Wesson handgun equipped with a laser sight that had been concealed in Barnes’s waistband. The serial number on the gun had been scratched out. Barnes, who had previously served a sentence in state prison for a violent felony, is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law. Additionally, federal law prohibits possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Fort Myers Police Department, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon R. Eth.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Honduran Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Using Social Security Number to Obtain EmploymentRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – WILSON MAZARIEGOS SARAVIA, ("SARAVIA") age 28, a native of Honduras, plead guilty on July 12, 2023 to a one-count bill of information charging him with illegally using a social security number to qualify for employment, in violation of Title 42, United States Code, Section 408(a)(7)(B), announced United States Attorney Duane A. Evans.
According to filed documents, on or about December 14, 2022, SARAVIA, presented a false Social Security card when signing in for a pre-employment safety class in St. Rose, Louisiana.
WILSON MAZARIEGOS SARAVIA faces a maximum term of imprisonment of not more than five (5) years followed by up to three (3) years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000.00, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00. Sentencing is scheduled for November 8, 2023.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of Homeland Security Investigations in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney M. Irene González of the General Crimes Unit is in charge of the prosecution.
Hialeah Man Sentenced for Committing Armed Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
MIAMI – Today, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga sentenced Ariel Valero, a 45-year-old Hialeah man, to over 11 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
On December 26, 2019, Valero entered a Wells Fargo bank, located in Miramar, Broward County, Florida, covered head-to-toe in a black jumpsuit and ski mask. Upon entering the bank, Valero brandished a black firearm, jumped onto the teller counter, threatened the tellers, and stole $30,959.99 in cash. Surveillance footage captured Valero leaving the scene of the robbery on a bicycle, pedaling for a couple of blocks, and then dumping the bicycle in the nearby plaza. A forensic examination of the bicycle seat revealed the presence of Valero’s DNA. The jury convicted Valero of the armed bank robbery.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, announced the sentence.
FBI Miami investigated the case, with assistance from the Miramar Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys M. Catherine Koontz and Ajay Alexander prosecuted it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Paster is handling asset forfeiture.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-cr-60020.
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Hartford Man Sentenced to 4 Years in Federal Prison for Gun Offense Stemming from April 2022 ShootoutRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that KEJUAN WILLIAMS, 30, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 48 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for a firearm offense.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 18, 2022, after an unidentified shooter opened fire at individuals who were standing in a parking lot outside of a memorial gathering in Hartford, surveillance cameras at the location recorded at least nine individuals drawing firearms, and some of them returned fire. Shot Spotter technology recorded approximately 50 shots fired within approximately 90 seconds in and around the location, and law enforcement recovered at least 31 shell casings from the scene. Williams was present at the memorial gathering and was recorded on video brandishing a handgun and firing approximately eight times at the fleeing assailant. He then fled the scene in a black Acura.
On April 21, 2022, Hartford Police officers located Williams’ car parked near a restaurant on Westland Street. Williams was found inside the restaurant crouching behind a counter. Officers apprehended Williams and seized a loaded Taurus G2C 9mm handgun on the ground where Williams had been crouching. Investigators subsequently submitted to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) a test-fired shell casing from the seized handgun. Analysis of the shell casing revealed that it matched shell casings that were recovered from the shooting on April 18.
Williams’ criminal history includes multiple felony convictions, including a conviction in 2015 for carrying a pistol or revolver without a permit. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
Williams has been detained since his federal arrest on May 12, 2022. On January 25, he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
This investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Hartford Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Pierpont, Jr.
U.S. Attorney Avery thanked the Hartford State Attorney’s Offices for its cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of this matter.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Harrisburg Man Sentenced to 24 Month’s Imprisonment for Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Amisial Elveus, 32, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on July 11, 2023, by U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson, to 24 months in prison to be followed by 12 months of supervised release for aggravated identity theft.
According to U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam, from July 6, 2020, until November 6, 2020, in Dauphin County, Elveus unlawfully obtained and used credit card account numbers belonging to unsuspecting individuals, used the numbers to code credit cards, and then used the credit cards to pay for gasoline fill-ups for multiple vehicles on multiple days at a Giant gas station on Union Deposit Road in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Elveus was arrested at the Giant on November 6, 2020, while in the process of filling cars with gas that he paid for with a fraudulently encoded credit card.
Judge Wilson also ordered Elveus to pay restitution in the amount of $32,227.71.
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Lower Paxton Township Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian T. Haugsby prosecuted the case.
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Gretna Man Sentenced After Pleading Guilty to Violating Federal Controlled Substances ActRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – TRAVIS GIBSON, age 49, a resident of Gretna, Louisiana, was sentenced on July 5, 2023 by United States District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo to time served and (3) years of supervised release after pleading guilty to a one-count superseding bill of information charging him with possession with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C), announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.
According to court documents, on November 19, 2020, a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Deputy learned than an individual was traveling eastbound on Interstate 10 after having purchased narcotics from his source of supply. Agents conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle, a truck that was being driven by GIBSON. As the agents approached the vehicle, the front seat passenger, Eric Rodriguez, gave a bag containing several ounces of methamphetamine to Ryan Moreau, the back seat passenger, to put into a container of bleach also located on the back seat to destroy the methamphetamine and avoid detection by law enforcement. In a post-arrest statement, GIBSON acknowledged that he had driven Rodriguez to Baton Rouge so Rodriguez could pay off a previous drug debt. GIBSON also confirmed that Rodriguez gave the drugs to Moreau to place into the bleach and thus, avoid detection by law enforcement.
This case was investigated by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney André Jones of the Narcotics Unit.
Gadsden Pharmacist Pleads Guilty to Drug Distribution Conspiracy and Tax CrimesRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A Gadsden-area pharmacist has been convicted of drug distribution conspiracy and tax crimes, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Demetrius D. Hardeman of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).
Nathan Thomas Carter, 41, of Gadsden, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge R. David Proctor to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and three counts of filing false federal income tax returns
According to the plea agreement, between 2015 and late 2021, Carter conspired with others to distribute controlled substances including oxycodone and hydrocodone. Between February 2018 and 2023, Carter worked as the pharmacist in charge at Midtown Pharmacy in Gadsden. Between 2018 and 2021, records reflect, Midtown Pharmacy ordered at least 80,000 more dosage units of oxycodone 30 mg than the pharmacy dispensed to patients. Carter diverted opioid pills from the pharmacy and sold those pills to other drug distributors. He regularly took distributor bottles from his pharmacy to his house, where he repackaged the pills in plastic bags for resale. The defendant earned about $150,000 in illicit income, per year, which he failed to report or include on his income tax returns in 2019, 2020, and 2021. According to the plea agreement, during the execution of a search warrant at Carter’ house, authorities found more than $110,000 in cash.
The maximum penalty for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances is twenty years in prison. The maximum penalty for each count of filing false federal income tax returns is three years in prison.
The FBI and IRS investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney J.B. Ward is prosecuting the case.
Former central Ohio man pleads guilty to fraud in applications for $1.1 million in COVID relief loansRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- James P. Dawson, 40, of Orlando, Florida pleaded guilty to wire fraud and making a false statement within the jurisdiction of an agency of the United States related to five coronavirus relief Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loans and four Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).
According to court documents, beginning in April 2020 and continuing until October 2020, Dawson, while living in central Ohio, submitted five fraudulent applications to obtain PPP loans, two of which were approved and funded. He also submitted four fraudulent applications to obtain EIDLs. None of the EIDLs were funded, but he received three EIDL Advances. Dawson’s applications collectively sought over $1.1 million in fraudulent loans and the lenders disbursed over $200,000 as a result of his fraudulent loan applications.
The fraudulent PPP applications made several materially false representations regarding the operations of the businesses, including monthly payroll expenses and number of employees. The PPP applications also falsely represented that the businesses were in operation on February 15, 2020.
For example, Stadium Bar LLC was a business that ultimately opened as a sports bar. Despite Dawson's certification that the business was in operation on February 15, 2020, the certificate of occupancy for the bar's location was not signed until March 20, 2020, the bar did not have a liquor license until May 26, 2020, and Dawson admitted in a law enforcement interview that it did not open until June 20, 2020.
Created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the Paycheck Protection Program authorized qualifying small businesses to receive forgivable loans to help pay payroll costs, rent utilities, interest on mortgages, and other permissible expenses. The size of the PPP loan a particular business could receive was based in part on its average monthly payroll costs. PPP loans were entirely forgivable if the funds were used for specified expenses.
In order to obtain a PPP loan, a business was required to submit a loan application to an approved lender. The loan application was required to be signed by an authorized representative of the business and to contain certain information, such as average monthly payroll expenses and number of employees. Applicants were also required to provide supporting documentation, such as federal tax returns and other financial documentation. Any PPP loans that were funded by lenders were fully guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The CARES Act also expanded the EIDL Program, which authorized qualifying small businesses to receive loans to help pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. The SBA also offered an EIDL Advance that was designed to provide emergency economic relief to businesses that were experiencing a temporary loss of revenue. The EIDL Advance was considered a grant and was not required to be repaid. The maximum advance amount was $10,000.
Wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine not to exceed $250,000. Making a false statement within the jurisdiction of an agency of the United States carries a maximum penalty of 5 years of imprisonment and a fine not to exceed $250,000. Dawson will be sentenced on a date to be determined after the court completes a pre-sentence investigation.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and Brady Ipock, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Central Regional Office, U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG) announced the plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorney Peter K. Glenn-Applegate is representing the United States.
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Former Pastor Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that FRANCIS HUGHES, a former pastor at a religious institution in Queens, New York, was sentenced to five years in prison by U.S. District Judge Philip M. Halpern for his receipt of images of child pornography from a 15-year-old minor in Westchester, New York, with whom HUGHES was engaging in sexually explicit text communications. HUGHES pled guilty on August 16, 2022, before Judge Halpern.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in related court proceedings:
On February 16, 2020, HUGHES communicated by text messages with a 15-year-old boy (“Minor-1”). During the course of the text communications, among other things, Minor-1 sent HUGHES three images of Minor-1’s penis. Upon receiving one of the images, HUGHES responded, among other things, “Yummmmm I will suck you so much” and “Make you cum.” During the communications, HUGHES told Minor-1 that he was a part-time college professor and a counselor.
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In addition to the prison term, HUGHES, 68, of Glendale, New York, was sentenced to 10 years of supervised release.
Mr. Williams praised the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Greenburgh Police Department in connection with this investigation.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia S. Cohen is in charge of the prosecution.
Former Nebraska Woman Sentenced in Conspiracy to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Susan T. Lehr announced that Shanda Daniels, 35, formerly of Trenton, Nebraska was sentenced today in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Daniels to 60 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After her release from prison, she will begin a 5-year term of supervised release.
On May 14, 2019, a confidential informant (CI) arranged to purchase one ounce of methamphetamine from Shanda Daniels. The CI traveled to Daniels’s residence in Trenton. The CI entered the house and contacted Daniels and an unknown male. This unknown male was later identified as Westleigh Miesner. Miesner weighed out the methamphetamine. The lab results showed 13 grams of actual methamphetamine.
On December 2, 2022, Miesner was sentenced to 66 months’ imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Former Detroit Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Preparing False ReturnsRead the Press Release
DETROIT - A former Detroit tax return preparer has pleaded guilty to committing tax fraud over a four-year span, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced today.
Ison was joined in the announcement by Charles Miller, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
Ann Reid, 68, pleaded guilty to preparing and filing tax returns which Reid knew contained false misrepresentations about small businesses for a series of years. In each instance, the false information caused the IRS to provide miscalculated and sizably larger tax refunds.
United States Attorney Ison stated, “Tax cheaters don’t just cheat the system, they cheat us all. When those tax cheats are fraudulent tax preparers, like Ann Reid, who cheat on scores of tax returns year after year, the impact of their cheating is multiplied, and the damage they cause is many times worse. Convictions like today’s are a key step toward holding such tax cheats accountable.”
“Today, Ms. Reid admitted to owning a tax preparation business that blatantly ignored the tax laws by preparing false and fraudulent tax returns,” said Charles Miller, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Detroit Field Office. “Dishonest return preparers use a variety of methods to cheat the government, including falsifying information on tax returns to generate larger refunds for their clients. IRS – Criminal Investigation will continue to ensure that all tax practitioners, tax preparers and others who practice in the tax profession adhere to professional standards and follow the law.”
According to the plea agreement, between January 2016 and April 2019, Reid prepared and filed hundreds of tax returns with false information on behalf of taxpayers. The tax returns falsely represented that the taxpayers operated small businesses and included deductions for false expenses and inflated charitable contributions.
Reid now faces possible sentences of up to 3-years’ imprisonment, a $100,000 fine, and 1 year of supervised release on each of the five counts to which she has pleaded guilty.
Sentencing is set for October 17, 2023 before United States District Judge Stephen J. Murphy, III.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carl D. Gilmer-Hill. The investigation is being conducted by IRS-Criminal Investigation.
Former Delmont Resident Sentenced to 5+ Years in Prison for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A former resident of Delmont, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 63 months on his conviction of possession of child pornography, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
Chief United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence on Joshua K. Minehart, 47, formerly of Delmont, Pa.
According to information presented to the court, Minehart had knowingly possessed 40 videos of child pornography, some which involved children who had not attained the age of 12.
Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole Vasquez-Schmitt and DeMarr W. Moulton prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Olshan commended the Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the Pennsylvania State Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Minehart.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Former Contractor for Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency Was Sentenced Today in COVID-19 Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
DETROIT - Semaje Reffigee, a former employee of the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (MUIA), was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment today arising from her participation in a $313,000 pandemic-related unemployment insurance fraud scheme, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.
Joining in the announcement were Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge, Great Lakes Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Julia Dale, Director of the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency, and Charles Miller, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Detroit Field Office.
Reffigee, 26, pleaded guilty on March 8, 2023, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud arising out of her participation in a wide-ranging fraud scheme designed to provide Reffigee and her co-conspirators with pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits to which they were not entitled.
United States Attorney Ison stated, “Corrupt public servants compromise the ability of the government to function effectively and undermine confidence in all public programs. Semaje Reffigee – an employee of the state – stole money from a program intended to help our most vulnerable citizens during an unprecedented national crisis. This prosecution reflects the seriousness with which my office takes corruption and fraud in the public sector, and we hope that today’s sentence deters other government employees from lining their pockets at the expense of the public.”
“Former Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency contract employee Semaje Reffigee violated the public trust afforded to her for personal gain. She abused her position by using her access to sensitive employment information and state data systems to approve fraudulent unemployment insurance (UI) claims submitted by her co-conspirators. Today’s sentencing affirms the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General’s commitment to pursuing UI fraud, particularly when an insider threat is involved,” said Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge, Great Lakes Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
“It’s shocking and discouraging when someone hired by the UIA uses the cover of a global economic crisis to scheme with others to steal taxpayer money for their own gratification,” said Julia Dale, Director of the Michigan UIA. “Michigan’s unemployment program is an important lifeline for workers who lose their jobs and despicable actions by bad actors such as Semaje Reffigee damage the trust workers have in the system. Reffigee is one of nearly 50 criminals so far who have been convicted of unemployment insurance fraud, and she won’t be the last. We won’t tolerate such shameful behavior and will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to root out fraudsters, both within and outside of the UIA, and strengthen the program’s integrity.”
“Semaje Reffigee blatantly stole taxpayer money meant to help individuals meet day to day living needs during unprecedented adverse circumstances,” said Charles Miller, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Detroit Field Office. “The outcome today is due to the dedicated efforts of IRS Criminal Investigation special agents and our law enforcement partners.”
According to court documents, Reffigee began working as an Unemployment Insurance Examiner (UIE) with the MUIA in October 2020, and as such, had electronic access to the MUIA claims database. Reffigee used her credentials to access and approve specific UI claims submitted to the agency.
Court documents indicate that between October 2020 and June 2021, Reffigee conspired with others to obtain benefits through the submission of false UI claims. Reffigee’s co-conspirators electronically submitted fraudulent claims to MUIA. Reffigee then abused her position as a UIE to (1) re-activate claims that had previously been flagged for fraud, and (2) go outside her assigned workflow to approve fraudulent claims in the first instance. In total, Reffigee re-activated or approved over 35 fraudulent claims valued at more than $300,000. In exchange, Reffigee received kickback payments from her co-conspirators.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ryan Particka and Sarah Youngblood. The investigation was conducted jointly by the Department of Labor-Office of Inspector General and the IRS, with substantial assistance from the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency.
Former Bay Area Resident Pleads Guilty to Arson in the Lake Tahoe AreaRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Douglas Gregory Edwards, 37, formerly of Berkeley, pleaded guilty today to setting fire to federal land in the Lake Tahoe area, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, on July 5, 2020, Edwards set three separate fires in the forest and near hiking trails in a protected area of federal land known as the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. At the time of the fires, campfires were restricted, and smoking was prohibited except inside of a vehicle or other designated areas.
The Echo Fire
Edwards set the first fire at approximately 3:00 a.m. on a slope near Echo Lake, which became known as the Echo Fire. Civilian witnesses at the Echo Lake Chalet witnessed this fire as it began to emit smoke and notified first responders, who extinguished it with the help of a firefighting helicopter. A witness saw Edwards at the site of the Echo Fire watching an eight-foot dead tree burning but taking no steps to extinguish the fire. After firefighters extinguished the fire, investigators found a cigarette butt directly above the ignition site.
The Upper Fire
The second fire ignited shortly after 9:00 a.m. less than a mile downhill from the site of Edwards’s first fire. Again, firefighters contained this second fire using water drops from aircraft, and it was contained at approximately 4:30 p.m. Investigators found two cigarette butts near the ignition site of this second fire, and DNA analysis of those cigarette butts connected them to Edwards. In addition, a single set of shoe impressions from the Upper Fire’s origin area led back to a hiking trail that connects to Echo Peak. The tread and size of the shoe prints matched the shoes that Edward was wearing when he was arrested on July 5, 2020.
The Lake Fire
The third fire ignited around noon in the same general vicinity, near a hiking path that provides access to the Pacific Crest Trail. It was in a remote location with thick brush and trees that limited access for fire response resources. Multiple witnesses hiking in the area observed Edwards running and hiking near where this third fire began. The witnesses observed Edwards smoking a cigarette and holding a cigarette lighter. Law enforcement agents subsequently arrested Edwards in the afternoon as he was hiking approximately a quarter of a mile away from the ignition sites of each of the three fires.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service. The California Highway Patrol, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, and the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Forensic Science provided assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Stefanki is prosecuting the case.
Edwards is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on Oct. 24, 2023. Edwards faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Final Aryan Circle Gang Member Sentenced for RICO ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A Missouri man was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations (RICO) charges stemming from his membership in the Aryan Circle (AC), a white supremacy prison gang.
According to court documents, Timothy Long, aka Timmy, of Mountain Grove, was a member of the AC, a violent, race-based, and prison-based gang with hundreds of members operating inside and outside of state and federal prisons throughout the country. The AC enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects, and associates through threats, intimidation, and acts of violence including murder, kidnapping, and narcotics trafficking. Members are required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members without question.
“This is the final sentencing in a multi-jurisdictional, multi-agency effort to dismantle the Aryan Circle, which terrorized local communities and perpetuated a cycle of gang violence in federal prisons for far too long,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This case represents the Justice Department’s continued dedication to working with our partners across the country to pursue and eradicate criminal enterprises like the AC.”
In 2018, as part of his membership in the AC, Long stabbed two separate victims while all were housed at U.S. Penitentiary (USP) Lee, a federal prison in Lee County, Virginia. Long stabbed each victim at the direction of AC leadership as retaliation for an attack on a higher-ranking member of the AC by a rival white supremacist gang.
“Violent gangs like the Aryan Circle present a growing threat to our communities in the Eastern District of Texas and the type of violence associated with these organizations is alarming,” said U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs for the Eastern District of Texas. “The Eastern District of Texas will continue to investigate and prosecute those who do harm to others. And we’ll specifically target the leaders of these violent gangs.”
In 2022, two of Long’s co-defendants, AC leaders William Glenn Chunn and Jesse Blankenship, were both sentenced to life in prison for RICO conspiracy and related racketeering charges.
The case was investigated by the following agencies: the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; Federal Bureau of Prisons; Texas Department of Public Safety; Houston Police Department-Gang Division; Montgomery County (TX) Precinct One Constable’s Office; Homeland Security Investigations; Texas Department of Criminal Justice; New Jersey Department of Corrections-Special Investigations Division; Indiana State Police; Fort Smith (AR) Police Department; Arkansas Department of Corrections; Arnold (MO) Police Department; Jefferson County (MO) Sheriff’s Department; St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department; St. Louis County (MO) Police Department; Indiana Department of Corrections; Carrollton (TX) Police Department; Montgomery County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; Travis County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; Tarrant County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; Evangeline Parish (LA) Sheriff’s Office; Smith County (TX) Sheriff’s Office; McCurtain County (OK) Sheriff’s Office; Montgomery County (TX) District Attorney’s Office; Liberty County (TX) District Attorney’s Office; Harris County (TX) District Attorney’s Office; Mercer County (NJ) Prosecutor’s Office; Evangeline Parish (LA) District Attorney’s Office; and the Sebastian County (AR) District Attorney’s Office. Valuable assistance was provided by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF).
Trial Attorney Rebecca Dunnan of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Rapp for the Eastern District of Texas prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Ferndale Man Sentenced to over 15 Years in Prison for Sex Trafficking ChildreRead the Press Release
DETROIT – A Ferndale man who trafficked and had sex with children in metro-Detroit motels while on bond from a federal drug case in North Dakota was sentenced to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced today.
Ison was joined in the announcement by Acting Special Agent in Charge Devin J. Kowalski, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Field Division.
Toriano Davis, 34, pled guilty to two counts of sex trafficking of a minor in February 2023. Davis was sentenced today by United States District Judge Stephen J. Murphy, III.
Law enforcement first began investigating Davis while attempting to locate two minor females who had run away from the Lansing area in late 2020. A relative of one of the minors contacted law enforcement with information and expressed fears that the minors were being trafficked in the Detroit area. Law enforcement recovered the minors from a motel room in Southfield, Michigan, in December 2020. After subsequent investigation, law enforcement located Davis in a motel in Roseville, Michigan. In the room with Davis was a nude 15-year-old girl. Additional investigation uncovered that Davis had trafficked at least two minor victims, had rented motel rooms for them to engage in commercial sex, and had assisted them with advertising online for commercial sex dates. Davis also took proceeds from the minors’ commercial sex dates for his own use, including to purchase drugs and to rent expensive cars. Davis also had sex with the minors and had recorded himself having sex with one of the minors on a cellular phone.
“The sexual abuse and trafficking of children is a scourge on our community that leaves an indelible mark on victims,” said U.S. Attorney Ison. “The video recording of that abuse only perpetuates the abuse. This defendant committed these heinous acts while on bond in a federal drug case. The lengthy sentence imposed today will protect the public from this defendant and help keep our community safe for children.”
“This defendant callously sold minors to other men for his own financial benefit,” said Devin J. Kowalski, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. “Combating sex trafficking and violence in our communities is of the highest priority for the FBI and our law enforcement partners across Southeast Michigan.”
This case was investigated by the FBI Detroit Division, SEMTEC (Southeast Michigan Trafficking and Exploitation Crimes), the Detroit Police Department and State of Michigan Children’s Protective Services.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meghan Sweeney Bean and Eaton Brown.
Ex-Spouses Indicted for Laundering Money Stolen from Retirement and Investment AccountsRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal indictment was unsealed today charging a Prince George’s County, Maryland, man and woman with their involvement in laundering the proceeds of various fraud schemes targeting victims’ retirement and investment accounts.
According to allegations the indictment, from approximately September 2017 to April 2020, Dasola Abdulraheem, 41, and Ismaila Abdulraheem, 44, both Nigerian nationals and formerly spouses, received the proceeds of various financial frauds into accounts that they controlled, and thereafter, conducted financial transactions with the proceeds to disguise the nature and source of the funds.
The indictment further alleges that unknown co-conspirators targeted the victims of this scheme by gaining access to their financial accounts, typically retirement or investment accounts. In one case, co-conspirators are alleged to have gained access to a victim’s severance payout from his former employer. The indictment states that once the conspirators compromised a victim’s account, they posed as the victim and instructed the victim’s financial institution to add a new outside bank account to the victim’s account. The outside account was controlled by either the Abdulraheems or one of the couriers that they used. Once the victim’s financial institution added a conspirator’s account to the victim’s account, the conspirators allegedly directed that money from the victim’s account be siphoned from the victim’s account and deposited into the Abdulraheems’ accounts or into a co-conspirator’s account. The proceeds are alleged to have been used in some cases to purchase salvage cars at auction or to wire money to business entities in Nigeria.
The indictment further alleges that the Abdulraheems attempted to conceal their involvement in laundering proceeds by using shell companies, such as “ISMRAN LLC,” “DAISIM GLOBAL LINK LLC,” “RUKLAT INTERNATIONAL VENTURES,” and “DAISIM INTERNATIONAL” to receive and launder the proceeds of the fraud scheme.
The defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, and unlawful monetary transactions. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the money laundering charges, and a maximum of 10 years in prison for the unlawful monetary transactions charges. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Derek W. Gordon, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., made the announcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine E. Rumbaugh and Kathleen E. Robeson are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:23-CR-107.
An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Ex-ATM Technician Sentenced to Federal Prison for Armed Bank Robbery in TallahasseeRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Johnson Saint-Louis, 38, of Deerfield Beach, Florida was sentenced to 147 months in federal prison following his conviction for armed bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. The sentence was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
“This serial armed robber endangered the lives of multiple victims,” said U.S. Attorney Coody. “Through the coordinated efforts of our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, his multi-state crime spree has ended, and he has been held accountable for his criminal conduct. This sentence illustrates our shared resolve to keep our communities safe and the significant consequences associated with such federal crimes of violence.”
Saint-Louis was convicted by a federal jury after a 3-day trial on November 9, 2022. Evidence introduced during the trial revealed that Saint-Louis was a former ATM technician who traveled around the southeast tampering with ATMs serviced by his former employer. Over a two-year period, Saint-Louis robbed four ATM technicians sent out to fix problems Saint-Louis had caused, including the ATM technician dispatched to the Bank of America at 5676 Thomasville Road in Tallahassee, Florida on September 29, 2021. The Government introduced evidence of similar robberies in Boca Raton, Florida in November 2019, Longwood, Florida in February 2021, and Raleigh, North Carolina in August 2021.
“This conviction is a testament to collaborative efforts between local, state and federal authorities to bring to justice those who perpetrate crimes in our community,” said police Chief Lawrence Revell. “Members of the Tallahassee Police Department work tirelessly to investigate cases and collect the evidence needed for an arrest and subsequent conviction. Additionally, this conviction highlights the efforts of the grants and programs established at TPD that are aimed at eradicating crime. We want the community to know we have made a commitment to more than just making the arrests but also doing our part to prevent the crime from happening.”
As part of the FBI’s investigation into the bank robberies, Saint-Louis was surveilled by Seminole County Sheriff’s Office deputies on November 4, 2021, who observed Saint-Louis traveling to various Bank of America locations. Deputies eventually stopped Saint-Louis, and, during that traffic stop, they observed a firearm and notes listing the locations of Bank of America branches in Jacksonville, Florida. The Bank of America branches were annotated with whether the ATM at that location was manufactured by Saint-Louis’ former employer or by another company, and included notes like “too open,” “not enough exit route,” two-man job,” and “posible” (sic).
“The FBI takes very seriously our responsibility to investigate those who target and endanger innocent people in their quest for personal gain,” said FBI Jacksonville Special Agent in Charge Sherri E. Onks. “We will continue to work with our partners to pursue those who commit violent crimes and take advantage of others.”
The FBI’s financial investigation revealed that Saint-Louis, who had been unemployed since mid-2019, was making large cash deposits into his bank accounts (e.g., $89,939 in 2021) and gambling large amounts of money (e.g., losing $189,814 in 2021). Saint-Louis lost $39,480 gambling in the week following the Tallahassee bank robbery.
Saint-Louis’ imprisonment will be followed by 3-years of supervised release, and he was ordered to pay $104,840.00 in restitution.
This conviction was the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Tallahassee Police Department and the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys James A. McCain and Christopher M. Elsey prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
As part of its PSN strategy, the United States Attorney’s Office is encouraging everyone to lock their car doors, particularly at night. Burglaries from unlocked automobiles are a significant source of guns for criminals in the Northern District of Florida. Please do your part and protect yourself by locking your car doors.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Durham, N.C. Man Is Sentenced to Prison for Operating an Unlicensed Cryptocurrency Business and Related Tax ChargesRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jayton Gill, 35, of Durham, N.C., was sentenced to 21 months in prison followed by a year of supervised release today for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and willful failure to file a tax return, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Gill was also ordered to pay a forfeiture money judgement in the amount of $475,000.
Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in North Carolina, and Karen Wingerd, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS CI), Charlotte Field Office, join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
According to filed court documents and court proceedings, from 2015 to 2021, Gill operated an unlicensed money transmitting business involving the exchange of millions of dollars of cash and other monetary instruments for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Monero. During the relevant time, Gill conducted thousands of transactions involving thousands of Bitcoins. As Gill previously admitted in court, he advertised his unlicensed money transmitting business on various public websites and made claims on one such website that he had conducted more than 4,200 transactions with 2,700 different parties. Gill also conducted unlicensed money transactions in person and via the U.S. Postal Service.
Court records show that Gill also failed to file U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns for tax years 2015 through 2019, despite earning significant income from his unlicensed money transmitting business and from investing in cryptocurrency.
On July 12, 2022, Gill pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and failure to file a tax return. He will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
The FBI and IRS CI handled the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Ryan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
Dothan Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Curtis Tyron Vickers, 35, of Dothan, Alabama was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute approximately 1.8 pounds of methamphetamine. Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced the sentence.
“Our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners work tirelessly to keep us safe and serve a critical role in our efforts to remove addictive and deadly controlled substances from our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Coody. “We will continue to support their efforts to investigate and vigorously prosecute criminals bringing drugs into North Florida.”
As part of a longer-term investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the North Star Multijurisdictional Drug Task Force (NSMDTF) learned that Vickers was transporting approximately 1.8 pounds of methamphetamine through Calhoun County for distribution. Working in conjunction with DEA, and the NSMDTF, the Florida Highway Patrol conducted a traffic stop on Vickers. A Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office Deputy deployed a canine who alerted to the presence of narcotics inside the vehicle. In addition to the methamphetamine, officers also located small baggies containing heroin and fentanyl, and a small amount of crack cocaine.
Vickers qualified for enhanced sentencing as a Career Offender due to prior convictions for unlawful possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance (methamphetamine) and sale or delivery of controlled substance. Vickers was on probation at the time of the offense.
“One of DEA’s top priorities is getting these highly addictive and incredibly dangerous drugs, like methamphetamine, off our streets and out of our communities,” said DEA Miami Field Division Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter. “The success of this investigation highlights the Miami Field Division’s continued commitment to working with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to keep our communities safe and healthy.”
Vickers’ prison sentenced will be followed by 5 years of supervised release.
This conviction was the result of the collaborative efforts of numerous local, state, and federal agencies, including the North Star Multijurisdictional Drug Task Force, the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Highway Patrol, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James A. McCain.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Distributor of Cocaine in Lafayette Area Receives Federal Prison SentenceRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. – Joshua Lewis, 50, of Basile, Louisiana, has been sentenced for possessing cocaine and cocaine base with the intent to distribute, announced United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown. United States District Judge Robert R. Summerhays sentenced Lewis to 60 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release.
Evidence introduced in court revealed that beginning in August 2019 and continuing through January 2021, Lewis conspired with Shawn White, Courtney Smith, Shane Malveaux, Kevin Hardy, and others to distribute narcotics, including cocaine and cocaine base in south Louisiana. During their investigation into this drug trafficking organization, agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) obtained evidence through the use of controlled purchases of narcotics with confidential sources, as well as the interception of wire communications between the defendants in this organization. On or about January 7, 2021, agents obtained intercepted communications between Lewis and White which revealed that they worked out a deal for Lewis to purchase powder cocaine from White. Lewis and his co-defendants were charged in an indictment on February 10, 2021. On March 17, 2023, Lewis pleaded guilty and admitted that he was in an agreement with his co-conspirators to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base.
Three other defendants were charged in this case and have been sentenced as follows:
Shane Christopher Malveaux, 51, of Eunice, Louisiana, was sentenced to 100 months (8 years, 4 months) in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for conspiring with others to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base.
Courtney Nacol Smith, 48, of Katy, Texas, to 60 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base.
Shawn Dwayne White, 46, of Eunice, was sentenced to 60 months in prison, followed by 4 years of supervised release, for conspiring with others to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base.
The case was investigated by the DEA and Department of Homeland Security-Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Vermaelen.
This effort is part of an ongoing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
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Derry Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Production, Distribution and Possession of Child Sex Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A former resident of Derry, Pennsylvania was sentenced in federal court to a total term of 240 months’ imprisonment (20 years) on his conviction for four counts of production and attempted production of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor; one count of distribution and attempted distribution of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor; and one count of possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan imposed the sentence on Michael Wilson, age 44. Judge Ranjan also ordered a period of 15 years’ supervised release following Wilson’s incarceration sentence and ordered that Wilson pay restitution totaling $6,000. Judge Ranjan further ordered Wilson to pay a $600 criminal monetary penalty pursuant to the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2018.
According to information presented to the court, on multiple occasions during 2019 through May 15, 2021, Wilson surreptitiously recorded five different minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a video recording device that he was able to access from his cellular telephone. Further, the court was advised that from September, 2019 to October, 2019, Wilson communicated with another individual through online chat applications about the sexual abuse of minors and distributed to this other individual some of the images that he had secretly recorded of one minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Wilson also possessed several other images of child sexual abuse material, including one image of a prepubescent minor.
Assistant United States Attorney Heidi M. Grogan is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
Homeland Security Investigations – Pittsburgh, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Derry Police Department conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Wilson.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Derry Man Charged in Connection with Importing, Manufacturing, and Distributing SteroidsRead the Press Release
CONCORD – A Derry man has been charged in connection with importing, manufacturing, and distributing steroids, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
Ralph Cardarelli, 44, was charged with distribution or possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and causing a drug to become misbranded after shipment in interstate commerce. Cardarelli will make an initial appearance in federal court on July 17, 2023, at 2:00 p.m.
According to the charging documents, during the execution of a search warrant at Cardarelli’s residence on March 23, 2023, federal investigations discovered over 4800 vials and bottles of suspected controlled substances and prescription drugs, including: Nandrolone Phenylpropionate; Trenbolone Acetate; Dromostanolone Propionate; Boldenone Undecylenate; Testosterone Propionate; Trenbolone Enanthate; Nandrolone Decanoate; Testosterone Enanthate; and Testosterone Cypionate. These drugs are commonly known as steroids. Evidence was also discovered through the search warrant that Cardarelli was importing these drugs, manufacturing, and packaging them in his residence, and dispensing the drugs without requiring a prescription.
The charge of distribution or possession with intent to distribute controlled substances provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, at least 2 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $500,000.00. The charge of causing a drug to become misbranded after shipment in interstate commerce provides for a sentence of up to 1 year in prison and a fine of up to $1,000.00. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
The Food and Drug Administration – Office of Criminal Investigations led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Derry Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Ward is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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D.C. Man Indicted in a Six Count Federal Indictment After Deadly Carjacking SpreeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Daeyon Ross, 22, of the District of Columbia, is charged by indictment alleging six criminal counts related to a carjacking spree, on July 2, 2023, that left one Maryland resident and two dogs dead. The incident, which occurred over a span of 20-30 minutes, began in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and ended in a shootout with police officers in Northeast Washington, D.C.
Ross was indicted by a grand jury in the District Court for the District of Columbia on charges of: assault with intent to kill while armed; carjacking; assault on a police officer while armed; assault with a dangerous weapon; using, carrying, possessing, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence; and unlawful possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment of more than one year.
According to the government’s evidence, the Metropolitan Police Department’s Air Support Unit (Falcon) spotted Ross driving recklessly at high speeds from Washington D.C. into Prince George’s County, Maryland. While in Prince George’s County, Ross carjacked multiple cars while armed with a stolen handgun equipped with a large capacity magazine. In the process, Ross shot to death a 56-year old off-duty Metro bus driver and two dogs.
Ross proceeded to re-enter Washington D.C., where he crashed one of the carjacked vehicles in a residential neighborhood in Northeast D.C. Ross then used his handgun to carjack yet another vehicle from a D.C. resident who was returning from church. Ross attempted to flee again before crashing into Maryland law enforcement officers that had continued to pursue him from Maryland into D.C. Ross then opened fire on law enforcement. Officers returned fire and Ross surrendered shortly thereafter. Neither Ross nor the officers were harmed in the shootout.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin F. Song and Alec Levy of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office's Violent Crime Task Force, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the Prince George's County Police Department. It is brought with the assistance of and in coordination with the Prince George's County State's Attorney's Office.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Court Finds State of Florida Violates the Americans with Disabilities Act by Institutionalizing Children with DisabilitiesRead the Press Release
MIAMI – The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruled on Friday that the State of Florida violates the rights of children with complex medical needs by keeping some children unnecessarily institutionalized in nursing facilities, while placing other children at serious risk of unnecessary institutionalization.
Following a two-week bench trial in May, the court found that the children in nursing facilities are capable of living in the community. Based on the testimony of experts and family members during the trial, the court also found that parents and guardians of institutionalized children overwhelmingly want their children to live at home, but that they have not been given meaningful options other than institutional placement. The court’s decision, coming after nearly a decade of litigation, marks a major turning point in the treatment of children with disabilities in Florida and vindicates their right to community integration.
The court heard from many families who struggled desperately to keep their children at home despite a lack of services, and others who had no choice but to place their children in nursing homes because they could not get the help they needed. For example, parent Heather Patten testified about having to place her son in a nursing home when he was a toddler, telling the court, “I was scared, and I didn’t feel like I had a choice. I felt like there was no choice.” Another parent, Martin Carrizales, testified that for his disabled teenage stepson, “The help that they would give is that they would put him in a home but I would not be able to take care of him, and that is not what I wanted for him.”
“This important ruling will help Florida families of disabled children keep and care for their children at home by requiring increased access to medical support and services,” said U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida. “We look forward to seeing the systematic changes in Florida needed to prevent the unnecessary institutionalization of children with complex medical needs.”
“This is a momentous decision impacting hundreds of vulnerable children and their families,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The court’s ruling sends a clear message that children with complex medical needs deserve to grow up with the love and support of their families and should not be confined to nursing facilities where they are stripped apart from their communities. The Civil Rights Division is strongly committed to ensuring that people with disabilities are not isolated from society but are fully integrated into their communities.”
The department’s lawsuit challenged the State of Florida’s policies that violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and resulted in children with disabilities living and growing up in nursing facilities, separated from their families, friends and community. To remedy its violation, Florida must take steps to ensure that children with complex medical needs can access the services they need to live in their own homes and communities. Florida must also develop transition plans for institutionalized children and engage families to ensure that they can make informed choices about where their children live.
Approximately 140 children with disabilities are currently housed in three pediatric nursing facilities across Florida, and many more are at risk of entering these institutions due to a shortfall of services, including home nursing care. These children live with a range of medical conditions and disabilities, and many are dependent on medical technology such as ventilators. Under the ADA and the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Olmstead v. L.C. – which was decided over 24 years ago – Florida is required to serve children with disabilities in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs, as long as the children or their guardians do not oppose community integration.
For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov. ADA complaints may be filed online at www.ada.gov/complaint.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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Court Finds State of Florida Violates the Americans with Disabilities Act by Institutionalizing Children with DisabilitiesRead the Press Release
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruled on Friday that the State of Florida violates the rights of children with complex medical needs by keeping some children unnecessarily institutionalized in nursing facilities, while placing other children at serious risk of unnecessary institutionalization.
Following a two-week bench trial in May, the court found that the children in nursing facilities are capable of living in the community. Based on the testimony of experts and family members during the trial, the court also found that parents and guardians of institutionalized children overwhelmingly want their children to live at home, but that they have not been given meaningful options other than institutional placement. The court’s decision, coming after nearly a decade of litigation, marks a major turning point in the treatment of children with disabilities in Florida and vindicates their right to community integration.
The court heard from many families who struggled desperately to keep their children at home despite a lack of services, and others who had no choice but to place their children in nursing homes because they could not get the help they needed. For example, parent Heather Patten testified about having to place her son in a nursing home when he was a toddler, telling the court, “I was scared, and I didn’t feel like I had a choice. I felt like there was no choice.” Another parent, Martin Carrizales, testified that for his disabled teenage stepson, “The help that they would give is that they would put him in a home but I would not be able to take care of him, and that is not what I wanted for him.”
“This is a momentous decision impacting hundreds of vulnerable children and their families,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The court’s ruling sends a clear message that children with complex medical needs deserve to grow up with the love and support of their families and should not be confined to nursing facilities where they are stripped apart from their communities. The Civil Rights Division is strongly committed to ensuring that people with disabilities are not isolated from society but are fully integrated into their communities.”
“This important ruling will help Florida families of disabled children keep and care for their children at home by requiring increased access to medical support and services,” said U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida. “We look forward to seeing the systematic changes in Florida needed to prevent the unnecessary institutionalization of children with complex medical needs.”
The department’s lawsuit challenged the State of Florida’s policies that violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and resulted in children with disabilities living and growing up in nursing facilities, separated from their families, friends and community. To remedy its violation, Florida must take steps to ensure that children with complex medical needs can access the services they need to live in their own homes and communities. Florida must also develop transition plans for institutionalized children and engage families to ensure that they can make informed choices about where their children live.
Approximately 140 children with disabilities are currently housed in three pediatric nursing facilities across Florida, and many more are at risk of entering these institutions due to a shortfall of services, including home nursing care. These children live with a range of medical conditions and disabilities, and many are dependent on medical technology such as ventilators. Under the ADA and the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Olmstead v. L.C. – which was decided over 24 years ago – Florida is required to serve children with disabilities in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs, as long as the children or their guardians do not oppose community integration.
For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov. ADA complaints may be filed online at www.ada.gov/complaint.
Convicted Felon Sentenced to Statutory Max for Illegally Possessing Guns in Project Safe Neighborhoods CaseRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ga. – A Phenix City, Alabama, man with an extensive criminal history was sentenced to serve ten years in prison—the statutory maximum prison sentence allowed under federal law—for illegally possessing two pistols he tossed into the backyard of a home while attempting to escape arrest.
Raymond Richmond, 37, of Phenix City, Alabama, was sentenced to serve 120 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Clay Land today after he pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on April 19. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Repeat criminal offenders are facing federal prosecution when they are caught with guns in Columbus,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “It’s going to take many different approaches to effectively reduce violent crime; holding violent repeat offenders accountable for illegally possessing firearms is just one part of the overall strategy. We are thankful for the continued collaboration between law enforcement and community partners working to make Columbus safer.”
“Taking illegal guns off the streets is critical in keeping communities safe. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate these types of crimes,” said GBI Director Mike Register.
“This case is another reminder that ATF remains on the frontline of preventing violent crimes along with our law enforcement partners,” said ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka. “We will not allow residents to suffer criminal behavior which threatens the safety of innocent civilians and law enforcement officers.”
“The message must be resoundingly clear for convicted felons in possession of firearms in Muscogee County: We will not accept this behavior at any level,” said Muscogee County Sheriff Greg Countryman. “They must know that we will pursue them and seek to fully prosecute their crimes. The Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office stands committed to staying the course to fight for safer neighborhoods.”
According to court documents, on Dec. 15, 2020, a deputy with the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), was in routine patrol in Columbus and observed a car without a brake light and attempted to initiate a traffic stop. The vehicle continued at a low rate of speed for several blocks but failed to stop. Near the intersection of 17th Street and Preston Drive—a residential section of the city—the vehicle slowed down and Richmond exited the front passenger seat with a black book bag and took off running.
A brief foot chase ensued, during which Richmond tossed his book bag in the backyard of a residence. Richmond was apprehended in the yard and the bookbag was located next to him in the shrubs. Inside, deputies found a .40 caliber Glock pistol with 26 rounds of ammunition, a .380 Kel-Tec pistol with five rounds of ammunition, along with crack, cocaine, pills and marijuana.
At the time of this incident, Richmond was wanted on several outstanding warrants. He has several prior felony convictions in Muscogee County, Georgia, Superior Court, including obstruction of a law enforcement officer, interference with government property and theft by taking. It is illegal for a convicted felon to possess a firearm.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
The case was investigated by the Muscogee Co. Sheriff’s Office, GBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
Assistant U.S. Attorney Crawford Seals prosecuted the case for the government.
Cincinnati man pleads guilty to illegally accessing email, social media accounts of hundreds of women to obtain sexually explicit photosRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI – A Cincinnati man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to accessing the email and social media accounts of hundreds of women to search for sexually explicit photos of them.
Dwayne Curry, 34, admitted he identified women through the internet, television and in person and then intentionally sought to access their email and Snapchat accounts.
Curry used cryptocurrency to purchase passwords through various dark websites that sell stolen user account information.
The defendant then accessed the women’s Snapchat accounts to view and save their private photos.
In total, Curry unlawfully accessed at least 48 women’s Snapchat accounts and more than 300 email accounts. Some of the identified victims included a woman he met in person in Cincinnati, and two women he saw on television. The women resided in Tennessee and Pennsylvania.
Curry was charged by bill of information in May 2023.
Unauthorized access of a computer is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced the guilty plea entered today before Senior U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle J. Healey is representing the United States in this case, which was investigated by FBI Knoxville and Cincinnati, the Knoxville (TN) Cyber Task Force and the University of Tennessee Police Department.
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Charlotte Tax Preparer Is Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Charlotte tax preparer was sentenced to 20 months in prison today for preparing and filing false tax returns, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Jessica Earlene Truesdale, 49, of Charlotte, was also ordered to serve one year of supervised release after completing her prison term and to pay $1,177,615 in restitution.
Karen Wingerd, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS CI), Charlotte Field Office, joins U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Truesdale owned and operated Queen City Financial Company, LLC (Queen City Financial), a tax preparation business with three locations in the Charlotte area. Between 2014 and 2017, Truesdale prepared and filed fraudulent tax returns on behalf of her clients and earned at least $1 million in return preparation fees, which were paid directly from her clients’ refunds. Court documents show that Truesdale used several methods to falsify clients’ tax returns, including claiming false filing status and exemptions, American Opportunity credits, education credits, and earned income tax credits, among others. As a result of the false information contained in the fraudulent returns, Truesdale’s clients reduced their tax liabilities and received fraudulently inflated tax refunds. To further conceal the fraud, Truesdale regularly failed to review the completed tax returns with clients, except to inform them the amounts of their refunds. As a result, some clients received correspondence from the IRS or the State of North Carolina questioning items on their tax returns.
On February 17, 2022, Truesdale pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting in the preparation of a false tax return. Truesdale will be ordered to report the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked IRS CI for their investigation of the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
Charlotte Drug Trafficker Is Sentenced to More Than 24 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. sentenced Herbert Eugene Brandon, 55, of Charlotte, to 292 months in prison for drug trafficking conspiracy, drug distribution and money laundering conspiracy, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Cogburn also imposed five years of supervised release following incarceration.
According to filed documents and information introduced at the sentencing hearing, in 2019, law enforcement identified Brandon as a member of a Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) associated with the CJNG Mexican drug cartel and responsible for distributing bulk quantities of methamphetamine and heroin throughout Western North Carolina, including in Mecklenburg and Gaston Counties. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement conducted surveillance and controlled drug buys, during which they observed Brandon engage in several drug transactions with a Confidential Informant and with other local drug dealers. In addition to trafficking narcotics, Brandon engaged in money laundering activity, by sending drug proceeds via wire transfers to Mexico-based DTO members in amounts varying from $980 to $1,500 per transaction.
In October 2021, Brandon pleaded guilty to drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, and distribution and possession with intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation.
OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Gaston County Police Department for their coordination and investigation of the case.
Assistant United States Attorney Regina Pack, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
Cass County Man Sentenced for Drug Trafficking Violations in East TexasRead the Press Release
MARSHALL, Texas – An Avinger man has been sentenced to more than 24 years in federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs today.
Joshua Adam Tolar, 41, pleaded guilty on Jan. 26, 2023, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 292 months in federal prison by Chief U.S. District Judge J. Rodney Gilstrap on July 17, 2023.
According to information presented in court, Tolar was part of a drug trafficking organization responsible for distributing large quantities of methamphetamine in the Marshall area. On Jan. 12, 2021, law enforcement officers intercepted a package of almost 3 kilograms of methamphetamine that was shipped through the postal service and intended for Tolar. On May 8, 2021, Tolar was stopped by law enforcement officers and found in possession of 505 grams of methamphetamine and 110 grams of marijuana. As the importer and distributor of methamphetamine, Tolar was held responsible for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and distributing multiple kilos of methamphetamine. Tolar was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 15, 2022, and charged with drug trafficking violations.
This case was investigated by U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Homeland Security Investigations), Texas Department of Public Safety-Criminal Investigations Division, Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Locker.
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Canonsburg Man Indicted for Violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection ActRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – A resident of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh for violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan and Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh announced today.
The one-count Indictment named Rodney Thomas, 50, as the sole defendant. According to the Indictment, Thomas shot and killed a mature bald eagle with an air rifle on or about May 12, 2023, in Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania.
“This Office remains committed to investigating and prosecuting environmental and wildlife offenses under federal law, including the unlawful killing of bald eagles—the United States’ national bird since 1782,” said U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan. “This prosecution is the result of strong coordination with our state and local partners at the Washington County District Attorney’s Office, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and the Mt. Pleasant Township Police Department.”
“The bald eagle is our national bird and is widely known as being symbolic of our independence as a country,” said Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh. “A symbolic species such as the bald eagle deserves our protection. My office, along with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and the Mt. Pleasant Police Department worked diligently coordinating with each other to identify and charge the individual responsible and bring him to justice.”
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to one year in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Nicole A. Stockey is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, along with investigators from the Mt. Pleasant Township Police Department, the Washington County District Attorney’s Office, and the Pennsylvania State Game Commission, conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Calloway County Woman Sentenced to 18 Months in Federal Prison for Illegal Transportation of Stolen FirearmRead the Press Release
Paducah, KY – A Calloway County, Kentucky woman was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for illegally transporting a stolen firearm.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky and Special Agent in Charge R. Shawn Morrow of the ATF Louisville Field Division made the announcement.
According to court documents, Denise Collins, 35, illegally transported and received a firearm stolen outside of the state of Kentucky on April 25, 2022. The firearm, a Sig Sauer, model P365 XL, .9-millimeter semi-automatic pistol, was a stolen firearm transported from Tennessee to Kentucky by Collins, aided and abetted by Gary Rowland. The firearm was ultimately used by Rowland to shoot and kill Calloway County Chief Deputy Sheriff Jody Cash on May 16, 2022.
Collins was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
“The tragic murder of Chief Deputy Cash serves as a stark reminder for all Kentuckians of the sacrifices made daily by those who wear the badge and keep our communities safe,” said U.S. Attorney Bennett. “Along with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, we will continue to strategically investigate and aggressively prosecute those who violate federal firearms laws so that the Western District is safer for all who live and work here.”
“Kentucky lost a hero, a man who dedicated his life to serving the Commonwealth, when Calloway County Chief Deputy Jody Cash was murdered,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Morrow. “This is a terrible reminder of what can happen when a firearm ends up in the hands of someone prohibited from possessing them. ATF is committed to combatting firearms trafficking and the violence it can cause in our communities. I commend the ATF case agents, the prosecution team and our law enforcement partners including Kentucky State Police, Murray Police, McCracken County Sheriff’s Office, and the Paris Police Department in Tennessee, who worked together to bring some sense of justice to Deputy Cash and his family.”
This case was investigated by the ATF with the assistance from the Kentucky State Police, the Murray Police Department, the McCracken County Sheriff’s Office, and the Paris Tennessee Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Porter prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
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CEO of Cryptocurrency and Forex Trading Platform Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for $240 Million Scheme to Defraud InvestorsRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that EDDY ALEXANDRE was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan to nine years in prison for engaging in commodities fraud. ALEXANDRE was the leader of a purported cryptocurrency and foreign exchange (“forex”) trading platform called EminiFX, and he defrauded over 25,000 investors in the EminiFX trading platform of more than $248 million.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Eddy Alexandre defrauded tens of thousands of ordinary investors of almost a quarter-billion dollars in his cryptocurrency investment scam. Alexandre’s fraud was brazen and included fabricating weekly investment returns of at least 5% out of thin air and falsely claiming to use artificial intelligence trading technology that did not even exist. Most egregiously, Alexandre recruited many of his investors by exploiting his position of trust within his church and the Haitian community, even going so far as to enlist members of the church to help recruit EminiFX investors. As today’s sentence demonstrates, cryptocurrency executives who lie and cheat their customers will be held to account for their crimes.”
According to the allegations in the Indictment and other filings and statements made in court:
From in or about September 2021, up to and including in or about May 2022, ALEXANDRE operated EminiFX, Inc. (“EminiFX”), a purported investment platform that ALEXANDRE founded, and for which he solicited more than $248 million in investments from over 25,000 individual investors. ALEXANDRE marketed EminiFX as an investment platform through which investors would earn passive income through automated investments in cryptocurrency and forex trading. ALEXANDRE offered his investors “guaranteed” high investment returns using new technology that he claimed was secret. Specifically, ALEXANDRE falsely represented to investors that they would double their money within five months of investing by earning at least 5% weekly returns on their investment using a “Robo-Advisor Assisted account” to conduct trading. ALEXANDRE referred to this technology as his “trade secret” and refused to tell investors what the technology was. Each week, EminiFX’s website falsely represented to investors that they had earned at least 5% on their investment, which they could withdraw or re-invest.
In truth and in fact, and as ALEXANDRE well knew, EminiFX did not earn 5% weekly returns for its investors. ALEXANDRE did not even invest a substantial portion of the investor funds entrusted to him, and ALEXANDRE sustained millions of dollars in losses on the limited portion of funds that he did invest, which he did not disclose to his investors. Instead of using investors’ funds as he had promised, ALEXANDRE also misdirected at least approximately $14,700,000 to his personal bank account. For example, ALEXANDRE used $155,000 in investor funds to purchase a BMW car for himself and spent an additional $13,000 of investor funds on car payments, including to Mercedes Benz.
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In addition to his prison term, ALEXANDRE, 51, of Valley Stream, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $248,829,276.73 and restitution in the amount of $213,639,133.53.
Mr. Williams praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and also thanked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which brought a separate civil action.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas Folly and Jared Lenow are in charge of the prosecution.
Businessman Sentenced for $3.5M Foreign Conduit Contribution SchemeRead the Press Release
A businessman with dual citizenship in Lebanon and the United States was sentenced today to an additional year and eight months in prison for his role in funneling at least $3.5 million in unlawful contributions from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to unwitting political committees in the United States.
According to court documents, George A. Nader, 64, served as an advisor to senior UAE government officials during the relevant period. Nader conspired with co-defendant Ahmad “Andy” Khawaja to transfer $4.9 million to facilitate unlawful contributions to unwitting political committees in order to gain access to and influence with a then-candidate for President of the United States and others in connection with the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Nader’s company in the UAE transferred the funds to Khawaja’s company in the United States under the guise of a legitimate business transaction. Specifically, Nader and Khawaja entered into a false licensing agreement on behalf of their respective companies to disguise the multimillion-dollar transfer of funds as a legitimate commercial transaction involving the transfer of software from Khawaja’s company to Nader’s company. Nader and Khawaja further concealed the scheme by surreptitiously communicating through an encrypted messaging system with coded language about the transfer of funds and their hosting of and attendance at fundraising and campaign-related events.
Nader used the same encrypted messaging system to inform UAE government officials about his political activities in the United States. For example, on or about June 7, 2016, Nader reported to a senior UAE government official via encrypted messaging system that he “Had a terrific meeting with my Big Sister H[.] You will be most delighted!”; on or about June 29, 2016, Nader reported to the same UAE official: “Meeting with Big Lady went extremely well.”; and on or about July 27, 2016, Nader followed up with the same official: “I am catching up with key figures in both camps and have been developing a steady, consistent and constructive relationship with both camps!”
In total, Nader and Khawaja used at least $3.5 million of the UAE funds to make unlawful contributions to unsuspecting political committees in the United States, causing the political committees to submit materially false statements and reports to the Federal Election Commission unwittingly.
Following the 2016 election, Khawaja, through his company, made a $1 million contribution to the unwitting inaugural committee of the U.S. President-Elect. In connection with this contribution, Khawaja obtained tickets to the U.S. Presidential inauguration in January 2017, and Khawaja used the tickets to attend the inauguration with Nader as his guest.
In December 2019, Khawaja was indicted for his role in the scheme. Nader is currently serving a five-year prison term on unrelated charges in the Eastern District of Virginia and will begin serving the sentence he received today at the conclusion of the five-year term.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, and Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case.
Senior Litigation Counsel Victor R. Salgado of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section (PIN) prosecuted the case. Michelle K. Parikh, Tanya D. Senanayake, Michael J. Romano, and James C. Mann were previously assigned to the case as PIN Trial Attorneys and made substantial contributions.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Bushkill Man Sentenced to 12 Months’ Imprisonment for Causing Serious Bodily Injury to Another Motorist as A Result of His Reckless & Unlicensed Operation of A Vehicle on Federal LandRead the Press Release
SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Fitzgerald C. Providence, age 50, of Bushkill, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on July 13, 2023, by United States District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion to 12 months’ and 1 day of imprisonment and a 1-year term of supervised release, for recklessly causing serious bodily injury to another motorist as a result of a serious motor vehicle collision that occurred on federal land.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, on September 24, 2021, on Bushkill Falls Road, within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, while unlicensed, Providence operated a motor vehicle in a criminally reckless manner by crossing into the opposing lane of travel of a two-lane road in a no-passing zone and attempting to pass three vehicles at once. In so doing, Providence caused a head-on collision with a vehicle traveling in the opposing lane that resulted in serious bodily injury to the victim, the driver of the other vehicle. At his sentencing, Providence was also ordered to pay restitution to the victim for lost wages and other unreimbursed medical expenses, with the specific amount to be determined by the Court within 90 days.
This case was investigated by the National Park Service Park Police. Assistant United States Attorney Jeffery St John prosecuted the case.
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