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Wednesday 12 July 2023
Bedford County Man Pleads Guilty to Wire FraudRead the Press Release
LYNCHBURG, Va. – A Forest, Virginia man, who falsely obtained a $25,000 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan in 2021, pleaded guilty last week in federal court to wire fraud.
Emmett Rudell Staton waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty to a one-count Information charging him with wire fraud. At sentencing, Staton faces up to twenty years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was a COVID-19 pandemic relief program administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that provided forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses.
According to court documents, on January 21, 2021, Staton submitted an application for a $25,000 loan through the PPP for a lawncare business he purported to own. On the application, Staton falsely certified that the business had not permanently closed when in actuality he had never operated such a business. In his application, Staton also falsely claimed the business had four employees and an average monthly payroll of $10,000. Although he stated that the loan would be used only for authorized purposes, Staton instead used the loan proceeds for personal expenses, including significant online gambling expenditures.
In addition, Staton caused a second PPP loan application to be submitted in January 2021 using the name of another individual who was purported to be the owner of a daycare business. The application sought $14,000 in PPP funds to cover its three employees and average monthly payroll of $5,600 when, in fact, no such daycare business existed.
United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh and Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division, made the announcement.
The FBI investigated the case, and the Office of the United States Bankruptcy Trustee referred the case to the United States Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Baudinet is prosecuting the case
Baton Rouge Man Sentenced for Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm While Under IndictmentRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – TEREROI THORNTON, a resident of Baton Rouge, was sentenced on Julu 11, 2023 by U.S. District Judge Wendy B. Vitter to twenty-four (24) months incarceration, three (3) years of supervised release and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. THORNTON had previously pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm while under indictment, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(n) and 924(a)(1)(D).
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.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Louisiana State Police in this matter. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mike Trummel of the Violent Crime Unit.
Barrio Azteca Gang Member Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Holding Migrants HostageRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Francisco B. Burrola, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso, announced today that Alfredo Ochoa-Munoz was sentenced to 120 months years in prison. Ochoa-Munoz, 37, of Cuidad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, pled guilty to conspiracy to take a hostage and three counts of hostage taking on Jan. 10, 2023.
According to court records, between Feb. 5 and Feb. 17 of 2022, three migrants were picked up after crossing illegally into the United States and dropped off at two trailers in Vado, New Mexico that were rented by Ricardo Barrientos-Noriega. En route, the driver took the migrants’ phones and transferred them to Ochoa-Munoz when they arrived at the trailers. Ochoa-Munoz, Barrientos-Noriega, and a third co-defendant, Luis Roberto Arturo Meza-Marin, informed the migrants that they were not allowed to leave the trailers until their families paid more money for their release. Ochoa-Munoz, at the order and direction of Barrio Azteca gang member, Eduardo Sarellano-Garcia, a.k.a. “Padrino,” contacted the migrants’ families and demanded payment for their release. The migrants were threatened with death, injury and continued detainment until such payments were received.
On Feb. 17, after Ochoa-Munoz and his co-defendants received full payments from the migrants’ families, the migrants were picked up by Michael Ryan Ratliff and told that they would be driven to their next destination. En route, the group encountered Border Patrol agents at the I-10 checkpoint located between Las Cruces and Deming, New Mexico. Based on their knowledge and experience, agents detained the group for questioning at which time the migrants admitted to being in the United States illegally and had been held against their will at the location at which they were harbored. Ratliff was arrested at the checkpoint. During subsequent interviews, the three migrants were able to provide agents with the location of the trailers they had been held in. Agents went to the trailers where they encountered and arrested Ochoa-Munoz, Meza-Marin and Barrientos-Noriega.
Ochoa-Munoz, Sarellano-Garcia, Meza-Marin, Barrientos-Noriega and Ratliff, were indicted by a federal grand jury on May 19, 2022. Meza-Marin, 33, of Chihuahua, Mexico, pled guilty to conspiracy to take a hostage and three counts of hostage taking on June 16, 2022, and will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled. Barrientos-Noriega, 24, of Torreon, Mexico, pled guilty to conspiracy to take a hostage and three counts of hostage taking on Sept. 29, 2022, and will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled. Ratliff, 33, of Corinth, Texas, pled guilty to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens and three counts of transporting illegal aliens on June 9, 2022, and was sentenced to 12 months in prison or time served, whichever was longer, and three years of supervised probation.
Homeland Security Investigations investigated this case with assistance from U.S. Border Patrol. Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Ramirez is prosecuting the case.
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23-147
Attorney and Former Bank Director Convicted at Trial of Bank FraudRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that yesterday a federal jury found MENDEL ZILBERBERG guilty of five counts — conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to make false statements to a bank, making false statements to a bank, and misapplication of bank funds — in connection with a scheme to obtain a fraudulent loan from Park Avenue Bank. The defendant was found guilty following a one-week trial before U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels. Sentencing is scheduled for November 29, 2023, before Judge Daniels.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Mendel Zilberberg, while working as a practicing lawyer and serving as a director of Park Avenue Bank, ignored his duties and took advantage of the bank, viewing it as the object of his fraud scheme. Far from helping the bank through a tenuous moment in its existence, Zilberberg was focused on squeezing money out of it for himself, on the basis of lies. The bank collapsed just months after Zilberberg defrauded it.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment, the evidence offered at trial, and matters included in public filings:
In or about 2009, ZILBERBERG conspired with Aron Fried and others to obtain a fraudulent loan from Park Avenue Bank (the “Bank”). Knowing that the conspirators would not be able to obtain the loan directly, the conspirators recruited a straw borrower (the “Straw Borrower”) to make the loan application. The Straw Borrower applied for a $1.4 million loan from the Bank on the basis of numerous lies directed by ZILBERBERG and his coconspirators.
ZILBERBERG used his privileged position at the bank to ensure that the loan was processed promptly. Based on the false representations made to the Bank and ZILBERBERG’s involvement in the loan approval process, the Bank issued a $1.4 million loan to the Straw Borrower, which was quickly disbursed to the defendants through multiple bank accounts and transfers. In total, ZILBERBERG received more than approximately $500,000 of the loan proceeds. The remainder of the loan was split between Fried and another conspirator. The Straw Borrower received nothing from the loan. The loan ultimately defaulted, resulting in a loss of over $1 million.
On November 15, 2022, Fried pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. On April 10, 2023, Judge Daniels sentenced Fried to one year and one day in prison.
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ZILBERBERG, 65 of Monsey, New York, was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; conspiracy to make false statements to a bank, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; making false statement to a bank, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; and misapplying bank funds, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. The maximum sentence ZILBERBERG faces on all of these charges is 125 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of the Inspector General.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dina McLeod, Daniel G. Nessim, and Kimberly Ravener, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Joseph Carbone, are in charge of the prosecution.
Arkansas Resident Pleads Guilty to Shooting at Police Officers While Holding InfantRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Elbert Andrew Fuller, Jr., age 24, of Fort Smith, Arkansas entered a guilty plea to a seven-count indictment which includes: one count of Assault with Intent to Commit Murder in Indian Country; one count of Child Abuse in Indian Country; one count of Child Neglect in Indian Country; three counts of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to do Bodily Harm in Indian Country; and one count of Use, Carry, Brandish, and Discharge of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Roland Police Department, the Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Department, the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
According to investigators, on October 8, 2022, Fuller fired a pistol at a family member. When Roland Police Department officers responded to the scene, Fuller – while holding an infant child – opened fire on them as well. The crimes occurred in Sequoyah County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The Honorable Gerald L. Jackson, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. Fuller will remain in custody of the U.S. Marshal pending sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorney Zachary W. Parsons represented the United States.
Andover Man Pleads Guilty to Role in Northern New England Fentanyl Trafficking OperationRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An Andover man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in connection with a fentanyl trafficking operation that spanned across northern New England.
Randell Starlin Medina Rodriguez, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and p-Fluorofentanyl, a fentanyl analogue. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for Oct. 5, 2023.
Medina Rodriguez was arrested and charged in February 2022 along with five other co-defendants. All six defendants were subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2022.
Beginning in mid-2021, Medina Rodriguez conspired with others to deliver hundreds of grams of fentanyl throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Specifically, Medina Rodriguez and others served as Massachusetts-based dealers who delivered large quantities of fentanyl to wholesale customers who in turn would distribute those substances in Maine and/or New Hampshire.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and p-Fluorofentanyl, a fentanyl analogue, provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. 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 and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Hassink and Lauren Graber of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting the case.
The operation was conducted by a multi-agency task force through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply. More information on the OCDETF program is available here: https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf/about-ocdetf.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Allianz Global Investors U.S. Sentenced in Connection with Multibillion-Dollar Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Allianz Global Investors U.S. LLC (“AGI”) was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon for a multi-year securities fraud involving a series of private investment funds managed by AGI. Those funds ultimately collapsed, leading to billions of dollars of investor losses. AGI previously pled guilty to one count of securities fraud.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Telling the truth to investors is the core duty of an investment adviser. AGI violated that central tenet and deceived investors by materially understating the risk to which their assets were exposed. This Office and our law enforcement partners will be relentless in protecting investors, and this sentence should send a message to the industry: companies will be held responsible when they fail to implement safeguards and ensure that they uphold their duties to investors.”
According to court filings and statements made in court proceedings:
From at least in or about 2014 up through and including at least in or about March 2020, AGI, an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), headquartered in New York City, and an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Allianz SE – one of the world’s largest financial services companies and one of the world’s largest insurance companies – engaged in a scheme to defraud investors in multiple private funds within AGI’s “Structured Alpha Funds.” The Structured Alpha Funds (the “Funds”) were among the most profitable groups of funds AGI managed and, at their height, held over $11 billion in assets under management. The Funds employed a complex options trading strategy that sought to provide investors with guaranteed returns, while managing risk. AGI deceived the Funds and their investors by understating the risk to which investors’ assets were exposed, and therefore how the returns they touted were actually generated.
In particular, in order to generate the Funds’ positive returns and attract and retain capital, AGI fraudulently misled investors regarding the risk taken on by the funds. Among other things, AGI misrepresented the hedging and other risk-mitigation strategies that were undertaken to protect investor funds. Investors also received documents altered to hide the riskiness of the Funds’ investments. Instead of managing the Funds as promised to investors, AGI deployed an investment strategy that prioritized returns over risk management in ways that were fundamentally inconsistent with representations made to investors. As a result of this scheme to defraud, investors’ funds were exposed to higher risk than promised, and investors were deprived of information about the true risks to which their investments were exposed.
After the market dislocations following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (the “COVID Crash”) in March 2020, the Funds lost in excess of $8 billion in market value and $3 billion in principal, faced margin calls and redemption requests, and ultimately were shut down. More than 100 investors were victims of this scheme, including, among others, pension funds for teachers, religious organizations, bus drivers, engineers, and other individuals, universities, and charitable organizations.
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AGI was sentenced to financial penalties comprised of over $463 million in forfeiture, over $3.23 billion in restitution, and over $2.33 billion in fines. These amounts include restitution to the victims, the forfeiture of proceeds traceable to the fraud, and the forfeiture by AGI’s corporate parent of the dividends that were paid from AGI to its corporate parent that are traceable to the fraud. AGI has paid these financial penalties in full and has compensated victims of the conduct through settlements in civil litigation filed against AGI in an aggregate amount of over $5 billion.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Mr. Williams further thanked the SEC, which is pursuing parallel civil actions.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas Folly, Margaret Graham, and Allison Nichols are in charge of the prosecution.
Aliquippa Resident Sentenced to One Day of Imprisonment for Bank Fraud and ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA - A resident of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to one (1) day of imprisonment and three (3) years of supervised release on her conviction of bank fraud and conspiracy, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan imposed the sentence on Lee Ann Benninghoff, age 45, Aliquippa.
According to information presented to the court, Benninghoff owned and operated Complete Escrow and Bella Casa Realty. From February 2014 through March 2017, Benninghoff used her position and connections in real estate financing, and conspired with others in the industry, to submit fraudulent gift letters in support of mortgage loan applications. The gift letters misrepresented the source of the funds and their purported purpose.
Assistant United States Attorney Robert S. Cessar prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Olshan commended the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Secret Service for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Benninghoff.
Alaska Military Servicemember indicted for allegedly molesting teens on flights through SeattleRead the Press Release
Seattle – A 41-year-old Chief Warrant Officer in the Army, currently stationed in Alaska, was indicted last week for two counts of abusive sexual contact while on board an aircraft, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. James Benecke was taken into custody at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson outside of Anchorage, Alaska and will make his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Alaska today at 2:00 PM (Alaska Time – 3:00 Pacific Time). He will be scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Seattle later this month.
According to the indictment, on April 12, 2023, on an Alaska Airlines flight from Anchorage to Seattle, Benecke allegedly intentionally touched the buttocks of a 16-year-old teen who was seated next to him. The indictment charges that the contact was intentional for his sexual arousal.
Two months later, on June 12, 2023, on an Alaska Airlines flight from Dallas to Seattle, Benecke allegedly touched the buttocks and inner thigh of the 18-year-old woman who was seated next to him. In this instance, the contact was reported to the flight crew by the teen and her boyfriend and Benecke was moved to a seat at the rear of the plane. He was interviewed by law enforcement upon arrival in Seattle.
Due to the heavy travel schedule of the defendant, the investigation is ongoing and law enforcement is interested in speaking with anyone who may have been seated near to Benecke on an aircraft. Those with information should call: 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324)
Abusive Sexual Contact is punishable by up to two years in prison.
The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The case is being investigated by the FBI.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jocelyn Cooney.
Tuesday 11 July 2023
“Wrecking Ball” lands LPR in federal prisonRead the Press Release
GALVESTON, Texas - A 56-year-old legal permanent resident from Mexico has been sentenced in a cocaine and heroin conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
A federal jury convicted Juan Gonzalez-Cardebas following an 11-day trial in August 2022. He was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine and one or more kilograms of heroin as well as possession with intent to distribute 18 kilograms of cocaine.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown has now ordered him to serve a total of 120 months in federal prison. He could also lose his status to reside in the United States.
The investigation focused upon a group of distributors and their associates, primarily citizens of the Dominican Republic, who used common sources of drugs in Mexico to supply their customers in numerous states other than Texas. This group of distributors sold cocaine and heroin throughout the United States but operated out of the Houston area.
Gonzalez worked within the drug trafficking organization by transporting cocaine from the Dallas and Houston areas to other states such as Virginia. He received shipments of cocaine and used his son-in-law’s moving company to deliver the cocaine to drug customers.
The defense attempted to convince the jury that he was an honest hard-working man trying to provide for his family and that his son-in-law set him up. They did not believe those claims and found Gonzalez guilty as charged.
Gonzalez will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation dubbed “Wrecking Ball” with the assistance of the Houston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Cusick is prosecuting the case.
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 on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.
Yakima Man Sentenced to 300 Months Imprisonment and Lifetime Supervised Release for Production and Attempted Production of Child Pornography and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Yakima, Washington – Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced today that Miguel Urbina, age 38 of Yakima, Washington was sentenced after pleading guilty to two counts of Production and Attempted Production of Child Pornography and one count of Possession of Child Pornography. United States District Judge Mary K. Dimke imposed a sentence of 300 months imprisonment to be followed by a life term of supervised release. Urbina will also be required to register as a sex offender.
According to Court documents, Urbina and another person produced child pornography in February 2007, by surreptitiously making an audio/video recording with a digital video camera concealed in a woman’s purse that was placed inside a bathroom in the Union Gap Mall. This camera captured explicit images and video of minor children using the bathroom. These images and videos were saved to Urbina’s computer hard drive. Then, between November 2008 and November 2009, Urbina, produced and attempted to produce child pornography with an individual who was under the age of eighteen.
On April 23, 2020, FBI agents executed a federal search warrant on Urbina’s residence in Yakima, Washington and seized a hard drive containing thousands of images of child pornography. The search warrant also recovered the audio/video recording from the device that was placed inside the bathroom at the Union Gap Mall as well as the explicit recordings Urbina made in 2008 and 2009.
“Mr. Urbina’s exploitation of minor children spanned two decades, warranting the strict sentence the Court imposed today,” stated U.S. Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref. “Mr. Urbina surreptitiously recorded unsuspecting children and preserved those materials for his own gratification. Later, he exploited another child, making sexually explicit recordings of that child. I am grateful for the FBI’s intervention and for the incredible efforts of investigators and prosecutors, who devote their careers to keeping children in Eastern Washington safe from those who would prey on the most vulnerable members of our community.”
“As a parent and as a law enforcement officer, I am horrified at Mr. Urbina’s blatant pattern of exploiting and victimizing children,” said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. “His crimes, which dated back for years, included the use of a concealed camera to produce and store thousands of child sexual abuse images. The digital images child predators create are as lasting as the harm they cause, and we continue to fight with the hope that the consequences will deter a future offender.”
This case was pursued as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the United States 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. The Project Safe Childhood Initiative (“PSC”) has five major components:
- Integrated federal, state, and local efforts to investigate and prosecute child exploitation cases, and to identify and rescue children;
- Participation of PSC partners in coordinated national initiatives;
- Increased federal enforcement in child pornography and enticement cases;
- Training of federal, state, and local law enforcement agents; and
- Community awareness and educational programs.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Michael Murphy, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.
1:20-CR-2049-MKD
Winamac Woman Sentenced to 80 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – Laci Lindsey, 49 years old, of Winamac, Indiana, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Court Judge Robert L. Miller, Jr. after pleading guilty to distributing over 50 grams of methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Lindsey was sentenced to 80 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, between May 2021 and April 2022, Lindsey sold methamphetamine multiple times in an amount totaling approximately 295 grams. A search of her residence resulted in the recovery of more methamphetamine, a scale, drug ledger, packaging material and other drug paraphernalia.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Porter County Multi-Enforcement Group and the DEA North Central Laboratory. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joel Gabrielse.
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Wewoka Resident Sentenced for Sexually Abusing A Child in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Eduardo Chapa, age 35, of Wewoka, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 75 months imprisonment for one count of Abusive Sexual Contact in Indian Country.
The charges arose from investigations by the Seminole County Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
On April 4, 2022, Chapa pleaded guilty to one count of Abusive Sexual Contact in Indian Country. At the plea hearing, Chapa admitted to sexually abusing a minor under the age of 16 between 2018 and 2019. The crime occurred in Seminole County, within the Seminole Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The Honorable Timothy D. DeGiusti, U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma, sitting by assignment, presided over the hearing in Muskogee. Chapa will remain in custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant United States Attorney Jarrod Leaman represented the United States.
West L.A. Man Charged with Running Decade-Long $4.5 Million Timeshare Telemarketing Scheme that Scammed Elderly VictimsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A federal grand jury today returned an indictment against a West Los Angeles man who allegedly ran a decade-long telemarketing scam primarily targeting elderly victims that fraudulently obtained more than $4.5 million via false promises to help victims sell or rent their timeshare properties.
Michael Alexai Dragunov, 44, whose aliases include “Michael Anthony Farole,” “Michael LeFleur,” “Victor Romano,” and “James Logan,” is charged in the 10-count indictment along with Christopher Michael Lang, 42, of Hays, Kansas, whose aliases include “Scott Graham,” “Don Lewis,” and “Jack Morgan.”
Both defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud in connection with telemarketing and email marketing targeting the elderly.
Dragunov was arrested on a federal criminal complaint in this matter on June 28 and was ordered jailed without bond. His arraignment is scheduled for July 18 in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Lang was arrested in Kansas on June 28 and is expected to be arraigned in Los Angeles in the coming weeks.
According to the indictment, from August 2013 to June 2023, Dragunov and Lang purported to represent companies that provided advertising and other services to current or former timeshare owners. The companies included Premier Marketing LLC, CML Marketing Specialists Inc., Condo Rental Associates LLC, and Paramount Media LLC.
Dragunov and Lang allegedly contacted victims, many of whom were elderly, and, to conceal the fraudulent scheme and their true identities, the defendants also used Skype messaging service phone numbers and used aliases instead of their true names.
Victims allegedly were induced to enter into agreements with the defendants’ telemarketing companies – agreements that were formalized in documents that were faxed or sent electronically – by falsely representing that the telemarketing companies would assist the victims with selling or renting their timeshare properties for a “one time” advertising fee.
Despite the recurring fees that each victim paid, often reaching the hundreds of thousands over several years, no victim received the timeshare-related services or proceeds promised, the indictment alleges.
To dupe victims into sending them more money, Dragunov and Lang allegedly told their victims a series of lies, including that the fees being requested would be refunded or reimbursed to the victims upon completion of the sale or rental of the victims’ timeshare, that the victims still owed taxes on the timeshare properties, and if the victims tried to dispute their payments to the telemarketing companies, the victims would automatically lose their disputes and lose all funds paid and any proceeds from a sale or rental of their timeshares.
To create the false impression that the telemarketing companies were legitimate, Dragunov and Lang pretended to be the companies’ customers and engaged in hundreds of phony small transactions with the companies’ payment processing accounts, according to the indictment.
Dragunov and Lang also allegedly concealed material facts from the victims, including the fact that their money was being used to personally enrich themselves.
If convicted of all charges, Dragunov and Lang would face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for each count.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation are investigating this matter. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; the Henry County (Ohio) Sheriff’s Department; Hays (Kansas) Police Department; and United States Marshals Service provided substantial assistance.
Assistant United States Attorney Julia Hu of the Major Frauds Section is prosecuting this case.
If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Department of Justice hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies, and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is staffed seven days a week from 3 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific Time. English, Spanish, and other languages are available.
Information about the Department of Justice’s Elder Fraud Initiative is available at www.justice.gov/elderjustice.
Watertown Man Sentenced to 14 Months for Unlawfully Possessing Sawed-Off ShotgunRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Rafael Rondon, age 25, of Watertown, New York, was sentenced today to 14 months in prison for possessing an unregistered sawed-off shotgun.
United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.
As part of his previously entered guilty plea, Rondon admitted to possessing an unregistered Iver Johnson’s Arms & Cycle Works 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun. The shotgun, which had a barrel length of less than 18 inches and an overall length of less than 26 inches, was not registered to the defendant in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, as required by law.
Senior United States District Judge Frederick J. Scullin, Jr. also sentenced Rondon to a 3-year term of supervised release, to begin after his imprisonment, and ordered forfeiture of the sawed-off shotgun.
Rondon also pled guilty on December 5, 2022, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, to obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony, for his activities inside the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021. Sentencing in that case is scheduled for September 12, 2023 in Washington, D.C., at which time he faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years.
The Northern District of New York case was investigated by the FBI Albany Joint Terrorism Task Force, with assistance from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the New York State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Green and Richard Southwick prosecuted the case.
Walter Pierluisi Isern, Eduardo Pierluisi Isern, and American Management and Administration Corporation Sentenced for Federal Program Theft in Excess of $3.7 MillionRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico –Today, United States District Court Judge Camille Vélez Rivé sentenced Walter Pierluisi Isern, Eduardo Pierluisi Isern, and American Management and Administration Corporation (AMAC). The defendants pleaded guilty in April to one count of Theft of Federal Program Funds in relation to the misappropriation of operational funds provided by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the administration of public housing projects (PHPs) in Puerto Rico.
Defendant Walter Pierluisi Isern was sentenced to serve 43 months of imprisonment, two years of supervised release, and to pay the restitution amount of $2,035,498.86, jointly and severally with AMAC. Defendant Eduardo Pierluisi Isern was sentenced to serve 24 months of imprisonment, two years of supervised release, and to pay the restitution amount of $363,202.28, jointly and severally with AMAC. Defendant AMAC was sentenced to 3 years on probation and to pay the restitution amount of $3,712,000.00, jointly and severally with the co-defendants. All restitution amounts are to be paid to the United States.
According to court documents, the defendants were convicted of knowingly and intentionally stealing money from HUD federal assistance programs from 2014 to August 2022 for their own use and the use of others. The total amount of theft was approximately $3,712,000.00.
The defendants admitted in their plea agreements that despite AMAC’s fiduciary obligations, Walter Pierluisi Isern and Eduardo Pierluisi Isern used their executive positions within AMAC to operate a fraudulent scheme designed to circumvent that prohibition. In furtherance of that scheme, they illegally caused operational funds from the federal assistance programs to be routed via corporations and individuals they controlled, all to personally enrich themselves.
As detailed in the proceedings, Walter Pierluisi Isern created contracts for FiveStar Pest Control, Inc. (FiveStar) and CoolBreeze Air Conditioning, Inc. (CoolBreeze) to provide services to PHPs under AMAC’s management. He then caused multiple payments to be made by FiveStar and CoolBreeze to funnel money to Docu Warehouse, Pier Property, and XY Enterprises, companies controlled and owned by Walter Pierluisi Isern. Through this scheme, Walter Pierluisi Isern illegally obtained approximately $2,035,498.86 in HUD funding that was earmarked for PHP operational expenses.
The admissions included the recognition that Eduardo Pierluisi Isern caused checks from FiveStar and CoolBreez to be issued to the names of others, which he then cashed and deposited into his personal bank account for his personal use and benefit. Through this scheme, Eduardo Pierluisi Isern illegally obtained approximately $363,202.28 in HUD funding that was earmarked for PHP operational expenses.
AMAC, through its executives and officials, was convicted of illegally diverting a total of $3,712,000 in HUD funding that was earmarked for PHP operational expenses.
“As today’s sentences demonstrate, those who attempt to defraud federal programs will be held accountable,” said W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “The defendants and their company harmed the integrity of a program designed to help underprivileged homeowners. Today’s sentences send a clear message that any time federal dollars are misused and regardless of who steals taxpayer monies, we will work tirelessly to pursue justice.”
“Safeguarding taxpayer funded programs and resources that benefit low-income families in our communities is vital to the success of HUD’s programs,” said HUD OIG Special Agent in Charge, Jerome Winkle. “HUD OIG remains steadfast in its commitment to work closely with Federal prosecutors and law enforcement agencies and state and local partners to aggressively investigate those who threaten HUD programs.”
“When unscrupulous individuals scheme to create a contract monopoly, everyone loses,” said Joseph González, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Juan Field Office. “The federal government loses because the money, destined to better communities in need, ends up in the pockets of criminals with inflated contract rates. The local government loses because every time federal funds are stolen in this manner; more stringent measures must be implemented to avoid future fraud. But the saddest of losses is the one suffered by the honest entrepreneur. The hard worker with a small maintenance company who puts his savings and the sweat of his brow into his business and doesn’t even get a chance to compete against these criminals for a government contract. The FBI will not allow this to happen without consequence. No one is above the law.”
Their co-defendant, David Vélez Hernández, former Director of Finance for AMAC, is scheduled to be sentenced on August 28, 2023.
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General investigated this case with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie Christine Amy is prosecuting the case.
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Violent York Home Invasion Lands Hooksett, NH Man in Federal Prison for 12 YearsRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Maine: A Hooksett, New Hampshire man was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Portland today for conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and interference with commerce by violence. The charges stemmed from a violent home invasion in York, Maine.
Chief U.S. District Judge Jon D. Levy sentenced Derek DaPrato, 35, to 144 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. DaPrato pleaded guilty on December 28, 2022.
According to court records, in August 2019, DaPrato and three other co-conspirators met in Hooksett and planned a home invasion of a York residence to rob marijuana and marijuana sale proceeds from the home’s resident. The group traveled to the York residence where two co-conspirators, armed with handguns and wearing masks, waited in the woods for the victim to return home. When the victim arrived, accompanied by two others, a violent physical altercation ensued. During the fight, a firearm was discharged, and a bullet struck the victim in the lower abdomen. The two co-conspirators fled. Police arrived approximately 15 minutes later, and the victim was rushed to the hospital where he underwent surgery to remove a .45 caliber bullet from his lower abdomen.
FOUR CONSPIRATORS SENTENCED TO A TOTAL OF 44+ YEARS: On March 27, 2023, Jason Candelario, 34, was sentenced to 175 months in prison and Luis Carpio, 33, was sentenced to 120 months for their roles in the home invasion. On March 17, 2023, the fourth co-conspirator, Andrew Soboleski, 30, was sentenced to 96 months for his role in the crime. All four men resided in New Hampshire.
The FBI, in conjunction with the York Police Department and the York County Sheriff’s Office, investigated the case.
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Ulster County Sex Offender Sentenced to 10 Years for Child Pornography PossessionRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Shawn Wetzel, age 39, of Highland, New York, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for possession of child pornography. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.
Wetzel previously pled guilty before Senior United States District Judge Gary L. Sharpe. Wetzel admitted that he had previously pled guilty in Georgia to receipt of child pornography and was sentenced to 67 months of incarceration, to be followed by 5 years of post-release supervision. In September 2021, approximately 16 months after his release from prison, and while he was under supervised release, Probation officers conducted an inspection of Wetzel’s residence in Ulster County. In the course of that inspection, Wetzel was found to be in possession of approximately 10 child pornography image files and one child pornography video, depicting children as young as 7 years old.
After Wetzel is released from prison, he will be required to serve a 30-year term of post-release supervision.
This case was investigated by the FBI and its Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including the Colonie Police Department and New York State Police. Former Assistant United States Attorney Rachel L. Williams and Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin S. Clark prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Childhood.
Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Two Navajo Men Charged with Carjacking Resulting in Serious Bodily InjuryRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, announced today that Brian Levi and Daryl Levi were arraigned on an indictment charging them with carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury. Brian, 37, of Shiprock, and his brother, Daryl, 40, of Shiprock, enrolled members of the Navajo Nation, will both remain in custody pending trial, which has not been scheduled.
A federal grand jury indicted the Levi brothers on Nov. 23, 2022. According to the indictment and other court records, on May 17, 2020, the victim, John Doe, was parked in his car at the Gulf Gas Station in Shiprock when Brian and Daryl attacked Doe through the car window and removed him from the car before one of them got into the driver’s seat and drove away. Doe suffered serious bodily injury including a stab wound.
An indictment is only an allegation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, both brothers face up to 25 years in prison.
The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Alexander F. Flores is prosecuting the case.
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Tax preparer gets 12 years for illegally filing tax returnsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A local woman has been ordered to federal prison following her convictions on seven counts of aiding and assisting in preparing false tax returns, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
A federal jury sitting in Houston returned a guilty verdict April 3 against Cheryl Christin Kissentaner following a four-day trial.
Today, U.S. District Judge David Hittner ordered her to serve 144 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by one year of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay restitution of $71,180.
At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence describing her history of failing to pay her own personal taxes, civil fraud penalties associated with them and penalties for failing to use due diligence in preparing tax returns.
The total amount Kissentaner owes to the United States from her criminal and civil cases is in excess of $1.9 million. She used some of the monies accrued from the scheme to purchase a Bentley and Maserati as well as for cosmetic surgery. In addition, the court also heard about Kissentaner’s violation of her conditions of release and her failure to cooperate with pre-trial services.
“Kissentaner was convicted by a jury for preparing fraudulent tax returns on behalf of her clients and will now spend significant time behind bars,” said Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Lucy Tan, of IRS Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Houston Field Office. “She criminally abused her role as a tax return preparer and violated the trust that the American taxpayers have bestowed upon her. We all pay our taxes, but when you decide to cheat, remember, we have a 100-percent conviction rate in our office for criminal tax cases over the past 20 years.”
At trial, the jury heard from federal agents as well as five of Kissentaner’s clients.
Testimony and evidence revealed individuals paid Kissentaner to prepare tax returns from 2016 through 2019 through her company First Financial Tax Services. However, she was not legally allowed to do so. The jury heard that a paid tax preparer is required to have paid all of his or her own tax returns, but Kissentaner had failed to pay her 2012-2017 tax returns until late 2019. This was after the tax returns she prepared and filed for a fee.
From 2016 through 2019, Kissentaner prepared at least nine tax returns in which she created fake businesses that allegedly operated at losses. They also claimed false fuel tax credits, state income tax deductions for Texas residents (who did not pay a state income tax), false medical expenses, unemployed reimbursement expenses, false contributions to charity, other false expenses for businesses and failed to report IRA distributions.
Kissentaner also claimed that, pursuant to an engagement letter she prepared for her clients, she owed no duty to examine their returns for fake claims. However, Kissentaner filed numerous certificates under oath with the IRS in which she promised the government she would exercise due diligence in examining the tax returns she prepared and filed. She also charged tax preparer fees well in excess of other firms that provided the same services and asked potential clients to identify a reference and offered them a fee if they referred individuals themselves.
At trial, evidence showed that 98 percent of her clients obtained a refund even though several owed as much as $25,000 and did not pay any income taxes throughout the year. One such client had been obtaining a refund in excess of $8,000 each year. However, after Kissentaner became aware she was under investigation, that client was informed she owed over $10,000. When she inquired as to the change, Kissentaner untruthfully claimed that it was due to a change in the tax law and due to the client’s son now attending college on a full-time basis.
Further, a large percentage of Kissentaner’s clients claimed fuel tax credits despite the fact that only 0.2 percent of all tax payers would be eligible for that benefit.
She has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
IRS-Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Laurence Goldman and Tyler White prosecuted the case.
St. Louis County Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison, Ordered to Pay $66,000 to Child Pornography VictimsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White on Tuesday sentenced a man from St. Louis County, Missouri who possessed more than 63,000 images and videos containing child pornography to 10 years in federal prison.
Judge White also ordered Christopher D. Cotton, 33, to pay $66,000 in restitution to known victims who appeared in Cotton’s collection.
In letters to the court, victims wrote about the pain that defendants like Cotton continue to cause them and the fear that they will be recognized by someone who has seen the pictures.
One who uses the pseudonym Andy wrote, “My sexual abuse occurred from the ages of 6-12. During this time my victimization was documented and shared across the country, and is continuously being shared.”
“I feel that every single criminal that is found with mine or another child’s images should be held accountable for the highest amount possible to help us victims repair our lives,” Andy wrote.
The parents of another wrote, “Aside from the horrible truth that my daughter was horrifically abused from the ages of four to seven and her innocence was literally stolen, one of the ongoing concerns that plagues my child is that literally any person she meets on the street (or any teenage boy in her class) might have seen photos of her being cruelly debased and abused.”
The victims are notified when their photos are found in the possession of a defendant. One victim said 22,000 notifications had been received in her case. Another wrote, “Each victim notification envelope represents someone who sexually enjoys seeing me hurt…. When a market exists for child pornography, it will continue. I am constantly victimized, knowing the awful truth that I can never escape these photos.”
“I am so angry that the images are out there and can’t be taken down. I feel like the images will always be out there. I think I am too broken to be fixed,” another wrote.
Cotton pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in April to one count of receiving child pornography and admitted uploading files containing child pornography to Dropbox. That triggered a report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and sparked an investigation.
On July 13, 2022, law enforcement officers executed a court-approved search warrant at Cotton’s home in St. Louis County near Florissant. Cotton admitted both viewing and collecting child pornography. He also told officers that he’d received child pornography from “maybe fifteen or more” minors with whom he had contact via social media, the youngest of which Cotton said was 13 years old.
Investigators would later find a total of at least 16,677 images and 46,414 videos of child pornography stored online and on Cotton’s electronic devices, including a laptop and three cell phones.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis County Special Investigations Unit, the St. Charles County Cybercrime Task Force and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson prosecuted 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Springfield Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Sexual Exploitation of a ChildRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for the sexual exploitation of a 14-year-old victim.
Jared Neal Gonzales, 26, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Gonzales to 10 years of supervised release following incarceration. Gonzales will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements, which may apply throughout his life.
On Nov. 8, 2022, Gonzales pleaded guilty to one count of using a minor to produce child pornography. Gonzales admitted he was in a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl. Gonzalez also admitted they used a cell phone to record themselves having sexual intercourse. On at least two occasions, at Gonzales’s request, the child victim used her cell phone to send him videos of the couple engaged in sexual intercourse.
Gonzales has also been charged in the Circuit Court of Greene County, Mo., for sexual misconduct involving a child and attempted statutory sodomy in the second degree in relation to this conduct.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan. It was investigated by the FBI and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
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.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
South Bend Man Sentenced to 228 in PrisonRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – Archie Taylor, 37 years old, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to 3 counts of robbery affecting commerce, 1 count of bank robbery, and 1 count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Taylor was sentenced to 228 months in prison, 3 years of supervised release and ordered to pay $5999 in restitution.
According to documents in the case, over the course of a week in September 2022, Taylor robbed 3 convenience stores and a bank in the Elkhart and Mishawaka areas. During all of the robberies, Taylor pointed a handgun at the convenience store clerks and bank employees. He robbed each location of either cash or merchandise.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Elkhart Police Department and the Mishawaka Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joel Gabrielse.
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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Shannon Man Sentenced to 63 Months for Armed Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
Verona, MS – A Shannon, Mississippi man was sentenced yesterday to 63 months in prison for the armed bank robbery of the Renasant Bank located in Verona, Mississippi.
According to court documents, Antonia Cannon, 57, entered the Renasant Bank in Verona on December 30, 2022, wearing a hoodie and a “Covid” mask, approached the teller, and demanded money while brandishing what appeared to be a black firearm. The teller provided Cannon $4,700 from the teller drawer and Cannon fled from the bank with the money. Cannon was later apprehended by law enforcement officers on the Natchez Trace Parkway. The $4,700 taken by Cannon was recovered in his automobile still wrapped in the bank’s money wrappers with the teller’s initials on them. The gun used by Cannon during the robbery was later determined to be a black Daisy .177 caliber BB gun modeled after a Beretta M9.
Cannon has a lengthy criminal history of committing armed robberies that spans decades from the Mississippi Delta to North Mississippi. Cannon also has a previous armed bank robbery conviction in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi from 1998 for which he served 70 months.
U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner of the Northern District of Mississippi and FBI Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby made the announcement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations, along with the Verona Police Department, Tupelo Police Department, and the United States National Park Service investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Feleica Wilson prosecuted the case.
Senior Adviser to the Operator of the Silk Road Online Black Market Sentenced to 20 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ROGER THOMAS CLARK, a/k/a “Plural of Mongoose,” a/k/a “Variety Jones,” a/k/a “VJ,” a/k/a “cimon,” was sentenced to 20 years in prison today for conspiring to distribute massive quantities of narcotics, arising out of his role as the top adviser to Ross Ulbricht, a/k/a “Dread Pirate Roberts,” the owner and operator of the “Silk Road” online illicit black market. During its operation from 2011 until 2013, Silk Road was used by thousands of drug dealers and other unlawful vendors to distribute illegal drugs and other illicit goods and services to more than 100,000 buyers and to launder hundreds of millions of dollars derived from those unlawful transactions. CLARK advised Ulbricht on all aspects of the enterprise, including urging and facilitating an attempted murder-for-hire. CLARK’s sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein. CLARK previously pled guilty before the late U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III on January 30, 2020.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Silk Road was a secret online marketplace for illegal drugs, computer hacking services, and a host of other criminal activity. Roger Thomas Clark was a central figure in helping to lead Silk Road and in advocating violence, even murder, to protect this digital drug empire. Today’s sentence is another reminder that criminal marketplaces, like Silk Road, are a road to prison.”
According to the allegations in the Superseding Indictment, court filings, statements made in court, and evidence presented during the 2015 trial of Ross Ulbricht, Silk Road’s founder:
Ulbricht created Silk Road in approximately January 2011 and owned and operated the underground website until it was shut down by law enforcement in October 2013. Silk Road emerged as the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet at the time and one of the first online marketplaces to exclusively use cryptocurrency to facilitate illegal transactions. Silk Road was massive in scope; there were more than 1.5 million transactions on the site, involving more than 115,000 buyer accounts and 3,000 seller accounts. These transactions had a total value of approximately $213 million, including more than $183 million in drug sales. The drugs sold on Silk Road included more than 82 kilograms of cocaine and 26 kilograms of heroin. Silk Road was also used to launder hundreds of millions of dollars deriving from these unlawful transactions. Silk Road was specifically designed to allow its users to buy and sell drugs and other illegal goods and services anonymously and outside the reach of law enforcement through the use of the Tor network and a Bitcoin-based payment system.
In his journal, Ulbricht described CLARK as a “real mentor” who advised Ulbricht about, among other things, security vulnerabilities in the Silk Road site, technical infrastructure, the rules that governed Silk Road users and vendors, and the promotion of sales on Silk Road, including the sales of narcotics. CLARK also provided advice to Ulbricht on developing a “cover story” to make it appear as though Ulbricht had sold Silk Road. In addition, CLARK assisted Ulbricht with hiring a programmer to help improve and maintain the infrastructure of Silk Road. CLARK also was responsible for gathering information to counter law enforcement’s efforts to investigate Silk Road. CLARK advised Ulbricht on how to protect the Silk Road criminal empire. For instance, when a Silk Road staff member was suspected of stealing approximately $350,000 in Bitcoin from the site, CLARK suggested to Ulbricht that Ulbricht commission a murder-for-hire. Ulbricht took that suggestion. Although the attempted murder-for-hire did not result in any harm to the intended target, Ulbricht paid the purported hitman $80,000 for the job.
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In addition to his prison sentence, CLARK, 61, a citizen of Canada, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $1,606,150.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding joint efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation’s New York Field Office, Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) Chicago-O’Hare, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Field Division, and the New York City Police Department. Mr. Williams also thanked the HSI Attaché Bangkok, the Royal Thai Police, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs for their support and assistance.
This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Neff and Vladislav Vainberg are in charge of the prosecution.
School Employee Sentenced to Prison for Stealing over $130,000 from Barnstead and Hampton School DistrictsRead the Press Release
CONCORD – A bookkeeper from Barnstead was sentenced today in federal court for stealing money from both Barnstead and Hampton School Districts, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
Amy Burley, 48, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Paul J. Barbadoro to 12 months and one day in federal prison and 2 years of supervised release. Burley was also ordered to pay $131,261.81 in restitution. On February 23, 2023, Burley pleaded guilty to two counts of Theft from a Program Receiving Federal Funds.
“These public-school districts placed trust in Burley as their bookkeeper, and she blatantly abused that trust by stealing funds intended for the school children in these districts,” U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young said. “I’m proud that we were able to bring restitution to the taxpayers while sending a deterrent message that this type of thievery will result in incarceration.”
“Instead of working honestly on behalf of two financially struggling school districts, Amy Burley took advantage of them, betraying the trust they placed in her, by stealing tens of thousands of dollars to line her own pockets,” said Christopher DiMenna, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “Her selfish greed is an affront to all the hard-working students and taxpayers struggling to make ends meet, and today’s sentence ensures she’s held accountable for her criminal conduct.”
Burley was employed as a bookkeeper for Barnstead School District and then Hampton School District. In her role, Burley processed payroll and handled the payment of invoices.
Burley used her access at Barnstead School District to alter her payroll information, make personal student loan payments and payments to personal creditors, and pay for an Amazon account charged to Barnstead but controlled by Burley, totaling $110,295.26. Following her termination from Barnstead, Burley was hired as a bookkeeper at Hampton School District, where she used again her position to use district funds to pay student loans and credit cards belonging to her or her family members, totaling $20,966.52
Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the Department of Education Office of the Inspector General, the Barnstead Police Department, and the Hampton Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Kennedy prosecuted the case.
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Romanian National Pleads Guilty to $5 Million Covid Relief FraudRead the Press Release
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – July 11, 2023
SAN DIEGO – Constantin Sandu of Romania pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he masterminded a scheme to steal more than $5 million in California unemployment insurance benefits intended to help workers impacted by the pandemic.
According to his plea agreement, Sandu conspired with an uncharged co-conspirator identified as “D.C.” plus 213 unnamed Romanian co-conspirators across California and in Romania to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars in California unemployment insurance benefits by fabricating documents, creating fictitious accounts and businesses, and filing bogus claims with California’s Economic Development Department, which administers the state’s unemployment benefits. Sandu wired $16,000 of proceeds from the fraud to Romania to renovate his house.
In a forfeiture addendum, Sandu agreed to forfeit $214,950 of proceeds that he personally received from the offenses.
“This defendant has admitted to presiding over a vast network of people who exploited a program that was meant to help Californians during the pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “The scheme alleged in this case diverted millions of dollars from those who truly needed it. We will continue to zealously prosecute perpetrators of COVID relief fraud.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and the investigating agencies for their excellent work on this case.
“I am extremely proud that San Diego’s law enforcement partners were able to successfully apprehend Sandu,” said FBI San Diego Field Office Special Agent in Charge, Stacey Moy. “Unfortunately, this was an elaborate scheme that involved many alleged fraudsters. We will continue to tirelessly work to bring all those involved to justice.”
“Millions of dollars of unemployment benefits and pandemic-related aid were fraudulently obtained by individuals who falsified information and redirected the funds for their own personal gain,” said Tyler Hatcher, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation Los Angeles Field Office. “Constantin Sandu is now being held accountable for this $5 million scheme. IRS-CI will not tolerate criminal networks that prey on vulnerable communities and exploit resources meant for those in need. IRS-CI is committed to working with our law enforcement partners locally and internationally to locate and hold criminal organizations accountable for their crimes.”
The plea agreement said that beginning in July 2020 and continuing until late summer of 2022, Sandu and hundreds of unnamed co-conspirators, including the one identified as D.C., learned and developed a process to receive the most benefits possible by using fraudulent identifications, falsified utility bills, falsified earnings statements, falsified W2s, fraudulent health insurance cards and non-existent companies. Additionally, Sandu learned to “backdate” or modify the EDD applications with an earlier unemployment start date to generate even bigger pay days.
Co-conspirators across California would share information, knowledge and resources with Sandu, for Sandu to file claims for regular unemployment insurance and expanded pandemic unemployment insurance benefits from California EDD. Co-conspirators communicated with Sandu via Facebook or other electronic means or met with him in person to provide their Personal Identifying Information, known as PII.
According to the California Franchise Tax Board, none of the companies named in the various W2s submitted for conspirators’ EDD applications was real. According to Blue Cross Blue Shield, none of the member identification numbers submitted for conspirators’ EDD applications was real.
In total, Sandu conspired with D.C. and unnamed co-conspirators to fraudulently obtain no less than $5,207,687 in California unemployment insurance benefits.
Sandu is scheduled to be sentenced on October 16, 2023, at 10 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Larry Burns.
DEFENDANT Case Number: 23-cr-00386-LAB
Constantin Sandu, aka Bobi Sandu, aka Ionut Mihai Age: 33 Transient, Romanian
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Title 18, U.S.C. § 1349 and 1343 - Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud
Maximum penalty: Thirty years in prison, a fine of $1 million or both;
Title 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(2)(A) — Laundering Monetary Instruments
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $500,000 fine or twice the value of the monetary instrument or funds involved in the transportation, transmission, or transfer, whichever is greater;
Title 18 U.S.C. §§ 981(a)(1)(C) and 982(a)(1), and Title 28, U.S.C. § 2461(c) - Criminal Forfeitures
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
San Diego Police Department Economic Crimes Unit
Internal Revenue Service
California Employment Development Department Investigative Division
Homeland Security Investigations
Department of Labor Office of Investigator General
Rochester Man Going to Prison on Drug and Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Janard D. Warnick, 30, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, was sentenced to serve 72 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassie Kocher, who handled the case, stated that Warnick sold cocaine for profit and maintained a Clifford Avenue residence for the purposes of his drug trafficking activities. On February 23, 2022, investigators executed a search warrant at the residence and recovered approximately 61 grams of cocaine, 1.8 grams of fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl, 2 grams of crack cocaine, and drug paraphernalia. In addition, three firearms and a variety of ammunition were also recovered.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Smith and Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Scarpino.
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Pittsburg County Resident Pleads Guilty to Distribution of FentanylRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Damian Michael Murguia, age 20, of McAlester, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Distribution of Fentanyl.
The superseding indictment alleged that on October 20, 2022, Murguia distributed fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
According to investigators, Murguia sold counterfeit Roxicodone (M30) tablets containing fentanyl to an undercover DEA special agent in McAlester, Oklahoma.
The Honorable Gerald L. Jackson, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. Murguia will remain in custody of the U.S. Marshal pending sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorney Zachary W. Parsons represented the United States.
Parkersburg Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Shawn David White, 41, of Parkersburg, was sentenced today to three years and 10 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 8, 2018, law enforcement officers visited White’s residence while investigating a firearm theft and found a Winchester Model 12, 12-gauge shotgun, in White’s bedroom. White admitted to the officers that he possessed the shotgun.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. White is prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his convictions for grand larceny and driving while his license was suspended or revoked for DUI-third offense in Wood County Circuit Court on February 10, 2017.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Parkersburg Police Department.
Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-150.
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Operation Smoke and Mirrors Update: Two Kanawha County Men Plead Guilty to Role in Methamphetamine Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Michael Allen Roberts Jr., 40, of St. Albans, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine, and Les Van Bumpus, 34, of Charleston, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. Roberts and Bumpus each admitted to their roles in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that operated in the Charleston area.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between November 2022 and March 15, 2023, Roberts conspired with other individuals to distribute quantities of methamphetamine. Roberts admitted to purchasing methamphetamine from a co-defendant who often fronted the methamphetamine to him and allowed Roberts to pay him back after he sold it. Roberts further admitted that he typically paid $2,000 for a pound of methamphetamine, and used his cell phone to arrange transactions with the co-defendant.
Roberts admitted that this co-defendant delivered 50 pounds of methamphetamine to Roberts’ residence a couple of weeks prior to March 15, 2023. Roberts further admitted that he intended to sell this methamphetamine to other people.
On March 15, 2023, law enforcement officers searched a property on Smith Street in St. Albans and seized approximately 44 pounds of methamphetamine. Roberts admitted that he had placed the methamphetamine at the property a day or two before the search.
Between December 2022 and March 22, 2023, Bumpus was living in Dunbar and conspired with others to distribute what he believed was heroin but now knows was fentanyl. Bumpus admitted to purchasing fentanyl from a co-defendant who often fronted the fentanyl to him and allowed Bumpus to pay him back after he sold it.
On March 22, 2023, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Bumpus’ Dunbar residence and found approximately 89 grams of fentanyl and a loaded Smith & Wesson .40-caliber pistol.
Roberts is scheduled to be sentenced on November 8, 2023, and faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison, five years to a lifetime of supervised release, and a $10 million fine. Bumpus is scheduled to be sentenced on November 6, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $1 million fine.
Roberts and Bumpus are among 30 individuals indicted as a result of Operation Smoke and Mirrors, a major drug trafficking investigation that has yielded the largest methamphetamine seizure in West Virginia history. Law enforcement has seized of well over 200 pounds of methamphetamine as well as 28 pounds of cocaine, 20 pounds of fentanyl, 18 firearms and $747,000 in cash.
More than a dozen of the defendants have pleaded guilty. Indictments against the other defendants are pending. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), the West Virginia State Police, the West Virginia National Guard Counter Drug program, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the Charleston Police Department, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and the Raleigh County Sheriff's Office. MDENT is composed of the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the Nitro Police Department, the St. Albans Police Department and the South Charleston Police Department.
Chief United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe is prosecuting the case.
The investigation was part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The program was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy. OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-31.
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Oklahoma City Man Pleads Guilty to Causing Two Deaths During DUI Hit-and-Run in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – Yesterday, ANTONIO MARQUES MITCHELL, 25, of Oklahoma City, pleaded guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter in Indian Country, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
On December 20, 2022, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Mitchell with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. The indictment alleges that Mitchell caused the death of two people while in the commission of multiple misdemeanor offenses—including, fleeing the scene of an accident and driving under the influence.
According to an affidavit filed in the case, Mitchell was driving westbound on NW 16th St in Newcastle, Oklahoma, on December 30, 2021, when he collided with another vehicle at the intersection of Highway 76 and NW 16th St. The affidavit alleges that a witness told a 911 operator that Mitchell was smoking marijuana and that other witnesses also told police that Mitchell fled the scene of the collision after being asked for proof of insurance. Minutes after leaving the scene of the first collision, the affidavit alleges Mitchell swerved into oncoming traffic and again collided with a second car while Mitchell was driving approximately 80 mph eastbound on Highway 37 in a 55-mph zone. It is alleged that the driver of the second car died at the scene, as did Mitchell’s own passenger. A sample of Mitchell’s blood tested positive for a combination of alcohol, amphetamine, and marijuana.
At a hearing before United States District Judge Stephen P. Friot yesterday, Mitchell pleaded guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter, as charged in the indictment. As part of his plea, Mitchell admitted that he was driving approximately 77 mph in a 55 mph zone eastbound when his car collided with another car in the westbound lane, causing the death of his passenger and the driver of the other car. Mitchell further admitted that it was foreseeable that his conduct was a threat to the lives of others.
A sentencing hearing will be scheduled in approximately 90 days. At sentencing, Mitchell faces up to eight years in federal prison for each count and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count.
This case is in federal court because Mitchell is a citizen of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and the alleged crime occurred within the boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation.
This case is a result of an investigation by the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office Safe Trails Task Force, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the Chickasaw Nation Lighthorse Police Department, the Newcastle Police Department, the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation, and the McClain County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Allison B. Christian and Mark R. Stoneman are prosecuting the case.
Reference is made to public filings for more information.
Ohio Resident Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute CocaineRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA – Kaylor Brown was sentenced to 60 months in prison for conspiring to distribute at least 500 grams of cocaine, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
Brown, age 31 of Warren, Ohio, was sentenced by United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan. Judge Horan ordered that Brown serve four years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Judge Horan also ordered that Brown’s 60-month federal prison sentence be served consecutively to the federal prison sentence he was serving at the time he committed the crime for which he was sentenced in this case.
Brown was convicted in this case for conspiring to distribute at least 500 grams of cocaine between January 2020 and January 2021. He committed this cocaine trafficking crime from a federal prison. He was in federal prison as a result of a 70-month sentence that was imposed in 2018 in the Eastern District of Michigan for a prior cocaine trafficking crime.
Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.
The Farrell Police Department, the Mercer Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, and the federal Bureau of Prisons led the investigation that resulted in the conviction and sentence in this case.
Ohio Financial Planner Pleads Guilty to Promoting Illegal Charitable Contribution Tax SchemeRead the Press Release
A financial planner from the Cleveland-area pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to defraud the United States and assisting in the filing of a false tax return.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Rao Garuda, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Associated Concepts Agency, Inc. (“ACA”), engaged in a scheme -- known as the Advanced Legacy Plan or the Ultimate Tax Plan -- to assist high-income individuals in unlawfully reducing their taxes using a plan organized, marketed and sold by a coconspirator, Individual A. ACA’s former Chief Operating Officer previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States on Sept. 26, 2022.
To accomplish the scheme, Garuda, Individual A, and other coconspirators instructed clients to (a) transfer assets to an LLC in exchange for 100% ownership interest in the LLC, (b) assign the 100% ownership interest to a charity controlled by co-conspirators, and (c) claim a charitable contribution tax deduction for the purported donation. Garuda and others marketed the scheme as a way for clients to receive the tax deduction without relinquishing control over the LLC or its assets. After executing the scheme, clients could access the assets inside the LLCs through tax-free loans. Garuda marketed the scheme despite being warned by several attorneys over the years that the scheme was illegal, such as one attorney describing the scheme as “clearly fraudulent.”
Garuda, Individual A, and others also assisted clients in claiming charitable contribution tax deductions after the close of the tax year by backdating documents to make it look as if clients executed the scheme in a prior year. To do so, Garuda and others directed clients to use preexisting LLCs (sometimes referred to as “Shelf LLCs”) that Individual A had created and formed at the end of the prior year and backdate documents to make it appear as if the clients owned and assigned ownership interests in the Shelf LLCs in the prior year.
For his role in the scheme, Garuda caused or intended to cause a tax loss of more than $2.7 million, which he agreed to pay back as restitution to the United States.
After the Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit against Individual A in 2018 to stop Individual A from organizing, marketing, and selling the scheme, Garuda, Individual A, and other coconspirators sought to obstruct the case by providing clients with false, backdated documents to turn over to the government in response to civil subpoenas.
Garuda is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 14, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States and three years in prison for the false return count. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler of the Northern District of Ohio made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Assistant Chief Michael Boteler and Trial Attorneys Casey S. Smith and Andrew Ascencio of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliott Morrison of the Northern District of Ohio are prosecuting the case.
Money Mule Sentenced for Laundering $2,886,578Read the Press Release
WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Concord man was sentenced yesterday to 60 months in prison, 3 years’ supervised release, $10,822 restitution, and $100,000 forfeiture for one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of aggravated identity theft. On April 11, 2023, Derrick Donahue Davis pled guilty to the charges pursuant to a plea agreement.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, Davis, 51, came to the attention of law enforcement when one of his bank accounts received a $120,000 wire that was sent to his account by a victim of a scam who was acting under the belief the funds were being used towards closing on a home purchase. Davis withdrew that money immediately and transferred it to a number of other individuals and the victim lost the home and thousands of dollars. Investigation ultimately revealed that Davis laundered over two and a half million dollars over three years for an individual he had met online and whom he believed was a female but was actually a Nigerian male engaged in numerous scams. In addition, Davis received 43 debit cards in other people’s names and sent images of those cards to the Nigerian. Davis continued to launder the money even after explicitly being informed by law enforcement that the money he was moving was from criminal activity.
Michael F. Easley, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. FBI investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad DeVoe prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-CR-141.
Minneapolis Felon Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Fentanyl TraffickingRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man was sentenced to 120 months in prison for possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on June 22, 2022, law enforcement officers observed a firearm in plain view during a routine traffic stop on Lyndale Avenue North at Lowry Avenue. Law enforcement subsequently recovered another firearm, cocaine, and fentanyl pills from the vehicle. John Lee Jones, 39, a passenger in the vehicle, admitted to officers that the drugs and weapons were his and that he acquired them during a “lick” a few days prior.
Jones was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court before Judge Joan N. Ericksen.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office Violent
Offender Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Minneapolis Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Samantha H. Bates prosecuted the case.
Man to Appear Today in Federal Court After Being Arrested for Trafficking 25 Pounds of MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
CONCORD – Narquin Antonio Sanchez-Unbes, 23, will appear before Magistrate Judge Andrea K. Johnstone for an initial appearance in federal court today at 4:00pm for trafficking approximately 25 pounds of alleged crystal methamphetamine to New Hampshire from Massachusetts, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
According to the charging documents, Sanchez-Unbes delivered 25 pounds of crystal methamphetamine to law enforcement on Monday, July 10, 2023 in Rochester. Sanchez-Unbes took an Uber from Massachusetts to traffic the package containing 25 pounds of alleged crystal methamphetamine in exchange for $58,000 in U.S. currency, of which $3000 was a delivery fee.
Sanchez was charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The charging statute has a penalty of not more than 20 years of imprisonment.
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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Man Admits Fleeing from St. Louis Police with Gun, DrugsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS– A man from St. Louis, Missouri who fled from police with drugs and a gun pleaded guilty Tuesday to three federal felonies.
Anthony B. Jones, 29, pleaded guilty in front of U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp to two counts of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
On July 18, 2021, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers on patrol in O’Fallon Park spotted Jones, who was wearing a mask and appeared to be carrying a gun. The officers made a U-turn, at which point Jones ran across the road and hid behind a car before running away. Police found a .223-caliber, CBC Industries AR-style pistol with a brass catcher and a large-capacity magazine in the car. Jones had left the car door open, his plea agreement says.
Jones then dropped a messenger-style bag that contained a baggie of fentanyl and 46 capsules containing fentanyl. Police ultimately had to use a Taser to take Jones into custody, his plea says.
On October 8, 2021, St. Louis police saw Jones accelerate and run a red light in the College Hill neighborhood. Jones, who was in a gray Pontiac Grand Prix, refused to stop and instead accelerated to a high speed after police activated their lights and siren. Officers used a spike strip to deflate Jones’ rear tires, but he drove another three miles before bailing out of the car on College Avenue and running into the backyard of a home.
Officers found Jones crouching in a small stairwell at the back of the house. He was holding a pistol with a large-capacity magazine raised in the direction from which he expected the police to approach, but dropped it when several officers simultaneously converged on the area, his plea agreement says. He also had a satchel containing methamphetamine and fentanyl. Jones told officers that he ran the red light because he saw the police and was concerned that the Grand Prix had been stolen.
At his sentencing in October, both prosecutors and Jones’ lawyer have agreed to recommend 15 years in prison. The gun charge carries a mandatory minimum term of five years consecutive to any other sentence.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Bluestone is prosecuting the case.
Man Accused of Fatal Hit and Run in St. Louis Charged with Federal Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS– A man accused of a fatal hit and run in St. Louis appeared in court Monday after being arrested on a federal gun charge.
Martez D. Lindsey, 31, was indicted June 14 on one felony count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. A motion seeking to have him held in jail until trial says police found the gun in April while investigating a November 22, 2022 hit and run and while conducting a court-approved search of his home. It also says “Lindsey continued joyriding through downtown St. Louis in a reckless manner” after the November incident.
Lindsey pleaded not guilty to the charge in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Monday.
Lindsey is currently facing charges in St. Louis Circuit Court of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Bluestone is prosecuting the case.
Macon Man Sentenced to Prison for Brandishing a Firearm at Walmart CustomersRead the Press Release
MACON, Ga. – A Macon resident with a lengthy criminal history who carried a gun into a Macon Walmart and waved it aggressively at customers was sentenced to serve 84 months in prison.
Selma Oliver-Smith, 45, of Macon, was sentenced to serve 84 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self III on July 10. Oliver-Smith was convicted on April 11 of illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon following a two-day trial that began on April 10.
“We are thankful that no shots were fired, and no one was hurt when Selma Oliver-Smith—a convicted felon—brandished a firearm inside a Macon store, terrifying customers and employees,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “The penalty is steep for convicted felons who illegally carry guns.”
“When offenders such as this use firearms to threaten individuals, ATF takes this very seriously,” said ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka. “ATF remains on the frontline of preventing violent crime along with our law enforcement partners and will continue to pursue those who violate the law.”
“Selma Oliver-Smith’s arrest, conviction and sentencing shows that the justice system will not tolerate dangerous career criminals using a firearm to menace innocent shoppers in a busy Walmart,” said Bibb County Sheriff David Davis.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Bibb County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call from the Walmart on Harrison Road in Macon on Aug. 17, 2021, about a man aggressively waving a gun at people who approached him inside the store. Because of Oliver-Smith’s criminal record, he was known to officers, and he was located thereafter at a nearby motel. Oliver-Smith was found inside his hotel room, where officers found two firearms hidden inside the toilet bowl tank. One of the firearms, a Jennings Firearms Bryco .380, looked identical to the one in the photo provided by Walmart. Oliver-Smith has a lengthy criminal history to include convictions for burglary, theft by taking and second-degree criminal damage. 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 Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean S. Deitrick and Sonja Profit prosecuted the case for the Government.
Lynnwood, Washington, man sentenced to 30 months in prison for tech support of dark web drug dealingRead the Press Release
Seattle – A 39-year-old Lynnwood, Washington, man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 30 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Jonathan E. Williams handled the technology side of the darknet drug dealing operation while co-defendants Linus Lee and Joyce Oldrich were involved in packaging and mailing packets of LSD and MDMA. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge James L. Robart noted that "MDMA, in the court's experience, is specifically marketed to young people," -- the drugs could end up in the hands of vulnerable people.
“Mr. Williams used his computer skills to make dangerous drugs available to anyone with a computer,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gorman. “He may have physically kept his hands off the drugs but, using his computer keyboard, he enriched himself while putting others at risk.”
According to records filed in the case, the three defendants in this case were indicted in July 2022, following an investigation by the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service of dark web drug dealing. Working on the dark web, investigators placed online orders for drugs. Based on the packages they received, investigators first identified 70-year-old Joyce Oldrich of Marysville, Washington as the person who had mailed the drugs. Tracking Oldrich, investigators identified 51-year-old Linus Lee of Shoreline, Washington. When law enforcement served a search warrant on Lee’s home, they seized more than 5,000 tabs of LSD, and more than four kilos of MDMA. Some of the drugs were already in parcels ready for mailing.
Information on Lee’s and Oldrich’s cell phones led investigators to Williams. In various encrypted messages, Lee and Williams discussed the market price for their drugs. When Williams’ residence was searched, law enforcement found no drugs, but linked $21,000 in cash to his drug selling activity. On Williams’ phone, they found evidence of his role managing the drug business on the dark web.
Both Lee and Williams have now been sentenced to 30 months in prison with three years of supervised release to follow. Oldrich was sentenced to a time served sentence, with three years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yunah Chung.
Loudonville Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Cocaine Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jesus Baez, age 32, of Loudonville, New York, was sentenced today to 5 years in prison for his role in a Capital Region cocaine distribution conspiracy. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Postal Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward made the announcement.
Baez previously pled guilty before Senior United States District Judge Gary L. Sharpe to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. As part of his plea, Baez admitted that between June 2021 and December 2021, in Albany and Rensselaer Counties, he and three others engaged in a conspiracy to ship cocaine from Puerto Rico and distribute it in the Capital Region. The cocaine was shipped via U.S. mail in one-kilogram bricks, and transported to a stash house maintained by Baez on Fifth Avenue in Troy, where it was processed for distribution, along with other drugs.
Judge Sharpe also imposed a 4-year term of supervised release, to begin once Baez is released from prison.
Baez’s three co-defendants have also pled guilty for their roles in the conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing. They are:
- Jan Lopez-Colon, age 28, of Troy;
- Ilvin Batista-Figueroa, 31, of Albany; and
- Sam Calderon, 20, of Troy.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Capital Region Task Force, led by the USPIS and including the Albany Police Department, the Albany County Sheriff’s Office, and the Schenectady Police Department, as well as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin S. Clark is prosecuting the case.
Local Doctor and Son Sentenced for Illegally Accumulating and Selling Scarce N95 Respirator MasksRead the Press Release
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – July 11, 2023
SAN DIEGO – University City Dermatologist Mona Zohdi Mofid was sentenced in federal court today to two years’ probation after pleading guilty in April to misdemeanor hoarding of N95 respirator masks that had been designated scarce during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her son, Adam Zohdi Mofid, who previously pleaded guilty to misdemeanor accumulation of N95 respirator masks to sell for price-gouging prices was also sentenced to two years’ probation, including 60 days of home confinement. Additionally, Adam Mofid was fined $1.2 million dollars, and Dr. Mona Mofid was fined $100,000. Both were ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.
Throughout 2020 and into early 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the demand for N95 respirator masks to explode far beyond their supply. In response, on March 25, 2020, N95 respirator masks and other personal protective equipment items were designated as scarce pursuant to the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA), which authorizes the president to do so during times of national emergency. This triggered the DPA’s criminal anti-hoarding and anti-price-gouging provisions found at Sections 4512-4513 of Title 50 of the United States Code.
According to Dr. Mona Mofid’s plea agreement, from May 2020 to January 2021, she willfully purchased over 375,000 N95 respirator masks from medical supply companies despite knowing that doing so was unlawful at the time. Adam Mofid admitted in his plea agreement that during the same time period his company, Clinical Supplies USA, generated approximately $15,760,000 of gross income, mostly through the sale of N95 masks that were sold for, on average, 300 percent to 400 percent of their purchase price. For instance, on June 10, 2020, Clinical Supplies USA sold an individual 20 3M Model 8200 N95 masks for $16.99 per mask and 20 3M Model 8210Plus N95 masks for $17.99 per mask. Adam Mofid further admitted that he knew such sales in excess of prevailing market prices were illegal during that period of time.
“While many in our community, especially healthcare providers, responded valiantly to COVID-19, some people took advantage of the pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Randy S. Grossman. “These defendants are paying the price for selling medical supplies at inflated prices during a national crisis.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and the FBI for their excellent work on this case
“As the severity of the pandemic became apparent in our community and so many others, Mona and Adam Mofid sought to take advantage of the world-wide crisis, and gain an unfair advantage, by stockpiling these vital products and selling them for price-gouging prices to facilitate their greed,” said Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office. “In particular, Dr. Mofid’s hoarding of such sought-after medical products transgressed her oath as a physician to do no harm. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to hold price gaugers accountable and bring them to justice.”
DEFENDANTS Case Number 23cr530-DDL
Mona Zohdi Mofid Age: 51 La Jolla, CA
Case Number 23cr550-DDL
Adam Zohdi Mofid Age: 21 St. Louis, MO
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Defense Production Act – Title 50, U.S.C., Sections 4512-4513
Maximum penalty: One year in prison and fine of greatest of $100,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain
AGENCY
Federal Bureau of Investigations
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Licking County man sentenced to 25 years in prison for sexually exploiting minor boys he met through church youth groupRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Licking County man was sentenced in federal court here today to 25 years in prison for sexually exploiting minors and soliciting child pornography from dozens of other minor boys through the mobile application Snapchat.
Matthew I Reif, 27, of Newark, Ohio, victimized at least 52 minor boys, some of whom he had access to through his role in a local youth church group. The exploitation of these minor males took place both in the community and online between October 2020 and July 2022.
“Reif exploited his victims’ vulnerabilities through their religion, their financial limitations and their youth for his own perverted fantasies,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “For the well-being of those children whom he has already harmed, and to prevent the mental, psychological or physical damage to any additional children, Reif must be kept away from society for a significant period of time.”
According to court documents, Reif offered gifts and money to minor boys and, in exchange, requested the minors engage in sex acts with him or for him. Reif used text messaging and Snapchat to communicate with his victims, some of whom he only had access to online and had not met in person. The defendant would pose as a female named “Nicole” via Snapchat to obtain child sexual abuse material from the minor males. Twelve of the identified victims in this case indicated they sent photos or videos to Reif on Snapchat when they were between 14 and 17 years old, believing Reif to be a female.
The defendant also contacted minor males he knew from the community, posing as himself and garnering their trust through his position in a Heath, Ohio, church. Reif would then screen record any pornographic content he received from the minors via Snapchat. In addition, Reif was trusted with some of the victims on overnight stays, during which he surreptitiously recorded the victims with a hidden camera that he placed in different bathrooms. Reif saved the images and videos he created and obtained and then organized the content by the name of the male minor depicted.
Reif pleaded guilty in December 2022 to sexually exploiting minors and possessing child pornography.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Court Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Czerniejewski and Noah R. Litton are representing the United States in this case.
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Level III Sex Offender Arrested on Child Pornography Charges for a 5th TimeRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE – A level III sex offender has been ordered detained in federal custody following his 5th arrest on child pornography charges, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.
Patrick M. O’Donnell, 60, convicted in Rhode Island state court on child pornography charges four times between 2007 and 2020, was most recently released from Rhode Island state prison on June 1, 2023. According to charging documents, O’Donnell allegedly downloaded and accessed child pornography and child erotica on cellphones he was prohibited from possessing as a condition of his probation. He was living at a homeless shelter in Cranston at the time.
During a sex-offender compliance check conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, members of the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Cranston Police, and the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, Probation and Parole, O’Donnell was found to be in possession of two cellphones. A live digital preview allegedly revealed child pornography on one of the devices and child erotica on both.
O’Donnell was charged in federal court with allegedly knowingly possessing child pornography, which carries a ten-year mandatory minimum sentence if a defendant has previously been convicted of a child pornography offense. The defendants’ sentence will be determined by a federal judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John P. McAdams.
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Lee’s Summit Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing $340,000Read the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Lee’s Summit, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to stealing more than $340,000 by continuing to collect his grandmother’s veteran survivor benefits following her death almost 30 years ago.
Jeffrey L. Tyler, 67, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to a federal information that charges him with one count of the theft of government property.
By pleading guilty today, Tyler admitted that he spent $340,934 in veteran survivor benefits from his grandmother’s bank account on his own personal expenses. Tyler’s grandmother received veteran survivor benefits based on her husband’s military service. She died on Nov. 26, 1993, but the benefits continued to be deposited into her bank account. The account received $1,110 per month, a total of $13,320 per year.
Tyler was also on his grandmother’s bank account. The bank records show that the money was spent on personal expenses for Tyler, including hundreds of signed checks by Tyler for such items as water and electric bills. The total amount of benefits converted by Tyler was approximately $338,316. Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Tyler must pay $340,934 in restitution to the government.
Under federal statutes, Tyler is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul S. Becker. It was investigated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General – Criminal Investigations Division.
Lee County Felon Pleads Guilty to Unlawfully Possessing Loaded Firearm on Campus of Local SchoolRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Wyatt Olen Henderson (64, Cape Coral) today pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon. Henderson faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, on May 12, 2023, deputies from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office encountered Henderson on the campus of a Lee County school openly carrying a loaded firearm holstered to his hip. Henderson, a convicted felon who had previously served time in federal prison, was an employee of the school at the time. As a convicted felon, Henderson is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. 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.
Kanawha County Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Trellae Nellum-Toney, 29, of St. Albans, pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on September 22, 2022, law enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by Nellum-Toney in St. Albans. Nellum-Toney admitted that he got out of his vehicle and threw a Raven Arms, model P-25, .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol and a baggie of suspected heroin onto the ground. Officers recovered the firearm and controlled substance.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Nellum-Toney knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his prior felony conviction for first-degree robbery in Kanawha County Circuit Court on August 26, 2014.
Nellum-Toney further admitted to possessing two firearms found by officers following a January 24, 2023 traffic stop of a vehicle he was driving in the Scott Depot area of Putnam County. Officers found a Taurus, model 709 Slim, 9mm semi-automatic pistol under the driver’s seat and a Savage, model Stevens 320, 20-gauge shotgun in the vehicle’s trunk. Nellum-Toney admitted that he now knows the 9mm pistol was reported stolen from a St. Albans residence on September 26, 2021.
Nellum-Toney is scheduled to be sentenced on October 3, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Troy Adams is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-34.
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Justice Department Announces Settlement with J.R. Simplot to Improve Hazardous Waste Management and Reduce Emissions at Idaho FacilityRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement with J.R. Simplot Company involving Simplot’s Don Plant manufacturing facility located near Pocatello, Idaho.
The settlement resolves allegations primarily under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) at the facility, including that Simplot failed to properly identify and manage certain waste streams as hazardous wastes. The settlement requires Simplot to implement process modifications designed to enable greater recovery and reuse of phosphate, a valuable resource. The settlement also requires Simplot to ensure that financial resources will be available when the time comes for environmentally sound closure of the facility. Simplot will also pay a civil penalty of $1.5 million.
“After our 2020 settlement with Simplot’s phosphoric acid and fertilizer plant in Wyoming, we are pleased to reach this settlement with Simplot’s other major phosphoric acid and fertilizer operation at the Don Plant in Pocatello, Idaho,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This proposed consent decree will comprehensively address the waste management, air emissions and reporting issues EPA identified with respect to the Don Plant’s operations.”
“This is an important settlement which reduces the environmental impacts from one of the leading fertilizer manufacturers,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield of the EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This settlement advances EPA’s goals by creating environmentally beneficial waste management practices and ensures that the U.S. taxpayer will not be responsible for future costs associated with closure of this facility. Additionally, this settlement ensures that any future expansion of Simplot’s operations will be conducted according to strict requirements to minimize impacts to surrounding communities, including the Fort Hall Indian Reservation.”
Simplot’s Don Plant facility manufactures phosphate products for agriculture and industry, including phosphoric acid and phosphate fertilizer, through processes that generate large quantities of acidic wastewater and a solid material called phosphogypsum. The phosphogypsum is deposited in a large pile known as a gypstack, and acidic wastewater is discharged to the gypstack. The gypstack, which has a capacity to hold several billion gallons of acidic wastewater, was fully lined in 2017 in accordance with a previous consent orders Simplot entered into with the State of Idaho and the United States.
The settlement also resolves alleged violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA) that relate to fluoride emissions from the facility, and of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) that relate to reporting and notification requirements for hazardous substances and toxic chemicals.
Under the settlement, Simplot agrees to implement specific waste management measures it has valued at nearly $150 million. Significantly, these measures include extensive new efforts to recover and reuse the phosphate content within these wastes and avoid their disposal in the gypstack. Simplot will implement requirements that ensure gypstack stability and containment that will protect the environment even should climate change result in more severe weather events. The settlement also includes a detailed plan setting the terms for the future closure and long-term care of the gypstack. The settlement requires Simplot to immediately secure and maintain approximately $108 million in dedicated financing to ensure that funding will be available when the facility is eventually closed.
Simplot also agrees to cease operation of the facility’s cooling towers no later than June 27, 2026, and replace them with one or more newly constructed cooling ponds, which will significantly reduce fluoride emissions to the air. Additionally, Simplot agrees to submit revised Toxic Release Inventory forms for the years 2004-2013 that include estimates of certain metal compounds manufactured, processed or otherwise used at the facility.
In addition to paying the $1.5 million civil penalty, Simplot is providing $200,000 in funding for environmental mitigation work that will be administered by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality in conjunction with the City of Pocatello and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. The mitigation work will address habitat degradation on the Portneuf River that has resulted in part from excess phosphorus releases, especially from the facility’s formerly unlined gypstack.
“This settlement will bring important benefits to Idaho and the communities that have been affected by the Don Plant’s operations,” said U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit for the District of Idaho. “We are grateful that our state partner, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, helped formulate and will oversee work that Simplot will fund to mitigate the impacts of its phosphate operations on water quality and the environment along the Portneuf River, working in cooperation with both the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and the City of Pocatello.”
EPA previously required through judicial and administrative settlements at 14 phosphate fertilizer facilities across the U.S. extensive injunctive relief, requiring the companies to establish financial assurance and bring their operations into compliance with RCRA.
A consent decree formalizing the settlement was lodged today in the U.S. District Court for Idaho and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court. For a copy of the consent decree, visit www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.
Justice Department Announces Settlement with J.R. Simplot to Improve Hazardous Waste Management and Reduce Emissions at Idaho FacilityRead the Press Release
BOISE – The Justice Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a settlement with J.R. Simplot Company involving Simplot’s Don Plant manufacturing facility located near Pocatello, Idaho.
The settlement resolves allegations primarily under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) at the facility, including that Simplot failed to properly identify and manage certain waste streams as hazardous wastes. The settlement requires Simplot to implement process modifications designed to enable greater recovery and reuse of phosphate, a valuable resource. The settlement also requires Simplot to ensure that financial resources will be available when the time comes for environmentally sound closure of the facility. Simplot will also pay a civil penalty of $1.5 million.
“After our 2020 settlement with Simplot’s phosphoric acid and fertilizer plant in Wyoming, we are pleased to reach this settlement with Simplot’s other major phosphoric acid and fertilizer operation at the Don Plant in Pocatello, Idaho,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This proposed consent decree will comprehensively address the waste management, air emissions and reporting issues EPA identified with respect to the Don Plant’s operations.”
Simplot’s Don Plant facility manufactures phosphate products for agriculture and industry, including phosphoric acid and phosphate fertilizer, through processes that generate large quantities of acidic wastewater and a solid material called phosphogypsum. The phosphogypsum is deposited in a large pile known as a gypstack, and acidic wastewater is discharged to the gypstack. The gypstack, which has a capacity to hold several billion gallons of acidic wastewater, was fully lined in 2017 in accordance with a previous consent orders Simplot entered into with the State of Idaho and the United States.
The settlement also resolves alleged violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA) that relate to fluoride emissions from the facility, and of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) that relate to reporting and notification requirements for hazardous substances and toxic chemicals.
“This is an important settlement which reduces the environmental impacts from one of the leading fertilizer manufacturers,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield of the EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This settlement advances EPA’s goals by creating environmentally beneficial waste management practices and ensures that the U.S. taxpayer will not be responsible for future costs associated with closure of this facility. Additionally, this settlement ensures that any future expansion of Simplot’s operations will be conducted according to strict requirements to minimize impacts to surrounding communities, including the Fort Hall Indian Reservation.”
Under the settlement, Simplot agrees to implement specific waste management measures it has valued at nearly $150 million. Significantly, these measures include extensive new efforts to recover and reuse the phosphate content within these wastes and avoid their disposal in the gypstack. Simplot will implement requirements that ensure gypstack stability and containment that will protect the environment even should climate change result in more severe weather events. The settlement also includes a detailed plan setting the terms for the future closure and long-term care of the gypstack. The settlement requires Simplot to immediately secure and maintain approximately $108 million in dedicated financing to ensure that funding will be available when the facility is eventually closed.
Simplot also agrees to cease operation of the facility’s cooling towers no later than June 27, 2026, and replace them with one or more newly constructed cooling ponds, which will significantly reduce fluoride emissions to the air. Additionally, Simplot agrees to submit revised Toxic Release Inventory forms for the years 2004-2013 that include estimates of certain metal compounds manufactured, processed or otherwise used at the facility.
In addition to paying the $1.5 million civil penalty, Simplot is providing $200,000 in funding for environmental mitigation work that will be administered by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality in conjunction with the City of Pocatello and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. The mitigation work will address habitat degradation on the Portneuf River that has resulted in part from excess phosphorus releases, especially from the facility’s formerly unlined gypstack.
“This settlement will bring important benefits to Idaho and the communities that have been affected by the Don Plant’s operations,” said Josh Hurwit, U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho. “We are grateful that our state partner, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, helped formulate and will oversee work that Simplot will fund to mitigate the impacts of its phosphate operations on water quality and the environment along the Portneuf River, working in cooperation with both the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and the City of Pocatello.”
EPA previously required through judicial and administrative settlements at 14 phosphate fertilizer facilities across the U.S. extensive injunctive relief, requiring the companies to establish financial assurance and bring their operations into compliance with RCRA.
A consent decree formalizing the settlement was lodged today in the U.S. District Court for Idaho and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court.
For a copy of the consent decree, visit www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.
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