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24 April 2023
Second man pleads guilty to importing methRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A 50-year-old Alton resident has admitted he aided and abetted another man to bring meth into the country, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
On April 22, 2021, Argelio Chavero drove a Chevrolet Trailblazer into Mexico from the United States with Agustin Romero Jr. in the passenger seat.
They returned two days later. Chavero entered the country through the Hidalgo port of entry pedestrian lane. At the same time, Chavero was driving the Trailblazer which was loaded with narcotics.
Upon entry, authorities referred him and the vehicle to secondary inspection where they discovered anomalies in the fuel tank area. A physical search resulted in the seizure of 33 packages of meth and marijuana.
The weight of the meth was approximately 12 kilograms and had an estimated street value of approximately $70,000.
Further investigation led to the identification of Chavero.
Romero, 40, a U.S. citizen residing in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, previously pleaded guilty for his role. At that time, he admitted he received payment from Chavero to drive the vehicle.
U.S. District Judge Marina G. Marmolejo accepted the plea today. U.S. District Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa will impose sentencing for Romero and Chavero May 25 and July 26, respectively. At that time, Romero and Chavero both face a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
Both have been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Customs and Border Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Colton Turner and Eliza Rodriguez are prosecuting the case.
Schuele Boy Pleads Guilty to Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Roderick Arrington, a/k/a Ra-Ra, 41, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford to racketeering conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeremiah E. Lenihan and Timothy C. Lynch, who handled the case, stated that Roderick was a member of the Schuele Boys Gang, which operated in the Schuele Street area of the East Side of Buffalo, was responsible for multiple acts of violence and the distribution of illegal narcotics including cocaine, crack cocaine, and marijuana. The Government states that one of those acts of violence was the murder of Quincy Balance a/k/a Shooter, at the intersection of Northland and Stevens on the East Side of Buffalo on August 30, 2012. The Schuele Boys believed Balance was involved in the shooting murder of one of their associates on nearby Carl Street four days earlier. During his plea, Arrington denied being involved in the murder of Quincy Balance.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia; the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia; the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Frank A. Tarentino III, New York Field Division; and the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Eugene Staniszewski.
Sentencing is scheduled for August 29, 2023, before Judge Wolford.
Salinas Man Indicted and Arrested for Child ExploitationRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On April 20, 2023, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Alexander Joel Rivera-Santos, 25, of Salinas, Puerto Rico, with possession and transportation of child sexual abuse material, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. The arrest follows an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the assistance of the Puerto Rico Police Bureau (PRPB) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico.
According to the indictment, from May 2021 through June 2022, Rivera-Santos knowingly possessed images of child pornography, including child pornography of a minor who had not attained 12 years of age, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A. As such, Rivera-Santos faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years and a maximum of 20 years of imprisonment, if convicted.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate and prosecute persons who use technology to victimize children who are victims of child exploitation crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Muldrow.
“Our HSI San Juan agents are collaborating relentlessly with agents from all over the nation to identify and prosecute with solid evidence all those who have the intent to damage the innocence of our children. They can try to hide in chat rooms or cyber spaces, but rest assured, we will find them,” said Rebecca C. González, Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI San Juan.
Rivera-Santos had his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marcos López and was ordered to remain temporarily detained at the Guaynabo Metropolitan Detention Center pending further proceedings.
Assistant United States Attorney Emelina Agrait-Barreto, of the Child Exploitation and Immigration Unit, is in charge of the prosecution of this case.
HSI is the principal investigative arm of DHS and a vital U.S. asset in combatting transnational crimes and threats. One of HSI’s top priorities is to protect the public from crimes of victimization, and HSI’s child exploitation investigations program is a central component of this mission. HSI is recognized as a global leader in this investigative discipline, and is committed to utilizing its vast authorities, international footprint and strong government and non-government partnerships to identify and rescue child victims, identify and apprehend offenders, prevent transnational child sexual abuse and help make the internet a safer place for children.
For more information about HSI’s efforts to protect children from online sexual abuse, visit https://www.ice.gov/topics/iGuardians.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Russian Woman Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Animal DNARead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Russian national residing in Leesburg pleaded guilty today to smuggling animal DNA into the United States at Washington Dulles International Airport.
According to court documents, on August 19, 2022, Polina Perelman arrived at Dulles Airport from Russia. On her Customs Declaration, Perelman denied that she was importing any animals, animal products, or cell cultures. However, during an inspection of her luggage customs officers found a Styrofoam cooler labeled “Research Samples,” containing 19 small vials and tubes packed in dry ice. When asked about the vials and tubes, Perelman said that they contained cell lines and DNA samples that she planned to have sequenced in the United States for her research in Russia. Perelman said that the samples were suspended in a freezing/transport medium containing fetal bovine serum, which also contained dimethyl sulfoxide and Alpha Minimum Essential Medium to help preserve the samples.
Further, according to court documents, Perelman said that she was a researcher at the Institute of Molecular & Cellular Biology in Novosibirsk, Russia, and does genetic sequencing of animal and reptile DNA to study evolution. Perelman admitted that she failed to declare her possession of wildlife products and cell cultures because she was concerned that customs officials might think that the vials contained a disease agent, and that if she declared the samples, customs officials would seize the samples and ask her unwanted questions.
According to court documents, of the 19 samples that Perelman attempted to introduce into the United States, two contained biological material derived from Siberian crane and dhole, endangered species under U.S. law and protected by an international treaty known as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Perelman is scheduled to be sentenced on August 24, 2023. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Derek W. Gordon, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C.; and Edward Grace, Assistant Director of Law Enforcement for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Patricia T. Giles accepted the plea.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cristina Stam and Gordon Kromberg are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:23-cr-55.
Roswell escrow manager set to plead guiltyRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico announced today that Christopher Adam Jensen-Tanner is set to plead guilty to wire fraud and engaging in monetary transaction in property derived from specified unlawful activity on April 26, 2023 at 2:30 pm. Christopher Adam Jensen-Tanner, 44, of Roswell, is not in custody.
Jensen-Tanner used his position and access as owner and president of Roswell Escrow Services, Inc. (RES) to fraudulently redirect customer funds for his personal benefit.
If you were a client of Jensen-Tanner and/or RES and believe you are a victim, please contact the FBI tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or login at tips.fbi.gov to notify the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
If you are a victim or potential victim and would like to attend the plea hearing on April 26, 2023 at 2:30 pm, please contact Victim Specialist Jacquie Gutierrez at (575) 522-2304 before the date of the hearing for more information.
The Roswell Division of the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this case with assistance from the Securities and Financial Institutions Divisions of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Ryan Ellison and Richard Williams are prosecuting the case.
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23-84
Roma man admits to trafficking $33 million in marijuanaRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A 34-year-old local man has been convicted of drug trafficking after trying to escape drug house through an attic vent, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Adan Ontiveros Jr. pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute nearly 2,500 kilograms of marijuana.
On July 16, 2020, law enforcement was conducting surveillance at a suspected drug house in Roma. There, they saw a man - Ontiveros - attempting to discretely exit the residence. He was trying to escape via an attic vent. However, authorities quickly took him into custody.
They obtained a search warrant and ultimately discovered several hundred bundles of marijuana. The total weight was 2,477 kilograms with an approximate value of more than $33 million.
He admitted he was aware there was marijuana inside the stash house.
U.S. District Judge Richardo Hinojosa will impose sentencing July 27. At that time, Ontiveros faces up to life in prison as well as a maximum $10 million possible fine.
The Texas Department of Public Safety and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Phelps and Roberto Lopez Jr. are prosecuting the case.
Rapper “Desiigner” Charged with Indecent Exposure on an AircraftRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A California man has been charged in a federal criminal complaint with indecent exposure on an aircraft, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to a law enforcement affidavit, on April 17, 2023, Sidney Royel Selby III, 25, also known as “Desiigner,” was traveling on Delta Flight 120 from Tokyo, Japan, to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. While the flight was in the air, Selby, who was seated in the Delta One cabin, exposed his genitals multiple times. During one of the exposures, he masturbated. A flight attendant handed Selby an FAA violation card, which is a notice that states a passenger’s behavior “appears to be in violation of federal law.” At the request of flight attendants, Selby moved to the rear of the plane and was seated near two travel companions who agreed to monitor him. When Flight 120 arrived in Minneapolis, Selby was detained and interviewed by an FBI agent.
Selby is charged with one count of indecent exposure on an aircraft. The alleged offense is a misdemeanor punishable by no more than 90 days imprisonment and a $500 fine. Selby will make his initial appearance before a Magistrate Judge in U.S. District Court at a later date.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Police.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew D. Forbes and Laura M. Provinzino are prosecuting the case.
A complaint is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Queens Meat and Poultry Distributor Resolves Claims for Repeated Violations of Federal Food Safety LawsRead the Press Release
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced today that the United States has entered into a consent decree barring USA Halal Foods, Inc., also known as As-Salaam Halal and Fine Foods Wholesale Distributors (USA Halal Foods), and its President, Kashiif Saeed (Saeed), from offering for sale or transporting any misbranded meat or poultry products to the general public.
“Consumers deserve confidence that the food they purchase is properly inspected and safe to eat,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “We have, and will continue, to enforce food safety laws that hold food distributors accountable to the required standards and protect the public from misbranded products.”
The consent decree, approved April 18, 2023 by United States District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall, requires USA Halal Foods and Saeed to keep records that fully and accurately disclose the offer for sale or transportation or other transactions of meat and poultry products.
The decree also provides for escalating monetary fines if USA Halal Foods violates the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA).
The court-ordered relief resolves a lawsuit filed on April 11, 2023. According to the complaint, the government’s claims arose from several investigations conducted by the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (FSIS). These investigations revealed that between 2017 and 2022, USA Halal Foods and Saeed repeatedly offered for sale or transportation goat, lamb, beef and chicken products that were misbranded and not federally inspected and passed, and failed to keep and maintain records that fully and accurately disclosed all transactions.
The FMIA and PPIA prohibit the sale, transportation, offer for sale or transportation, or receipt for transportation, in commerce, of meat or meat and poultry products that are misbranded or that have not been inspected and passed by FSIS when inspection is required. Meat and poultry products are “misbranded” under the FMIA and PPIA if, among other things, the products fail to bear a label showing the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor, an accurate statement of the quantity of the contents in terms of weight, measure, or numerical count, and the inspection legend. Businesses that engage in buying, selling, or transporting meat or poultry products must also keep records that fully and accurately disclose their business transactions and afford FSIS access to such records.
This case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Yim from the Office’s Civil Division.
In March 2022, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced a Consumer Protection Team in the Office’s Civil Division. The Consumer Protection Team pursues all appropriate measures to stop culpable entities and individuals that engage in conduct threatening the health, safety, economic security, or dignity of potentially vulnerable individuals. For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, or to report suspected consumer fraud, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny.
The Defendants:
USA HALAL FOODS, INC.
KASHIIF SAEED
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CV-2689 (LDH)
Prohibited Person Sentenced to Seven Years for Possessing a Gun and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Decondi Mayo, 46, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 84 months in prison for unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Weddel, of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Decondi Mayo pleaded guilty in September 2022, in the United States District Court, to unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. In addition to the seven year prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman ordered three years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, on January 29, 2021, at approximately 3 p.m., members of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Crime Suppression Team were on patrol in the 2200 block of Bryan Place, S.E., Washington, DC. The officers observed the defendant reaching into the passenger side window of a blue Nissan Maxima with Maryland paper tags. The defendant looked in the officers’ direction as they pulled into the block and he immediately separated himself from the vehicle and continued to look back over his shoulder at officers. Shortly thereafter, the defendant walked up concrete steps toward a boarded up and uninhabitable home located at 2212 Bryan Place, SE. Officers parked, exited their vehicles, and observed the defendant continually pressing his right arm against the right side of his jacket as if he was attempting to secure an object on the front of his person. An officer then observed the defendant discard a pistol from his front waistband area. The defendant was subsequently arrested and found with a magazine with ten live rounds. The recovered firearm that the defendant tossed was a 9mm Glock 26 with one round of ammunition in the chamber and sixteen rounds in the magazine.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves, Acting SAC Weddel, and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from Project Safe Neighborhood from both the Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Karla Nunez.
Finally, they commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Shehzad Akhtar, former Assistant United States Attorney Brandon Regan, former Assistant United States Attorney Kaitlin Ann Vaillancourt and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristina Cervi who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Physician and pharmacy settle claims for unnecessary medicationsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 61-year-old doctor and a compounding pharmacy he operates paid the United States $7,963,246 to resolve claims they improperly billed the Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Program (DOL-OWCP), announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Dr. Ajay Kumar Aggarwal and Medley Compounding Pharmacy LLC knowingly and willfully submitted, or caused the submission of, false claims to DOL-OWCP. The claims for payment were for compounding creams, gels and pain patches that were neither medically necessary nor medically beneficial to the patients. The investigation revealed DOL-OWCP beneficiaries were receiving excessive and unnecessary medication through the U.S. mail.
“It is particularly egregious when providers who participate in federally funded programs like OWCP violate their responsibility to the public to provide legitimate, necessary and safe treatment,” said Hamdani. “We are not going to stand by when such people take advantage of federal employee health insurance programs and dispense unnecessary medications and services to the federal workforce. The significant penalty announced today is an example of that effort.”
Aggarwal owned and operated A.A. Texas Anesthesiology Back Pain Center where he allegedly wrote and issued prescriptions for compound pain medications to injured federal employees with federal worker’s compensation benefits. Medley filled the prescriptions.
Aggarwal’s wife owned Medley on paper. Medley began billing DOL in 2013, a year after it opened.
The investigation began when an individual employed at Medley filed a qui tam aka whistleblower lawsuit under seal Oct. 10, 2017. During his term of employment, the whistleblower allegedly witnessed patients being sent unnecessary, unwanted medications through the United States mail despite the fact they did not need and could not benefit from the medications. In a few instances, patients did not see, or ever meet, Aggarwal. Medley employees were allegedly instructed to auto-fill medications on a monthly basis and to use pre-printed prescription pads to submit the prescriptions to DOL-OWCP without consideration of medical need.
“This settlement is a testament to the dedication and determination of the investigative and legal teams,” said Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Ulrich, U.S. Postal Service - Office of Inspector General (USPS-OIG). “USPS-OIG, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to vigorously investigate these types of cases in order to root out fraud, waste and abuse.”
“Protecting the integrity of the programs administered by OWCP is an important part of the mission of DOL-OIG. We will continue to work with OWCP and the Department of Justice to vigorously pursue allegations of fraud involving these programs,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Steven Grell, Central Region, DOL-OIG.
Under the False Claims Act, a private party known as a relator can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of the recovery. In this case, the relator will receive a total of $1,353,752.
DOL-OIG and USPS-OIG conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill O. Venezia handled the matter.
Passaic County Man Charged with Shooting Gun During Two Pharmacy RobberiesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Passaic County, New Jersey, man was arrested in connection with two armed robberies of pharmacies for prescription medication, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Antonio Rivera, 46, of Paterson, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of interference with commerce by robbery, one count of attempted interference with commerce by robbery, and one count of using, carrying, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Rivera made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge André M. Espinosa in Newark federal court and was detained.
According to the complaint and statements made in court:
In February and April 2023, Rivera robbed and attempted to rob two pharmacies in Paterson and Passaic, New Jersey. During these robberies, Rivera fired his gun and pointed it at numerous victims. Ballistics evidence shows that the same firearm was used in both robberies.
On Feb. 8, 2023, Rivera robbed a Paterson pharmacy at gunpoint, shooting one time and demanding Percocet, Morphine, and Oxycodone pills. One pharmacy employee placed mediation bottles inside Rivera’s backpack. Rivera discharged another round, after which another pharmacy employee gave Rivera cash from the cash register.
On April 5, 2023, Rivera attempted to rob a Passaic pharmacy at gunpoint, raising a handgun to a pharmacy employee’s head and demanding that the employee put money from the cash register in a bag. When the employee refused, Rivera demanded pills while pointing the handgun at other pharmacy employees and fired a shot before fleeing the pharmacy through the rear.
The interference with commerce by robbery and attempted interference with commerce by robbery counts each carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The discharging of a firearm during a crime of violence count carries a maximum of life in prison and mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, which must run consecutive to any other prison term. Each count also carries a potential $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited the FBI Newark Violent Incident Crimes Task Force, Garrett Mountain Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges. U.S. Attorney Sellinger also thanked Passaic County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik; the Paterson Police Department, under the direction of Interim Officer in Charge, Maj. Frederick P. Fife; members of the Passaic Police Department, under the direction of Chief Luis A. Guzman; the Clifton Police Department, under the direction of Chief Thomas Rinaldi; and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Mark Musella, for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sophie Kaiser of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
rivera.complaint.pdfParker, PA Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Sex Abuse MaterialsRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. – A resident of Parker, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
Thomas Robert Hawk, 41, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that from August 2021 to May 2022, Hawk possessed and accessed with intent to view visual images and videos in individual digital files depicting prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. As part of his plea agreement, Hawk agreed that he had violated the conditions of his federal supervised release which he was serving for a prior federal conviction for receiving child sexual abuse material. Hawk also agreed as part of his guilty plea to a sentence of 11 years' imprisonment to be followed by ten years of supervised release.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Judge Baxter scheduled sentencing for Aug. 8, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. The law provides for a total sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal
Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court ordered that Hawk remained detained.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Probation conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Hawk.
Owner of Temporary Employment Agency Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud and Workers Compensation Insurance FraudRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dorchester woman has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to tax and fraud offenses in connection with her operation of a temporary employment agency.
Dam Ngoc Luong, 69, pleaded guilty on April 18, 2023 to two counts of filing false corporate and individual tax returns, three counts of failure to collect and pay over employee taxes and one count of mail fraud. United States Senior District Judge Rya W. Zobel scheduled sentencing for July 13, 2023.
From at least 2015 through 2019, Luong owned and operated Four Seasons Temp, Inc., an agency providing temporary workers for client businesses. A temporary employment agency is responsible for paying wages to the employees, processing employee payroll, collecting and paying all employee payroll taxes and maintaining workers’ compensation insurance to protect employees who suffer work-related injuries. The agency collects payments from the client businesses to cover the agency’s expenses and a profit for the agency.When collecting payments from business clients of her temporary employment agency, however, Luong cashed most checks rather than deposit the funds into her business account. Then, on annual corporate tax returns, Luong reported to the IRS only the amounts deposited to the business account and failed to pay federal taxes on more than $14 million of the company’s income. Additionally, because Luong created Four Seasons as an S-corporation, the net business income and expenses flowed through to her Form 1040 individual tax returns. As a result, Luong failed to report more than $3 million in pass-through income and failed to pay $885,000 in personal income taxes.
As the owner of the company, Luong also had an obligation to withhold taxes from wages paid to the employees. Despite this obligation, Luong paid more than $12 million of employee wages in cash “under the table.” She failed to withhold taxes from the cash wages and failed to pay more than $3 million in employment taxes she owed to the IRS.
Finally, Luong defrauded the insurance carrier she engaged to provide workers’ compensation insurance coverage for employees, by concealing the cash wages paid to her employees. By concealing the wages she paid, Luong paid lower workers’ compensation insurance premiums and defrauded the insurance carrier of $155,000 in premiums she should have paid.
The charges of filing false tax returns each provide for a sentence of up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 and restitution to the IRS. The charges of failure to collect and pay over employee taxes each provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 and restitution to the IRS. The charge of mail fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Joleen D. Simpson, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor A. Wild of Rollins’ Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.
Ohio Man Charged for Attempting to Burn Down a Church that Planned to Host Drag Show EventsRead the Press Release
A federal indictment was returned charging an Ohio man with a violation of the Church Arson Prevention Act for using Molotov cocktails against the Community Church of Chesterland, in Chesterland, Ohio, in an attempt to burn the church to the ground. He was also indicted on one count of using fire to commit a federal felony, one count of malicious use of explosive materials and one count of possessing a destructive device.
According to court documents, Aimenn D. Penny, 20, of Alliance, attempted to burn the church to the ground after learning the church was holding multiple drag show events the following weekend. Penny was initially arrested and charged with federal offenses on March 31.
If convicted, Penny faces a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison for the violation of the Church Arson Prevention Act. Penny also faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison for the malicious use of explosive materials charge and up to 10 years in prison for the possession of a destructive device charge. In addition, if convicted of using fire to commit a federal felony, Penny faces a 10-year mandatory prison sentence that will run consecutively with any other prison term imposed.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler for the Northern District of Ohio and Special Agent in Charge Gregory Nelsen of the FBI Cleveland Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Cleveland Field Office is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Deckert and Matthew W. Shepherd for the Northern District of Ohio and Trial Attorneys Jacob Warren and Justin Sher of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case with assistance from Trial Attorney Eric Peffley of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Ohio Man Charged for Attempting to Burn Down a Church that Planned to Host Drag Show EventsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A federal indictment was returned charging an Ohio man with a violation of the Church Arson Prevention Act for using Molotov cocktails against the Community Church of Chesterland, in Chesterland, Ohio, in an attempt to burn the church to the ground. He was also indicted on one count of using fire to commit a federal felony, one count of malicious use of explosive materials and one count of possessing a destructive device.
According to court documents, Aimenn D. Penny, 20, of Alliance, attempted to burn the church to the ground after learning the church was holding multiple drag show events the following weekend. Penny was initially arrested and charged with federal offenses on March 31.
If convicted, Penny faces a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison for the violation of the Church Arson Prevention Act. Penny also faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison for the malicious use of explosive materials charge and up to 10 years in prison for the possession of a destructive device charge. In addition, if convicted of using fire to commit a federal felony, Penny faces a 10-year mandatory prison sentence that will run consecutively with any other prison term imposed.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler for the Northern District of Ohio and Special Agent in Charge Gregory Nelsen of the FBI Cleveland Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Cleveland Field Office is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Deckert and Matthew W. Shepherd for the Northern District of Ohio and Trial Attorneys Jacob Warren and Justin Sher of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case with assistance from Trial Attorney Eric Peffley of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
North Korean Foreign Trade Bank Representative Charged in Crypto Laundering ConspiraciesRead the Press Release
Two federal indictments were unsealed today in the District of Columbia charging a North Korean Foreign Trade Bank (FTB) representative for his role in separate money laundering conspiracies designed to generate revenue for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea through the use of cryptocurrency.
“The charges announced today respond to innovative attempts by North Korean operatives to evade sanctions by exploiting the technological features of virtual assets to facilitate payments and profits, and targeting virtual currency companies for theft,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “We will continue to work to disrupt and deter North Korean actors and those who aid them by following the money on the blockchain and shining a light on their conduct.”
According to court documents, Sim Hyon Sop (Sim), 39, is charged with allegedly conspiring with over-the-counter (OTC) cryptocurrency traders to use stolen funds to buy goods for North Korea and for conspiring with North Korean IT workers to generate revenue through illegal employment at blockchain development companies in the United States.
The first indictment involves a conspiracy between Sim and three OTC traders to launder stolen funds from virtual currency exchange hacks to make payments in U.S. dollars for goods on behalf of the North Korean government. The second involves a conspiracy between Sim and various North Korean IT workers to launder proceeds of illegal IT development work, where the IT workers gained employment at U.S. blockchain development companies using fake identities, and then laundered their ill-gotten gains through Sim for the benefit of the North Korean regime, and in contravention of sanctions imposed against North Korea by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the United Nations. Those sanctions were imposed to impede the development of North Korea’s ballistic missiles, weapons production, and research and development programs.
“Today’s indictments reveal North Korea’s continued use of various means to circumvent U.S. sanctions,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “We can and will ‘follow the money,’ be it through cryptocurrency or the traditional banking system, to bring appropriate charges against those who would help to fund this corrupt regime.”
According to court documents, North Korean national Sim, Chinese national Wu Huihu (Wu), Hong Kong British National (Overseas) Cheng Hung Man (Cheng), and the user of the online moniker live:jammychen0150 (“Jammy Chen”) conspired to launder stolen cryptocurrency and then used those funds to purchase goods through Hong Kong-based front companies on behalf of North Korea. Sim directed these payments, which were made in U.S. dollars, through “Jammy Chen.” “Jammy Chen” then recruited Wu and Cheng, both of whom were OTC traders, to find sham front companies and facilitate the payments to avoid U.S. sanctions against North Korea.
“As criminals engage in new methods of exploiting and laundering cryptocurrency, the FBI will continue to relentlessly pursue them and bring them to justice,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “These individuals used their illicit criminal activity to aid the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Today’s indictment demonstrates the power of strong investigative work and collaboration amongst partners in holding state operatives accountable.”
Sim also allegedly conspired to launder funds generated by North Korean IT workers who obtained illegal employment in the tech and crypto industry. These IT workers used fake personas to get jobs, including jobs at U.S.-based companies, and then asked to be paid in cryptocurrencies, such as stablecoins like USD Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), which are pegged to the U.S. dollar. After receiving payment, they funneled their earnings back to North Korea through Sim.
According to court documents, the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB) is North Korea’s primary intelligence and clandestine operations unit, known to have a cyber capability that has come to be known within the cybersecurity community as both Lazarus Group and Advanced Persistent Threat 38 (APT38). APT38 is a financially motivated North Korean regime-backed group responsible for conducting destructive cyber-attacks since at least 2014 to generate revenue for its ballistic missile and WMD programs. Specifically, these North Korean hackers have worked in concert to conduct cyber-attacks against victims located in the United States and around the world, including hacks against financial institutions and virtual asset service providers. North Korean actors have gained unauthorized access to these victim networks as part of their fraudulent scheme through a variety of means, including through spear-phishing messages designed to induce victims to download and execute malicious software developed by the hackers.
Since 2017, as part of its cyber campaign, North Korean hackers have also executed virtual currency-related thefts to generate revenue for the regime, including through the hacking of virtual asset services providers, such as virtual currency exchanges. A portion of the proceeds from those virtual currency theft and fraud schemes was sent to virtual currency address 1G3Qj4Y4trA8S64zHFsaD5GtiSwX19qwFv, which Sim and his OTC trader coconspirators used to fund payments for goods for North Korea.
To generate revenue for the regime, North Korea also deploys IT workers to obtain illegal employment in the cryptocurrency industry. According to court documents, North Koreans apply for jobs in remote IT development work without disclosing that they are North Korean. These IT workers bypass security and due diligence checks through the false or fraudulent use of identity documents and other obfuscation strategies, such as virtual private networks to hide their true location from online payment facilitators and hiring platforms. The IT workers request payment for their services in virtual currency and then send their earnings back to North Korea via, among other methods, FTB representatives such as Sim.
A third indictment also unsealed today in the District of Columbia separately charges Wu with operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. According to court documents, Wu operated as an OTC trader on a U.S.-based virtual currency exchange and conducted over 1,500 trades for U.S. customers without obtaining the necessary licenses.
The FBI Chicago Field Office and FBI’s Virtual Assets Unit (VAU) are investigating the cases.
The charge of conspiring to launder monetary instruments is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison. The charge of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business is punishable by a maximum of five years in prison.
Trial Attorney Jessica Peck of the Justice Department’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) and Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Wasserman and Christopher Tortorice for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney Emma Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the cases. Paralegal Specialists Brian Rickers and Angela De Falco and Legal Assistant Jessica McCormick provided valuable assistance. Significant assistance was also provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, FBI Los Angeles Field Office, Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, former Special Agent Chris Janczewski of the IRS Criminal Investigation, and former FBI analyst Nick Carlsen.
The NCET was created in October 2021 to combat the growing illicit use of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Under the supervision of the Criminal Division, the NCET conducts and supports investigations into individuals and entities that enable the use of digital assets to commit and facilitate a variety of crimes, with a particular focus on virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and infrastructure providers. The NCET also sets strategic priorities regarding digital asset technologies, identifies areas for increased investigative and prosecutorial focus, and leads the department’s efforts to collaborate with domestic and foreign government agencies as well as the private sector to aggressively investigate and prosecute crimes involving cryptocurrency and digital assets.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
North Korean Foreign Trade Bank Rep Charged for Role in Two Crypto Laundering ConspiraciesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Two federal indictments, unsealed today in the District of Columbia, charge a North Korean Foreign Trade Bank (“FTB”) representative for his role in money laundering conspiracies designed to generate revenue for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, through the use of cryptocurrency. A third indictment charges one of the co-conspirators in a separate scheme.
The indictments were announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., and Special Agent in Charge Robert W. “Wes” Wheeler, Jr. of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office.
Sim Hyon Sop (“Sim”), 39, a North Korean national, is charged with conspiring with three over-the-counter (“OTC”) traders, Wu HuiHui (“Wu”), 34, a Chinese national living in Jinan, Shandong, China; Cheng Hung Man (“Cheng”), 59, a Hong Kong British National (Overseas) living in Hong Kong, and an unknown user of the online moniker “live:jammychen0150” (“Chen”), to launder stolen cryptocurrency and use the funds to purchase goods through Hong Kong-based front companies for the benefit of North Korea. Sim directed these payments, which were made in U.S. dollars, through Chen. Chen then recruited Wu and Cheng, both of whom were OTC traders, to find sham front companies and facilitate the payments to avoid U.S. sanctions against North Korea.
The second indictment alleges a conspiracy between Sim and various North Korean IT workers to launder proceeds of illegal IT development work. The IT workers gained employment at U.S. crypto companies using fake identities and then laundered their ill-gotten gains through Sim for the benefit of the North Korean regime, and in contravention of sanctions imposed against North Korea by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the United Nations. Those sanctions were imposed to impede the development of North Korea’s ballistic missiles, weapons production, and research and development programs.
“Today’s indictments reveal North Korea’s continued use of various means to circumvent U.S. sanctions,” said U.S. Attorney Graves. “We can and will ‘follow the money,’ be it through cryptocurrency or the traditional banking system, to bring appropriate charges against those who would help to fund this corrupt regime.”
“The charges announced today highlight the ways in which North Korean operatives have innovated their approach to evading sanctions by exploiting the technological features of virtual assets to facilitate payments and profits, and targeting virtual currency companies for theft,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “We will continue to work to disrupt and deter North Korean actors and those who aid them by following the money on the blockchain and shining a light on their conduct.”
“The growing popularity of virtual currencies has provided new and unique opportunities for criminals to engage in illicit transactions, but what has not changed is our commitment to investigating these crimes,” said Special Agent in Charge Wheeler. “I am proud of the work that the FBI and partners have accomplished in support of today's indictment.”
Since 2017, as part of its cyber campaign, North Korean hackers have executed virtual currency-related thefts to generate revenue for the regime, including through the hacking of virtual asset services providers, such as virtual currency exchanges. A portion of the proceeds from those virtual currency theft and fraud schemes was sent to virtual currency address 1G3Qj4Y4trA8S64zHFsaD5GtiSwX19qwFv, which Sim and his OTC trader coconspirators used to fund payments for goods for North Korea.
To generate revenue for the regime, North Korea also deploys IT workers to obtain illegal employment in the cryptocurrency industry. According to court documents, North Koreans apply for jobs in remote IT development work without disclosing that they are North Korean in order to circumvent sanctions. These IT workers bypass security and due diligence checks by using fake, or fraudulently obtained, identity documents and other obfuscation strategies to hide their true location from online payment facilitators and hiring platforms. The IT workers request payment for their services in virtual currency and then send their earnings back to North Korea via, among other methods, FTB representatives like Sim.
]A third indictment unsealed today in the District of Columbia separately charges Wu with operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. According to that indictment, Wu operated as an OTC trader on a U.S.-based virtual currency exchange without a license and conducted over 1,500 trades for U.S. customers, totaling over $800,000.
A concurrent action was taken today by the Department of the Treasury, sanctioning Sim, Wu, and Cheng.
The charge of conspiring to launder monetary instruments is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison. The charge of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business is punishable by a maximum of 5 years in prison.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Chicago Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Jessica Peck of the Justice Department’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Wasserman and Christopher Tortorice of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney Emma Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. Paralegal Specialists Brian Rickers and Angela De Falco and Legal Assistant Jessica McCormick provided valuable assistance. Significant assistance was also provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, former IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent Chris Janczewski, and former FBI analyst Nick Carlsen.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
New Orleans Woman Sentenced to Probation for Federal FraudRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS - ERIKA JAMES (“JAMES”), age 49, from New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced to five years’ probation following a sentencing hearing on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, before Judge Sarah S. Vance, announced United States Attorney Duane A. Evans
According to court documents, JAMES was a Denial Specialist at Company 1, a Federally Qualified Health Center and AIDS Service Organization. From March 2020 through April 2021, JAMES created fraudulent invoices with falsified supporting documents, such as explanation of benefits documents from insurance companies. JAMES endorsed checks that were issued to patients that were in higher amounts than the usual range of the refund amount. JAMES made claims in the system that made it appear that patients came into Company 1 and paid out of pocket for services. JAMES would have the Finance Department issue the patient refund check, and would then deposit the refund check into her personal bank account.
JAMES filed additional claims with the Louisiana Health Access Program (“LAHAP”) in December 2020 and told LAHAP to mail the checks to her residence. The checks that were sent to JAMES’s residence were made out to Company 1. JAMES then proceeded to deposit those checks into her personal bank account.
JAMES faced a possible maximum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, up to a $250,000 fine, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the United States Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Ryan McLaren of the Appellate Unit and Kathryn McHugh of the Financial Crimes Unit were in charge of the prosecution.
New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun and Narcotics ChargesRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LA – HERBERT JAMES, age 27, of New Orleans, Louisiana, pleaded guilty on April 19, 2023 to a two-count indictment charging him with possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, in violation of the Federal Gun Control Act, Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2) and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C) announced United States Attorney Duane A. Evans.
According to court documents, JAMES was arrested on April 22, 2022 during the course of a traffic stop, by the Louisiana State Police when, troopers found JAMES in possession of a fully loaded Sig Sauer, nine-millimeter handgun and a quantity of Ecstasy. Further investigation revealed that JAMES had been convicted in 2018 for aggravated flight from an officer, which prohibited his possession of a firearm.
The maximum penalties as to the weapon charge, are ten (10) years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000.00, and up to three (3) years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment. As to the narcotics charge, JAMES faces up to twenty (20) years imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000,000, and at least three (3) years of supervised release. Additionally, JAMES will pay a $200 mandatory special assessment fee. Sentencing is scheduled for August 9, 2023.
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.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Louisiana State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Kennedy of the Violent Crime Unit.
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Member of 5-9 Brims Gang Convicted of Brooklyn MurderRead the Press Release
A federal jury in Brooklyn returned a guilty verdict today against Marvin Pippins, also known as “Mukk,” a member of the Brooklyn-based street gang 5-9 Brims, on counts of racketeering conspiracy, murder-in-aid-of racketeering, murder conspiracy, narcotics trafficking and use of a firearm. The verdict followed a two-week trial before United States District Judge Pamela K. Chen. When sentenced, Pippins faces a mandatory term of life imprisonment.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the verdict.
Mr. Peace expressed his thanks to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, New York Division, and the New York City Police Department for their outstanding investigative work and dedication.
“As found by the jury, Pippins brazenly committed a gang-related murder with a gun, in broad daylight in Brooklyn, taking another human’s life on behalf of his criminal enterprise which also trafficked drugs and perpetrated fraud in our community,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Pippins will now face very serious consequences for a brutal crime that was motivated by a senseless feud with rivals. Today’s verdict demonstrates the commitment of this Office and our law enforcement partners to dismantle violent gangs that threaten the safety of our communities.”
The evidence at trial established that between January 2012 and December 2019, Pippins and other members and associates of the 5-9 Brims engaged in drug trafficking and fraud, and committed acts of violence, including murder. Pippins sold crack and cocaine and committed numerous financial frauds, including possession and use of stolen identities, fraudulent checks and access devices such as credit cards and bank account information.
During this time period, the 5-9 Brims were feuding with a rival faction, known as “Real Ryte,” whose members also operated in Brooklyn. On December 19, 2015, Pippins killed Sean Peart, a Real Ryte member, by shooting at him six times while Peart sat in a car in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer M. Sasso, Lindsey R. Oken and Dana Rehnquist are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Celine Laruelle.
The Defendant:
MARVIN PIPPINS (also known as “Mukk”)
Age: 32
Brooklyn, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-378 (PKC)
Massachusetts Man Sentenced for Computer IntrusionRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Jonathan Manzi, 31, currently of Beverly, Massachusetts, was sentenced on April 20, 2023, in Lincoln, Nebraska, by Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard for obtaining information from a protected computer. Manzi was sentenced to 18 months in prison and will also serve a year on supervised release. Manzi was also ordered to pay $655,000 in restitution.
Manzi was an owner and co-founder of Ink Labs, Inc., a business that specialized in technology to permit its customers and users to upload materials to “the cloud” and then print those uploaded materials at an Ink Labs “kiosk” or other printing location for a fee. The majority of Ink Labs’ customers are colleges and universities. One of Ink Labs competitors in this market was Wepa, Inc., a business located in Pelham, Alabama. The victim identified in the investigation worked at Ink Labs until February, 2017, when he resigned from his position. The victim later took a job at Wepa, Inc. as a regional sales representative.
In June, 2017, while traveling abroad with his family in Spain, the victim received notifications from both Google regarding his Gmail account and from his cellular provider, AT&T. These notifications made the victim aware that someone had been attempting to access his device and accounts. While still in Spain, the victim’s cellular phone lost service. He contacted AT&T and was told that he had requested that his phone number be moved to a Samsung device. The victim informed AT&T that he had not authorized this change and asked that his number be moved back to his phone. On this same day the victim also noticed that he was unable to log into his Gmail account using his credentials.
Evidence established that on July 1, 2017, Manzi accessed the victim’s Google email account without authorization. Additionally, Manzi impersonated the victim to AT&T to gain control over the victim’s phone. Once gaining control, Manzi was able to access the information contained in files and applications on the Google accounts, including access to the victim’s email account and web-based applications. Manzi then was able to obtain the victim’s login credentials for the Dropbox account for Wepa, Inc., which Manzi then used to access files belonging to Wepa.
In July, 2017, Manzi again accessed Wepa’s Dropbox account using the victim’s Google account and changed the password of the victim’s Dropbox account. Once Manzi accessed the Wepa, Inc. Dropbox account, Manzi was again able to access information of Wepa, Inc., including customer information.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun CrimesRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Timothy Lanier Allen III, 24, of Maryland, pleaded guilty today to three counts of making false statements in acquisition of firearms.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on June 1, 2022, Allen purchased two Ruger 57, 5.7x28mm-caliber pistols, a Glock 27, .40-caliber pistol, and a Glock 30S, .45-caliber pistol at various businesses in Barboursville and Huntington. Allen bought the firearms for an individual who was with him during the purchases and who provided the money to buy the firearms. Allen falsely certified on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Federal Firearms Transaction Record Form 4473 that he was the buyer of the firearms when he knew he was purchasing the firearms for the individual.
Allen is scheduled to be sentenced on July 31, 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).
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Courtney L. Finney 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. 3:22-cr-215.
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Man admits to hiding meth in air freshenerRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 57-year-old man has pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute more than 180 grams of meth, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
On March 17, authorities encountered Sean Graham at a local restaurant. There, he appeared nervous and soon admitted he had meth in his truck. They searched his truck and found several bags containing approximately 80 grams of meth of the drug in the truck.
Law enforcement then obtained a search warrant for his residence where they found an additional 100 grams of meth. Some was located inside an Airwick air freshener.
The total weight was approximately 180.4 grams.
U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton will impose sentencing July 24. At that time, Graham faces up to life in prison and a possible $10 million maximum fine.
Graham has been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Corpus Christi Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Overman is prosecuting the case.
Lowell Man Sentenced for Cocaine Conspiracy Tied to Colombian Organized Crime OrganizationRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Lowell man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for conspiring to distribute cocaine.
Miguel Colindres, 61, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 51 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In January, Colindres pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Colindres was arrested and charged on July 15, 2020 and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury on July 21, 2020.
Colindres conspired with members of La Oficina de Envigado (La Oficina), a criminal organization based in Medellín, Colombia to distribute five kilograms of cocaine. La Oficina originated in the 1980s when its members provided enforcement and collection services for the Medellín Cartel, including deceased Medellín Cartel leader Pablo Escobar. Today, La Oficina is allegedly involved in international narcotics trafficking, drug debt collection, money laundering, extortion and murder for hire.
It is alleged that co-defendants Fabio de Jesus Yepes Sanchez and Mario Zapata Velez were members of La Oficina who were tasked with collecting a $750,000 drug debt from two cocaine traffickers in Massachusetts. It is further alleged that Colindres conspired with Yepes, Zapata and others, to obtain five kilograms of cocaine from the Massachusetts traffickers, sell those kilograms, and then repatriate the drug proceeds to Colombia, in partial satisfaction of the outstanding drug debt.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance in the investigation was provided by the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department; Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston; and the Government of Colombia. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren A. Graber and Jared C. Dolan of Rollins’ Criminal Division prosecuted the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
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.
Lincoln Woman Sentenced for Possession with Intent to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Connie Robinson, 33, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced today in federal court in Lincoln for possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Robinson to 192 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After her release from prison, she will begin a 10-year term of supervised release.
On April 14, 2022, a Lincoln Police Department officer was on duty checking hotels in Lincoln. The officer saw a black Ford sedan sitting in a hotel lot. The license plate on the vehicle did not match that vehicle. The officer stopped and made contact with the vehicle. Robinson, who was in the front passenger seat, rolled down the window for the officer. The officer smelled marijuana odor coming from the vehicle. Another officer arrived on the scene, and the vehicle was searched. The second officer opened a fanny pack where Robinson had been seated and found a pipe, baggies, a scale, and about 98 grams of actual methamphetamine. Officers also found about 2.4 grams of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in a sunglass case on the driver’s side. Robinson was arrested and taken to jail. While there, she made an excited utterance that the case was hers.
Robinson had a prior conviction for delivery of a controlled substance which raised the mandatory minimum sentence in this case from 10 to 15 years’ imprisonment.
This case was investigated by the Lincoln Police Department.
Leader of Organization that Distributed over 6 Kilograms of Heroin and Fentanyl Sentenced to over 33 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A man who led a years‑long conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl was sentenced on April 21, 2023, to over 33 years in federal prison.
Brian Jarrell Dennis, age 33, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after his June 27, 2022 guilty pleas to one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin, two counts of distribution of heroin and fentanyl, two counts of distribution and aiding and abetting the distribution of heroin and fentanyl, and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.
Evidence and information presented at the sentencing hearing and prior hearings showed that Dennis orchestrated the transport of over six kilograms of purported heroin from Chicago for distribution in Cedar Rapids. During the early part of 2021, the Drug Enforcement Administration in Cedar Rapids initiated a wiretap investigation into Dennis’s drug distribution ring. That evidence showed that during the months of the wiretap, Dennis employed intermediaries whom he supplied with purported heroin (which almost always also contained fentanyl or another synthetic opioid) to distribute to customers. Several of those customers regularly distributed that purported heroin to other individuals.
Evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that, in November 2018, Dennis was in a dispute with his cousin, who was one of his former heroin distributors. Dennis believed his cousin had stolen customers from him, so Dennis threatened that individual over the phone, telling him that he would “come at him with everything [he] had.” The sentencing court found that, during the evening of November 29, 2018, Dennis shot his cousin twice in the chest with a .22 caliber pistol during a drive‑by shooting in Cedar Rapids. The cousin survived the attack, but the sentencing judge observed that for Dennis, “money comes before family.” The judge described Dennis as the “poster child” for a major drug dealer who uses violence to control his business.
Information presented at sentencing and other hearings also showed that when officers attempted to arrest Dennis on the federal arrest warrant in June 2021, he led them on a high‑speed car chase during which Dennis threw a loaded handgun out of his vehicle, drove through traffic signals, and eventually drove onto a golf course where he ran his vehicle into a stone bridge. After Dennis exited his vehicle and attempted to flee on foot, he was arrested by officers.
“Heroin and fentanyl are lethal drugs, and have killed adults and children in our community,” said United States Attorney Timothy Duax. “Dennis brought these deadly drugs here intending to sell them for profit, regardless of the consequences. Dennis used violence to control his market and enhance his ability to make money from the vulnerable and addicted. Prosecuting dangerous individuals like Dennis remains a top priority for our office.”
drug“A known drug trafficker with a proven history of violence has been removed from our community making the streets of Cedar Rapids that much safer for our families,” Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Omaha Division Special Agent in Charge Justin C. King said. “Today’s sentencing, along with the sentencing of nine of Brian Dennis’ associates, should send a strong message about the penalty that comes from pushing potentially lethal substances like heroin and heroin laced with fentanyl into our neighborhoods. Drug trafficking is not an innocent crime and arrests are often made of traffickers who own multiple weapons and have inflicted harm on others. Brian Dennis is a dangerous criminal and now faces more than 33 years in federal prison for his violent acts.”
Nine other individuals, Cody Scott Deklotz, Andrew James Lehman, Ryan Rick Schlitter, Melinda Salvatora Werning, Jerry Dwayne Banghart, Thomas Nathaniel May, Demeco Demon Irvin, Taylor James Leyden, and David Michael Nelson, previously pled guilty to the heroin conspiracy and have been sentenced. Ryan Rick Schlitter was sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment. Andrew James Lehman was sentenced to 10 months and 16 days’ imprisonment. Cody Scott Deklotz was sentenced to 84 months’ imprisonment. Melinda Salvatora Werning was sentenced to 12 months and one day of imprisonment. Jerry Dwayne Banghart was sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment. Thomas Nathaniel May was sentenced to 31 months’ imprisonment. Demeco Demon Irvin was sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment. Taylor James Leyden was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment. David Michael Nelson was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment. Ladonna Cynthia Givens, who also sold heroin and fentanyl for Dennis but who was charged in a separate indictment, was sentenced to 7 months and 14 days’ imprisonment.
Dennis was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Dennis was sentenced to a total of 400 months’ imprisonment on the conspiracy count, 240 months’ concurrent imprisonment on the remaining drug counts, and 120 months’ concurrent imprisonment on the gun count. He must also serve a total of a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Dennis is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA; the Linn County Sheriff's Office; the Cedar Rapids Police Department; the Marion Police Department; and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21‑CR‑32‑CJW.
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L3 Technologies Settles False Claims Act Allegations Relating to Double-Charging for Certain Material CostsRead the Press Release
L3 Technologies, Inc., Communication Systems West, a Utah-based manufacturer of communications equipment for military systems, has agreed to pay $21.8 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting and causing the submission of false claims to the Department of Defense by including in contract proposals the cost of certain parts twice, the Department of Justice announced today.
From approximately 2008 to 2011, L3 submitted, and the Department of Defense accepted, dozens of contract proposals for a handheld receiver called the Remote Operations Video Enhanced Receiver (ROVER), and a compact transceiver called the Video Oriented Transceiver for Exchange of Information (VORTEX), which operate together to provide real-time, full-motion video and other crucial data from the battlefield. The contract proposals included the cost of low-cost common-stock items, such as nuts and bolts, twice. As a result, the United States alleged that L3 knowingly double-charged the government for these parts.
“Government contractors must ensure that they provide the goods or services that they promised at the proper price,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s settlement demonstrates our commitment to pursue those who knowingly overcharge the American taxpayers.”
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to protecting the integrity of federal procurement contracting,” said U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins for the District of Utah. “We will vigorously pursue federal contractors who fail to comply with the highest standards of accuracy to ensure federal agencies are appropriately charged for goods and services.”
“The Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the law enforcement arm of the Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General, is steadfastly committed to rooting out fraud and ensuring taxpayer dollars are properly utilized,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Gregory P. Shilling of DCIS’s Southwest Field Office. “DCIS, the Department of Justice, and our law enforcement partners will continue to work together to ensure individuals and contractors that defraud the government are held accountable for their actions.”
“This settlement further demonstrates the resolve of Army Criminal Investigation Division and our law enforcement partners to protect and defend the assets of the United States Army,” said Special Agent in Charge Scott L. Moreland of the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Major Procurement Fraud Field Office.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah, with assistance from the Department of Defense, Defense Contract Audit Agency, and Defense Contract Management Agency.
This matter was handled by attorneys Paul R. Perkins, Russell B. Kinner, and Allison Cendali of the Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra Steinvoort for the District of Utah.
In conjunction with this resolution, the Justice Department has agreed to settle for $7,982,554 a lawsuit filed by L3 alleging breach of contract claims against the United States. That case, L3 Technologies, Inc., Communications Systems-West Division v. United States, Civil Action No. 17-1304 (Fed. Cl.), alleged that in an effort to prevent L3 from continuing to double-charge for common-stock items, the Department of Defense improperly prohibited L3 from charging certain other costs.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.
Justice Department Secures $2 Million Agreement in Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Alabama SheriffRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with the Sheriff of Mobile County, Alabama, to resolve the department’s lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII).
The settlement agreement resolves the department’s allegations that female corrections officers at the Mobile County Metro Jail were regularly subjected to severe and pervasive sexual harassment in the workplace by male inmates and that, despite the employees’ numerous reports to jail supervisors objecting to the harassment, the sheriff’s office did not take the complaints seriously and failed to take prompt and effective action to remedy this harassing conduct.
The department’s lawsuit also alleges that male inmates harassed female employees assigned to the jail’s housing units by frequently exposing their genitals to and masturbating at them, and that inmates also directed sexual slurs, sexual propositions, threats of sexual violence and sexually degrading comments toward female employees.
“Employers must take appropriate action to protect their employees from sexual harassment in the workplace,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Just like any other workplace, jails must take steps necessary to ensure that female employees are not subject to a sexually hostile work environment in any form.”
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, if approved by the court, the sheriff will pay $2.02 million into a settlement fund that will be used to compensate those women who were harmed by the employment practices challenged by the United States. The agreement also requires the sheriff to develop a comprehensive inmate sexual misconduct policy; train all jail employees on the new policy related to inmate sexual misconduct; maintain a dedicated housing area to house inmates found guilty of sexual misconduct; and appoint an Inmate Sexual Misconduct Disciplinary Hearing Officer to monitor and track compliance with the new inmate sexual misconduct policy.
This lawsuit is part of the Civil Rights Division’s Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Initiative. The initiative is aimed at eradicating sexual harassment in state and local government workplaces. It focuses on litigation, outreach and development of effective remedial measures to address and prevent future sex discrimination and harassment.
Trial Attorneys Taryn Wilgus Null, Alicia Johnson, Juliet Gray, Emily Given, Catherine Sellers, Sharion Scott and Julia Quinn of the Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section prosecuted the case.
The full and fair enforcement of Title VII is a top priority of the Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division and the Employment Litigation Section is available on its websites www.justice.gov/crt and www.justice.gov/crt/employment-litigation-section.
Justice Department Observes National Crime Victims’ Rights Week with Events Throughout the CountryRead the Press Release
Spokane, Washington – Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of
Washington, announces National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW), which will be observed from April 23–29, 2023. The federal Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) leads communities throughout the country in annual observances of National Crime Victims’ Rights
Week by raising awareness of victims’ rights and honoring crime victims and those who advocate on their behalf.This year’s theme is “Survivor Voices: Elevate. Engage. Effect Change.” During this week, the
Department of Justice recognizes the individuals and groups whose advocacy has propelled the victims’ rights movement forward for the past half century, inspiring in victims and their loved ones a feeling of hope for progress, justice, and healing. Partner organizations are committed to engaging with victims of crime; learning from their lived experiences; amplifying their voices; and fostering an environment where they are heard, believed, and supported.The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington seeks to raise awareness about crime victims’ issues and rights and introduce our communities to the important resources and services available. This matters because, according to a report from the Bureau of
Justice Statistics, in 2021, there were more than 4.6 million violent victimizations and 11.7 million property crimes, the latest year for which such information is available. President
Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Crime Victims’ Rights Week in 1981 to bring greater sensitivity to the needs and rights of victims of crime and the Department of Justice is proud to continue this important annual recognition.U.S. Attorney Waldref reaffirmed the commitment of the United States Attorney’s Office for the
Eastern District of Washington to supporting the rights of crime victims. “Our mission is to secure justice for the victims of crime and to prosecute those who have done them harm. To do this, we work closely with our law enforcement partners to address criminal activity in all of our communities, and we engage with victims’ advocacy organizations to support survivors and reduce the pain that so many victims of crime continue to endure.”OVC and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington encourage continued participation in victim-related observances throughout the year. For additional information on how to support victims of crime, visit OVC’s website at www.ovc.gov or contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington’s Victim Witness Program at
(509) 353-2767.Indianapolis Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for “Straw Purchases” of Nineteen Firearms and Illegal Gun Trafficking Using InstagramRead the Press Release
Indianapolis- DeAngelo Carnell, 24, of Indianapolis, Indiana was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison after pleading guilty to six counts of making false statements in connection with the acquisition of a firearm and one count of dealing in firearms without a federal license.
According to court documents, over the course of 40 days, from April 2021 through May 2021, DeAngelo Carnell purchased a total of nineteen firearms from different gun retailers in the Indianapolis area over the course of six transactions as part of a “straw purchase” scheme. A straw purchase scheme is when a person not prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm falsely states to a federally licensed gun dealer that they are purchasing a firearm for themselves, when they know that the gun is actually intended for someone else, frequently someone who is prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm.
In each of these transactions, Carnell purported that he was buying the firearms for himself. On During a June 28, 2021, interview with a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives agent, Carnell admitted that he purchased all but one gun for other individuals and that most of the transactions were facilitated using Instagram. On one occasion Carnell met subjects from Chicago and Gary, Indiana, at a gun store to illegally by guns for them. Carnell admitted that he charged a $50 fee for each illegal purchase, and that it was common for him to purchase handguns for young people who were unable to legally buy a gun because they were under the age of twenty-one. Carnell admitted that buying and selling firearms was his sole source of income from April 2020 through June 2021.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Zachary A. Myers and Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Columbus Field Division made the announcement.
“Illegal gun traffickers flood our streets with firearms and drive the violence plaguing too many of our neighborhoods, and saving lives requires us to stop the flow of crime guns at their source,” said U.S. Attorney Myers. “This defendant repeatedly lied to obtain firearms and profited by putting them into the hands of people prohibited from legally purchasing them. Now he will pay for his crimes in federal prison. This prosecution demonstrates that our office will work tirelessly with the ATF to identify illegal gun traffickers and hold them accountable.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Chief Tanya Walton Pratt. Judge Pratt also ordered that Carnell be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 3 years following his release from federal prison.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant United States Attorney Jayson McGrath, who prosecuted this case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department 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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Indianapolis Career Criminal Sentenced to Seven Years in Federal Prison for Fentanyl Trafficking After Threatening Woman with a FirearmRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS- Corey Bussell, 42 of Indianapolis, Indiana, was sentenced to 7 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
According to court documents, on May 8, 2021, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers were alerted to shots fired at a residence on Guilford Avenue in Indianapolis, Indiana. Victim 1 explained to detectives that she was visiting Bussell’s wife at their home when Bussell came down the stairs with a gun in his hand. Bussell pulled the slide back on the firearm and told Victim 1 to “get the f*** out of my house.” As Victim 1 left the house, Bussell followed her outside and fired the gun into the ground next to the steps of the front porch. Victim 1 stated that Bussell continued to threaten her, claiming that he would “pop” her with the firearm if she did not leave.
IMPD officers recovered one spent shell casing right outside the porch steps of Bussell’s residence. On May 13, 2021, officers initiated a traffic stop on Bussell near Guilford Avenue. During a search of the vehicle, officers located a fully loaded Glock handgun with an extended magazine inserted. The weapon had been reported stolen on March 13, 2021. On that same day, IMPD SWAT officers executed a search warrant at Bussell’s residence where they found 57.4 grams of a substance containing fentanyl, 5.39 grams of cocaine, and marijuana in a backpack.
Bussell’s multiple previous felony convictions for resisting law enforcement, possession of narcotics, robbery, alteration of handgun identification markers, carrying a handgun without a license, dealing in a sawed-off shotgun, and three convictions for illegal possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon prohibit him from ever possessing a firearm.
Zachary A. Myers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Columbus Field Division, and Randal Taylor, Chief of IMPD made the announcement.
“This defendant poses an extreme danger to our community, as shown by his lengthy criminal history and willingness to engage in gun violence,” said Zachary A. Myers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Not only did he use a firearm to threaten an innocent woman, but he was also responsible for pushing deadly poisons into our communities. We are grateful to our exceptional partners at IMPD and ATF for ensuring that this defendant is behind bars and unable to threaten or harm another individual.”
IMPD and ATF investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge, Chief Tanya Walton Pratt. Judge Pratt also ordered that Bussell be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 4 years following his release from Federal Prison and be subject to a $500 fine.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Michelle P. Brady and Samantha Spiro, who prosecuted this case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department 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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IRB Brasil Agrees to Pay Shareholders $5M in Connection with Securities Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A publicly traded Brazilian reinsurance company, IRB Brasil Resseguros SA, aka IRB Brasil RE (IRB), has entered into a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) with the Justice Department and agreed to pay $5 million in victim compensation to resolve the government’s investigation into a securities fraud scheme to fraudulently prop up IRB’s stock price by spreading false information that U.S. investment firm Berkshire Hathaway Inc. had invested in the company. IRB trades on Brazil’s B3 exchange and has shareholders around the world, including in the United States.
As it admitted in the NPA, IRB, through its former CFO, Fernando Passos, executed the fraud scheme beginning in February 2020 after an investment company published a report questioning the accuracy of IRB’s financial statements and announcing that the investment company had taken a short position against IRB’s stock. IRB’s stock price dropped in the wake of the report. In response, Passos developed and executed a scheme to mislead shareholders and the investing public by disseminating and causing to be disseminated materially false information that Berkshire Hathaway had invested in IRB, despite knowing that Berkshire Hathaway had not made any such investment. Passos circulated, and caused subordinate IRB investor relations employees to circulate, false materials to members of the press, analysts, and members of IRB’s board of directors to spread the false information regarding Berkshire Hathaway’s purported investment.
News outlets in both Brazil and the United States began incorrectly reporting that Berkshire Hathaway had invested in IRB. Following the news coverage, on the evening of March 3, 2020, Berkshire Hathaway issued a press release stating that it was not currently, had never been, and had no intention of becoming a shareholder in IRB. On March 4, 2020, after Berkshire Hathaway’s press release, IRB’s stock price dropped precipitously, causing significant shareholder losses.
As part of the NPA, IRB admitted that the facts described in the NPA constitute securities fraud. Under the terms of the NPA, IRB has agreed to continue cooperating with the Justice Department in other related investigations, to continue to implement a compliance and ethics program as set forth in the NPA, and to report to the department regarding the company’s remediation and implementation of the compliance measures as described in the NPA. Further, IRB has agreed to pay victim compensation of $5 million to shareholders who sold IRB stock on March 4, 2020.
The department reached this resolution with IRB based on a number of factors, including, among others, the nature and seriousness of the offense conduct involving IRB’s former CFO, as well IRB’s cooperation and implementation of remedial measures. In addition, IRB and the department agreed that the total amount of losses to all shareholders who sold IRB stock on March 4, 2020, was significantly more than $5 million. However, despite agreeing that a larger amount otherwise would be appropriate based on the law and the facts, IRB made representations to the department that the company had an inability to pay a criminal monetary penalty and to cover the full loss to shareholders. Based on those representations, the department, with the assistance of a forensic accounting expert, conducted an independent inability-to-pay analysis, which determined that the payment of more than $5 million was reasonably likely to threaten the continued viability of IRB, which in turn may expose the company’s shareholders to a further risk of loss.
Passos has been indicted and is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS) Criminal Investigations Group made the announcement.
The USPIS is investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Kate McCarthy of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is handling the case.
If you believe you are a victim in this case, please contact the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness Unit toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or by email at [email protected]. To learn more about victims’ rights, please visit: www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/victim-rights-derechos-de-las-v-ctimas. Victims can find case updates and additional information at www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/united-states-v-fernando-passos.
Gree U.S. Subsidiary Sentenced for Failure to Report Dangerous DehumidifiersRead the Press Release
Gree USA, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of a Chinese appliance company, was sentenced today to pay a $500,000 criminal fine after pleading guilty to failing to notify the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that millions of dehumidifiers it sold to U.S. consumers were defective and could catch fire.
Gree USA pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). The fine, along with provisions to pay restitution to victims, was part of a $91 million resolution with three related Gree companies that represents the first corporate criminal enforcement action ever brought under the CPSA.
Gree USA, based in City of Industry, California, and a U.S. subsidiary of Hong Kong Gree Electric Appliances Sales Co., Ltd. (Gree Hong Kong), entered into a plea agreement in connection with a criminal information filed in 2021 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The criminal information filed along with the plea agreement charges Gree USA with one felony count under the CPSA of willfully failing to report consumer product safety information to the CPSC.
Gree Electric Appliances, Inc. of Zhuhai (Gree Zhuhai), a global appliance manufacturer headquartered in Zhuhai, China, and Gree Hong Kong entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in connection with the same criminal information. Under the terms of the DPA, Gree Zhuhai and Gree Hong Kong agreed to a total monetary penalty of $91 million and also agreed to provide restitution for any uncompensated victims of fires caused by the companies’ defective dehumidifiers. Consistent with Justice Department policy, the DPA with Gree Zhuhai and Gree Hong Kong credits the Gree Companies’ earlier payment of $15.45 million in civil penalties to the CPSC against the agreed-upon $91 million total monetary penalty.
According to court filings, Gree Zhuhai, Gree Hong Kong and Gree USA (collectively, the Gree Companies) knew their dehumidifiers were defective, failed to meet applicable safety standards, and could catch fire, but the companies failed to report that information to the CPSC for months. The companies reported and recalled the dehumidifiers only after consumer complaints of fires and resulting harm continued to mount.
The Consumer Protection Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California previously indicted Charley Loh, 64, of Arcadia, California, and Simon Chu, 67, of Chino Hills, California – the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Administrative Officer of Gree USA, respectively – with felony CPSA and wire fraud charges for their alleged roles in the failure to report the defective dehumidifiers. Loh and Chu have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled for trial on Nov. 7, 2023, in Los Angeles. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
“Today’s sentencing of Gree USA is part of the Department of Justice’s ongoing efforts to hold accountable companies and executives that purposefully delay reporting dangerous consumer products to the CPSC,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department will continue to work closely with the CPSC to ensure consumers’ safety.”
“This corporation endangered the safety of American consumers by failing to promptly report a known problem with their defective humidifiers,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “Fortunately, authorities were able to stop this practice before Gree USA, Inc. could cause greater harm. This historic case underscores our commitment to protect the public from dangerous products that could cause consumers real harm and to hold accountable corporate entities who knowing violate our laws in promotion of their greed.”
“Today’s sentencing should serve as an example that companies will be held to account when they put profits before consumer safety,” said Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric of the CPSC. “The egregious behavior detailed in this case cannot be tolerated, and we are grateful for the support of the Department of Justice in bringing this company to justice and keeping consumers safe.”
“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) works tirelessly to protect the American consumer from health and safety risks posed by sub-standard products entering the United States,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang of HSI Los Angeles. “HSI, the Department of Justice, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission will continue to hold corporations accountable for placing profits above people.”
As part of the Gree USA plea agreement and the Gree Zhuhai and Gree Hong Kong DPA, the Gree Companies admitted that, between 2007 and 2013, they sold in the United States more than two million dehumidifiers manufactured by Gree Zhuhai and imported by Gree Hong Kong. In September 2012, employees of the Gree Companies, including high-level executives, learned that the Gree dehumidifiers had defects that could cause them to overheat and catch fire, and that consumers had reported fires caused by the dehumidifiers. Those same employees also knew of the obligation to report dangerous consumer products to the CPSC. Despite this knowledge, Gree USA continued to sell the defective dehumidifiers in the United States for at least another six months. The Gree Companies delayed reporting knowledge of the fires to the CPSC for approximately six months, and did not report the defects in the dehumidifiers for approximately nine months. Ultimately, Gree Zhuhai recalled the defective dehumidifiers almost a year after learning about the products’ dangerous defects.
HSI investigated this case.
Assistant Director Allan Gordus and Trial Attorneys Natalie Sanders and Maryann McGuire of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Johns for the Central District of California prosecuted the case with the assistance of Patricia Vieira of the CPSC’s Office of General Counsel.
Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
Gree Subsidiary Sentenced for Failure to Report Dangerous DehumidifiersRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – The City of Industry-based subsidiary of a Chinese appliance company was sentenced today to pay a $500,000 criminal fine after pleading guilty to failing to notify the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that millions of dehumidifiers it sold to domestic consumers were defective and could catch fire.
Gree USA Inc. was sentenced this morning after pleading guilty in January to a felony violation of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). The fine, along with provisions to pay restitution to victims, was part of a $91 million resolution with three related Gree companies that represents the first corporate criminal enforcement action ever brought under the CPSA.
Gree USA, a U.S. subsidiary of Hong Kong Gree Electric Appliances Sales Co., Ltd. (Gree Hong Kong), entered into a plea agreement in connection with a criminal information filed in 2021. Gree USA pleaded guilty to one felony count under the CPSA of willfully failing to report consumer product safety information to the CPSC.
Gree Electric Appliances, Inc. of Zhuhai (Gree Zhuhai), a global appliance manufacturer headquartered in Zhuhai, China, and Gree Hong Kong entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in connection with the same case. Under the terms of the DPA, Gree Zhuhai and Gree Hong Kong agreed to a total monetary penalty of $91 million and also agreed to provide restitution for any uncompensated victims of fires caused by the companies’ defective dehumidifiers. Consistent with Justice Department policy, the DPA with Gree Zhuhai and Gree Hong Kong credits the Gree Companies’ earlier payment of $15.45 million in civil penalties to the CPSC against the agreed-upon $91 million total monetary penalty.
According to court filings, Gree Zhuhai, Gree Hong Kong and Gree USA (collectively, the Gree Companies) knew their dehumidifiers were defective, failed to meet applicable safety standards, and could catch fire, but the companies failed to report that information to the CPSC for months. The companies reported and recalled the dehumidifiers only after consumer complaints of fires and resulting harm continued to mount.
“This corporation endangered the safety of American consumers by failing to promptly report a known problem with their defective humidifiers,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Fortunately, authorities were able to stop this practice before Gree USA could cause greater harm. This historic case underscores our commitment to protect the public from dangerous products that could cause consumers real harm and to hold accountable corporate entities who knowing violate our laws in promotion of their greed.”
“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) works tirelessly to protect the American consumer from health and safety risks posed by sub-standard products entering the United States,” said HSI Los Angeles Acting Special in Charge Eddy Wang. “HSI, the Department of Justice, and the Consumer Protection Safety Commission will continue to hold corporations accountable for placing profits above people.”
As part of the Gree USA plea agreement and the Gree Zhuhai and Gree Hong Kong DPA, the Gree Companies admitted that, between 2007 and 2013, they sold in the United States more than two million dehumidifiers manufactured by Gree Zhuhai and imported by Gree Hong Kong. In September 2012, employees of the Gree Companies, including high-level executives, learned that the Gree dehumidifiers had defects that could cause them to overheat and catch fire, and that consumers had reported fires caused by the dehumidifiers. Those same employees also knew of the obligation to report dangerous consumer products to the CPSC. Despite this knowledge, Gree USA continued to sell the defective dehumidifiers in the United States for at least another six months. The Gree Companies delayed reporting knowledge of the fires to the CPSC for approximately six months and did not report the defects in the dehumidifiers for approximately nine months. Ultimately, Gree Zhuhai recalled the defective dehumidifiers almost a year after learning about the products’ dangerous defects.
“Today’s sentencing of Gree USA is part of the Department of Justice’s ongoing efforts to hold accountable companies and executives that purposefully delay reporting dangerous consumer products to the CPSC,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department will continue to work closely with the CPSC to ensure consumers’ safety.”
“Today’s sentencing should serve as an example that companies will be held to account when they put profits before consumer safety,” said Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric of the CPSC. “The egregious behavior detailed in this case cannot be tolerated, and we are grateful for the support of the Department of Justice in bringing this company to justice and keeping consumers safe.”
The United States Attorney’s Office and the Consumer Protection Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division previously indicted Charley Loh, 64, of Arcadia, and Simon Chu, 67, of Chino Hills – respectively, the CEO and chief administrative officer of Gree USA – with felony CPSA and wire fraud charges for their alleged roles in the failure to report the defective dehumidifiers. Loh and Chu have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled for trial on November 7 in Los Angeles.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
HSI investigated this case.
This matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Johns of the Environmental and Community Safety Crimes Section, along with Assistant Director Allan Gordus and Trial Attorneys Natalie Sanders and Maryann McGuire of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch. Patricia Vieira of the CPSC’s Office of General Counsel provided substantial assistance.
Georgia Doctor Pleads Guilty to Distributing Misbranded Weight Loss Drug ProductRead the Press Release
A Georgia physician pleaded guilty today to charges related to the sale of a purported weight loss drug product that contained human chorionic gonadotropin, or HCG.
Dr. Audrey Arona, 64, of Gainesville, Georgia, pleaded guilty to causing the introduction into interstate commerce of a misbranded drug product containing HCG and marketed under the name “Releana.” Pursuant to a plea agreement, Magistrate Judge J. Clay Fuller of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ordered Dr. Arona to forfeit approximately $65,000.
HCG is a hormone produced by the human placenta. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved certain injectable HCG drug products for the treatment of some cases of female infertility and for hormone treatment in males. But the FDA has never approved any oral or sublingual HCG drug products for any use, and the FDA has never approved any HCG drug product for weight loss. In fact, FDA has specifically warned consumers to avoid HCG weight-loss products, advising, “If you have HCG products for weight loss, quit using it, throw it out, and stop following the dieting instructions.”
“Doctors who distribute drugs must comply with federal law designed to ensure these products are safe and effective,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to stop the distribution of misbranded HCG drugs and other misbranded drugs, including through criminal enforcement where appropriate.”
“Misbranded prescription drugs can present a serious health risk to those who buy and use them. The drugs may contain unknown ingredients and may be made under unknown conditions,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles L. Grinstead of the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Kansas City Field Office. “We will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who traffic in misbranded prescription drugs.”
According to court documents, Dr. Arona admitted to selling a sublingually administered HCG-for-weight-loss drug product to patients around the country. Dr. Arona further admitted that she represented to patients that the HCG-for-weight-loss drug product was FDA-approved and that it could assist with weight loss.
Dr. Arona was the third defendant to plead guilty in connection with the marketing and sale of Releana. In September 2022, Hoschton, Georgia, resident Maurice Bailey also pleaded guilty to causing the introduction into interstate commerce of a misbranded drug product containing HCG. According to court documents, Bailey admitted to preparing the Releana sold by Dr. Arona in a facility that was not properly registered with FDA, and to inaccurately labelling that Releana. In August 2021, Colorado resident Sarah Alberg pleaded guilty to causing the introduction into interstate commerce of a misbranded drug product containing HCG, with the intent to mislead or defraud. According to court documents, Alberg also distributed Releana, and she admitted to smuggling HCG into the United States from India and distributing HCG using bottles and supplies exposed to rodent droppings.
The FDA Office of Criminal Investigations investigated the cases.
Senior Litigation Counsel Patrick Runkle and Trial Attorney Michael Wadden of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch prosecuted the cases against Dr. Arona and Bailey, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Keen for the Northern District of Georgia.
For more information about the enforcement efforts of the Consumer Protection Branch visit the Branch’s website at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch
Former Public Official and California Contractor Sentenced for Bid Rigging and BriberyRead the Press Release
A former Caltrans contract manager and a former contractor were sentenced today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento for their roles in a bid-rigging and bribery scheme involving Caltrans improvement and repair contracts.
Choon Foo “Keith” Yong, the former Caltrans contract manager, was sentenced to 49 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay $984,699.53 in restitution. According to a plea agreement filed on April 11, 2022, Yong and his co-conspirators engaged in a conspiracy, from early 2015 through late 2019, to thwart the competitive bidding process for Caltrans contracts to ensure that companies controlled by Yong’s co-conspirators submitted the winning bid and would be awarded the contract. Yong also pleaded guilty for accepting bribes while working for Caltrans, a California state agency that receives significant federal funding. Yong received the bribes in the form of cash payments, wine, furniture and remodeling services on his home. The total value of the payments and benefits that Yong received neared $1 million.
William D. Opp, the former contractor, was sentenced to 45 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay $797,940.23 in restitution. According to a plea agreement filed on Oct. 3, 2022, Opp engaged in the same conspiracy, from early 2015 through at least as late as August 2018. As part of the conspiracy, Opp formed a separate construction company, with his wife as the nominal president, to submit sham bids on Caltrans contracts. During his participation in the conspiracy, Opp and co-conspirators provided nearly $800,000 in cash bribes and other benefits to Yong.
Yong and Opp are the second and third co-conspirators to be sentenced in the case. On April 17, 2023, former construction company owner Bill R. Miller was sentenced to 78 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay nearly $1 million in restitution.
“These criminals – including a state employee who sought sales commissions for his role in the bid-rigging scheme – put greed and personal gain ahead of the public trust and are being punished accordingly,” said Director Daniel Glad of the Justice Department’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF). “The Antitrust Division and our PCSF partners are on the lookout for those that try to cheat on government contracts.”
“A former Caltrans employee and a contractor have been sentenced today for a conspiracy that cheated a state agency out of taxpayer funds and that, if left unchecked, could threaten to undermine public confidence in the proper functioning of government institutions,” said U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert for the Eastern District of California. “The defendants’ abuse of public trust and the length and breadth of the criminal conduct fully warrant today’s sentences. Bribes have no place in government contracting.”
“All government employees are expected to conduct businesses in accordance with both law and policy to ensure the integrity of those transactions and maintain public trust in the agencies they represent,” said Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI Sacramento Field Office. “No government official should put personal gain ahead of the needs of the communities they represent. The FBI stands ever ready to identify, investigate, and disrupt public corruption to ensure the American public’s trust in the institutions designed to serve and protect them is maintained.”
Today’s sentencing is the result of a joint investigation that was conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, and the FBI’s Sacramento Field Office as part of the Justice Department’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF).
Trial Attorneys Christopher J. Carlberg and Tai S. Milder and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee S. Bickley prosecuted the case.
In November 2019, the Department of Justice created the Procurement Collusion Strike Force, a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant, and program funding at all levels of government — federal, state and local. To contact the Procurement Collusion Strike Force, or to report information on market allocation, price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct related to construction or infrastructure, go to www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force.
Former Public Official and California Contractor Sentenced for Bid Rigging and BriberyRead the Press Release
A former Caltrans contract manager and a former contractor were sentenced today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento for their roles in a bid-rigging and bribery scheme involving Caltrans improvement and repair contracts.
Choon Foo “Keith” Yong, the former Caltrans contract manager, was sentenced to 49 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay $984,699.53 in restitution. According to a plea agreement filed on April 11, 2022, Yong and his co-conspirators engaged in a conspiracy, from early 2015 through late 2019, to thwart the competitive bidding process for Caltrans contracts to ensure that companies controlled by Yong’s co-conspirators submitted the winning bid and would be awarded the contract. Yong also pleaded guilty for accepting bribes while working for Caltrans, a California state agency that receives significant federal funding. Yong received the bribes in the form of cash payments, wine, furniture and remodeling services on his home. The total value of the payments and benefits that Yong received neared $1 million.
William D. Opp, the former contractor, was sentenced to 45 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay $797,940.23 in restitution. According to a plea agreement filed on Oct. 3, 2022, Opp engaged in the same conspiracy, from early 2015 through at least as late as August 2018. As part of the conspiracy, Opp formed a separate construction company, with his wife as the nominal president, to submit sham bids on Caltrans contracts. During his participation in the conspiracy, Opp and co-conspirators provided nearly $800,000 in cash bribes and other benefits to Yong.
Yong and Opp are the second and third co-conspirators to be sentenced in the case. On April 17, 2023, former construction company owner Bill R. Miller was sentenced to 78 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay nearly $1 million in restitution.
“These criminals – including a state employee who sought sales commissions for his role in the bid-rigging scheme – put greed and personal gain ahead of the public trust and are being punished accordingly,” said Director Daniel Glad of the Justice Department’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF). “The Antitrust Division and our PCSF partners are on the lookout for those that try to cheat on government contracts.”
“A former Caltrans employee and a contractor have been sentenced today for a conspiracy that cheated a state agency out of taxpayer funds and that, if left unchecked, could threaten to undermine public confidence in the proper functioning of government institutions,” said U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert for the Eastern District of California. “The defendants’ abuse of public trust and the length and breadth of the criminal conduct fully warrant today’s sentences. Bribes have no place in government contracting.”
“All government employees are expected to conduct businesses in accordance with both law and policy to ensure the integrity of those transactions and maintain public trust in the agencies they represent,” said Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI Sacramento Field Office. “No government official should put personal gain ahead of the needs of the communities they represent. The FBI stands ever ready to identify, investigate, and disrupt public corruption to ensure the American public’s trust in the institutions designed to serve and protect them is maintained.”
Today’s sentencing is the result of a joint investigation that was conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, and the FBI’s Sacramento Field Office as part of the Justice Department’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF).
Trial Attorneys Christopher J. Carlberg and Tai S. Milder and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee S. Bickley prosecuted the case.
In November 2019, the Department of Justice created the Procurement Collusion Strike Force, a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant, and program funding at all levels of government — federal, state and local. To contact the Procurement Collusion Strike Force, or to report information on market allocation, price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct related to construction or infrastructure, go to www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force.
Former Postal Service Mail Carrier Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Stealing from Her Mail Route Debit Cards Containing Public BenefitsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A former United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier was sentenced today to 15 months in federal prison for her role in a scheme that defrauded banks out of more than $200,000 via the theft of debit cards containing unemployment insurance and other benefits from her mail route and giving them to a co-schemer in exchange for cash payments and gifts.
Toya Toshell Hunter, 45, of South Los Angeles, was sentenced by United States District Judge John F. Walter, who also ordered her to pay $206,212 in restitution.
Hunter pleaded guilty in December 2022 to one count of bank fraud.
From at least August 2015 to May 2020, Hunter schemed to defraud Bank of America by using her position as a USPS mail carrier to steal mail containing California Employment Development Department (EDD) debit cards that contained unemployment insurances benefits. Hunter also stole debit cards containing Economic Impact Payments for federally issued monetary relief because of the COVID-19 pandemic, United States Treasury checks, and other mail containing personal identifying information related to victims assigned to Hunter’s mail route.
Hunter would then give the stolen EDD and other cards to co-defendant Michalea Latise Barksdale, a.k.a. “Miichii Bee,” 34, of Corona, who then activated and fraudulently used them. Hunter provided Barksdale the stolen debit cards in exchange for future payments and gifts.
During the scheme, Hunter helped Barksdale make fraudulent and unauthorized cash withdrawals from 68 separate victims’ accounts and stole approximately $204,812 from Bank of America.
In July 2021, Hunter stole from the mail and fraudulently activated a stolen EIP card belonging to a victim. Hunter then used this card to make fraudulent purchases and cash withdrawals from ATMs and stole approximately $1,400 from Fiserv, a Wisconsin-based financial institution.
“[Hunter]…abused her position by stealing access devices, checks, and personal identifying information from mail assigned to her mail routes,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “These access devices were cards intended for people who were struggling financially: those that were unemployed or impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Barksdale pleaded guilty on March 6 to one count of bank fraud and one count of possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices. She has agreed to forfeit her ill-gotten gains from the scheme, including 103 EDD debit cards, 78 EIP cards and four iPhones. Barksdale will face up to 40 years in federal prison at her July 10 sentencing hearing.
The United States Postal Inspection Service; United States Postal Service Office, of Inspector General; and the United States Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Kyle W. Kahan of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.
Former Physician to Pay More than $1.1 Million to Resolve Allegations He Performed Medically Unnecessary ProceduresRead the Press Release
Spokane, WA – Former physician Jason A. Dreyer has agreed to pay $1,174,849 to resolve allegations that he performed medically unnecessary neurosurgery procedures that Dreyer caused to be billed to Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care programs, announced Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. The joint settlement announced today is between Dreyer, the United States, and the State of Washington, which administers Washington’s Medicaid program using a combination of state and federal funding.
Between 2013 and 2018, Dreyer was employed as a neurosurgeon at Providence St. Mary’s Medical Center, a hospital in Walla Walla, Washington, owned and operated by Providence Health & Services Washington (Providence). In April 2022, United States Attorney Waldref announced that Providence agreed to pay $22,690,458 to resolve allegations that it fraudulently billed Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care programs for medically unnecessary neurosurgery procedures performed by Dreyer and another former Providence neurosurgeon. In the Providence settlement agreement, Providence admitted that, while Dreyer was employed at Providence St. Mary’s, Providence received concerns about Dreyer, including concerns from medical staff that Dreyer was endangering the safety of his patients. As admitted in the Providence settlement agreement, notwithstanding these concerns, Providence permitted Dreyer to resign without reporting him to the National Practitioner Data Bank or the Washington State Department of Health.
“Ensuring that surgical procedures are medically appropriate and properly performed is critical to building safe and strong communities here in the Eastern District of Washington,” said United States Attorney Waldref. “Patients with spinal injuries and back pain deserve top-notch care from a doctor who puts patients and their safety first. Significantly, as part of the settlement, Dr. Dreyer has agreed to voluntarily exclude himself from federal health care programs nationwide for at least nine years. This settlement will therefore make sure that patients, in Eastern Washington and nationwide, are protected from medically unnecessary and unsafe procedures for many years to come.”
After resigning from Providence, between May 2019 and November 2021, Dreyer was employed by Multicare Health Systems (Multicare) to provide neurosurgery services at Deaconess Hospital and Multicare Rockwood Clinic, both in Spokane, Washington. Both Providence and Multicare paid Dreyer based on a productivity metric through which he was paid more for performing more surgeries and for surgical procedures of greater complexity. The settlement announced today resolved allegations that, while employed by Multicare, Dreyer caused false and fraudulent billing to Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care programs by performing medically unnecessary procedures that did not meet requirements for federal and state reimbursement.
As part of the settlement, Dreyer entered into an exclusion agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). As part of this agreement, Dreyer agreed to be excluded from participating in Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care programs nationwide for at least nine years before he can request reinstatement from HHS.
"Providers have a responsibility to ensure that patient needs and safety, not illegitimate personal financial gain, drive medical decisions," said Steven J. Ryan, Special Agent in Charge at the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). "As this settlement demonstrates, HHS-OIG is committed to protecting federal health care programs from fraudulent billing and ensuring that providers focus on providing medically necessary care."
"The announced settlement and exclusion agreements are constructive steps in holding Dr. Dreyer responsible for repeatedly violating his patients' trust by valuing financial gain more than patient care and safety," said Bryan D. Denny, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Western Field Office. "DCIS remains committed to working with its law enforcement partners in protecting the integrity of the DoD's TRICARE healthcare program, especially in situations involving allegations of potential patient harm."
“VA’s Community Care programs provide veterans and their families the ability to obtain critical healthcare services from providers within their own communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Jason Root of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Northwest Field Office. “This civil settlement reinforces the VA OIG’s commitment to safeguarding the integrity of VA’s healthcare programs and operations and preserving taxpayer funds."
“I appreciate our strong partnership with U.S. Attorney Waldref’s office,” said Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson. “I look forward to continuing our work together to protect Medicaid dollars for those who need them.”
United States Attorney Waldref continued “I want to express special appreciation for our close collaboration and partnership with the Washington Medicaid Fraud Control Division and for the exceptional investigative work performed by HHS-OIG, Office of Personnel Management OIG, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Department of Veterans Affairs OIG. We will continue to work closely with our state and federal law enforcement partners to hold health care fraudsters accountable and to protect patient health and safety in the Eastern District of Washington.”
The settlement was the result of a joint investigation conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington; the State of Washington, Office of the Attorney General, Medicaid Fraud Control Division; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Seattle Field Office, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Seattle Field Office; the Office of Personnel Management, Office of Inspector General, Western Regional Office, and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Spokane Resident Agency. The United States Attorney’s Office would also like to express special thanks and appreciation for the logistical support provided by the Walla Walla Police Department during the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Dan Fruchter and Tyler H.L. Tornabene of the Eastern District of Washington handled this matter on behalf of the United States.
final_fully_executed_dreyer_settlement_agreement.pdfFormer Contracting Officer for the Department of Defense Pleads Guilty in Conspiracy to Defraud the GovernmentRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An Uxbridge man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to his role in a conspiracy to defraud the government of thousands of dollars from 2014 to 2018.
Thomas Bouchard, 60, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and 10 counts of theft of government funds. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf scheduled sentencing for June 26, 2023. Bouchard was arrested and charged in July 2020 along with co-defendant Chantelle Boyd.
Bouchard was the Contracting Officer in charge of the U.S. Army Natick Contracting Division, a full-service contracting organization for the Department of Defense. In 2014, Bouchard used his long-standing relationship with Evolution Enterprise, Inc., a government contractor, to allegedly have Boyd hired for a “no show” job as an assistant that specifically supported Bouchard. Boyd’s position cost the Department of Defense more than $490,000 during her time at Evolution from 2014 to 2018, during which Boyd performed little if any useful function.
Bouchard and Boyd took numerous government-funded trips, ranging in duration from two to 15 days, under the guise that they were work related. This included 31 trips to Orlando, Fla., among other locations such as Clearwater Beach, Fla., and Stafford, Va., during which Boyd allegedly performed little if any work. For many of the trips, Bouchard and Boyd stayed in the same hotel room and spent time at the pool and Disney parks – all during business hours. In order to conceal the personal nature of the trips, Bouchard altered, created and approved false travel to reimburse the Boyd for out-of-pocket expenses.On April 3, 2023, Boyd pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, 10 counts of theft of government funds and false declarations before the grand jury. She is scheduled to be sentenced on June 26, 2023.
The charge of conspiracy provides a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charges of theft of government funds each provide for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Joseph Dattoria, Special Agent in Charge of the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General; Patrick Hegarty, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; and Scott Moreland, Special Agent in Charge of the Army Criminal Investigation Division Major Procurement Fraud Field Office made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil J. Gallagher, Jr. of Rollins’ Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting the case.
Former Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty to COVID FraudRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Mohammad Fares, 28, formerly of Buffalo, now of Florida, who was convicted of theft of government property, was sentenced to serve to three years supervised release, perform 200 hours of community service, and pay restitution of approximately $43,000 by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles M. Kruly, who handled the case, stated that on May 18, 2020, Fares submitted an online application to the New York State Department of Labor for unemployment insurance benefits, stating that he did not work any day during the week of May 18, 2020; that he did not have gross earnings over $504; that his last day of work was March 21, 2020; and that his workplace had closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, Fares co-owned a trucking company in Buffalo, for which he managed truck drivers and coordinated shipments. On June 11, 2020, Fares received $3,600 in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation benefits. Every week through May 2, 2021, Fares certified to that he did not work during the prior week and had not returned to work. In doing so, Fares certified his continued eligibility for Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation and NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits. During this time period, Fares continued to manage the trucking company. Fares received, in total, approximately $43,320 in unemployment benefits and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation.
The CARES Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It expands states’ ability to provide unemployment insurance for many workers impacted by COVID-19, including for workers who are not ordinarily eligible for benefits. The CARES Act provided for three new UI programs: Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA); Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC); and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC).
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 Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations – Labor Racketeering and Fraud, Northeast Region, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Jonathan Mellone and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Michael Stansbury.
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Florence Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA --- Tommy Rene Lee, 53, was sentenced to ten years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor.
Evidence presented to the Court showed that Lee used his personal electronic devices to possess child pornography. Lee came to the attention of law enforcement when two social networking sites reported evidence of alleged criminal activity on their servers. The IP addresses of the reports were ultimately traced to Lee. Upon Lee’s arrest, law enforcement seized electronic devices and conducted forensics examinations that found 121 images and 17 videos depicting child pornography.
The investigation also revealed that Lee had a prior conviction under North Carolina law involving second-degree exploitation of a minor.
United States District Judge Bruce Howe Hendricks sentenced Lee to 120 months and 1 day in prison, to be followed by a life term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system. Judge Hendricks also ordered Lee to pay $12,000 in restitution.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the 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 sexually exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.
This case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy F. Bower is prosecuting the case.
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Five Individuals Charged in $2M Virtual Asset and Securities Manipulation SchemeRead the Press Release
An indictment was unsealed today in Miami charging two U.S. citizens and a South African national with conspiring to manipulate the market for HYDRO, a virtual asset created by the Hydrogen Technology Corporation. Two other individuals were also charged in separate charging documents for their roles in the scheme filed in the Southern District of Florida.
According to court documents, from around June 2018 through April 2019, Michael Kane, 38, of Miami; Shane Hampton, 31, of Philadelphia; and George Wolvaardt, 38, of Johannesburg, South Africa, allegedly conspired to manipulate the market for HYDRO, a token on the Ethereum blockchain platform, and defraud market participants by creating the false appearance of supply and demand for HYDRO to induce other market participants to trade at prices, quantities, and times that they otherwise would not have traded. The defendants allegedly used a trading bot to place thousands of orders that they did not intend to execute, or “spoof orders,” and thousands of orders where the bot bought and sold tokens to itself through the same account, or “wash trades.” The co-conspirators allegedly reaped $2 million in profit through their sales of HYDRO at artificially inflated prices.
As alleged in the indictment, Kane was the co-founder and CEO of Hydrogen Technology and Hampton was the Chief of Financial Engineering for the company. Wolvaardt was the Chief Technology Officer for Moonwalkers Trading Limited, a self-described “market-making” firm that purportedly designed the trading bot and was hired by Kane and Hampton to manipulate the market for HYDRO.
Relatedly, Tyler Ostern, 29, of Coos Bay, Oregon, the former CEO of Moonwalkers, and Andrew Chorlian, 29, of New York, New York, a blockchain engineer at Hydrogen Technology, were also charged for their participation in the scheme.
Kane, Hampton, and Wolvaardt are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities price manipulation, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and two counts of wire fraud. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy to commit securities price manipulation count and 20 years in prison on each of the other charged counts. Ostern and Chorlian are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities price manipulation and wire fraud. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI is investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Andrew Jaco and Assistant Chief Scott Armstrong of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Morales for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
If you believe you are a victim in this case, please contact the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness Unit toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or by email at [email protected]. To learn more about victims’ rights, please visit www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/victim-rights-derechos-de-las-v-ctimas.
An indictment and information are merely allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Firearms Trafficker Sentenced to 102 Months in Prison for Directing Straw Purchasing Conspiracy Involving over 60 FirearmsRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Tykeam Markel Jackson, age 27, was sentenced on April 18, 2023, to 102 months’ imprisonment by U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner, for multiple firearms offenses related to his trafficking of over 60 firearms from Central Pennsylvania to Massachusetts.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, between March 25 and July 26, 2020, Jackson orchestrated a scheme to obtain firearms using straw parties to purchase firearms from Cumberland, Dauphin, and Lancaster-area licensed firearms dealers. In exchange for cash from Jackson, the straw purchasers fraudulently certified to dealers that they were buying firearms for themselves, when in truth they were buying firearms for Jackson, who was a felon at the time and prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms. Jackson then obliterated the serial numbers and transported the firearms to Massachusetts for resale.
The straw purchasing scheme led by Jackson purchased or attempted to purchase 61 firearms before ATF agents ended the operation by arresting Jackson in Massachusetts. While attempting to evade arrest, Jackson assaulted a deputized federal law enforcement officer, fled in his vehicle at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour, and ditched a backpack containing cash, ammunition, a ghost gun, and 4 firearms with obliterated serial numbers, including 3 firearms recently purchased in Central Pennsylvania.
Jackson’s co-conspirators, Jamia Philecia Holton and Shadaya Nakeyma Jackson pleaded guilty to felonies for their roles as straw purchasers of firearms for Jackson and were sentenced to terms of probation. Jackson was separately charged, convicted, and sentenced to 77 months’ imprisonment for his assault of the officer in Massachusetts in connection with his arrest on July 27, 2020.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel S. Dalke prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
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Final Member of Human Smuggling Organization Sentenced for Smuggling 90 Individuals from Mexico, Guatemala, and HondurasRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. – Salvador Lopez-Vargas, 36, of Michoacan, Mexico, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Scott H. Rash to a term of 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his management role in a criminal conspiracy to harbor and transport 90 undocumented non-citizens (UNCs). Lopez-Vargas pleaded guilty on December 8, 2022, to Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens for Profit.
Agents from Homeland Security Investigations-Douglas conducted surveillance and discovered that UNCs were being transported to a house and an apartment in the Phoenix Metro area from various parking lots nearby. During the execution of search warrants, 51 UNCs were found in the house, and 32 UNCs were located in the apartment. As agents searched the house, Lopez-Vargas arrived driving a van and then attempted to leave. Agents stopped the van, and discovered seven UNCs were located inside the vehicle. During the investigation, several UNCs, who had traveled from Mexico, Guatemala, or Honduras, provided statements indicating they had crossed into the United States from Mexico in automobiles, and then arrived at the house or apartment to await further transportation to their final destinations in the United States. It was determined that Lopez-Vargas picked up UNCs at various locations and transported them to the apartment or the house, which were stash houses he managed as part of his role in the conspiracy.
Previously, Lopez-Vargas’s co-conspirators, Eleazar Soto-Diaz, 35, and Jesus Gabriel Villela-Duran, 28, both from Michoacan, Mexico, were each sentenced to 13 months and one day in prison for their roles in the conspiracy as supervisors of the stash houses.
This prosecution resulted from the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona is part of JTFA, which was established by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in June 2021 to marshal the investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Department of Justice, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security, to enhance U.S. enforcement efforts against the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. The Task Force focuses on disrupting and dismantling smuggling and trafficking networks that abuse, exploit, or endanger migrants, pose national security threats, and are involved in organized crime.
The investigation in this case was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations-Douglas, in coordination with Homeland Security Investigations-Sells and Phoenix, Enforcement and Removal Office -Phoenix, and Customs and Border Protection’s United States Border Patrol in Tucson and Casa Grande. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR-22-02072-TUC-SHR
RELEASE NUMBER: 2023-058_Lopez-Vargas# # #
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.Felon Pleads Guilty to Possessing A FirearmRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Maurice Chatman, 42, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark W. Pedersen to being a felon in possession of a firearm, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, and a fine of $250,000 or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Moynihan, who is handling the case, stated that on August 3, 2022, Rochester Police Officers responded to Post Avenue and Aberdeen Street after receiving a report of a male standing at the corner holding a gun. Officers also learned that the male was seen walking down Aberdeen Street carrying the gun. Subsequently, Chatman was observed standing in front of 91 Aberdeen Street holding a rifle. Officers went to 91 Aberdeen Street and confronted Chatman in the driveway. They observed the rifle nearby on top of a folding table. Officers arrested Chatman and seized the rifle. Chatman was previously convicted of felonies in 1997, 2004, 2011, and 2015, and is legally prohibited from possessing a firearm.
The matter was brought by the United States Attorney’s Office as part of its Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative. PSN is 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 plea is the result of an investigation by the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Smith and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. DeVito.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 26, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer.
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Edinburg political consultant convicted of briberyRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A 52-year-old Edinburg man has entered a guilty plea to federal program bribery, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Miguel A. Garza admitted his involvement in a scheme to help funnel bribe money from a McAllen-area business owner to certain officials with the City of Edinburg. In exchange, they were to award a city contract to the businessman.
“Funneling bribes damages the foundations of city governments, such as Edinburg,” said Hamdani. “Our office will be relentless in seeking justice against actors who threaten to crumble those foundations through their criminal acts.”
During the plea today, Garza admitted that during 2019 and 2020, he was acting as a political consultant on behalf of two elected officials in Edinburg. He told a local business owner he could secure votes from the officials relating to contracts the city maintained in exchange for bribe payments to the officials.
He then collected a series of payments intending to provide them to the city officials in exchange for their votes.
As part of the plea today, Garza admitted to the political payments which totaled $47,235 between approximately June 1, 2019, and March 1, 2020.
U.S. District Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa will impose sentence July 31. At that time, Garza faces up to 10 years in prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
He was permitted to remain on bond pending that hearing.
The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert L. Guerra Jr. and Arthur R. Jones are prosecuting the case.
Dubuque Fentanyl Dealer Who Referenced Overdoses During Drug Sales Sentenced to 18 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
A two-time drug felon who possessed a firearm and sold fentanyl to drug users in Dubuque, Iowa, was sentenced today to 216 months in federal prison.
Jose Miguel Soto-Guzman, age 47, received the prison sentence after a December 6, 2022 guilty plea to distribution of a controlled substance near a protected location after having been previously convicted of a felony drug offense and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Evidence at hearings in Soto-Guzman and his co-defendant’s cases established that, between March and June 2022, Soto-Guzman supplied heroin users in the Dubuque area with fentanyl. Soto-Guzman and his co-defendant, Fallon Christina Murphy, regularly traveled to La Crosse, Wisconsin, to purchase fentanyl from Soto-Guzman’s source, which Soto-Guzman and Murphy then sold in Dubuque. During one of these trips, Soto-Guzman’s three-year-old child was present. Between March and June 2022, investigators conducted five controlled purchases from Soto‑Guzman and Murphy. The drugs purchased contained fentanyl, but some of the fentanyl was mixed with heroin and some with methamphetamine. During a drug sale, Soto-Guzman told an undercover agent that two people had overdosed the previous day. When investigators searched a residence where Soto-Guzman stayed, they located a firearm that he possessed. Soto-Guzman, a convicted felon, was also known to possess a firearm while selling controlled substances.
Soto-Guzman was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. He was sentenced to 216 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 6-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Murphy was previously sentenced to 28 months’ imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release.
Soto-Guzman is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Nicole L. Nagin and Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham and was investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force as part of the Northern Iowa Heroin Initiative.
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.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 22-CR-1022.
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DuPont and former employee sentenced for gas release that killed fourRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company Inc. (DuPont) pleaded guilty and has been sentenced for criminal negligence in connection with a 2014 accident that left four company employees dead, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
On Nov. 15, 2014, DuPont released approximately 24,000 pounds of a highly toxic, flammable gas called methyl mercaptan (MeSH) into the air. In addition to killing the four, the chemical release injured other DuPont employees and travelled downwind into the surrounding areas.
The company pleaded guilty today along with Kenneth Sandel, 52, Friendswood, unit operations leader of the Insecticide Business Unit (IBU) where the accident occurred.
U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal ordered DuPont to pay a $12 million penalty. The company must also serve two years of probation during which time the company must give the U.S. Probation Office full access to all of its operating locations. Judge Rosenthal also ordered Sandel to serve one year of probation. At the hearing, the court asked DuPont’s corporate representative whether the company had to publicly disclose their conviction, noting the importance of that fact.
They will also make a $4 million community service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to address the harm they caused by funding projects that benefit air quality in and around areas adjacent to the western shores of Galveston Bay.
As a result of this case and other related civil cases tied to the explosion, DuPont will have paid a total of $19.26 million for its unlawful conduct.
“Four employees are dead because of DuPont’s criminal negligence,” said Hamdani. “The sentence imposed today sends a clear message of my office’s dedication to holding managers at industrial facilities, and the corporations that own and operate those facilities, accountable for violations of federal criminal laws; laws meant to protect the safety of workers and nearby communities.”
“The failure to follow required chemical safety procedures at Dupont’s La Porte facility resulted in the deaths of four employees,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This case demonstrates the importance of holding chemical facilities accountable for implementing chemical safety requirements that are designed to protect workers and neighboring communities.”
DuPont is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, and owns chemical manufacturing plants around the world including a facility in La Porte. As part of its operations, the facility produces pesticides called Lannate and Vydate among other products.
The release of the MeSH on Nov. 15, 2014, resulted in the introduction of the pesticides into the air which travelled downwind into the city of Deer Park and beyond. In addition to killing the four employees, several others were injured.
The fatal accident occurred after an employee inadvertently left open a piping valve which caused a slushy material to block the flow of liquid MeSH into the Lannate process. To melt it, DuPont day shift employees began applying hot water to the outside of the blocked piping and opened other valves to vent MeSH gas into a waste gas system. However, the MeSH piping was still blocked at the end of the day.
As the IBU leader, Sandel was responsible for ensuring shift supervisors, operators and engineers understood and complied with government safety, health and environmental regulations. Specifically, Sandel was responsible for implementing a safety procedure at the IBU by making sure employees understood and followed the procedure’s requirements and did not release toxic chemicals inappropriately to the environment.
Sandel and other employees failed to provide sufficient instructions to the oncoming shift for how to safely clear remaining blockage. It finally cleared early the next morning, and a large volume of liquid MeSH began flowing into the waste gas system. At that time, an employee mistakenly believed the waste gas system only contained materials present during normal operations and opened valves that resulted in the release of the toxic gas.
Records indicate employees at DuPont’s LaPorte plant disregarded a federally mandated safety procedure when opening those valves on the waste system. Sandel should have known operators did not have a safe and effective way to drain the vent system and should have prevented it from happening.
As part of the pleas, DuPont and Sandel admitted to negligently releasing an extremely hazardous substance into the ambient air. The company also acknowledged negligently placing a person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury in violation of the federal Clean Air Act.
The IBU has since been demolished.
The charges against DuPont and Sandel are part of an EPA initiative titled Reducing Risks of Accidental Releases at Industrial and Chemical Facilities. EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division in Texas conducted the investigation with assistance from the Texas Environmental Enforcement Task Force and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSA) John R. Lewis and Belinda Beek and Special AUSA Kristina Gonzales are prosecuting the case with assistance from the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.
District Man Arraigned on Second Degree Child Sexual Abuse and Other ChargesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Gary Jones, 35, of Washington, D.C., was arraigned today at a hearing before the Honorable Marisa Demeo on charges stemming from an incident at a public pool in August 2022.
Jones was indicted on April 19, 2023, by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on two counts of second degree child sexual abuse, with aggravating circumstances; one count of attempted second degree child sexual abuse, with aggravating circumstances; and one count of misdemeanor sexual abuse of a child or minor, with aggravating circumstances.
According to a publicly available document, on August 18, 2022, at approximately 5:30 p.m., Jones entered the shower room at the Anacostia Pool. When two children entered the shower area, they observed Jones wearing underwear that exposed his genitals and rubbing his “private part” in front of them. Jones touched one child on the buttocks and attempted to touch the other child as well. The children immediately reported the incident to pool staff, who detained Jones until police arrived.
In announcing the charges, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of those investigating the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). They also acknowledged the efforts of those who are working on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Veronica Vaughan and Paralegal Specialists ReShawn Johnson and Tiffany Fogle. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Wash, Kathleen Houck, and LaVater Massie-Banks, who are investigating and prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.