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31 March 2023
Rocky Mount Blood Gang Leader Sentenced for Drug Trafficking and COVID-19 FraudRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – A Rocky Mount leader of the G-Shine Bloods gang, a subset of the United Blood Nation gang, was sentenced today in connection with his leadership role in a violent drug trafficking organization. Tyrone Foreman, also known as “Ty Nitty,” was sentenced to 360 months in prison after having pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin, fentanyl, and marijuana, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Additionally, he was ordered to make restitution in the amount of $220,211.27 to the Federal Government.
The case was part of Operation Caught Cold, which led to the conviction of 17 defendants, including Foreman, the seizure of 6,601 dosage units of a mixture containing fentanyl 4,389 dosage units of heroin, and over 20 guns. In total, Foreman was personally responsible for trafficking more than 14,000 doses of a fentanyl mixture, and more than 60,940 doses of heroin.
“Tyrone Foreman used threats and intimidation to run his criminal drug trafficking enterprise while his organization raked in over a quarter million dollars in COVID-19 unemployment fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “Through this operation we seized at least 20 firearms, some in the hands of felons and purchased through straw buyers. Let this 30-year sentence be a warning. Armed drug traffickers pushing fentanyl in North Carolina will pay a heavy price. Operation Caught Cold is yet another example of what can be accomplished when local law enforcement agencies partner to deliver justice.”
According to court documents and other information presented in court, Foreman, 35, was identified as a high-ranking member of the G-Shine Bloods gang in the Rocky Mount area. The investigation revealed that Foreman obtained thousands of dosage units of mixtures containing heroin and fentanyl from various suppliers spanning from Wake Forest to New York. The heroin/fentanyl mixtures would then be distributed throughout Nash and Edgecombe Counties by lower ranking gang members and other drug dealers working at Foreman’s direction.
“ATF and our law enforcement partners will continue to apply every resource available to combat the violent gun crime associated with gangs and drug trafficking networks,” said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Bennie Mims. “Bringing the leaders of these violent groups to justice is a critical move towards disbanding these criminal networks and taking illegal firearms off our streets.”
“I would like to thank the men and woman in local and state agencies involved. I appreciate the long hours away from their families and the necessary paperwork needed to build strong cases,” said Edgecombe County Sheriff Cleveland Atkinson. “I especially want to thank our federal partners for their continued hard work to help us keep our citizens safe. And lastly, I want to thank all of our concerned citizens for notifying law enforcement of gang activity & drug dealing and wanting a safer community.”
“This conviction is further evidence that those who decide to lead and or participate in illegal organizations will become prime targets of federal investigations,” stated Rocky Mount Police Chief Robert Hassell. “Organizations like the one that Tyrone Foreman was leading led to multiple crimes being committed in and around our community. Today is a day that the communities that he once disrupted with his criminal activity will now be a little safer with his conviction and sentencing. We value our law enforcement partners and will take cases federally whenever possible to ensure these offenders are taken off our streets.”
On October 9, 2019, investigators with the Nash County Sheriff’s Office conducted a surveillance operation on Foreman as he travelled from Nash County to Wake Forest to meet with a drug supplier. Investigators conducted a traffic stop of Foreman as he returned to Nash County and recovered approximately 2,000 dosage units of heroin/fentanyl mixture from his vehicle.
The investigation continued throughout the fall of 2019 and into 2020, as members of local law enforcement agencies collaborated to conduct over twenty controlled purchases of heroin or heroin/fentanyl mixture from members of Foreman’s drug trafficking organization. Through controlled purchases, surveillance, search warrants, traffic stops, and interviews of witnesses, investigators learned that members of the Foreman Drug Trafficking Organization routinely carried firearms while they sold heroin/fentanyl and utilized threats of violence to ensure that the organization’s drug sales continued. During the course of the investigation, over twenty firearms were seized from Foreman, members of his gang, members of his drug trafficking organization, and females that were straw purchasing firearms on their behalf. One of Foreman’s co-conspirators, Vernisha Suggs, made numerous straw purchases on behalf of Bloods gang members from federally licensed firearm dealers in Rocky Mount. Suggs pled guilty and was sentenced to 71 months in prison.
In October 2020, the investigative team identified a New York based heroin/fentanyl supplier who was travelling to Rocky Mount to provide Foreman with thousands of dosage units at a time. Through surveillance and hotel records, investigators confirmed four meetings between Foreman and the supplier during October and November 2020 alone.
The drug investigation culminated in a December 2020 traffic stop of Foreman and another member of his gang on I-95 in Maryland as they returned from meeting with the New York based supplier. Over 3,500 dosage units of heroin/fentanyl mixture were seized during that stop.
After Foreman’s Maryland arrest, law enforcement continued to learn that he was involved in other criminal activity. Foreman placed various recorded jail calls from Maryland to women in North Carolina where it was apparent that he was directing them to handle money for him. Investigators learned that Foreman and these women were committing a wire fraud conspiracy in which they were collecting thousands of dollars’ worth of COVID-19 related unemployment benefits based on claims they fraudulently filed using personal information of other individuals, some of whom were in prison and ineligible to receive benefits. They filed at least 26 false claims, and the conspiracy netted over $250,000 in cash that was distributed to Foreman’s associates.
This investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launders, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. This investigation spanned three years. In total, 17 defendants have been convicted, and eight have been sentenced.
The agencies involved in the investigation include Nash County Sheriff’s Office, Rocky Mount Police Department, Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office, Nashville Police Department, Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the North Carolina Department of Commerce - Division of Employment Security, and the Office of the 8th Prosecutorial District of North Carolina.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Caroline Webb and Charity Wilson, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney J.D. Koesters prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-CR-289-D-1.
Readout of Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco’s Trip to CaliforniaRead the Press Release
Deputy Attorney General (Deputy AG) Lisa Monaco traveled to Northern California this week to advance the Justice Department’s efforts to combat emerging threats posed by autocratic regimes and malign cyber actors, further partnerships with state and local law enforcement, and root out sexual abuse at the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
The Deputy AG delivered the opening keynote address at the 2023 Verify Conference, an annual gathering that brings together leading journalists, national security officials, and leaders in the technology industry and civil society for a discourse on emerging issues in cybersecurity and technology policy. She highlighted the Justice Department’s cybersecurity pivot over the last two years, to a strategy that puts victims first and prioritizes prevention and disruption, and she discussed how the newly created Disruptive Technology Strike Force is using 21st century tools and techniques to target illicit actors, harden supply chains, and protect critical technologies. While in the Bay Area, she also engaged in a planning session with local Strike Force members.
Deputy AG Monaco also visited the Federal Corrections Institute at Dublin as part the Department’s ongoing efforts, led out of her office, to address sexual misconduct within the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). She was joined by BOP Director Colette Peters; U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, Ismail Ramsey; and her Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General (PADAG) Marshall Miller. PADAG Miller chaired a group of senior Justice Department officials, which issued more than 50 recommendations in November 2022 to strengthen the Department’s response to sexual misconduct perpetrated by BOP personnel. The Deputy Attorney General has directed implementation of each recommendation and created a standing Advisory Group to address the problem.
The Deputy AG, Director Peters, U.S. Attorney Ramsey, and PADAG Miller reviewed the facility’s conditions, medical and mental health services, reentry programming, and processes for individuals to report sexual abuse and to access counsel. They also spoke directly with women in custody. Prior to her visit, Deputy AG Monaco met with local community advocates who work directly with individuals in custody and are pursuing reforms at FCI Dublin.
Her trip ended at the National Association of Former U.S. Attorneys’ annual conference, where she delivered the closing keynote address on upholding the Justice Department’s norms and traditions and defending the rule of law, including by combating corporate crime.
While in California, the Deputy AG visited the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, where she met with U.S. Attorney Ramsey and his leadership team, as well as the prosecutors, professional staff, and leaders of federal and local law enforcement agencies to reinforce the strength of partnerships and thank them for their dedication to public safety, including tackling violent crime and the threat posed by illicit drugs, like opioids and fentanyl.
Raleigh Man Sentenced to 16 Years for Seeking Child Pornography in Online Chat RoomsRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – William Robert Jeffery of Wake County was sentenced today to 192 months in prison for accessing the internet with intent to view child pornography. A federal jury found Jeffery, 61, guilty of the charge on December 22, 2022, following a two-day trial.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, in spring of 2020, the Raleigh Police Department received reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding illegal internet activity at Jeffery’s Raleigh home. NCMEC reported that on five occasions from October 2019, to January 2020, a user at that address had submitted images of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM, often referred to as child pornography) into the Microsoft Bing reverse image search, seeking similar images.
On March 17, 2020, FBI and the Raleigh Police Department executed a search warrant at Jeffery’s home. He admitted to using a pornographic chat website and viewing clothed images of children, but he denied possessing CSAM material. A forensic examination of his laptop showed extensive activity on the chat website and multiple CSAM images that had been deleted from the internet history. The forensic analyst also recovered deleted images of CSAM material on an older computer that Jeffery had used in 2006-2009, along with earlier activity on the same chat website.
Jeffery has a prior conviction in federal court for traveling in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in a sex act with a minor in 2020, and in 2021, he was convicted in Dare County Superior Court of two counts of indecent liberties with a minor.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Raleigh Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake D. Pugh prosecuted.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.2:20-CR-0464-D.
Raleigh County Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
BECKLEY, W.Va. – Zachary Ryan Allen, 29, of Beckley, was sentenced today to five years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for using and carrying a firearm in relation to drug trafficking activity.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on July 22, 2020, a law enforcement officer stopped a vehicle driven by Allen on Robert C. Byrd Drive in Beckley. During the traffic stop, Allen admitted to the officer that he had a quantity of heroin and a firearm in his car. The officer recovered a quantity of heroin and fentanyl, a set of digital scales frequently used during drug trafficking, a small amount of money, and a Springfield Armory, model 911, 9mm semi-automatic pistol. Allen admitted that he intended to distribute the drugs and that the money was proceeds of drug trafficking activity.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit. The Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit consists of officers from the West Virginia State Police, the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department, and the Beckley Police Department.
United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Boggess prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-cr-209.
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Raceland Man Pleads Guilty to Violating the Federal Controlled Substances ActRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – TERRANCE STEWART, age 32, of Raceland, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Carl J. Barbier to a one-count indictment for possession with intent to distribute forty (40) grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of N-phenyl-N-[1-(2-phenylethyl)-4-piperidinyl] propanamide (fentanyl), in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B), announced United States Attorney Duane A. Evans.
According to filed document, during the investigation, law enforcement seized 226.7 grams of fentanyl pills, 203.96 grams of methamphetamine pills, 72.9 grams of white powdery fentanyl, and approximately $181,000.00, from STEWART’s residence.
At sentencing, STEWART faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years and up to 40 years imprisonment, up to a $5,000,000 fine, at least 4 years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100. Sentencing before Judge Barbier has been scheduled for July 6, 2023.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, New Orleans Division and the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office Drug Task Force. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Rachal Cassagne and Stuart Theriot of the Narcotics Unit.
Previously Convicted Charles County Felon Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearms and Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – Sean Donnelle Hawkins, age 48, of Marbury, Maryland, pleaded guilty yesterday federal charges related to his distribution of cocaine, crack cocaine, and firearms in Charles County, Maryland. During the investigation, Hawkins sold eight firearms to a law enforcement source, including four privately made semi-automatic firearms, known as “ghost guns.”
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) Baltimore Field Division; and Charles County Sheriff Troy Berry.
As detailed in his guilty plea, Hawkins admitted that on 10 separate occasions from October 2021 to May 2022, he sold cocaine, crack cocaine and/or firearms to law enforcement sources. Between February 18, 2022 and May 24, 2022, Hawkins sold a law enforcement source eight firearms, including four privately made firearms, often referred to as “ghost guns.” One of the privately made firearms was a semi-automatic pistol and came with a high-capacity magazine capable of receiving 33 rounds of 9mm ammunition and was loaded with 31 rounds of ammunition.
In total, Hawkins sold the law enforcement sources 85.493 grams of crack cocaine, 111.528 grams of cocaine, eight firearms and 468 rounds of ammunition. Hawkins knew that he had a previous felony conviction and was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition. Hawkins also had reason to believe that the law enforcement source could not lawfully possess firearms and intended to use or dispose of the firearms unlawfully.
On August 3, 2022, a search warrant was executed at Hawkins’ residence. Hawkins was inside the residence and informed law enforcement that he had drugs and firearms inside a cooler in the home. The cooler was located and contained: a .38 special caliber revolver, loaded with five rounds of .38 caliber ammunition; a 9mm semi-automatic pistol; two empty firearm magazines; three bags containing a total of 411.84 grams of marijuana; one knot-sealed bag containing 5.52 grams of a mixture of powder and crack cocaine; one baggie holding 20 round green tablets of a mixture of cocaine and oxycodone; one container of white tablets of a mixture of cocaine and oxycodone; and one green tablet of oxycodone. Law enforcement also recovered two shotguns from the residence and more than 1,000 rounds of assorted caliber ammunition, as well as $1,264 in cash that Hawkins intended to use to commit or facilitate the distribution of controlled substances. Hawkins admitted to possessing the firearms, ammunition, and magazines recovered in the cooler in furtherance of his drug trafficking.
Hawkins and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Hawkins will be sentenced to between 10 and 13 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow has scheduled sentencing for August 1, 2023. As part of his plea agreement, Hawkins will forfeit the firearms recovered from his home on August 3, 2022, and waives any right or interest in the ammunition and magazines seized during the searches related to 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.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the ATF and the Charles County Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bijon A. Mostoufi and Timothy F. Hagan, who are prosecuting the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psn and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Poplar Bluff Man Sentenced to Serve 10 Years in Federal Prison on Drug and Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Friday sentenced Daniel K. Hendrickson, 31, of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, to serve a total of 10 years in federal prison for the offenses of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of firearms and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to court documents, on Sept. 16, 2021, officers with the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force and the Butler County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Hendrickson's Poplar Bluff home. Hendrickson was present during the execution of the search warrant. Officers seized from his residence and a shop building located on the property approximately 80 grams of methamphetamine, 64 grams of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and three firearms. Hendrickson admitted to law enforcement officers that he sold methamphetamine.
This case was investigated by the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force and the Butler County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter handled the prosecution for the government.
Oral Surgeon Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Fentanyl TamperingRead the Press Release
Des Moines, IA – An Iowa City man was sentenced yesterday to two years in prison for tampering with his dental practice’s fentanyl supply by removing the medication from vials for his own personal use.
Dr. Andrew Charles Hartwig, 55, previously worked as an oral surgeon in Iowa City and Mt. Pleasant. According to court documents, Hartwig diverted fentanyl from his previous employer, Oral Surgery Associates of Iowa City, also known as Oral Surgery and Dental Implant Center of Iowa City, beginning at least as early as April 2019 and until at least July 10, 2019. Hartwig admitted that his actions resulted in the dilution and contamination of the fentanyl supply. Hartwig admitted he acted with reckless disregard that dental patients would be placed in danger of death and bodily injury and manifested extreme indifference to such risk. In October 2022, Hartwig pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with consumer products, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1365(a)(4).
The Court imposed a term of supervised release of two years, a fine of $50,000, and a $100 special assessment.
“Patients rely on receiving the proper FDA-approved medications from those entrusted with their medical care,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Brian G. McClune, Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, Kansas City Field Office. “We must hold medical personnel accountable when they take advantage of their unique position and tamper with medications their patients need.”
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case.
Oquawka, Illinois, Man Sentenced to 180 Months in Prison for Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – An Oquawka, Illinois, man, Gale Hurt, 73, of the 1000 block of Grant Street, was sentenced on March 30, 2023, to 180 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for sexual exploitation of a child and receipt of child pornography.
At the sentencing hearing, the government presented evidence that Hurt communicated with a fourteen-year-old girl in February 2022, using an online chatting application and his phone. During the initial conversations he pretended to be a fifteen-year-old girl, and then asked to text with the child. When the conversation moved to text messaging, he told the child he was a fifty-year-old man, sent the child nude images of himself and other pornography, and requested and received sexually explicit images of the child. Moreover, during those conversations Hurt discussed the two meeting to engage in a sexual relationship.
Also at the hearing, Senior United States District Judge Sue E. Myerscough found that Hurt had tricked the child into producing and sending the images to him, and that by his own admission he had received child pornography from other minors in the past.
Hurt was indicted in April 2022 and pleaded guilty in September 2022. He has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals since his arrest in March 2022, after he was charged by way of a federal complaint. The statutory penalties for sexual exploitation of a child are not less than fifteen years and up to thirty years in prison, not more than a $250,000 fine, and up to a life term of supervised release. The statutory penalties for receipt of child pornography are not less than five years and up to twenty years in prison, not more than a $250,000 fine, and up to a life term of supervised release.
The United States Secret Service investigated the case with the assistance of the Illinois State Police and Springfield Police Department Task Force Officers. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanner K. Jacobs represented the government in the prosecution.
The Hurt case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
New Orleans Woman Sentenced in Staged Automobile Collision SchemeRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that, on March 29, 2023, U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced TROYLYNN BROWN (“BROWN”), age 35, after she pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371. Judge Vance sentenced BROWN to 24 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Judge Vance also imposed a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.
According to court documents, BROWN admitted to conspiring to commit mail fraud in connection with a staged automobile collision. In the scheme, BROWN falsely claimed that her codefendant, Herbert Allen (“Allen”), was the driver of a car that was struck by a tractor-trailer on June 28, 2017. In reality, the defendants conspired with Damien Labeaud (“Labeaud”), Roderick Hickman (“Hickman”), and others to intentionally collide Allen’s 2007 Chevrolet Impala with a tractor-trailer in the area of Tchoupitoulas Street and Calliope Street in New Orleans. BROWN subsequently lied in a civil deposition, falsely claiming that Allen was driving the car that collided with the tractor-trailer when, in fact, Hickman was driving the car and intentionally hit the tractor-trailer. Through her false statements and deception, BROWN secured a $70,000 monetary settlement from the owner and insurer of the tractor-trailer.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office would like to acknowledge the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Louisiana State Police, and the Metropolitan Crime Commission with this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon S. Long, Maria M. Carboni, and Edward Rivera, members all of the Financial Crimes Unit and Brian M. Klebba, Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit.
New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Violating the Federal Controlled Substances ActRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – MARVIN SIMS, age 34, of New Orleans, Louisiana, pleaded on March 30, 2023 before the Honorable Eldon E. Fallon to charges of violating the Federal Controlled Substances Act, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.
According to the court records, SIMS conspired to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute heroin.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 6, 2023. SIMS faces a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $1,000,000, at least three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.
This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney David Haller of the Violent Crimes Unit.
New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that ORONDE GABRIEL, age 38, of New Orleans, Louisiana, pleaded guilty on March 30, 2023 to a single 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).
According to court documents, GABRIEL was in an automobile accident on September 27, 2021. A police officer observed the crash, approached the scene and found GABRIEL in possession of a Taurus Model G2C, nine-millimeter caliber handgun. GABRIEL had been previously convicted of conspiracy to make false and fictitious statements in connection with the acquisition of a firearm, in United States District Court, (Eastern District of Louisiana).
GABRIEL faces a maximum term of ten (10) years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000.00, up to three (3) years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.
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 Orleans Levee District Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Strauss of the Violent Crimes Unit.
Mississippi Resident Sentenced to Twelve Years in Prison for Armed CarjackingRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal judge today sentenced a Mississippi resident for a carjacking that occurred in Moody, Alabama, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.
U.S. District Court Judge Corey L. Maze sentenced Eric Lamar White, 25, of Jackson, Mississippi, to 144 months in prison. White was convicted by a federal jury in December 2022 of carjacking and carrying and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a violent crime.
According to evidence presented at trial, on January 7, 2021, White and his codefendant, Kendarian Toran, were traveling from Jackson, Mississippi, to Atlanta, Georgia, in a stolen vehicle with a switched tag. The stolen vehicle began to overheat so White and Toran decided to carjack the victim in this case while carrying a firearm. At the time of the carjacking, the victim was in her 2008 Acura TL, pumping gas with her two small children in the vehicle. White and Toran waited for the perfect opportunity to take her car. White repositioned the overheating stolen car so that Toran could easily jump out and get into the driver’s seat of the Acura with ease. Once Toran got into the driver’s seat of the victim’s vehicle, the victim attempted to stop him from taking her car by jumping into the driver’s seat on top of Toran. She did not want him to take her children and fought for them. Toran put the firearm to the victim’s pregnant belly, told her to get her kids out of the car, and quickly drove off with her 2008 Acura TL, just as the last child got out. White and Toran met at a nearby business parking lot where White abandoned the original stolen vehicle and got into the 2008 Acura TL with Toran. Hours later, White was driving the Acura back to Jackson, Mississippi, with Toran, when Mississippi law enforcement spotted them. A vehicle pursuit ensued for 29 miles on I-20 at speeds over 120 mph with multiple law enforcement officers. Officers had to spike and force the vehicle into the median on I-20. When White was arrested, he had his Glock .45 caliber pistol and an Alabama driver’s license belonging to a person matching the description of the victim. The evidence showed that the Glock .45 caliber pistol was purchased by White in October 2020.
On August 25, 2022, U.S. District Court Judge Corey L. Maze sentenced Kendarian Lamonte Toran, 18, of Ridgeland, Mississippi, to 90 months in prison for carjacking and carrying and brandishing a firearm during and relation to a violent crime. Toran pleaded guilty to the charges in March.
The ATF investigated the case along with assistance from the FBI Birmingham Division, Moody Police Department, and multiple Mississippi law enforcement agencies, to include Rankin County Sherriff’s Office, Scott County Sheriff’s Office, and Madison Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittney Plyler and Kristy Peoples are prosecuting the case.
Miami Business Owner Sentenced to Prison for Employment Tax CrimeRead the Press Release
MIAMI — Miami resident Ari P. Weingrad, 51, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for willfully failing to pay over employment taxes to the IRS.
Weingrad owned and operated two car rental companies, Rent Max Miami Inc., and Rent Max North Inc., both of which had locations throughout Florida. As the sole owner and chief executive officer of Rent Max Miami and as the co-owner and president of Rent Max North, Weingrad knew he was responsible for collecting, accounting for, and paying over payroll taxes withheld from his employees’ wages to the IRS. Between 2011 and 2016, however, he withheld employment taxes from his employees’ wages, and he failed to pay them over to the IRS. These employment taxes included income taxes as well as Medicare and Social Security taxes.
In total, Weingrad failed to pay approximately $850,000 in employment taxes owed to the IRS, including both the employer’s and employee’s share of employment taxes. Instead, he caused Rent Max Miami to spend corporate funds to pay discretionary expenses, including a $50,000 cashier’s check to himself, $45,000 in cashier’s checks payable to his wife, and expenses related to a 55-foot yacht.
Weingrad had also failed to pay employment taxes for a previous business. In imposing a sentence at the high end of the guideline range, the Court stated that Weingrad’s failure to pay employment taxes was a serious offense that impacts employees as well. The Court stated that the sentence needed to promote respect for the law and provide deterrence to employers. The Court immediately remanded the defendant into custody.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida; acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg, Tax Division, U.S. Department of Justice; and Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line, IRS, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore.
IRS-CI, Miami Field Office, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ana Maria Martinez for the Southern District of Florida, and Trial Attorney Patrick Elwell of the Tax Division, U.S. Department of Justice, prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-cr-20342.
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Mexican National Indicted for Illegal Re-EntryRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – PAULINA AVILA-TALAVERA, age 40, was charged today in a one-count indictment for illegal reentry of a removed alien in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a), announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.
According to the indictment, PAULINA AVILA-TALAVERA, (“AVILA-TALAVERA”) reentered the United States after being previously deported on October 24, 2019. If convicted, AVILA-TALAVERA faces a maximum term of imprisonment of two years, a maximum fine of up to $250,000, a maximum term of supervised release of up to one year, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.
U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that an indictment is merely a charge and the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carter K.D. Guice, Jr. of the General Crimes Unit is in charge of the prosecution.
Methamphetamine Supplier to South Georgia Sentenced to 25 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ALBANY, Ga. – A Tifton, Georgia, resident identified as the lead supplier to an 18-defendant armed drug trafficking ring responsible for distributing between 1.5 and 4.5 kilograms of methamphetamine into the community was sentenced to prison for his crime resulting from an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation.
Rafon Carithers, aka “Tweed,” 34, was sentenced to serve 310 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release on March 30, after he previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on May 19, 2022. In addition, two co-defendants were sentenced to prison this week: McKevor Mulkey aka “Chevy,” 32, of Tifton, was sentenced to serve 190 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release on March 29, after he previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances on April 19, 2022; and Damarius Williams, 26, of Tifton, was sentenced to serve 25 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release on March 30, after he pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Oct. 18, 2022. U.S. District Judge Louis Sands handed down the sentences. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Nearly a dozen law enforcement agencies had a hand in helping shut down a significant methamphetamine supplier and his distributors pushing this highly addictive drug into the Tifton community,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “This case illustrates law enforcement’s relentless dedication to holding organized criminal groups accountable for their unlawful dealings and from causing further harm in our region.”
“The lengthy sentences handed down to these defendants send a clear message that drug dealing in our communities will not be tolerated. Georgians deserve to work, live and play in a safe environment. We will never stop protecting our neighborhoods from dangerous and illegal drugs,” said GBI Director Michael Register.
“We removed more methamphetamine traffickers from the streets,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “These offenders can no longer distribute this dangerous drug as they now face serious time behind bars for both their drug crimes and violent criminal conduct. This investigation was a success because of the great working relationship between DEA and its law enforcement partners.”
“There is no initiative more critical to ATF than increasing the safety of our communities. Cases which result in the arrests and prosecution of armed drug traffickers are fundamental to continuing this initiative while simultaneously showing criminals that ATF and its law enforcement partners will not falter in this mission,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka. “We will pursue violent drug traffickers such as these wherever they may operate, and they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Our fight against drug traffickers and this armed trafficking ring is yet another step in stemming the flow of meth into Tifton and Tift County. With the help of our community and our law enforcement allies, we will continue to make this a safer place to work and live,” said Tift County Sheriff Gene Scarbrough.
“It’s great to have these defendants, the drugs and the firearms off the streets of Tifton. We are appreciative of the coordination between agencies involved in this investigation,” said Tifton Police Department Chief Steve Hyman. “Their work in this case makes a difference in the lives of our citizens who fall victim to drugs in our community.”
The following co-defendants have pleaded guilty and been sentenced:
Tevin Parker, aka “Tay,” 28, of Tifton, pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine on July 26, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 262 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release on Nov. 3, 2022;
Juanjava Boggerty, aka “Jay,” 49, of Tifton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances on Oct. 12, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 235 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release on Feb. 2;
Courtney Taylor, 39, of Tifton, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Oct. 4, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 235 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release on Jan. 25.;
Rishaun Richardson, 26, of Tifton, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Aug. 23, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 170 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release on March 16;
Brian Foster, aka “Joe,” aka “FOS,” 30, of Tifton, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Sept. 27, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 136 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release on Dec. 30, 2022;
Bradrick Boston aka “Big Baby,” 34, of Tifton, pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine on July 20, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 108 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release on Nov. 3, 2022;
Clenton Davis, 33, of Ashburn, Georgia, pleaded guilty to managing drug premises on Aug. 2, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 96 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release on Nov. 20, 2022;
Darrell Mack, 33, of Tifton, pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine on Oct. 13, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 78 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release on Feb. 2;
Keyuntran Taylor, 23, of Ashburn, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Oct. 5, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 70 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release on Jan. 26.;
Dmya Norris, 25, of Tifton, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Oct. 5, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 60 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release on Jan. 26.;
Dante Hille, 29, of Ashburn, pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine on June 14, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 51 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release on Sept. 15, 2022;
Vontesha Dixon, 32, of Tifton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Oct. 4, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 36 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release on Jan. 19.;
Keilaysha Dixon, 23, of Tifton, pleaded guilty to use of a communication facility in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on Sept. 22, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release on Dec. 30, 2022; and
Jala Taylor, 24, of Tifton, pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine on Oct. 11, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release on Jan. 27.
The following co-defendant has pleaded guilty in this case and is awaiting sentencing:
Jehmeil Carmichael, 35, of Tifton, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years of imprisonment to be followed by at least three years of supervised release and a $1,000,000 fine. His sentencing is scheduled for May 4.
According to court documents, in May 2019, GBI agents began an investigation into a drug trafficking organization operating in the Tifton area. As part of their investigation, agents utilized a confidential informant (CI) to make controlled buys of drugs from other defendants, including Mulkey and Tevin Parker. Between Sept. 5, 2019, and Oct. 25, 2019, agents made six controlled buys of methamphetamine from Mulkey and a controlled buy from Parker; the substance was a mixture of fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine. During the course of the wiretap investigation, agents discovered Carithers was supplying the drugs to Parker. On July 9, 2020, agents conducted numerous residential search warrants as part of their investigation into this drug trafficking organization. Agents recovered two .45 caliber pistols belonging to Carithers and numerous bags of methamphetamine mixed with other substances. Carithers is being held accountable for distributing between 1.5 kilograms and 4.5 kilograms of methamphetamine.
More information about this case can be found at https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdga/pr/defendants-connected-southwest-georgia-armed-drug-trafficking-ring-sentenced-prison and https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdga/pr/45-count-indictment-unsealed-charging-18-individuals-drug-gun-crimes.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The case was investigated by DEA, ATF, GBI, Mid-South Narcotics Task Force, Tifton Police Department, Tift County Sheriff’s Office, Turner County Sheriff’s Office, Crisp County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia State Patrol and Georgia Department of Community Supervision.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Melody Ellis and Criminal Chief Leah McEwen.
Memphis Man Sentenced to over 11 Years for Drug Trafficking OffensesRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – Davione Smith, 21, of Memphis, has been sentenced to 135 months in federal prison for distributing approximately 2 kilograms of fentanyl. United States Attorney Kevin Ritz announced the sentence today.
According to United States Attorney Ritz and information presented in court, Smith distributed fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine around Memphis. Investigators identified at least eight individuals who purchased narcotics from Smith for the purpose of re-distribution.
In May 2022, Smith along with the co-defendants were indicted.
Smith pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl.
Today, United States District Judge Thomas L. Parker sentenced Smith to 135 months imprisonment to be followed by five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
This prosecution is part of an investigation conducted by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF is a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking organizations and organized criminal enterprises, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
This case was investigated by the DEA, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Bartlett Police Department.
United States Attorney Kevin Ritz thanked Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Kimbril-Parks who prosecuted this case, as well as the law enforcement partners who investigated the case.
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For more information, please contact Public Information Officer Cherri Green at (901) 544-4231 or [email protected]. Follow @ WDTNNews on Twitter for office news and updates.
Mechanicsburg Business Owner Sentenced to A Year and A Day in Prison for Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Travis Stelzer, age 45, of Pelham, Massachusetts, was sentenced on March 28, 2023, to one year and one day in prison by United States District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner for tax evasion.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Stelzer filed tax forms with the IRS on January 29, 2016, where he under-reported his gross receipts in his tax returns that he filed on behalf of his staffing business, Top Gun Staffing, Inc., that he operated in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. He also misrepresented the income he received from his company. Seltzer entered a guilty plea to tax evasion on October 3, 2022 and agreed to pay the IRS $255,353 in restitution owed.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Consiglio is prosecuting the case.
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Man Pleads Guilty to Alien Smuggling and Unlawful Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
PLATTSBURGH, NEW YORK – Rey Felix-Rubio, age 32, and a citizen of Mexico, pled guilty today to conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and unlawful possession of a firearm.
United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia, United States Border Patrol, Swanton Sector, made the announcement.
Felix-Rubio, who entered the United States unlawfully in 2021, admitted that in February 2023, he traveled to the northern border in Chateauguay, New York, where he smuggled five Mexican nationals from Canada and into the United States for profit. He also unlawfully possessed a firearm.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 31, 2023, before United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino in Albany, at which time Felix-Rubio faces a mandatory minimum term of 5 years in prison and a maximum term of 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
United States Border Patrol, Burke Station, investigated this case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Stitt is prosecuting this case.
Man Charged with Arson and Possession of a Destructive DeviceRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – An Ohio man was arrested this morning and charged with 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, on March 25, used Molotov cocktails against the Community Church of Chesterland (CCC), Chesterland, Ohio, in an attempt to burn the church to the ground.
“As alleged in the charging documents, the defendant used an explosive device to cause harm to a church he found objectionable,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “It is the solemn duty of the Department of Justice to safeguard the right of all Americans to free expression, and I commend the work of law enforcement in this matter.”
“Violence and destruction are never an acceptable way to express a disagreement with a particular viewpoint,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler for the Northern District of Ohio. “While, as Americans, we enjoy the right to disagree, doing so peacefully is the only appropriate option. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio remains committed to protecting the rights of all citizens to express their viewpoints peacefully.”
“The FBI Cleveland Joint Terrorism Task Force worked alongside the Chester Township Police Department in the matter surrounding a Molotov cocktail used against the Community Church of Chesterland on March 25. The FBI leveraged its task force and its specialized resources to identify, locate, and subsequently arrest the subject earlier today,” said Special Agent in Charge Gregory Nelsen of the FBI Cleveland Field Office. “We thank the collaborative work and strong partnership of the Chester Township Police and the Geauga County local authorities who assisted.”
If convicted, Penny 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.
The FBI Cleveland Field Office is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Deckert 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.
A complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Man Charged with Arson and Possession of a Destructive DeviceRead the Press Release
An Ohio man was arrested this morning and charged with one count of malicious use of explosive materials and one count of possessing a destructive device.
According to court documents, on March 25, Aimenn D. Penny, 20, of Alliance, used Molotov cocktails against the Community Church of Chesterland (CCC), in Chesterland, Ohio, in an attempt to burn the church to the ground.
“As alleged in the charging documents, the defendant used an explosive device to cause harm to a church he found objectionable,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “It is the solemn duty of the Department of Justice to safeguard the right of all Americans to free expression, and I commend the work of law enforcement in this matter.”
“Violence and destruction are never an acceptable way to express a disagreement with a particular viewpoint,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler for the Northern District of Ohio. “While, as Americans, we enjoy the right to disagree, doing so peacefully is the only appropriate option. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio remains committed to protecting the rights of all citizens to express their viewpoints peacefully.”
“The FBI Cleveland Joint Terrorism Task Force worked alongside the Chester Township Police Department in the matter surrounding a Molotov cocktail used against the Community Church of Chesterland on March 25. The FBI leveraged its task force and its specialized resources to identify, locate and subsequently arrest the subject earlier today,” said Special Agent in Charge Gregory Nelsen of the FBI Cleveland Field Office. “We thank the collaborative work and strong partnership of the Chester Township Police and Lake and Geauga County local authorities who assisted.”
If convicted, Penny 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.
The FBI Cleveland Field Office is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Deckert 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.
A complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Luling Man Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for Possessing Files Depicting the Sexual Victimization of ChildrenRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – DOMINIC ROMANO, age 22, a resident of Luling, Louisiana, was sentenced, March 30, 2023, by United States District Judge Barry W. Ashe to 60 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to a one-count indictment charging him with possession of images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children under the age of twelve years old, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 2252(a)(4)(B), announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. Additionally, Judge Ashe ordered ROMANO to serve a 10-year period of supervised release and pay a mandatory $100 special assessment fee. Judge Ashe scheduled a hearing on July 6, 2023 to determine the amount of restitution ROMANO must pay to the victims of his offense.
According to court documents, the Federal Bureau of Investigation received a tip from another law enforcement agency that an individual, subsequently determined to be ROMANO, accessed an online bulletin board having an explicit focus on the advertisement, distribution, and facilitation of sharing child abuse material. The bulletin board contained sections and forums cataloged by the age of the victims and the nature of the violence inflicting on them.
The FBI executed a search warrant on ROMANO’s residence on May 7, 2020. A forensic review of the evidence revealed that ROMANO knowingly used several of the electronic devices seized during the execution of the search warrant to search for, download, and save images and videos of child sexual abuse material. In total, ROMANO’s seized devices contained at least 2589 image and 62 videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children, including children less than three years old. Among ROMANO’s collection was a digital presentation that purported to be an instruction manual on how to successfully victimize “very young girls” without being caught.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by 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 better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg, Chief of the Public Integrity Unit, is in charge of the prosecution.
Justice Department and EPA File Complaint Against Norfolk Southern for Unlawful Discharge of Pollutants and Hazardous Substances in East Palestine DerailmentRead the Press Release
Today, on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and in coordination with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division announced a complaint against Norfolk Southern Corporation and Norfolk Southern Railway Company (Norfolk Southern) related to the Feb. 3, derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The complaint seeks penalties and injunctive relief for the unlawful discharge of pollutants, oil, and hazardous substances under the Clean Water Act, and declaratory judgment on liability for past and future costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).
This action follows EPA’s issuance on Feb. 21, 2023 of a Unilateral Administrative Order under CERCLA to Norfolk Southern Railway Company requiring the company to develop and implement plans to address contamination and pay EPA’s response costs associated with the order.
“When a Norfolk Southern train derailed last month in East Palestine, Ohio, it released toxins into the air, soil, and water, endangering the health and safety of people in surrounding communities,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “With this complaint, the Justice Department and the EPA are acting to pursue justice for the residents of East Palestine and ensure that Norfolk Southern carries the financial burden for the harm it has caused and continues to inflict on the community.”
“From the very beginning, I pledged to the people of East Palestine that EPA would hold Norfolk Southern fully accountable for jeopardizing the community’s health and safety,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “No community should have to go through what East Palestine residents have faced. With today’s action, we are once more delivering on our commitment to ensure Norfolk Southern cleans up the mess they made and pays for the damage they have inflicted as we work to ensure this community can feel safe at home again.”
“Last month, the East Palestine community was upended by a horrific train derailment. By filing this complaint today, we are demanding accountability from Norfolk Southern for the harm this event has caused,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We will tirelessly pursue justice for the people living in and near East Palestine, who like all Americans deserve clean air, clean water, and a safe community for their children.”
“The United States Attorney’s Office stands with our district’s residents in pursuing accountability and justice in both the immediate and distant future, as we work together to deal with the damage and destruction this disaster has caused,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Baeppler for the Northern District of Ohio.
On Feb. 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials, including hazardous substances, pollutants, and oil derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. The derailment resulted in a pile of burning rail cars, and contamination of the community’s air, land, and water. Residents living near the derailment site were evacuated. Based on information Norfolk Southern provided, the hazardous materials contained in these cars included vinyl chloride, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, isobutylene, and benzene residue. Within hours of the derailment, EPA and its federal and state partners began responding to the incident, including providing on-the-ground assistance to first responders and conducting robust testing in and around East Palestine.
The fire caused by the derailment burned for several days. On Feb. 5, monitoring indicated that the temperature in one of the rail cars containing vinyl chloride was rising. To prevent an explosion, Norfolk Southern vented and burned five rail cars containing vinyl chloride in a flare trench the following day, resulting in additional releases.
Since the EPA’s issuance of the Unilateral Administrative Order to Norfolk Southern Railway Company, the EPA has been overseeing that company’s work under the order. Approximately 9.2 million gallons of liquid wastewater, and an estimated 12,932 tons of contaminated soils and solids have been shipped off-site.
The EPA and other federal agencies continue to investigate the circumstances leading up to and following the derailment. The United States will pursue further actions as warranted in the future as its investigatory work proceeds.
*This release has been updated to reflect the correct date, March 31, 2023.
Justice Department Commemorates International Transgender Day of VisibilityRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today commemorates International Transgender Day of Visibility, a day that celebrates and lifts up the accomplishments of transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people throughout the United States.
“International Transgender Day of Visibility is an important opportunity to reaffirm that transgender people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and to live free from discrimination, violence, and threats of violence,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Protecting the civil rights of everyone in our country was the Justice Department’s founding purpose, and it remains our urgent charge.”
Yesterday, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division joined with the FBI and the Community Relations Service (CRS) to host a webinar ahead of International Transgender Day of Visibility.
“Members of the LGBTQI+ community must be able to live free of discrimination, harassment, violence, and threats of violence,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke. “That is why the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has been using every tool in our arsenal to protect the civil rights of LGBTQI+ community members.”
“We want to make it clear that the FBI does not tolerate violence against any members of our communities for any reason,” said FBI Deputy Assistant Director Aaron Tapp. “We will continue to work tirelessly to protect the LGBTQI+ community and the American people, and to uphold the Constitution of the United States.”
“As America’s Peacemaker, the CRS provides facilitation, mediation, training, and consultation services to help communities prevent and resolve future conflicts,” said CRS Director Paul Monteiro. “And we work with our Justice Department partners to connect federal, state, and local law enforcement with community members in order to build trust, restore respect, and create inclusive and equitable communities for all.”
The Civil Rights Division has used its civil and criminal authorities to enforce laws that guarantee the right of transgender people to live in our communities free from discrimination and threats and acts of violence. For example:
- The division issued a letter to all state attorneys general reminding them of federal constitutional and statutory provisions that protect transgender youth against discrimination, including when those youth seek gender-affirming care.
- The division has also filed statements of interest and amicus briefs in several cases involving the civil and constitutional rights of transgender people, including in Kluge v. Brownsburg Community School Corp. (7th Cir.), Brandt v. Rutledge (8th Cir.), and Corbitt v. Taylor (11th Cir.).
- The division is also challenging Alabama’s Senate Bill 184 (2022), a statute which has been preliminary enjoined by a federal district court, that criminalizes certain forms of gender affirming medical care for transgender minors but allows that same care when cisgender minors seek it.
- The division, along with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices, continues to use federal civil rights laws to secure indictments and convictions in federal hate crimes cases charging defendants for assaulting transgender victims because of their gender identity.
Additional information about the Civil Rights Division’s work to uphold and protect the civil and constitutional rights of LGBTQI+ individuals is available online at www.justice.gov/crt/lgbtqi-working-group. Complaints about discriminatory practices may be reported to the Civil Rights Division through its internet reporting portal at www.civilrights.justice.gov.
Jury Convicts St. Louis Man for Attempted Sex Crimes Against a MinorRead the Press Release
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – In a U.S. District courtroom Wednesday, a federal jury returned guilty verdicts against a St. Louis man accused of several attempted sex crimes against a minor.
Members of the jury found Vallie Francis Zeller, 46, guilty of Attempted Enticement of a Minor, Travel with Intent to Engage in Sexual Conduct with a Minor and Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Minor after evidence presented at trial showed he was conversing online with an alleged 15-year-old girl with the intention of having sex with the minor.
“The defendant deliberately tried to exploit a minor for sexual activity and chose to drive across state lines to engage in criminal sex acts, and I’m grateful the jury convicted him on all counts,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “The FBI works diligently to protect minors from online predators, and I appreciate their collaboration with our office to put this offender behind bars.”
“The FBI’s investigation revealed a deliberate attempt by Vallie Zeller to victimize a child. Our utilization of proactive investigative techniques stopped Zeller from completing the harm he intended,” said FBI Springfield Field Office Special Agent in Charge David Nanz. “We are grateful to the many law enforcement partners who participated in this investigation.”
According to court documents and evidence presented during the trial, Zeller started conversing on an online platform with a profile created by an undercover FBI agent in June 2020. The agent was posing as a 15-year-old girl, and Zeller began sexually explicit conversations with the account, requested sexually explicit images of the minor, and made plans to meet for illegal sexual activity, knowing she was a minor.
Zeller was convicted of driving across the Missouri-Illinois border to engage in criminal sexual activity once the agent gave him an address for a residence in Collinsville to meet the purported minor. In addition, during the conversation over several days, Zeller asked the alleged girl for nude photographs and other sexually-explicit content.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 18, 2023. For his convictions, Zeller faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ali Burns and Zoe Gross are prosecuting the case.
Zeller was one of 14 defendants charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Illinois in June 2020 as the result of an operation involving multiple local, state and federal law enforcement agencies that targeted online predators attempting to meet minors for sex.
The FBI Springfield Field Office led the investigation with assistance by the FBI St.
Louis Field Office, the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the Belleville Police Department, the Collinsville Police Department, the Edwardsville Police Department, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the Illinois State Police, the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department, the Swansea Police Department, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Alton Jail, the Monroe County Jail, and the St. Clair County Jail.Iowa Man to Federal Prison for Methamphetamine and ImmigrationRead the Press Release
A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine, who also distributed methamphetamine, and was illegally in the United States was sentenced in federal court in Sioux City, Iowa on March 23, 2023, to 11 ½ years in prison.
Jose Duenas-Topete, 29, from Hawarden, Iowa, pled guilty on October 12, 2022, to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, one count of distributing methamphetamine, and one count of illegal reentry.
At the plea and sentencing hearings, the evidence showed that from January 2020 to April 2, 2022, as part of the conspiracy, Topete distributed at least 45 kilograms of methamphetamine in the Sioux City, Iowa area. On April 2, 2022, law enforcement conducted a controlled drug buy/bust operation from Topete and his co-conspirators. Agents observed Topete receive 10 pounds of methamphetamine, in exchange for an initial payment of $5000, from a transporter from Arkansas, sent by Mexico-based sources, at Topete’s request. Topete then transferred the majority of the methamphetamine to an informant working with agents. Thereafter, agents conducted traffic stops of the vehicles involved and seized from the various participants the 10 pounds of meth and the $5000 in buy money supplied by the agents. Topete later admitted he had previously received four shipments containing 5-6 pounds each of methamphetamine from sources in Mexico to distribute to persons in Sioux City and the surrounding area. Evidence further showed that Topete is a native and citizen of Mexico, illegally in the United States and was subject to six previous removals from the United States.
Sentencing was held before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Duenas-Topete was sentenced to 138 months’ imprisonment and a 5-year term of supervised release following imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. Duenas-Topete remains in U.S. Marshal custody pending transport to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 22-4026.
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Iowa City Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Child Pornography ChargeRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, IA – An Iowa City man was sentenced to 204 months in prison for receiving child pornography.
Law enforcement identified Jesus Rafael Diaz-Figueroa, 31, after the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a cybertip from KIK that videos depicting child pornography were uploaded using IP addresses found to be associated with Diaz-Figueroa. Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Diaz-Figueroa’s residence and seized multiple electronic devices, which contained more than 3,300 images and videos depicting child pornography. Diaz-Figueroa admitted he had been viewing child pornography since high school.
Following his term of imprisonment, Diaz-Figueroa was ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. He was also ordered to pay $48,000 in restitution.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The University of Iowa Department of Public Safety investigated the case.
This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Childhood” initiative, which was started in 2006 as a nationwide effort to combine law enforcement investigations and prosecutions, community action, and public awareness in order to reduce the incidence of sexual exploitation of children. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc and click on the resources tab.
Inmate at USP Canaan Sentenced to 64 Months in Prison for Assaulting Another Inmate with A Dangerous WeaponRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Jordan Anderson, age 28, an inmate at the United States Penitentiary, Canaan, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on March 28, 2023, by U.S. District Judge Robert D. Mariani, to 64 months’ imprisonment for assaulting another inmate with a dangerous weapon.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Anderson previously pleaded guilty to assaulting another inmate on May 10, 2022, at USP Canaan with a sharpened piece of metal commonly known as a “shank.”
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Prisons Special Investigative Service. Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara prosecuted the case.
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Informational: Federal Court arraignmentsRead the Press Release
The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the following persons were arraigned or appeared this week before U.S. Magistrate judges on indictments handed down by the Grand Jury or on criminal complaints. The charging documents are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty:
Appearing in Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto for an initial appearance on a criminal complaint on March 31 was:
Kellen Kantrell Norman, 19, of Polson, on charges of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, distribution of a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and manufacture of a controlled substance. If convicted of the most serious crime, Norman faces a mandatory minimum of five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and four years of supervised release on the drug charges and a mandatory minimum five years to life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and at least five years of supervised release on the firearm charge. Norman was detained pending further proceedings. The Missoula High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-33.
Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on March 30 was:
Nathan Allen Sayler, 46, of Billings, on charges of distribution of child pornography, receipt of child pornography and destruction and removal of property to prevent seizure. If convicted of the most serious crime, Sayler faces a minimum mandatory 15 years to 40 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years to a lifetime of supervised release. Sayler was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-31.
Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston and pleading not guilty on March 28 was:
Emil Saunders Day Chief, 41, of Great Falls, on charges of involuntary manslaughter. If convicted of the most serious crime, Day Chief faces a maximum of eight years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Day Chief was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI, Montana Highway Patrol and Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-10.
The progress of cases may be monitored through the U.S. District Court Calendar and the PACER system. To establish a PACER account, which provides electronic access to review documents filed in a case, please visit http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the District Court’s calendar, please visit https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.
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Huntsville Man Sentenced to More than Eight Years for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A federal judge this week sentenced a Madison County man for possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger.
U.S. District Judge Liles C. Burke sentenced Gregory Wade Hughes, 33, of Huntsville, to 101 months in prison followed by lifetime of supervised release. Hughes was also ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to the victims. In January 2023, Hughes pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography.
According to court documents, Homeland Security Investigations received seventeen cybertips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) relating to an internet protocol (IP) address that had uploaded apparent child sexual abuse materials online. Investigation revealed that the IP address was subscribed at a residence where Hughes lived. On July 12, 2018, a search warrant was executed on the residence and several electronic devices were seized. Forensic examination revealed child sexual abuse material on two of Hughes’ devices. Hughes was interviewed and admitted that he had searched for pornographic videos and images involving children under the age of thirteen. This conviction will require Hughes to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) along with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys R. Leann White and John M. Hundscheid prosecuted the case.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Honduran Man Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Reentering the United States After Being Deported Nine TimesRead the Press Release
A man who illegally returned to the United States after being deported nine times was sentenced today to ten months in federal prison.
Jose Lopez-Martinez, age 42, a citizen of Honduras illegally present in the United States and residing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a January 19, 2023, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry into the United States after having been deported.
At the guilty plea, Lopez-Martinez admitted he had previously been deported from the United States and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government. Lopez-Martinez was previously deported to Honduras in April 2000, March 2001, March 2011, July 2011, October 2011, November 2011, February 2012, August 2012, and July 2014. On November 21, 2022, immigration officials learned Lopez-Martinez had illegally returned to the United States and found Lopez-Martinez at the Linn County Jail following his arrest for operating while intoxicated.
Lopez-Martinez was previously convicted in the Northern District of Iowa in January 2014 of illegally reentering the United States, a felony, and received an eight-month prison term. Lopez-Martinez also has prior convictions in Texas for misdemeanor illegal entry into the United States in April 2011 and December 2011.
Lopez-Martinez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Lopez-Martinez was sentenced to ten months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Lopez-Martinez is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 22-CR-96.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Gary Man Sentenced to 51 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
HAMMOND- Modesto Ricard IV, 32 years old, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Philip P. Simon after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Ricard was sentenced to 51 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, on August 9, 2021, law enforcement arrested Ricard on an outstanding arrest warrant and recovered a .380 caliber firearm from his pants pocket. Ricard’s criminal history revealed he has a prior felony conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, and as such, is prohibited from possessing the firearm.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Indiana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Task Force, and the East Chicago Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Caitlin M. Padula.
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.
Four Additional States Join Justice Department’s Suit to Block JetBlue’s Acquisition of Spirit AirlinesRead the Press Release
Today, the Attorneys General of California, Maryland, New Jersey, and North Carolina joined a civil antitrust lawsuit filed by the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the State of New York, and the District of Columbia to block JetBlue’s proposed $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines. The Antitrust Division and the state Attorneys General filed an amended complaint in the District of Massachusetts.
“We look forward to litigating this important case alongside our state law enforcement partners to stop JetBlue from eliminating its rival, Spirit,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki. “Today we welcome the States of California, Maryland, New Jersey, and North Carolina, who join the complaint to protect the benefits of competition in the airline industry on behalf of their residents.”
Former Stoneham Police Officer Arrested for Wire FraudRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former detective sergeant for the Stoneham Police Department has been arrested and charged for allegedly providing false information in rental applications to fraudulently obtain three separate apartment leases for which he intentionally withheld rent payments.
Robert Kennedy, 53, of Stoneham, was charged with one count of wire fraud. Kennedy will appear in federal court in Boston at 10:30 AM today.
According to the charging document, Kennedy defrauded his last three landlords by providing materially false and misleading information in his rental applications to obtain the respective apartment leases. After moving in, it is alleged that Kennedy would intentionally withhold rent payments, despite making $141,000 - $187,000 a year from the Stoneham Police Department. As a result, Kennedy lived in the apartments rent-free by allegedly taking advantage of the slow eviction process.
Specifically, it is alleged that Kennedy defrauded his most recent landlord by submitting materially false and fraudulent information during the rental application process. The landlord required Kennedy to submit to a tenant screening service, which included a credit check and eviction history check. Instead of providing his own date of birth and social security number to the tenant screening service – which would likely have shown Kennedy’s history of collections, delinquent payments, defaults and evictions – Kennedy allegedly provided the date of birth and social security number of a relative who shared his first and last name. The landlord relied on the information from the fraudulently obtained tenant screening report to approve Kennedy’s rental application and give Kennedy a lease for the apartment. It is further alleged that Kennedy immediately and intentionally violated the terms of the lease by giving the landlord bad checks for his rent and security deposit and failing to make subsequent rent payments. Kennedy lived in the apartment for approximately four months without making rent payments and currently owes the landlord approximately $14,000 in overdue rent.
The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to 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 Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Stoneham Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elysa Q. Wan of Rollins’ Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Chao, Chief of Rollins’ Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit, are prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Former Postal Worker Sentenced for Mail TheftRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – A Canton woman was sentenced a 12 month term of probation for the federal crime of mail theft by a postal employee, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Scott Pierce, Inspector in Charge with the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Southern Area Field Office.
According to Court documents, Sherice E. Davis, 34, of Canton, was a Rural Carrier Associate and delivered mail along a rural route in Hinds County. After receiving complaints of mail theft along Davis’s route, United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General agents investigated. On March 9, 2022, agents found Davis in possession of opened mail she did not deliver.
Davis was indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2022, and she entered a guilty plea in October 2022.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly T. Purdie prosecuted the case.
Former National Guardsman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Child Pornography PossessionRead the Press Release
Davenport, IA – A Salem man was sentenced yesterday to 100 months in prison for possession of child pornography.
According to court records, law enforcement began investigating Jason Robert Wesely, 39, a former member of the Iowa National Guard, after receiving a cybertip from a social media platform in May 2020. The tip included descriptions of Wesely’s sexual conversations with an undercover agent, pretending to be a 14-year-old child. Further investigation revealed that Wesely belonged to a chat group where child pornography was shared among its members. Wesely admitted to belonging to the group and to viewing and sharing child pornography. Wesely was ultimately discharged from the Iowa National Guard.
Following his prison term, Wesely was ordered to serve eight years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. Homeland Security Investigations and the Iowa State Patrol investigated the case.
This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Childhood” initiative, which was started in 2006 as a nationwide effort to combine law enforcement investigations and prosecutions, community action, and public awareness in order to reduce the incidence of sexual exploitation of children. Any persons having knowledge of a child being sexually abused are encouraged to call the Iowa Sexual Abuse Hotline at 1-800-284-7821.
Former Manager of Brockton RMV Pleads Guilty to Passing Learner's Permit Tests in Exchange for MoneyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Brockton woman pleaded guilty yesterday to accepting money in exchange for agreeing to issue passing learner’s permit test scores to applicants regardless of whether they actually passed or not, at the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) in Brockton.
Mia Cox-Johnson, 43, pleaded guilty to two counts of extortion under color of official right and one count of conspiring to commit extortion. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for July 20, 2023. Cox-Johnson was charged by an Information on March 2, 2023.
Cox-Johnson, a former manager of the RMV service center in Brockton, took money in exchange for agreeing to give passing scores on learner’s permit tests for both passenger vehicle driver’s licenses and Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs). Between December 2018 and October 2019, Cox-Johnson conspired to take money in exchange for agreeing to give customers passing scores on their multiple-choice learner’s permit tests even if they did not pass. These customers were told to request a paper test instead of taking the test on the RMV computer. Cox-Johnson scored these customers’ paper tests.
On Dec. 28, 2018, Cox-Johnson accepted $1,000 in cash – delivered from a friend on behalf of another individual – in exchange for giving a passing score to the individual’s relative who had failed the passenger vehicle learner’s permit test six times when taking it in their native language. Cox-Johnson also agreed to score the relative as having passed the permit test regardless of whether they had actually passed. Cox-Johnson did, in fact, pass the relative’s test, which was taken on paper in English.
On Oct. 21, 2019, a customer came to the Brockton RMV and took three multiple-choice tests they needed to pass in order to get a commercial learner’s permit – a prerequisite to taking the road test for a CDL. Cox-Johnson accepted $200 in cash from an individual to score the customer as having passed the tests even if they did not actually pass. In fact, the applicant failed one of the tests, but Cox-Johnson scored the applicant as having passed all three tests.
The charges of extortion under color of official right and conspiracy to commit extortion each provide for a sentence of up to 20 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; Michael J. Krol, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General’s Special Agent-in-Charge is Christopher A. Scharf made the announcement today. The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigation’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF). Valuable assistance was provided by the Mattapoisett Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Wichers and Adam Deitch of Rollins’s Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit; Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia M. Carris, Deputy Chief of Rollins’ Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mackenzie Duane of Rollins’ Major Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case.
Former Baldwin County Pain Doctor Sentenced to Four Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
MOBILE, AL – A former Baldwin County pain doctor was sentenced today to four years in federal prison for bank fraud, making false statements to federal agents, willfully refusing to pay court ordered restitution, and aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Rassan M. Tarabein, 63, a former neurologist and pain doctor in Baldwin County, pleaded guilty in 2017 to healthcare fraud and unlawful distribution of controlled substances. A federal judge in the Southern District of Alabama ordered Tarabein to pay more than $15 million in restitution to his victims. In early 2018, while awaiting sentencing in his federal case, Tarabein issued cashier’s checks worth more than $100,000 to himself without the court’s approval. Tarabein falsely represented to his probation officer that the checks were for payment of bills. Tarabein was sentenced to five years in federal prison in June 2018, but was released early to home confinement in November 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While on home confinement in Fairhope in 2020, and unbeknownst to the court, Tarabein reissued the 2018 cashier’s checks to himself. From 2020 to 2022, Tarabein made no payments toward his restitution obligation. Instead, the jury reviewed evidence that Tarabein had access to and spent large sums of money on himself. In December 2021, Tarabein fraudulently deposited money into his bank account using information from another account that he had agreed to forfeit and that had been closed years earlier as part of his healthcare fraud and drug convictions in 2017. Further, in early 2022, Tarabein made false statements to his probation officer in his financial disclosures while continuing to conceal assets.
In April 2022, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Tarabein at the Pensacola International Airport while he was en route to the Middle East. Agents found Tarabein in possession of, among other things, a $31,000 counterfeit check dated March 2022 from a victim business in Georgia made payable to Tarabein at his address in Fairhope. The counterfeit check bore the name and signature of a representative of the victim business, which had previously lost tens of thousands of dollars from a successful deposit of a nearly identical fraudulent check months earlier.
At today’s sentencing hearing, in addition to the four-year prison term, Chief United States District Judge Jeffrey U. Beaverstock ordered Tarabein to serve a five-year term of supervised release upon his release from prison, during which time he will be subject to credit restrictions and will be required to provide financial information to the probation office. The court did not impose a fine, but Chief Judge Beaverstock ordered Tarabein to pay $425 in special assessments. Tarabein still owes more than $9 million in victim restitution.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello said, “Defendants who lie to the court and who conceal assets rather than paying the victims of their crime what they are owed will be pursued by the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners. Criminals like Tarabein will not be allowed to escape the consequences of their conduct.”
“It is apparent by the court record Dr. Tarabein had a willful disregard for the rule of law and the very conditions he was supposed to adhere to. I am proud of the diligent work of the FBI and United States Attorney’s Office personnel to hold Dr. Tarabein accountable for his actions and instill justice for the victims of his crimes,” said Paul W. Brown, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Mobile Field Office.
The FBI investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Roller of the Southern District of Alabama and Trial Attorneys Sinan Kalayoglu and Lindsay Heck of the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Criminal Division, prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
Former Air Force Sergeant Pleads Guilty to Stealing Firearm Silencers Intended for Military UseRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – Troy Lynn Misiak, age 47, of Spring Lake pleaded guilty to felony theft of government property and unlawful possession of an unregistered weapon. According to the Government’s statement during the plea hearing, Misiak used his former position as a United States Air Force Master Sergeant (MSgt) to obtain, among other things, firearm suppressors supposedly for use by his military unit, but which he stole for himself. These items required proper registration under the National Firearms Act, which designated them as property of the United States Air Force. The Government further explained that after Misiak left the Air Force and became a civil service employee of the United States Army, he continued to try to obtain weaponry, sometimes successfully, from firearms dealers and manufacturers that were again purportedly intended for the military’s use, but which Misiak took for his personal collection.
Items seized from Misiak’s home included two Surefire brand firearm suppressors, a Daniel Defense internally suppressed rifle barrel, eight Geissele Automatics brand rifle upper assemblies, two suppressor alignment rods, two suspected rocket launcher tubes, and approximately 6,000 rounds of sealed ammunition. Investigators also seized a 31-page classified document from the US Army Special Operations Command that Misiak was not authorized to possess.
“Our American military is the best-equipped fighting force the world has ever seen, and our military leaders should be good stewards of that equipment, not abuse their positions for personal gain,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “We won’t allow dangerous weaponry that is provided for military use to be stolen without consequences. Today’s guilty plea is just one example of our partnership with the Air Force and ATF to ensure those consequences are meted out.”
“This defendant took advantage of his position, creating a potential threat to public safety,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Bennie Mims. “There’s a proper procedure for acquiring firearms and related devices. Ignoring that process could lead to firearms ending up in the hands of prohibited and dangerous individuals.”
Each charge carries a maximum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment. The theft charge also carries a maximum fine of $250,000, while the weapon charge also carries a maximum fine of $10,000.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after United States Magistrate Judge Robert T. Numbers II accepted the plea. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are investigating the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori B. Warlick is prosecuting the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:23-CR-48-D.
Federal Jury Finds Anton “Tony” Lazzaro Guilty on All Counts in Child Sex Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man has been found guilty by a federal jury of orchestrating a sex trafficking conspiracy in which he trafficked multiple minor girls, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
Following a 10-day trial before Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz, Anton Joseph Lazzaro, a/k/a “Tony Lazzaro,” 32, was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors and five counts of sex trafficking of minors. Lazzaro’s co-defendant, Gisela Castro Medina, 20, pleaded guilty on December 19, 2022, to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors and one count of obstruction. Sentencing hearings for Lazzaro and Castro Medina will be scheduled at a later date.
The prosecution team, led by Assistant United States Attorneys Melinda Williams, Laura Provinzino and Emily Polachek, emphasized that this case “represents the face of modern-day sex trafficking.” They went on to state that, “today’s guilty verdict recognizes the bravery of the five young victims who were trafficked by Lazzaro. We are humbled by their courage and inspired by their journeys to regain their power.”
“Today, justice was served. This judgment of guilt means that Mr. Lazzaro will never again be able to use his fortune to manipulate young, vulnerable girls for his benefit. Few crimes are as heinous as the sexual exploitation of minors. The FBI and its law enforcement partners are dedicated to safeguarding the most vulnerable members of society and will continue to use all available resources to investigate anyone who engages in such predatory criminal activity.” said Alvin M. Winston, FBI Special Agent in Charge, Minneapolis Division.
“We hope the individuals Lazzaro victimized feel some sense of justice today, and that all sex trafficking survivors know we will continue to work to hold accountable the men and women who commit these terrible crimes. This verdict reinforces that no one is above the law. Lazzaro’s wealth and privilege helped him facilitate these crimes but did not shield him from justice,” said Superintendent Drew Evans of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
As proven at trial, Lazzaro conspired with Castro Medina to recruit young girls – 15-year-olds and 16-year-olds – to have sex with him in exchange for cash and other items of value. Lazzaro met Castro Medina in May of 2020 through the Seeking Arrangements website, which is known as a “sugar daddy” website. Lazzaro directed Castro Medina to identify girls she knew and others on social media who would have sex with him for money. Lazzaro specified that he was looking for young girls of a certain skin color, petite body type, and those who were considered vulnerable, referring to them as “broken girls.” Castro Medina would show Lazzaro photographs of minor girls and if Lazzaro “approved” Castro Medina would provide the minor’s contact information to Lazzaro. Castro Medina told the minors that Lazzaro was an older guy with a lot of money, and that he wanted to be a sugar daddy to younger girls. For her role in recruiting multiple minor girls, Lazzaro paid Castro Medina more than $50,000.
As proven at trial, Lazzaro often sent cars, typically Ubers, to transport the minor girls to his luxury condo in the Hotel Ivy in downtown Minneapolis. At one point, Lazzaro sent a driver to pick up a group of 14 and 15-year-olds from a slumber party in St. Michael, Minnesota. When minor girls came to his condo, Lazzaro would give them alcohol, flash stacks of cash, and offer the girls precise sums of money to perform various sex acts. Lazzaro would send the minor girls home with cash, vapes, alcohol, Plan B, cell phones, and other items of value. Lazzaro carried out this trafficking scheme from May 2020 through December 2020.
Following the execution of federal search warrants at Lazzaro’s condo on December 15, 2020, Lazzaro and Castro Medina discussed which of the minor victims spoke to law enforcement. As part of her guilty plea, Castro Medina admitted that in March 2021, she and Lazzaro agreed to pay off a 15-year-old victim to prevent her from talking to law enforcement about engaging in commercial sex with Lazzaro.
This case is the result of a joint investigation by the FBI and the Minnesota Human Trafficking Investigators Task Force – led by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, the Minneapolis Police Department, the West Hennepin Public Safety Department, and the Wright County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melinda A. Williams, Laura M. Provinzino, and Emily A. Polachek tried the case.
Drug trafficking, pipe bomb possession send Missoula man to prison for more than six yearsRead the Press Release
MISSOULA — A Missoula man who admitted to a drug trafficking crime after law enforcement found a backpack containing methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and a pipe bomb in his vehicle was sentenced today to six years and six months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
Matthew Lucas Jones, 43, pleaded guilty in December 2022 to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided.
In court documents, the government alleged that on June 1, 2021, law enforcement stopped Jones, while he was absconding from state probation, for a traffic violation after he drove into oncoming traffic. Officers searched a backpack in Jones’ vehicle and found heroin containing fentanyl, methamphetamine, dozens of distribution baggies and a pipe bomb. An explosives expert determined the pipe bomb was functional. Jones denied knowing about the pipe bomb or backpack and said that they must have belonged to the vehicle’s previous owner. However, surveillance video showed Jones carrying the backpack when he checked into a hotel the previous evening. Jones also possessed two cell phones, one of which contained multiple text messages indicating he was selling drugs, $1,060 cash, a silver coin and pre-paid cards.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Karla E. Painter prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Missoula Police Department, Montana Probation and Parole, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Drug Enforcement Administration.
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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Dormont Felon Indicted for Illegally Possessing a Firearm with a Glock SwitchRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA. - A resident of Dormont, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of violating federal firearms laws, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
The two-count Indictment, returned on March 28 and unsealed today, named Donald Smith, 35, as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment, on or about March 5, 2023, Smith is alleged to have unlawfully possessed a machine gun and possessed a firearm as a convicted felon. Federal law prohibits an individual who has been convicted of a felony from possessing a firearm or ammunition. According to the Indictment, Smith is alleged to have possessed a Glock semiautomatic pistol that was equipped with a machinegun conversion device. A machinegun conversion device is a device that converts a semiautomatic firearm into a fully automatic firearm. Under federal law, both the machine conversion device itself as well as the firearm equipped with it are considered machine guns and are illegal.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 25 years in prison, a fine of $500,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Douglas C. Maloney is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, and the United States Marshals Service conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department 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.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
District of Columbia Man Sentenced to 26 Years in Prison for Child Exploitation and Sex Abuse ChargesRead the Press Release
Defendant Posed as Young Girl to Target Victim
WASHINGTON –Christopher Young, 31, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 26 years in prison on one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and second-degree child sexual abuse for abusing a minor child, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division, and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Young pleaded guilty on Aug. 23, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In addition to the prison term, the Honorable Amit P. Mehta ordered 15 years of supervised release and ordered Young to register as a sex offender.
According to court documents, Young used a messaging application to reach out to a 10-year old child in June 2019 pretending to be a young girl. In the messages that Young exchanged with the victim, he blackmailed her for the purpose of sexually abusing her. While pretending to be a young girl, Young messaged the victim, stating that if the victim did not engage in sexual acts with Young, embarrassing photographs of the victim would be disseminated to the victim’s family. Young also photographed his sexual abuse of the victim. One of these photographs was recovered from Young’s e-mail account.
The victim reported the abuse to her mother and Young was arrested on July 23, 2019. He has been in custody since his arrest.
This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The task force is composed of FBI agents, along with other federal agents and detectives from northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children and those engaged in human trafficking.
This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Graves, Special Agent in Charge Jacobs, and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, as well as the MPD’s Narcotics and Special Investigation Division, Human Trafficking Unit. They also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Alexis Spencer-Anderson, Victim/Witness Advocate Yvonne Bryant, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Janani Iyengar.
Davenport Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, IA – A Davenport man was sentenced on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, to 84 months in prison for being a felon in possession of firearms, and 12 months for violating his term of federal supervised release.
According to court documents, law enforcement encountered Ki-Jana Kolajuan Ivey, 25, as the front seat passenger during an April 2022 traffic stop. Officers observed a pistol under the front passenger seat where Ivey was sitting. Pursuant to a search warrant of Ivey’s phone, officers found videos and photographs of Ivey in possession of other firearms in the weeks preceding the traffic stop. During an interview, Ivey admitted to possessing the firearms shown on his phone.
In 2018, also in the Southern District of Iowa, Ivey was convicted of felon in possession of a firearm. For that conviction, he was sentenced to 30 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. At the time of the traffic stop, Ivey was serving that period of supervised release. As a result of this conviction, Ivey’s supervised released was revoked, and he was sentenced to serve a period of 12 months in prison consecutive to the 84-month sentence. Following his prison term, Ivey was ordered to serve three years of supervised release.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Scott County Sheriff’s Office and the Bettendorf Police Department investigated the case.
Dominican Republic National Pleads Guilty to Possession of 630 Kilograms of CocaineRead the Press Release
St. Croix, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Victor Reyes-Martinez, 40, of Nicaragua, pleaded guilty before Magistrate Judge Emile A. Henderson, III, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine while on board a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. A sentencing date for Reyes-Martinez will be set by the Court, and he will face a maximum of 20 years in prison. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
According to court documents, on September 11, 2022, while on routine patrol south of the Dominican Republic, a maritime patrol aircraft detected a go-fast vessel navigating on a northerly course approximately 80 nautical miles south of Bani, Dominican Republic. The U.S.S. Billings was dispatched to the area when crew members observed that the vessel had no flag flown, no registration numbers and no name painted on its hull. The Dominican Republic Navy later advised that the vessel was not registered with their country. The vessel was therefore treated as one without nationality thereby subjecting it to laws of the United States. Onboard the vessel, the U.S.S. Billings boarding team detained Reyes-Martinez and another individual and located 18 bales of cocaine weighing approximately 630 kilograms.
The United States Coast Guard, Homeland Security Investigations and Drug Enforcement Administration are investigating this case, and Assistant United States Attorney Evan Rikhye is prosecuting the case. This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Convicted Felon Sentenced to More Than Seven Years in Prison for Illegal Gun SalesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A previously convicted felon was sentenced today in federal court in Worcester for illegally selling ghost guns. A ghost gun is a firearm that has been manufactured by an individual and not by a firearms manufacturing company.
Zachary Zella, 30, of Dudley, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to 92 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In December 2022, Zella pleaded guilty to engaging in and conspiring to engage in the business of dealing and manufacturing firearms without a license. Zella was arrested and charged in June 2022 along with a co-defendant.
“Ghost guns pose a real and imminent threat to public safety in our communities. When unregistered firearms get into the hands of prohibited individuals, we are less safe. Each of these illegal ghost guns could have been used in a violent crime, shooting or murder. Each bullet represents a potential shooting or homicide victim. Keeping illegal firearms off our streets and out of the hands of prohibited individuals is critical to addressing and eliminating gun violence,” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins. “We pledge to do everything in our power to hold individuals engaged in illegal firearms sales accountable. Today’s sentence proves just that.”
“Zachary Zella is a now a twice convicted felon who has continued to demonstrate why he is a serious danger to the community. Most recently, Mr. Zella admitted to selling non-serialized firearms to us. With today’s sentence, this career criminal has been held accountable for his blatant disregard for the law, and for putting innocent people in potential danger,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “This investigation illustrates how the FBI is working closely with our law enforcement partners to identify and remove dangerous criminals and weapons from our streets.”
On three separate occasions between March and May 2022, the Zella sold a confidential source four 9mm ghost gun pistols – one of which contained a Gamo laser sight – and ammunition.
U.S. Attorney Rollins, FBI Boston SAC Bonavolonta and Carol Mici, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Correction made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Danial Bennett and Brendan O’Shea of Rollins’ Worcester Branch Office prosecuted the case.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The remaining defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Clinton Man Sentenced to 27 Years in Prison for Production of Child Pornography and Unlawful Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, IA – A Clinton man was sentenced Tuesday to 27 years in federal prison for production of child pornography and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, Timothy Craig Geerts, 49, sexually abused a child and recorded the abuse. Geerts also surreptitiously recorded that child, and two other children, naked, in the bathroom. As a part of the investigation, officers also located videos of Geerts sexually assaulting an incapacitated adult, who he admitted to drugging. Geerts was previously convicted in state court of sexually assaulting one of the child victims.
Geerts also possessed three firearms. He was prohibited from possessing firearms because he was a drug user.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Geerts will be required to serve five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Geerts will also be required to register as a sex offender.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Clinton Police Department.
This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Childhood” initiative, which was started in 2006 as a nation-wide effort to combine law enforcement investigations and prosecutions, community action, and public awareness in order to reduce the incidence of sexual exploitation of children. Any persons having knowledge of a child being sexually abused are encouraged to call the Iowa Sexual Abuse Hotline at 1-800-284-7821.
Charlotte Woman Sentenced in Middle District for Conspiracy Drug Trafficking After Multi-State OperationRead the Press Release
WINSTON SALEM – A North Carolina woman was sentenced today to 14 years in prison, after pleading guilty to a one-count indictment which charged her and six codefendants with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute quantities of methamphetamine. The case was part of a multi-state organized crime investigation, announced United States Attorney Sandra J. Hairston of the Middle District of North Carolina (MDNC).
BETTY ODESSA DOVER, age 49, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was sentenced to a 168-month term of imprisonment by the Honorable Loretta C. Biggs, United States District Judge in the United States District Court for the MDNC. In addition to prison time, DOVER was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay a special assessment of $100.00. She pleaded guilty on September 15, 2022, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, a violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846 and 841(b)(1)(C).
According to court records, in 2020, various law enforcement agencies began investigating a drug trafficking organization based in Mexico. Members of this organization had been previously convicted in the MDNC for drug trafficking. Defendants in another drug-related case had reported picking up tens of thousands of dollars at a time from DOVER and dropping off money and kilogram amounts of cocaine to DOVER for the drug trafficking organization. During the investigation into those offenses, investigators executed a search warrant at DOVER’s home and recovered 238 grams of cocaine, drug paraphernalia, and three firearms. DOVER admitted to investigators during an interview that she had participated in the purchasing and selling of drugs along with another codefendant, Whitney Leigh Estep, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on March 10, 2023.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, and multiple sheriff’s offices and police departments across North Carolina. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jacob D. Pryor.
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California Man Sentenced to over 11 Years in Prison for Child Exploitation Offense Involving Two-Year-Old ChildRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Jacob David Dockter, 28, of Taft, California, was sentenced today to 140 months in prison for distribution of child pornography, followed by 120 months of supervised release.
On May 28, 2020, a law enforcement officer was acting in an undercover capacity as part of the Metropolitan Police Department-Federal Bureau of Investigation (“MPD-FBI”) Child Exploitation Task Force, operating out of a satellite office in Washington, D.C. In that capacity, the undercover officer entered a private online group devoted to the receipt and distribution of child sexual abuse material. Dockter began communicating with the undercover officer via private message on the online platform. Dockter told the undercover officer that he was a 25-year-old man from Southern California and that he had access to a two-year-old female relative. He told the undercover officer that he had taken nude images of this two-year-old relative in the past. Dockter then sent the undercover officer multiple live nude photos of the child, as well as one sexually explicit image.
This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI's Washington Field Office and MPD. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs of the Federal Bureau of Investigation commended the work of those who worked on the case from the FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes members of the FBI's Washington Field Office and MPD’s Youth Investigations Division. They also expressed appreciation to those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Caroline Burrell and April Russo, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen E. Stauss, and Paralegal Specialist Alexis Spencer-Anderson.
Boston Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Transporting Firearms from Alabama into MassachusettsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Boston man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to illegally transporting firearms from Alabama into Massachusetts.
Jarmori Brown, 20, pleaded guilty on March 29, 2023 to one count of illegal transportation or receipt in state of residency of firearm purchased or acquired outside of state of residency, and one count of conspiracy to illegally transport firearms. U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for July 10, 2023.
In July 2022, Brown was charged along with co-defendants Brandon Moore, Jahquel Pringle and Kobe Smith. Brown has been in state custody on unrelated state charges since being charged federally. Pringle and Smith are currently in federal custody pending the government’s appeal of a District of Oregon order of release on conditions. Moore’s case was transferred to his home district of the Middle District of Alabama, where he has since pleaded guilty.
“The illegal trafficking of firearms is a serious crime and threat to public health and safety. Every illegal firearm in our Commonwealth fuels gun violence in our communities. Each can potentially be used to commit a shooting or homicide. Preventing the trafficking of illegal firearms and removing them from our streets is critical to addressing and reducing violent crime,” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins. “Mr. Brown knowingly circumvented the law to unlawfully purchase multiple firearms in another state and funnel them into our Commonwealth. At least seven of these illegal firearms have since been recovered from the streets of Boston and surrounding communities. Every single day, our City and our nation feel the devastating and deadly consequences of firearms. Trafficking plays a direct role in this. Anyone who attempts to evade firearm laws and put Massachusetts residents in jeopardy will be targeted and held accountable.”
“Transporting firearms across state lines with the express intent of furthering criminal activity will not be tolerated, and ATF will continue to use our resources to stop these crimes in their tracks,” said James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division.
According to court documents, Brown, Pringle, Smith and Moore conspired to obtain at least 24 firearms from Alabama, where Moore lived, and then transport them to Boston. In August 2020, Brown traveled from Boston to Alabama on a commercial bus to pick up the firearms from Moore and then transported the firearms, concealed within luggage, back to Boston on the commercial bus. At least seven firearms obtained in this manner have been recovered by law enforcement from the streets of Boston and surrounding communities.
Both the interstate transportation charge and the conspiracy charge provide for a sentence of up to five 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 other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today.
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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN is part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
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.