Latest Records
Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
Friday 10 February 2023
Man Sentenced to 26 Years for Double Fatal Shooting During Drug RobberyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Friday sentenced a man involved in a triple shooting in 2021 that killed two people to 26 years in prison.
Antaveon Bernard Le'Vell Kent, 22, used Facebook to communicate with his co-defendant, pick the targets and work on the plan to steal and sell their marijuana. When the victims arrived at a meeting spot in the 1100 block of Montgomery Street on March 16, 2021, Kent and his co-defendant opened fire, shooting all three victims, Kent’s plea agreement says.
Kortlin Williams and Johnnie Jones, who were best friends, died. Another man was shot but survived.
Police found 621 grams of marijuana in the victims’ vehicle.
Kent pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to distribute marijuana, attempting to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana and two charges of possession and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime that resulted in the fatal shootings of Williams and Jones.
Demorion Little has pleaded not guilty to drug and gun charges, including a gun charge that accuses him of the fatal shooting of Rocoby Rodgers on Feb. 25, 2021.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police.
Level 3 Registered Sex Offender Arrested on Multiple Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Donald Campbell Sr., 60, of Elmira, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with receipt, distribution, and possession of child pornography. The charges carry a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum of 40 years.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Katelyn M. Hartford, who is handling the case, stated that in July 2022, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a report from Google, Inc. that a Gmail user possessed, manufactured, and distributed child pornography via Google Photos. Google forwarded multiple images of suspected child pornography from the subject account. Subsequent investigation traced the account to Campbell. On January 9, 2023, the Elmira Police Department executed a search warrant at Campbell’s Linden Place residence, seizing 19 digital storage items. A preliminary analysis indicates that at least eight items contain child pornography, including over 200 images and videos of child pornography on a cell phone and over 200 images and videos on an SD card. Some of the images include children as young as infancy and children engaged in sexual acts with other children and adults.
Campbell is a registered level-three sex offender (the highest risk level) following two prior felony child pornography offenses in New York State Court in December 2004 and March 2019.
Campbell was detained following a detention hearing this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark W. Pedersen.The complaint is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Darren Cox and the Elmira Police Department, under the direction of Acting Chief Kristen Thorne.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
# # # #
Kittrell Man Sentenced to More Than 15 Years for Multiple Armed Bank RobberiesRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, N.C. – Stanley Kearney Jr., 27, of Kittrell was sentenced yesterday to 190 months in prison for charges related to two bank robberies in Raleigh and Greenville.
According to court records and other information presented in court, On December 6, 2019, the SunTrust bank located at 7320 Creedmoor Road in Raleigh, was robbed at gunpoint by four men. The men left the bank with approximately $11,578.00 and witnesses saw them fleeing the scene in a white Hyundai Elantra. On December 30, 2019, around 4:30 p.m., the Branch Bank & Trust (BB&T) located 2475 Stantonsburg Road in Greenville was robbed at gunpoint by three men. They left the bank with $72,853 and witnesses saw them flee the scene in a white Hyundai Elantra. Kearney was stopped on January 10, 2020, for unrelated traffic violations and attempted to flee from law enforcement. In an interview with law enforcement, Kearney would admit to committing the SunTrust and BB&T bank robberies. The codefendants in this case were Clifton Harris, Cameron Evans and Joshua Bailey. All three have pled guilty. Harris was sentenced to 81 months. Evans and Bailey are awaiting sentencing.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The Davie County Sheriff’s Department, the Raleigh, Greenville and Mebane Police Departments, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leonard Champaign and Barbara Kocher 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. 4:20-CR-00071-M.
Kalamazoo Man Sentenced to 13 Years in Federal Prison for Gun and Drug Trafficking OffensesRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten today announced that William Henderson, Jr., 27, of Kalamazoo, Michigan was sentenced to 13 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney also ordered Henderson to spend 4 years on supervised release after his confinement.
“Our message to violent offenders is clear: violence will gain you a new home in federal prison for a long time,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “My office is committed to disrupting the cycle of gun and drug-related violence in our district and communities.”
On March 15, 2022, Henderson possessed a loaded .40 caliber pistol in a bag with over 13 grams of cocaine. Shortly before police arrested him, Henderson attended a block party on Woodbury Avenue in Kalamazoo where he openly displayed the firearm to others. As a felon, Henderson was prohibited from possessing firearms.
In February 2022, Cornell Gordon of Kalamazoo was shot three times when an assailant exited a vehicle and began shooting. Police located shell casings at the scene. The government presented evidence connecting the shell casings from that scene to the gun Henderson was arrested with. The government also presented text message evidence recovered from Henderson’s phone discussing his involvement in Gordon’s shooting. After hearing the evidence, U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney applied a sentencing cross reference for assault with intent to commit murder.
In announcing Henderson’s sentence, Judge Maloney highlighted that he viewed Henderson as a “risk to the public.” Henderson also had numerous prior criminal convictions, (including prior convictions for carrying concealed weapons, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and controlled substance possession and distribution), which Judge Maloney also considered when imposing the sentence.
This case was investigated through a joint and federal partnership by the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team, the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Crime Reduction Team, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
“The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety would like to thank our federal partners for their continued assistance in our focused approach to reduce gun violence,” said Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief David Boysen. “Through this partnership, we are able to identify the most dangerous individuals who are driving the gun violence in Kalamazoo and remove them from our community through federal sanctions. Our community is safer today because Mr. Henderson is in federal custody,” added Boysen.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren F. Biksacky as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) played a pivotal role in the evaluation of the firearm and shell casing evidence. NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms. NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles. For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin.
###
KC Man Sentenced to 24 Years for Conspiracy to Distribute Meth, Illegal FirearmsRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two Kansas City, Mo., men have been sentenced in federal court for their roles in a nearly $10 million conspiracy that distributed almost 1,000 kilograms of methamphetamine.
Fahrudin F. Fejzic, also known as “Frank,” 51, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Thursday, Feb. 9, to 24 years and two months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Fejzic to pay a money judgment of $325,000, which represent the proceeds of illegal drug trafficking.
Lloyd L. Hagan, also known as “Trey,” 45, of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced today to 18 years and nine months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Hagan to pay a money judgment of $19,442, which represents the proceeds of illegal drug trafficking.
On Aug. 26, 2022, Fejzic pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from Sept. 1, 2018, to Nov. 5, 2019, and to one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Hagan, in a separate but related case, pleaded guilty to his role in the drug-trafficking conspiracy on March 29, 2022.
On Feb. 19, 2019, law enforcement investigators were conducting surveillance on the residence of co-defendant Mirza Alihodzic, 37, of Kansas City, Mo. Fejzic and others were present with Alihodzic at the residence. Alihodzic and Fejzic were carrying items out of the house and putting them into a black BMW, which was parked in the driveway.
Fejzic left in a taxi, which took him to a residence in Grandview. Fejzic was then stopped by a police officer. Fejzic had a loaded Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-automatic handgun tucked in his backside waistband; he was carrying a bag that contained approximately four and a half pounds (more than two kilograms) of methamphetamine and a Romarm/CUGIR Mini Draco AK-47-type 7.62x39mm semi-automatic firearm with two high-capacity, 40-round magazines and 69 total rounds of ammunition.
Law enforcement officers also executed a search warrant the same day at Alihodzic’s residence. Officers found approximately 5.5 grams of methamphetamine, $1,620 in cash, and two firearms inside the residence. Officers also seized 18 firearms from Alihodzic’s BMW, including a Sten 9mm machine gun, two short-barreled shotguns (a Mossberg 20-gauge and a Revelation 16-gauge) and a stolen Sig Sauer 9mm handgun.
On at least two occasions in April and May 2019, Hagan was involved in the controlled purchase of a half-pound of methamphetamine for $2,300 by a law enforcement confidential human source. Hagan admitted that he purchased methamphetamine from co-conspirators that came from Alihodzic. Hagan sometimes received methamphetamine rather than cash in exchange for doing work on multiple houses for co-conspirators. He served as a middleman to pick up half-pound and quarter-pound amounts of methamphetamine to deliver to others to distribute. Hagan was responsible for the distribution of nearly two kilograms of methamphetamine.
Alihodzic was sentenced on Dec 1, 2022, to 35 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Alihodzic to forfeit to the government $1,158,058, which represents his responsibility in trafficking 113.79 kilograms (more than 250 pounds) of methamphetamine (based on a conservative street price of $2,300 for 226 grams (a half-pound) of methamphetamine).
Eighteen defendants have been convicted in two separate indictments that resulted from this investigation. Fifteen defendants have been sentenced.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bradley K. Kavanaugh and Sean T. Foley, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Bradshaw. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the FBI, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the Mid-Missouri Drug Task Force.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, and local law enforcement to specifically identify criminals responsible for significant violent crime in the Western District of Missouri. A centerpiece of this effort is Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods is an evidence-based program that identifies the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develops comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, Project Safe Neighborhoods focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Jury Convicts Colchester Man of Possessing a Firearm as a Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
Burlington, Vermont - The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that, on February 9, 2023, Dennis Martin, 42, of Colchester, Vermont, was convicted for unlawfully possessing a firearm as a convicted felon in United States District Court in Burlington, Vermont, following a four-day jury trial before United States District Judge Christina Reiss.
According to court records, on February 17, 2019, Martin’s wife reported ongoing domestic abuse perpetrated by Martin. On February 18, 2019, Martin’s mother-in-law reported she had received a Snapchat video from Martin in which he brandished a firearm and made threatening statements. On February 18, 2019, Colchester Police with the assistance of the Vermont State Police Tactical Services Unit arrested Martin for felony domestic assault and disorderly conduct with an electronic device. A search of the vehicle Martin was in at the time of his arrest resulted in the seizure of a Ruger model LCP .380 caliber pistol. Martin was subsequently convicted in Vermont Superior Court of misdemeanor domestic assault and disorderly conduct by phone and was sentenced to 363 to 364 days of jail.
Also, according to court records, on the evening of June 22, 2021, Martin was alleged to have brandished a firearm in the area of Franklin Square in Burlington, Vermont. Martin turned himself in to Burlington Police on June 29, 2021. On July 1, 2021, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) obtained a federal criminal complaint charging Martin with being a felon in possession of a firearm for the February 18, 2019 possession of the Ruger model LCP .380 caliber pistol. Martin was subsequently indicted by the federal grand jury, and on August 20, 2021, Martin was ordered detained pending trial.On February 9, 2023, the trial jury returned a verdict of guilty, finding that on February 18, 2019, Martin had knowingly possessed the Ruger model LCP .380 caliber pistol while knowing that he had a prior conviction for a crime punishable for more than one year. Martin was ordered to remain detained pending sentencing.
United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the efforts of the ATF, the Colchester Police Department, and the Vermont State Police in the investigation and prosecution of Martin. United States Attorney Kerest also stated, “Prosecution of felons who both unlawfully possess firearms and inflict domestic abuse on their households will continue to be prioritized by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
Martin faces a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release of up to 3 years, and up to a $250,000 fine. Martin’s actual sentence, however, will be determined by the sentencing judge with guidance from the advisory Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The prosecution of Martin was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan A. Ophardt, Corinne M. Smith, and Wendy L. Fuller. Martin was represented by Michelle Anderson Barth, Esq.
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. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psn .
Jamaican Citizen Indicted for Multi-Million Dollar Fraud Scheme Extradited to the United StatesRead the Press Release
Adrian Lawrence, a citizen of Jamaica, will be arraigned this afternoon in federal court in Central Islip on a six-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud, in connection with a scheme to defraud U.S. citizens. Today’s proceeding will be held before United States Magistrate Judge Anne Y. Shields. Lawrence was detained last month in Panama and extradited to the United States on February 8, 2023, at the request of U.S. authorities.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Daniel B. Brubaker, Inspector-in-Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service, New York Field Office (USPIS), and J. Russell George, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), announced the arrest and charges.
“As alleged, Lawrence and his co-conspirators preyed on dozens of elderly persons, contacting the victims by phone and email, spinning the lie that they had won a sweepstakes prize, then having gained their trust, betrayed them by extracting a purported fee to collect the non-existent winnings,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Today’s arrest demonstrates our Office’s commitment to aggressively investigate and prosecute those individuals who exploit our senior citizens for personal gain.”
Mr. Peace expressed his thanks to the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs for their valuable assistance with this case.
“As alleged, Lawrence defrauded dozens of elderly victims of collectively more than $5 million by willfully misleading them to believe they had won a sweepstakes and needed to pay fees to release their winnings. After the victims paid the fees, they came to the unfortunate realization that the prizes they had been promised were non-existent. While elder fraud continues to be a persistent crime problem, today’s action should serve as a reminder the FBI will continue to do all we can to protect the vulnerable from those who seek to take advantage of them for their own greedy purposes,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll.
USPIS Inspector-in-Charge Brubaker stated: “Postal Inspectors have been in the business of tracking down fugitives for over 200 years. With the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force and the U.S Attorney’s Office, Adrian Lawrence will face justice in the Eastern District of New York. Lawrence, a Jamaican national, is allegedly the head of a scamming operation that defrauded more than 50 victims out of more than $5 million dollars over the past 10 years. This arrest should serve as a clear message to Lawrence and anyone else involved in lottery or sweepstakes scams, that if you prey upon the American public there will be consequences. No matter how far you run, or how good you think you can hide, justice will always find you. Postal Inspectors remind everyone that you can’t win a lottery or sweepstakes that you didn’t enter, and that you NEVER have to pay any amount to collect a legitimate prize.”
“The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration aggressively investigates individuals who impersonate Internal Revenue Service employees or who use the IRS’s tax collecting authority to scam others, especially seniors and other vulnerable populations,” stated Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George. “We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners and the United States Attorney’s Office to ensure those who endeavor to corrupt federal tax administration are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
As set forth in the indictment and court filings, between October 2013 and April 2020, Lawrence, also known as “Mastermind,” and his co-conspirators carried out a scheme via telephone and email to defraud elderly United States citizens (the “Victims”) by falsely telling the Victims that they had won certain sweepstakes contests that were sponsored by Publishers Clearing House, federal agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission, and other entities. Lawrence also told the Victims that in order to facilitate the release of their sweepstakes prizes, the Victims first needed to wire-transfer money to various bank accounts that he had his co-conspirators established at bank branches in the United States, and to mail checks and cash to Lawrence’s co-conspirators throughout the United States, in order to pay for purported fees. In reality, Lawrence knew that the Victims owed no fees and had won no sweepstakes prizes. Lawrence used a variety of aliases, email addresses and phone numbers to perpetrate the scheme. At least 50 victims, whose average age was 81-years-old, sent more than $5.6 million to Lawrence and his co-conspirators.
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and Lawrence is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendant faces up to 20 years in prison.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Caffarone is in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
ADRIAN LAWRENCE (also known as “Mastermind”)
Age: 31
JamaicaE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-159 (JMA)
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 and pleading not guilty on Feb. 9 was:
Matthew Ryan Cubberly, 36, of Kalispell, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm and possession of an unregistered firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Cubberly faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Cubberly was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Kalispell Police Department and Montana Probation and Parole investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-3.
Appearing on Feb. 6 was:
Zachary Vernon Stephens, 34, of Bozeman, on charges of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. If convicted of the most serious crime, Stephens faces a maximum of 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years to a lifetime of supervised release. Stephens was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-20.
Jessica Elizabeth Garrett, 42, of Billings, on charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. If convicted of the most serious crime, Garrett faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release on the wire fraud charge and a mandatory minimum two years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and one year of supervised release on the aggravated identity theft charge. Garrett was detained pending further proceedings. The Billings Police Department and Missoula Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-03.
Appearing for an initial appearance on a criminal complaint was:
Lindsay Ann Rumph, 33, of Missoula, on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. If convicted of the most serious crime, Rumph faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release on the drug charge and a mandatory minimum five years to life, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release on the firearm charge. Rumph was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI’s Montana Regional Violent Crime Task Force investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-11.
Eric Anthony Navarro, 32, of Missoula, on charges of conspiracy to distribute meth and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. If convicted of the most serious crime, Navarro faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release on the drug charge and a mandatory minimum five years to life, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release on the firearm charge. Navarro was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI’s Montana Regional Violent Crime Task Force investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-12.
Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston and pleading not guilty on Feb. 8 was:
Joseph Ernest Potts, 32, of Browning, on charges of assault on a federal officer. If convicted of the most serious crime, Potts faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Potts was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI, Bureau of Indian Affairs and Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-104.
Appearing on Feb. 6 was:
James Lee Brown, 60, on charges of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. If convicted of the most serious crime, Brown faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and three years of supervised release. Brown was detained pending further proceedings. The Great Falls Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-09.
Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on Feb. 8 was:
James Joseph Sangrey, 39, of Great Falls, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth and possession with intent to distribute meth. If convicted of the most serious crime, Sangrey faces a mandatory minimum five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and at least four years of supervised release. Sangrey was detained pending further proceedings. The Great Falls Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-13.
Ralph Edward Page, 52, of Boulder, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Page faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Page was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Montana Probation and Parole and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-06.
Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J, Cavan and pleading not guilty on Feb. 7 was:
Dane Ralph Jams Curry, 39, of Baker, on charges of conspiracy to produce child pornography, sex trafficking of a minor and destruction of records in a federal investigation. If convicted of the most serious crime, Curry faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years to life of supervised release. Curry was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-05.
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.
XXX
Illegal Possession of Methamphetamine, Ecstasy, and Heroin Leads to Time in Federal Prison for Three MenRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced the sentencing of three men this week for the illegal possession of drugs. United States District Judge Dee D. Drell sentenced Archie Louis Carter, Jr., 40, of Alexandria, Louisiana, and Isaiah Charles Jones, 34, of Houston, Texas.
Carter was sentenced to 188 months (15 years, 8 months) in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Jones was previously sentenced on January 23, 2023, to 151 months (12 years, 7 months) in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release.
On February 13, 2020, a warrant was issued for Carter based on a criminal complaint which had been filed in the Western District of Louisiana charging him with a firearms violation. On February 15, 2020, law enforcement officers with the U.S. Marshal Service’s Violent Offender Task Force conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle Carter was driving from the Houston, Texas area into the Western District of Louisiana. Jones was a passenger in the vehicle. Carter and Jones were ordered out of the vehicle and law enforcement agents detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. A K-9 officer was deployed and alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle. A search resulted in the seizure of large amounts of narcotics, including approximately 1,090 grams of heroin, 2,556 grams of cocaine, 1,030 grams of methamphetamine, and 12,223 dosage units of Ecstasy. Both Carter and Jones were arrested and subsequently indicted. On September 19, 2022, Carter pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and Jones pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute Ecstasy on September 19, 2022.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and U.S. Marshal Service’s Violent Offender Task Force and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamilla A. Bynog.
In a separate and unrelated case, Travis Trentel Thorne, 39, of Crowley, Louisiana, was sentenced by United States District Judge David C. Joseph to 37 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for possession of heroin.
According to evidence presented to the court, on June 20, 2020, deputies with the Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop. Deputies found Thorne to be in possession of approximately 28.7 grams of heroin. In addition, deputies located a silver scale with heroin residue on the passenger side floorboard of the vehicle. Thorne admitted to law enforcement officers that the heroin was his and he possessed with the intent to distribute the heroin. Thorne pleaded guilty to the charge of possession with intent to distribute heroin on November 9, 2022.
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Nickel.
# # #
Hiawatha Women Sentenced for Providing Guns to OthersRead the Press Release
A woman who provided firearms to others illegally was sentenced on February 9, 2023, to more than a year in federal prison.
Kori Dawn Hobbs, age 41, from Hiawatha, Iowa, received the prison term after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting the possession of firearms by a person convicted of domestic violence.
In a plea agreement, Hobbs admitted that she purchased 22 firearms between May 2019 and August 2021. She also allowed Jae Bernard, age 49, also from Hiawatha, Iowa, access to them despite knowing that he was prohibited from possessing firearms due to a prior domestic abuse conviction. Hobbs was previously convicted of transferring a firearm to a minor in 2021, following an incident where Bernard’s son attempted to sell a firearm to another individual and that individual stole the firearm instead. Bernard’s son was also prohibited from possessing firearms at the time because of a no contact order. Bernard pled guilty to illegally possessing firearms on December 27, 2022, and is awaiting sentencing at a time and date to be determined. Firearms purchased by Hobbs were also recovered in Urbandale and Chicago.
Hobbs was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Hobbs was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment. She must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
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.
Hobbs was released on the bond conditions previously set and is to surrender to the United States Marshal.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Nydle and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Hiawatha Police Department, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Urbandale Police Department, and the Chicago Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 22-CR-03-CJW.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA
Grand Jury Indicts Former Buffalo Man on Wire Fraud and Money Laundering ChargesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that a federal grand jury returned a 12-count indictment charging Joshua Parra, 31, formerly of Buffalo, NY, now living in Melbourne, Florida, with bank fraud and money laundering conspiracy. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles M. Kruly, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, Parra defrauded Bancorp and Stride Bank by creating 94 fictitious disputed transactions on behalf of 11 customers of Fintech Company 1, a financial technology company that offers customers mobile banking services. However, none of the 11 customers’ accounts with Fintech Company 1 had transactions that would justify such disputes. Nearly all of the fictitious disputed transactions were in the amount of $5,000. As a result, funds were transferred from settlement accounts, held at Bancorp and Stride Bank, to accounts maintained by the Fintech Company 1 customers for whom Parra created the fictitious disputed transactions. Losses to Bancorp and Stride Bank totaled approximately $450,000.
The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas Fattorusso, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Darren Cox.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
# # # #
Georgia Inmate Sentenced for Orchestrating Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Scheme from JailRead the Press Release
MACON, Ga. – A Georgia inmate who admitted he conducted a pandemic unemployment insurance fraud scheme from behind bars, which included using the personal identifiable information (PII) of other inmates, was sentenced to prison this week for his crime.
Jacob Garner, 34, of Milledgeville, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release by Chief U.S. District Judge Marc T. Treadwell on Feb. 9 after he previously pleaded guilty to theft of United States government funds. Garner’s federal sentence will be served consecutively to the parole revocation sentence he is currently serving in Baldwin County, Georgia. There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court records, Garner was an inmate at the Baldwin County Jail in 2020 when a Baldwin County detective located messages between Garner and his then girlfriend and co-defendant, Lindsey Garner (née Quinton), 32, of Milledgeville, discussing filing fraudulent unemployment insurance/pandemic unemployment assistance (UI/PUA) claims to the Georgia Department of Labor (GA-DOL).
U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG) agents investigated and discovered that Garner instructed Quinton to obtain fraudulent UI/PUA loans for both themselves and two inmates. Ultimately, of the four claims, only two claims were issued: $10,329 in Quinton’s name and $13,776 in Garner’s name, totaling $24,105. Quinton was employed at the time and was not eligible for the pandemic loans; incarcerated individuals are also not eligible for UI/PUA benefits. All four of the claims listed Quinton’s former mailing address and were submitted from the same IP address. In addition, the email addresses used to obtain fraudulent UI/PUA loans were linked back to Quinton’s personal email account. A search of Garner’s jail cell found a list of inmates with their PII, including social security numbers and dates of birth. Both Garner and Quinton admitted to their roles in the scheme; Quinton pleaded guilty to theft of government funds on Aug. 24, 2022, and was sentenced to serve five years of probation on Nov. 2, 2022.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor-Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG), the United States Secret Service (USSS) and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Kalim prosecuted the case.
Four Men Arrested on Federal Indictment Charging Fentanyl, Methamphetamine, and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
Louisville, KY – A federal grand jury in Louisville, Kentucky, returned a ten-count indictment on February 7, 2023, charging four men with conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl. Each were also charged with additional drug distribution offenses, and one was also charged with firearms offenses. All four were arrested today.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI Louisville Field Office, Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel of the Louisville Metro Police Department, and Sheriff John Aubrey of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office made the announcement.
According to court documents, Cesar Valdes, 31, of Louisville, Victor Hernandez, 35, of Louisville, Jorge Morales Martinez, 45, of Mexico, and Irlan Salazar, 39, of Louisville, were all charged with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute over 50 grams of methamphetamine and over 400 grams of fentanyl. Valdes was also charged with three counts of fentanyl distribution, four counts of methamphetamine distribution, and two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Hernandez was also charged with one count of methamphetamine distribution and one count of fentanyl distribution. Martinez was also charged with one count of fentanyl distribution. Salazar was also charged with one count of methamphetamine distribution.
The defendants made their initial court appearances today before a U.S. Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. If convicted, all defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. There is no parole in the federal system.
The FBI, Louisville Metro Police Department, and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Dahl is prosecuting the case.
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 www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
###
Four Individuals Sentenced for Conspiring to Stage Automobile AccidentsRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that DAVID BROWN (“BROWN”), age 51, of Morgan City, Louisiana; GILDA HENDERSON (“HENDERSON”), age 70, of Morgan City, Louisiana; LATRELL JOHNSON (“JOHNSON”), age 30, of New Orleans, Louisiana; and STACIE WHEATEN (“WHEATEN”), age 51 of Fairburn, Georgia, were sentenced on February 8, 2023 for Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, arising out of staged automobile accidents with tractor-trailers occurring in New Orleans.
According to court documents, WHEATEN and others introduced “slammer” Damian Labeaud to attorney Patrick Keating in 2017. At this meeting, Keating agreed to pay Labeaud for staged automobile collisions. WHEATEN recruited passengers to participate in staged automobile accidents with tractor-trailers in New Orleans, including on May 17, 2017 and on June 5, 2017. The passengers in these collisions filed fraudulent lawsuits that falsely claimed the tractor-trailers were at fault.
BROWN, HENDERSON, and JOHNSON served as passengers for a collision on May 11, 2017. These defendants conspired with Labeaud and others to intentionally collide with a tractor-trailer in the area of Chef Menteur Highway and Downman Road in New Orleans. After the intentional collision, BROWN, HENDERSON, and JOHNSON made a false police report, lied in depositions, and/or filed fraudulent lawsuits claiming that the tractor-trailer was at fault. As a result of this conduct, the insurance company for the tractor-trailer involved in the May 11, 2017 collision paid over $140,000.00 in settlement funds.
U.S. District Court Judge Jane Triche Milazzo sentenced WHEATEN to serve 18 months in prison, to be followed by two (2) years of supervised release. WHEATEN was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $54,000.00 and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100. BROWN, HENDERSON, and JOHNSON were each sentenced to serve three (3) years of probation. Additionally, Judge Milazzo ordered BROWN, HENDERSON, and JOHNSON each to pay restitution in the amount of $200,963.59 and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office would like to acknowledge the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Metropolitan Crime Commission with this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Carboni, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba, Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit, Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Rivera, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon S. Long.
* * *
Former Vancouver, Washington man sentenced to 21 years in prison for producing images of child sexual abuseRead the Press Release
Seattle – A 24-year-old former Vancouver, Washington man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 21 years in prison for producing images of child sexual abuse, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Kaleb Michael Scott has already been sentenced to 20 years in prison in Clark County Superior Court. The sentences will run concurrently. Scott will be required to register as a sex offender when released from prison. Chief U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo ordered him to be on lifetime supervised release following his prison sentence.
According to records filed in the case, Scott was trusted with the care of an infant in 2021. An investigation revealed that a snapchat user had uploaded images of child molestation. The snapchat account was linked to Scott. By the time the images were traced to Scott, he had relocated to Utah, but had left his phone with relatives in Vancouver. A forensic examination of the phone revealed 34 images of sexual abuse of an infant, and Google search terms related to images of child sexual abuse.
In asking for the 20-year sentence, Assistant United States Attorney Hillary Stuart wrote to the court, “As a trusted caregiver, the defendant horrifically abused his position and preyed upon the infant. Not only did he abuse the infant, he disseminated images of the abuse on the internet, where it will live forever. Further, he detailed his abuse in online chats, discussing details of the pain and suffering of a small, helpless, innocent.”
At the sentencing hearing Chief Judge Estudillo said Scott’s conduct was not only “despicable, it was calculated… He used his personal relationships to foster trust to gain access to particularly vulnerable victims, all exacerbated by having recorded his conduct, sharing images and going so far as to brag about what he was doing.”
The case was investigated by Digital Evidence Cybercrime Unit of the Vancouver Police Department.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hillary Stuart.
Former United States Postal Employee Sentenced for Stealing MailRead the Press Release
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A federal judge today sentenced a former United States Postal employee for stealing mail, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona, United States Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick M. Davis, and U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Ulrich.
U.S. District Court Judge Liles C. Burke sentenced Zachary Rashad Humphrey, 31, of Huntsville, to 18 months in prison followed by three years supervised release. Humphrey pleaded guilty to receipt of stolen mail matter and theft of mail by a postal employee in November 2022.
“Public servants who abuse their positions of trust to personally enrich themselves face serious consequences, including jail time,” said U.S. Attorney Escalona. “I am grateful for the collaboration between federal law enforcement and the Huntsville Police Department to apprehend this defendant and bring him to justice.”
“The defendant in this case took advantage of the public trust that had been bestowed upon him as a U.S. Postal Service employee,” said SAC Davis. “The U.S. Secret Service stands firm with our federal law enforcement partners in bringing those to justice, who violate that public trust.”
“The vast majority of U.S. Postal Service employees are honest, hardworking individuals who would never dream of violating the public trust in this manner,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Ulrich. “An employee who decides otherwise will be aggressively investigated by our special agents and law enforcement partners. This case is an excellent example of the successful partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to prosecute employees involved in criminal activity and to protect the sanctity of the U.S. Mail.”
According to court documents, Humphrey was employed as a mail carrier with the U.S. Postal Service. Between March 2022 and April 2022, Humphrey stole checks from mail to be delivered on his route and sold them to associates over the dark web. The checks Humphrey stole totaled over $40,000.
The United States Secret Service and the Postal Service Office of Inspector General investigated the case with assistance from the Huntsville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney John M. Hundscheid prosecuted the case.
Former Tax Return Preparer Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. – A Biloxi woman was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for knowingly making a materially false statement on a tax return, announced U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge James Dorsey of IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office.
Gena Michelle Hall, 37, was sentenced on February 9, 2023 in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.
In addition to her prison sentence, Hall was ordered to pay $231,636.67 in restitution to the United States.
According to documents and information provided to the court, Hall worked at a tax return preparation business in the Gulfport area, known as Tax Pros. Between 2015 and 2019, Hall prepared federal income tax returns for clients that contained one or more materially false entries. Hall knew that these tax returns were false at the time she prepared them. The materially false entries caused the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to issue inflated income tax refunds to her clients. Hall also knowingly filed false income tax returns for herself as a taxpayer. In 2017, she received about $49,000 in tax preparation fees by cashier's checks and transfers from Tax Pros' bank account, yet she reported none of those fees as income.
"Today's sentencing of Gena Michelle Hall emphasizes that IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s office will continue pursuing and prosecuting tax preparers who knowingly and willfully assist others in defrauding the U.S. Government by submitting fraudulent tax returns,” said James E. Dorsey, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “Tax professionals are in positions of trust and expected to follow the laws when preparing their own and clients tax returns.”
The case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris.
Former Puerto Rico Senator and Former Mayor of Yauco Sentenced to 18 Months of Imprisonment for Misappropriation of Municipal Funds to Finance His 2016 Senatorial CampaignRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Today, Abel Nazario-Quiñones, former Puerto Rico senator and former mayor of the municipality of Yauco, Puerto Rico, was sentenced by United States District Court Senior Judge Francisco A. Besosa to serve 18 months in prison, announced United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow. The FBI conducted the investigation with the collaboration of the Puerto Rico Comptroller’s Office, and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Inspector General (OIG).
According to court documents, in August 2016, during a routine audit of the municipality’s records, the PR Comptroller’s Office discovered that there were irregular employees paid by the municipality of Yauco who either never showed up for work or showed up sporadically. The subsequent investigation by the FBI resulted in the indictment of Nazario-Quiñones. On September 30, 2022, he pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to misappropriate municipal funds.
Nazario-Quiñones admitted that from 2014 through 2016, he conspired and agreed with co‑defendants [2] Edwin Torres-Gutierrez and [3] Claribel Rodríguez-Canchani that co-defendants [4] Humberto Pagán-Sánchez, [5] Kelvin Ortiz-Vegarra, [6] Ramón Martes-Negrón, [7] Juan Rosario-Núñez, and [8] Eric Rondón-Rodríguez would be hired, on paper, as employees of the municipality and paid from municipal funds knowing that they would not actually work for the municipality but would, instead, work on Nazario-Quiñones’ 2016 senatorial campaign. In total, $50,426.00 in municipal funds were paid for the benefit of Nazario-Quiñones’ campaign.
United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow of the District of Puerto Rico; FBI Special Agent in Charge Joseph González; and Michael C. Mikulka, Special Agent in Charge, New York Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General made the announcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Anderson prosecuted the case.
###
Former Private Prisoner Transport Officer Indicted for Sexual Assault and Use of a Firearm in Furtherance of His Sexual AssaultRead the Press Release
A federal indictment was unsealed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, charging a former private prisoner transport officer with sexually assaulting a female pretrial detainee during a prisoner transport and using a firearm in furtherance of his sexual assault.
According to the indictment, at the time of the alleged crime, Marquet Johnson, 44, worked as a private prisoner transport officer for Inmate Services Corporation, a company that was hired by local jails and prisons throughout the country to transport people who had been arrested pursuant to out-of-state warrants and needed to be transported back to the states that had issued the warrants.
Count one of the indictment charges Johnson, while acting under color of law, with willfully depriving a female pretrial detainee whom he was transporting from New Mexico to Colorado of her constitutional right to bodily integrity. The indictment alleges that Johnson’s conduct included the use of a dangerous weapon and aggravated sexual abuse. Count two charges Johnson with knowingly using, carrying and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of this crime of violence.
If convicted of the crimes charged, Johnson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison for brandishing his firearm, and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the Bernalillo County Sherrif’s Office.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez for the District of New Mexico and Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office made the announcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Brawley for the District of New Mexico and Trial Attorney Laura Gilson of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.
This investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to call the Albuquerque FBI Field Office at (505) 889-1300.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Former Mayor of Aguas Buenas Pleaded Guilty for Accepting BribesRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The former mayor of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico, Javier García-Pérez, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy for his involvement in a bribery scheme in which he received cash payments in exchange for the awarding of municipal contracts and the payment of invoices related on those contracts.
According to court documents, Javier García-Pérez, 46, of Aguas Buenas, was involved in a bribery conspiracy in which, from 2017 through 2021, he received and accepted cash payments from two businessmen in exchange for awarding municipal contracts for waste disposal services, asphalt and paving services, and debris removal and paying outstanding invoices on the contracts. Specifically, García-Pérez received at least $32,000 in cash payments from August 2020 through September 2021 from the two businessmen.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow for the District of Puerto Rico, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, and Special Agent in Charge Joseph González of the FBI San Juan Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI San Juan Field Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Anderson for the District of Puerto Rico and Trial Attorney Nicholas W. Cannon of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and are prosecuting the case.
These cases are part of the Justice Department’s ongoing efforts to combat public corruption by municipal officials in Puerto Rico. In addition to the above matters, the Public Integrity Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico have recently obtained convictions against other former public officials and contractors in the District of Puerto Rico for soliciting and accepting bribes related to municipal contracts. See United States v. Félix Delgado-Montalvo, 21-463 (RAM); United States v. Oscar Santamaria-Torres, 21-464 (RAM); and United States v. Raymond Rodríguez, 21-465 (RAM); United States v. Mario Villegas-Vargas, 21-468 (FAB); United States v. Radamés Benítez-Cardona, 21-475 (PAD); United States v. Luis Arroyo-Chiques, 21-485 (SCC); United States v. Eduardo Cintron-Suarez, 22-151 (SCC); United States v. Ramon Conde-Melendez, 22-221 (PAD); United States v. Pedro Miranda-Marrero, 22-251 (RAM); United States v. Jose Cruz-Cruz, 22-276 (SCC); and United States Jose Bou-Santiago, 22-379 (ADC).
Additionally, the department recently obtained indictments charging additional former officials with bribery related to municipal contracts, and those cases are still pending. See United States v. Ángel Pérez-Otero, 21-474 (ADC); and United States v. Reinaldo Vargas-Rodríguez, 22-186 (PAD).
###
Former Lynn Man Arrested 10 Years After Being Charged for Child Pornography OffenseRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A man from the Philippines who previously resided in Lynn has been arrested in the Dominican Republic 10 years after being indicted for possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Melchor Datu, 51, formerly of Lynn, Mass., was arrested today by special agents and officers with FBI Boston’s Child Exploitation – Human Trafficking Task Force upon his arrival in the United States and made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida this afternoon. He will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date. In December 2012, Datu was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of possession of child pornography.
According to the federal indictment, in October 2008, Datu’s laptop and two external hard drives were found to contain multiple files of CSAM depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. In January 2022, the FBI launched an international publicity campaign, offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Datu.
Datu was arrested in the Dominican Republic on Thursday by the Dominican National Police (DNP), Division Especial de Investigacion del Crimen Organizado Internacional (DEICROI), Migracion Dominicana, and Procuraduria Especializada contra Crimen y Delitos de Alta Tecnologia, Titular Ivan Vladimir Feliz Vargas, with the assistance of the FBI’s Legal Attaché in Santo Domingo.
“No matter where you go. No matter where you hide. If you are a fugitive from Justice we will not stop until we find you. This arrest proves that fact. The Department of Justice has extreme capabilities thanks to our strong coordination with law enforcement partners on every level, both here in the United States and abroad,” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins. “Keeping our children safe from predators is a top priority of my administration. My office remains vigilant in our pursuit of justice for the most vulnerable members of our communities: I commend the FBI and Dominican law enforcement for their dedication in ensuring Mr. Datu was located to face the United States criminal justice process.”
“Our commitment to justice has no time limit and knows no boundaries. Melchor Datu’s arrest should send a clear message to fugitives: no matter where in the world you try to hide, we will find you and bring you back to face justice,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “We’d like to thank the concerned citizen who alerted us to Mr. Datu’s whereabouts, and our law enforcement partners in the Dominican Republic for their outstanding cooperation. The crime for which Melchor Datu stands accused is disturbing. We hope this news brings some comfort to all affected.”
The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
Members of the public who have questions, concerns or information regarding this case should call 617-748-3274.
U.S. Attorney Rollins and FBI SAC Bonavolonta made the announcement today. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney David G. Tobin of Rollins’ Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Former Law Firm Partner Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for CyberstalkingRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that WILLIE DENNIS was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff to two years in prison for cyberstalking three victims, all his former colleagues at a global law firm (the “Law Firm”). DENNIS was convicted in October 2022 following a one-week trial before Judge Rakoff.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Willie Dennis, a former law firm partner in Manhattan, waged a relentless cyberstalking campaign against his own former colleagues. During the years-long, merciless harassment, Dennis’s victims were forced to change their ways of living out of fear that Dennis would make good on his threats. The sentence imposed today ensures that Dennis’s victims will no longer needlessly endure his attacks.”
According to the Indictment, documents previously filed in the case, and the evidence introduced at trial:
WILLIE DENNIS, a former partner at the Law Firm, engaged in a years-long campaign of harassment, intimidation, and threats against his victims, who were partners at the Law Firm. As part of that campaign, DENNIS sent the victims thousands of harassing, threatening, and intimidating emails and text messages. Despite having been warned by the Law Firm over and over again that his communications were unwanted, abusive, and harassing, DENNIS continued to send nonstop messages to his former partners. He sent the messages at all hours of the day and night. DENNIS targeted the victims and their families, and he threatened their physical safety. He demeaned the victims, called some of them by racist and antisemitic names, and warned them that they would become “biblical symbols.” In his threats, he told one victim to “sleep with one eye open.”
* * *
In addition to his prison term, DENNIS, 60, of New York, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah L. Kushner, Stephanie Simon, and Kimberly Ravener are in charge of the prosecution.
Fentanyl Pill Press Operator Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A Saginaw man running a fentanyl pill-pressing operation was sentenced Friday to 30 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.
Adrian Warren, 33, aka “Peanut,” pleaded guilty in October 2022 to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. He was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor.
Codefendant Joanna Martinez-Otero, 28, pleaded guilty in October 2022 to maintaining a drug involved premises and was sentenced on Tuesday to 15 years in federal prison; Jamie Rodriguez, 39, pleaded guilty in September 2022 to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and was sentenced in January to nearly 11 years in federal prison.
The Drug Enforcement Administration took possession of the pill press.
“One of the scariest things about fentanyl is that drug traffickers press it into pills that look identical to real pills containing other medications, meaning many users are buying and ingesting these counterfeit pills off the street without knowing they contain a drug 100 times more potent than morphine,” said U. S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. “Fentanyl is tearing through our communities at an alarming rate, poisoning our friends, our family members, and worst of all, our children. We will not rest until we stop this killer drug from circulating in our communities. We urge everyone to immediately educate themselves and their loved ones about the dangers of ingesting any type of pill that comes off the street because it could contain this deadly substance.”
“Fentanyl is the single deadliest drug threat our nation has ever encountered,” said Eduardo A. Chávez, Special Agent in Charge of DEA operations in Dallas-Fort Worth. “The sentence handed down to Mr. Warren, Ms. Martinez-Otero, and Mr. Rodriguez is a clear message that the production and trafficking of fentanyl will not be tolerated in our neighborhoods. DEA and all of our law enforcement partners will continue to work together and keep this poison off our streets.”
According to court documents, the investigation began when DEA agents learned that Mr. Warren and others were likely operating a pill press machine to make counterfeit pills in Fort Worth.
Over the course of the investigation, they learned that Mr. Warren had purchased more than two dozen kilograms of excipient – an inactive binder used in the production of pills – in various colors, including blue (often used in the illicit production of counterfeit oxycodone pills), white (often used in the illicit production of counterfeit Xanax pills), and yellow. In the months that followed, his associates, Ms. Martinez-Otero and Mr. Rodriguez, also purchased several kilograms of excipient in a range of colors.
On Aug. 3, 2022, agents met with a young woman seen exiting Mr. Warren’s residence. She described herself as a recovering drug addict and consented to a cursory search of her phone, where agents found coded text messages between her and Mr. Warren discussing narcotics. They later watched as she entered a fast food restaurant, where she met with Ms. Martinez-Otero and tipped off the conspirators about the DEA’s investigation.
That evening, agents followed Mr. Rodriguez to a storage facility, where he met Mr. Warren and Ms. Martinez-Otero. After Mr. Rodriguez departed the facility, a marked patrol unit pulled him over and arrested him. He admitted that Mr. Warren had asked him to deliver a backpack of approximately 2,000 counterfeit pills to the storage unit and confirmed that Mr. Warren had a tableting machine, or pill press.
That night, agents also attempted to follow Mr. Warren from a residence in Saginaw, but he began driving erratically and at a high rate of speed, making surveillance challenging. Shortly thereafter, agents spotted smoke emanating from a nearby field and found Mr. Warren’s truck had skidded off the street, rolled over, and come to rest on the cab; Mr. Warren had apparently escaped the wreckage and fled on foot. Law enforcement arrested Mr. Warren a short time later.
Amid the accident debris, agents found a used pill press machine covered in blue fentanyl residue. Agents later discovered a counterfeit blue M-30 pill containing fentanyl sandwiched between the punch dies of the pill press machine:
Agents then followed Ms. Martinez-Otero to the residence in Saginaw, where they arrested her and seized more than 100 counterfeit blue M-30 pills that field-tested positive for fentanyl. They also recovered multiple kilograms of excipient and a short barrel rifle.
In the storage facility, they found thousands of additional pills and other controlled substances, including 45 grams worth of counterfeit blue M-30 pills laced with fentanyl, 100 grams counterfeit hydrocodone pills laced with fentanyl, 174 grams of counterfeit Xanax bars laced with fentanyl, 576 grams of counterfeit MDMA (ecstasy) pills laced with fentanyl, 1248 grams of methamphetamine, a bag of blue excipient laced with heroin, and a 9mm pistol previously reported as stolen.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division – Fort Worth District Office, US Postal Inspections Service, and the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation, and the Saginaw Police Department assisted in Mr. Warren’s apprehension. U.S. Attorney Levi Thomas prosecuted the case.
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Champaign, Illinois, Woman for Wire Fraud Related to COVID Relief FundsRead the Press Release
URBANA, Ill. – A grand jury returned an indictment on February 7, 2023, against a Champaign, Illinois, woman, Jasmine L. Morris, 29, of the 1700 block of Union Street, charging her with wire fraud related to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. The indictment was unsealed at Morris’s initial appearance today.
The indictment alleges that Morris, a United States Postal Service employee, engaged in a scheme to submit falsified loan applications and supporting documentation to acquire PPP loans starting in March 2021 and continuing until February 2022. Morris was charged with two counts of wire fraud and was arrested by federal agents following her indictment.
If convicted, the statutory penalties for each of the wire fraud counts are a maximum of 30 years’ imprisonment, a three-year term of supervised release, up to a $1,000,000 fine, and restitution.
Agencies participating in the investigation include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office; the United States Postal Inspection Service; the Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General; the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General; and the United States Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Bertrand is representing the government in the prosecution.
COVID-19 disaster relief benefits are intended to help people and businesses suffering as a result of the pandemic. If members of the public suspect that anyone fraudulently obtained or misused benefits, they should contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NDCF) Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or submit the NCDF Web Complaint Form. The NCDF is a national coordinating agency within the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division dedicated to improving the detection, prevention, investigation, and prosecution of criminal conduct related to natural and man-made disasters and other emergencies, such as the coronavirus (COVID-19). Hotline staff will obtain information regarding complaints, which will then be reviewed by law enforcement officials. More information is available at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation; the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Federal Grand Jury A Indictments Announced-February 2023Read the Press Release
United States Attorney Clint Johnson today announced the results of the February 2023 Federal Grand Jury A.
The following individuals have been charged with violations of United States law in indictments returned by the Grand Jury. The return of an indictment is a method of informing a defendant of alleged violations of federal law, which must be proven in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt to overcome a defendant’s presumption of innocence.
Christopher Emile Champoux. Receipt and Distribution of Child Pornography; Possession of Child Pornography. Champoux, 36, of Bristow, allegedly received, distributed, and possessed child sexual abuse material from Sept. 28, 2021, to Oct. 28, 2022. Homeland Security Investigations and Bristow Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Jiang is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-48
Juan Carlos Figueroa-Hernandez. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Figueroa-Hernandez, 51, a Honduran national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed on Nov. 1, 2016, at or near San Antonio, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cheryl L. Baber is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-56
Pedro Flores-Vivar. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Flores-Vivar, 49, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed on Nov. 12, 2007, at or near Laredo, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cheryl L. Baber is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-57
Justin Randall Gering; Tyler Levi Tavis. Arson of Property Used in an Activity Affecting Interstate and Foreign Commerce; Damage by Fire of Property Owned by an Institution Receiving Federal Funding. Gering, 29, of Fairland, and Tavis, 22, of Miami, are charged with setting a fire in the Ottawa County Jail, located at 28 B Street SE in Miami, on Dec.23, 2022. The two were incarcerated in the jail at the time of the crime. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Jiang is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-62
Scotty Harjo. Second Degree Burglary in Indian Country (Counts 1-27) (superseding). Harjo, 39, of Tulsa, is charged with breaking into commercial buildings on 27 different occasions in 2022 with the intent to steal property or cash. Businesses included restaurants, bars, coffee shops, bakeries, doughnut shops, barber shops, warehouses and more. The Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam C. Bailey is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-2.
Mary Frances Hernandez. Wire Fraud (Counts 1-2). From Feb. 6, 2018, to Dec. 19, 2018, Hernandez, 36, of Tulsa, was employed as a bookkeeper and general manager at a protective equipment supply company and allegedly made numerous unauthorized purchases using the company’s Chase Bank corporate credit card, totaling $18, 917.33. The U.S. Secret Service is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Jiang and Richard M. Cella are prosecuting the case. 23-CR-49
Mauricio Hernandez-Castillo. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien; Alien Unlawfully in the United States in Possession of a Firearm. Hernandez-Castillo, 36 of Tulsa, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed on June 29, 2018, at or near Houston, Texas. He is further charged with being a felon in possession of an Anderson Manufacturing multi-caliber semiautomatic pistol and 195 rounds of ammunition. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Rubens is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-63
Phillip Verlon Logan; David Bryson Logan. Arson of a Building Receiving Federal Funds. Verlon Logan, 38, of Wyandotte, and David Logan, 24, of Miami, allegedly set a fire in the Ottawa County Jail, located at 28 B Street SE in Miami, on June 4, 2022. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah D. Paisner is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-61
Abner Lopez-Alvarado. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien; Alien Unlawfully in the United States in Possession of a Firearm. Lopez-Alvarado, 33, a Honduran national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed on Sept. 17, 2012. He was further charged with possessing a Sig Sauer Magnum caliber revolver while being unlawfully in the United States. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements’ Enforcement and Removal Operations, the Tulsa Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Rubens is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-53
Jayme Gamaliel Lopez-Olivares. Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by an Alien Illegally in the United States. Lopez-Olivares, 39, a Guatemalan national, is charged with possessing a Smith & Wesson 9mm caliber pistol and 16 rounds of ammunition while being unlawfully in the United States. The Tulsa Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon A. Skates is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-54
Jajuan Alexander Markham. Felon in Possession of a Firearm; Possession of Fentanyl with Intent to Distribute; Carrying a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime; Possession of a Stolen Firearm. On Dec. 3, 2022, Markham, 30, of Tulsa, a felon, was carrying a stolen Browning 9mm caliber semi-automatic pistol while possessing with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Spencer Willson is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-46
Colby Howard McGinnis. Bank Fraud (1-51); Aggravated Identity Theft (52-102) . McGinnis, 31, of Tulsa, is charged with making dozens of illegal purchases using another individual’s stolen debit card. Purchases were made from Nov. 3, 2022, through Nov. 7, 2022, at convenience stores, clothing and shoe stores, restaurants, hotels, casinos and more. The Tulsa Police Department and U.S. Secret Service are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon A. Skates is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-60
Porfirio Mejia-Murcia. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Mejia-Murcia, 46, a Honduran national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States on Aug. 3, 2007, at or near Harlingen, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cheryl L. Baber is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-58
Cole Walker Morris. Threatening to Kidnap, Assault and Murder a Member of the Federal Judiciary. On Jan. 10, 2023, Morris, 29, of Tulsa, allegedly threatened to assault, kidnap, and murder a federal judge with the intent to intimidate the judge and his staff. The FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan A. Achorn is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-47
Guillermo Rodriguez Garcia. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Rodriguez, 43, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed on Oct. 31, 2022, at or near Laredo-Columbia Bridge, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Buscemi is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-55
Bryan Cordell Thomas. Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Thomas, 35, of Tulsa, is charged with being a felon in possession of a Ruger 9mm automatic caliber pistol. Homeland Security Investigations and the Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Elmore is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-41
Lucas Anthony Walker. First Degree Murder in Indian Country; Carrying, Using, Brandishing, and Discharging a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence in Indian Country. Walker, 20, of Bartlesville, was indicted for the first degree murder of victims Deborah and Larry Dutton. The crimes occurred on Dec. 21, 2022. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and FBI are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric O. Johnston and Shakema M. Onias are prosecuting the case. 23-CR-50
Fayetteville Man Sentenced to over 10 Years in Federal Prison for Heroin Trafficking and Firearms PossessionRead the Press Release
FAYETTEVILLE – A Fayetteville man was sentenced today to 123 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release on one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Offense. The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.
According to court documents, in March of 2022, detectives with the 4th Judicial District Drug Task Force (DTF) received information that Thomas Daniel Alexander, age 36, was distributing heroin in the Fayetteville Division of the Western District of Arkansas. Detectives were able to confirm this by conducting two separate controlled purchases of heroin from Alexander.
On March 25, 2022, detectives executed a search warrant at Alexander’s residence in Fayetteville. The detectives noted that the residence is less than 1000 feet from an Elementary School and a Sports Complex.
A search of the residence resulted in detectives locating a black safe in the bedroom belonging to Alexander. Inside the safe, detectives located, a handgun, ammunition, approximately 79.1 grams of heroin, 13 amphetamine/dextroamphetamine pills, and 15 suboxone strips, miscellaneous drug paraphernalia and $540.00 US Currency.
The suspected heroin was sent to the Homeland Security Investigations Crime Laboratory where it tested positive for heroin.
The Fourth Judicial District Drug Task Force investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Harris prosecuted the case.
This case was prosecuted as 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. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as 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.
Eight Trey Crip Gang Member Convicted in Aborted Murder Plot Receives 8 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – A Raleigh member of the Eight Trey Gangster Crips (“ETGC”), Rayquan Wiggins, 27, was sentenced yesterday to 96 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to commit murder which was aborted by law enforcement.
“This case is part of an operation that led to over twenty indictments, taking down dangerous gang leaders and those who, like Wiggins, conspired to kill rivals,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “We’ve forged a close partnership with Raleigh Police and the ATF to tackle violent crime, allowing for swift action by police to prevent yet another senseless murder.”
“ATF is proud to have been part of this collaborative effort to impact the threat violent street gangs have on our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Bennie Mims. “When we can bring these individuals to justice, we better public safety throughout our neighborhoods.”
According to court documents and other information presented in court, an investigation identified a large drug-trafficking organization (DTO) which was distributing significant amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine, phencyclidine (PCP), 3,4-Methlyenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and marijuana in the Raleigh area. The conduct of the DTO was perpetrated by leaders, members, and associates of the ETGC.
Wiretap surveillance intercepted a conversation among members of the ETGC to kill a member of a rival gang that had tased high-level ETGC member Deandre Earp . At the direction of ETGC leader Dexter Maxwell, Wiggins provided information on when the target of the murder plot would be in a certain area in Raleigh so that other ETGC’s, Deandre Earp and Clinton Basco, could commit the murder. Agents took enforcement action to prevent the murder from occurring by having Earp and Basco stopped as they were traveling by car to go murder the rival gang member. They were arrested before the murder could be committed. Maxwell, Basco and Earp have all previously pled guilty to charges related to the planned murder, as well as drug trafficking charges. Earp was sentenced to 40 years . https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/pr/raleigh-eight-trey-crip-gangster-sentenced-40-years-prison-vicar-and-methamphetamine
Sentencing is pending for Maxwell and Basco.
This investigation was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. 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.
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 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Raleigh Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly L. Sandling 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. 5:19-CR-00395-D.
District Man Sentenced to 120 Years for First-Degree Murder While Armed in Triple Homicide in Southeast WashingtonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Rakeem Willis, 31, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a total of 120 years in prison, by Superior Court Judge J. Michael Ryan, for charges stemming from the fatal shooting of three men, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.
A jury returned its verdict on Nov. 16, 2022, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The jury found Willis guilty of three counts of first-degree murder while armed and fleeing law enforcement.
According to the government’s evidence, on Jan. 26, 2019, at approximately 10 p.m., Willis lured the three victims -- Sean Shuler, 26, Javon Abney, 26, and Tyrik Hagood, 24 -- to a quiet, dead-end street in the 1500 block of Fort Davis Place SE, where they were shot numerous times by gunmen. The three victims were pronounced dead at the scene. A stolen Lexus sedan used in the murders was later found burning just across the Maryland state line off of I-295.
Willis was arrested on June 11, 2019, after a vehicle pursuit, and has been in custody since that time.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force and the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team. They acknowledged the efforts of those who provided assistance in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Chrisellen Kolb, Chief of the Appellate Division; Lindsey Merikas, Deputy Chief of the General Crimes Section; Paralegal Specialist Lashone Samuels, Lead Paralegal Specialist Tasha Harris, Supervisory Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark, Supervisory Victim/Witness Services Coordinator Katina Adams-Washington, Victim/Witness Coordinators LaJune Thames and Maenylie Watson, Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin, Litigation Technology Supervisor Leif Hickling, and Litigation Technology Specialist Charlie Bruce.
Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Spence and Ariel Dean, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Defendants Illegally Possessing Firearms Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
LAKE CHARLES, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced the sentencing of two defendants for illegal possession of firearms. United States District Judge James D. Cain, Jr. sentenced both defendants yesterday.
Lequentin Williams, 26, of Shreveport, was sentenced to 36 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. The charges against Williams stemmed from a traffic stop that was conducted on January 15, 2021, by officers with the Combined Anti-Drug Task Force in Lake Charles. The vehicle was being driven by Williams and had two other occupants. Law enforcement officers became suspicious of the varying stories being provided by the occupants of the vehicle and had reason to believe they may be involved in criminal activity. A narcotics K-9 officer arrived on scene and performed a free air sniff alerting to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle. Officers found a Glock .45 caliber handgun in the vehicle and a large amount of cash. Williams later confessed to being the owner of the handgun, despite being prohibited from possessing it due to his prior felony convictions. His prior felony convictions include attempted illegal carrying of a weapon in the presence of a controlled and dangerous substance, indecent behavior of a juvenile, second degree battery, aggravated flight from an officer. Williams was charged with felon in possession of a firearm and pleaded guilty to the charge on October 5, 2022. This case was investigated by the ATF and the Combined Anti-Drug Task Force in and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jamilla A. Bynog.
Glenn Ray LaSalle, Jr., 23, of New Orleans, was sentenced to 50 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. On November 20, 2021, during a traffic stop by troopers with the Louisiana State Police in Lafayette Parish, LaSalle was found with a Glock .40 caliber handgun on his person. LaSalle has prior felony convictions for aggravated flight from an officer and possession of stolen things and was prohibited from possessing a firearm. This case was investigated by the ATF and Louisiana State Police and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John W. Nickel.
# # #
Concord Resident Responsible for Teen’s Fentanyl Poisoning Death Sentenced to Eight Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – Alejandro Valentino Urias was sentenced today to 96 months in prison after admitting he supplied a fentanyl-laced counterfeit M30 pill that caused the overdose death of a 14-year-old girl, announced U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Acting Special Agent in Charge Bob P. Beris. The sentence was handed down by the Hon. Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, United States District Judge.
Urias, 22, of Concord, Calif., pleaded guilty to a single charge of distribution of fentanyl on July 21, 2022. According to his plea agreement, on August 20, 2021, Urias sold two light blue counterfeit “M30” pills containing fentanyl to a minor teenage girl in the parking lot of a commercial plaza near Concord High School. The minor teenage girl then gave one of the pills to a second teenager—identified in court documents only as “Victim 1.” Victim 1 ingested one-half of the fentanyl-laced pill, which caused her to fatally overdose. Victim 1’s father discovered her the next morning. Victim 1 was 14-years-old at the time of her death.
Urias admitted in his plea agreement that he continued to sell counterfeit M30 pills following Victim 1’s death. Indeed, four days later, on August 25, 2021, Urias sold roughly 150 counterfeit M30 pills to an undercover DEA agent for $950. The defendant acknowledged in his plea agreement that the pills he sold to the agent were tested at a DEA laboratory and found to contain fentanyl.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Gonzalez Rogers ordered Urias to serve 36 months of supervised release that will begin after the conclusion of Urias’s prison term. Urias has been in custody since his arrest on September 8, 2021, and will begin serving his prison term immediately.
This investigation and prosecution are part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”), which 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.
One Pill Can Kill: Beware of pills bought on the street: One Pill Can Kill. Fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance, is a highly potent opiate that can be diluted with cutting agents to create counterfeit pills that purport to mimic the effects of Oxycodone, Percocet, and other drugs, but can be obtained at a lower cost. However, very small variations in the amount or quality of fentanyl create huge effects on the potency of the counterfeit pills and can easily cause death. Fentanyl has now become the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in the United States. Counterfeit, fentanyl-laced pills are usually shaped and colored to resemble pills that are sold legitimately at pharmacies. For example, the counterfeit pills involved in this case, known as M30s, mimic Oxycodone, but when sold on the street they routinely contain fentanyl. These tablets are round and often light blue in color, though they may be made in many colors, and have “M” and “30” imprinted on opposite sides of the pill.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Pastor is prosecuting the case, with the assistance of Andy Ding. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the DEA with assistance of the Concord Police Department.
Cleveland Man Charged with Stealing 30 Firearms from Store in AkronRead the Press Release
AKRON – A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment charging Zaveeyon Teasley, age 20, whose last known address was in Cleveland, Ohio, with stealing 30 firearms from a licensed firearms dealer in Akron.
According to court documents, on Nov. 3, 2022, the defendant allegedly drove a stolen vehicle through the storefront of a licensed federal firearms dealer in Akron. Court documents state that the defendant and two other co-conspirators then stole 30 firearms from the store. After the incident, law enforcement authorities responded and began an investigation into the matter and soon identified the defendants as having been involved in the theft.
On Jan. 11, 2023, court records say that law enforcement authorities executed a search warrant at the defendant’s Cleveland-area residence pursuant to their investigation. During the search of the residence, it is alleged that authorities obtained items linking the defendant to the firearms theft in Akron. Court documents show that the defendant was arrested later that day.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal records, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum; in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Bath Police Department, and the Cleveland Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter E. Daly.
Cleveland Man Charged with Distributing Fentanyl that Led to Death of Three in Northern OhioRead the Press Release
CLEVELAND – Reyes John Sanchez-Borrero, 37, of Cleveland, Ohio, was charged today in a five-count superseding indictment with distributing fentanyl that led to the death of three people in Northern Ohio.
According to court documents, on May 4, 2022, Sanchez-Borrero sold fentanyl to two individuals in Cleveland. Both of those individuals then overdosed and died from the fentanyl they obtained from Sanchez-Borrero.
On May 10, 2022, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Sanchez-Borrero’s residence in Cleveland and recovered firearms and ammunition. Sanchez-Borrero is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition due to previous felony convictions of drug trafficking, aggravated robbery, attempted murder, and felonious assault, all in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.
Then on July 18, 2022, Sanchez-Borrero is accused of selling fentanyl to a third individual in Cleveland. That individual also overdosed and died from the fentanyl they had obtained from Sanchez-Borrero.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal records, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum; in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
This investigation was conducted by the Cleveland Division of Police, with assistance from the Cleveland Division of the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James P. Lewis.
Chicago Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing Heroin and Fentanyl He Intended to DistributeRead the Press Release
A man who intended to distribute heroin was sentenced on February 9, 2023, to 21 months in federal prison.
Tony Cornell Coleman, Jr., age 25, from Chicago, Illinois, received the prison term after a September 23, 2022 guilty plea to one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that, on February 1, 2022, law enforcement arranged a controlled drug buy from Coleman, Jr. When Coleman, Jr., arrived at the meeting location, officers took him into custody. Coleman, Jr. was in possession of 15.4 grams of a substance containing fentanyl and 4.91 grams of a substance containing heroin.
Coleman, Jr., was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Coleman, Jr., was sentenced to 21 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.
Coleman, Jr., is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep and was investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force, the Fulton, Illinois, Police Department, the Clinton, Iowa, Police Department, and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement as part of the Northern Iowa Heroin Initiative.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 22-CR-1017.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Cartel-Linked Brothers Sentenced to 70 Years for Meth TraffickingRead the Press Release
Two brothers with ties to a notorious Mexican cartel have been sentenced to a combined 70 years in federal prison for methamphetamine and money laundering offenses, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.
Pedro Hernandez Zarate, a 45 year-old Mexican national in the U.S. illegally, and his brother Ricardo Hernandez Zarate, a 33-year-old legal resident, were charged via criminal complaint in March 2021. Ricardo pleaded guilty in February 2022 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and money laundering, and was sentenced in November 2022 to 40 years in federal prison (40 years on the drug charges and 20 years on the money laundering charges, to run concurrently). Pedro pleaded guilty in November 2021 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in federal prison.
"The FBI in collaboration with our law enforcement partners was able to successfully disrupt the illegal activities of individuals affiliated with Cartel de Jalisco Nuevo Generación (CJNG). This removal of large amounts of methamphetamine from our streets makes our communities safer from deadly narcotics," said FBI Dallas Acting Special Agent in Charge James J. Dwyer. "We will continue to work collaboratively to prosecute and dismantle the individuals and organizations that traffic and distribute narcotics into our communities."
According to court testimony, Pedro helped coordinate the transfer of approximately 112 liquid gallons of methamphetamine – a quantity with a street value of more than $9.9 million dollars -- to codefendants who planned to transport it from Texas to Oklahoma. The liquid meth – which arrived in Dallas in the diesel tank of a tractor trailer before being transferred into a holding tank and then given over to Pedro’s co-defendants – was seized by law enforcement in Gainesville, Texas.
Agents linked the meth shipment to the Cartel de Jalisco Nuevo Generación (CJNG) Transnational Criminal Organization, one of the two largest and most dangerous drug cartels in Mexico.
Meanwhile, Ricardo acted as a Dallas-area cell head, sourcing his methamphetamine from two suppliers in Mexico and selling kilogram quantities of meth, which he called “shaved ice,” to customers. He also instructed people to deliver methamphetamine in other parts of Texas.
Co-defendant Elmer Gardea Tello was previously sentenced to a term of 55 months confinement for his involvement in drug trafficking.
Eight additional defendants – including Benito Diaz Hernandez, Marcos Garcia Reyes, Rafael Diaz, Jose Alberto Plascencia Torres, Heleodoro Rosales Ramirez, Salvador Antonio Martinez, Walter Daniel Chapa Marty, and Uriel Marin Gaona – have entered guilty pleas in the case and await sentencing.
The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, with special assistance provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Gainesville Police Department, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, the Dallas Police Department, the Fort Worth Police Department, the Williamson County, Texas Sheriff’s Department, the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Department in Tennessee, the FBI’s Knoxville Field Office (Tennessee Resident Agency Office), and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Strike Force 1. Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Leal and John Kull are prosecuting the case.
The case is an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) case. The OCDETF program was established in 1982 in order to attack and reduce the supply of illegal drugs entering the United States and to diminish violence and other criminal activity associated with the drug trade. The OCDETF program leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level drug traffickers and drug trafficking networks using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf.
California Woman Pleads Guilty to Violations of the Federal Controlled Substances ActRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – LORRAINE SANCHEZ VALDEZ, age 31, of Covina, California, pled guilty on February 9, 2023 before United States District Court Judge Ivan L. R. Lemelle to a one-count superseding bill of information charging her with conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute a quantity of methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C), and 846, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.
According to court documents, SANCHEZ VALDEZ conspired with others to distribute a quantity of methamphetamine within the Eastern District of Louisiana and elsewhere on or about May 15, 2021 and continuing to on or about June 7, 2021.
SANCHEZ VALDEZ is scheduled to be sentenced on May 17, 2023. SANCHEZ VALDEZ faces a term of imprisonment of up to twenty (20) years, a fine of up to $1,000,000, at least 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Louisiana State Police, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Lynn E. Schiffman of the Narcotics Unit.
California Man Pleads Guilty to Submitting False Declarations to Court in $50 Million LawsuitRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ROVIER CARRINGTON pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court before U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni to submitting false declarations to the court in connection with a $50 million civil lawsuit.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Rovier Carrington submitted fake evidence in court, knowingly swore that the fake evidence was true, and doubled down on his lies when confronted. Today’s conviction sends a message: when a party in civil litigation swears to tell the truth, breaking that oath has consequences.”
According to the Indictment and statements made in court proceedings and filings:
In a civil lawsuit that CARRINGTON filed in Manhattan federal court (the “Civil Case”), CARRINGTON sued Hollywood executives alleging that the executives had sexually assaulted him and that they had defrauded him in connection with a decision to refuse to produce CARRINGTON’s reality television program. CARRINGTON sought damages of $50 million in the Civil Case.
CARRINGTON submitted to the court several falsified emails (the “Faked Emails”) as exhibits to his amended complaint in the Civil Case, which included the following fabricated exchanges:
- CARRINGTON: My mind is scrambled after last night. I can't remove “Our Jewish bodies” and “Call me Mr. [Executive-1]” from repeating in my head. I can’t properly sit down after being viciously assaulted yet again by that two-sided shit [Executive-1]. This was too far. Too damn far. I have cuts on my face and thighs from him forcing himself into me. That bastard can’t take NO for an answer and he remains using his title to force himself onto me.
- CARRINGTON: Also, If [third party] thinks he can mute me like the others with an envelope filled with cash driving by his personal driver, he’s sadly mistaken. I get assaulted two days ago at the “Super 8” premiere by [Executive-1] who's been stalking me prior to this. Did [Executive-1] tell you he shows up at my place begging for me to be his private Boyfriend ? and say’s, “If I cared about my career I’d obey” ? He threaten my career becuase [sic] I want to work and not fly private with him or attend art museums when his trophy isn't there. This dude is newly married and doesn't comprehend he forces himself onto me. [Executive-1] clearly knows he's crossed the line after spitting in my face and grabbing my genitals while relaying “I'll never work again”.
- CARRINGTON: Here’s the dramatic series I was discussing with you. I appreciate you finally moving forward with both shows. Especially with our contract in place.
Executive-2: I’ll present the material to my business associates and we’ll figure out how to combine the reality show with the series. You keep me happy and we’ll do well together. :)
When confronted about the Faked Emails, CARRINGTON submitted a false affidavit to the court in the Civil Case, in which he swore under penalty of perjury that “Each and every email annexed to my Amended Complaint, and hereto, are forwarded copies of the original email I received, or exchanged, in the exact same condition, upon which the email was received, or exchanged . . . I have not doctored, fabricated, or altered, any of the emails annexed to my Amended Complaint, and hereto.”
The court in the Civil Case conducted a detailed investigation into whether the Faked Emails were real, which CARRINGTON tried to obstruct. Among other things, CARRINGTON (i) deleted one of the email accounts from which he had purportedly sent some of the Faked Emails the day after he filed his amended complaint; (ii) deleted another email account from which he had purportedly sent some of the Faked Emails, after the court began its investigation, and then called the email provider to confirm that the account’s emails would never be accessible; and (iii) failed to appear in court for questioning about the Faked Emails.
The court in the Civil Case ultimately dismissed the Civil Case and imposed sanctions on CARRINGTON, ruling, “these emails were fabricated, and that was bad enough, but the deactivation of the accounts, the efforts undertaken to really foreclose what is necessary discovery in this case, and the stream of lies to me necessitate the sanctions that I am imposing.”
* * *
CARRINGTON, 34, of Los Angeles, California, pled guilty today to one count of submitting a false declaration to a court, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. CARRINGTON is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Caproni on June 1, 2023, at 3:00 p.m.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Special Agents of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
The case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Mead and Thomas S. Burnett are in charge of the prosecution.
CEO of Cryptocurrency and Forex Trading Platform Pleads Guilty to over $240 Million Scheme to Defraud InvestorsRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the guilty plea of EDDY ALEXANDRE, the leader of a purported cryptocurrency and foreign exchange (“forex”) trading platform called EminiFX, who solicited more than $248 million in investments from tens of thousands of individual investors after making false representations in connection with the EminiFX trading platform. U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan accepted the defendant’s guilty plea.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Eddy Alexandre admitted today to luring investors to his cryptocurrency investment scam by fabricating weekly returns of at least 5%. In reality, Alexandre failed to invest a substantial portion of this investors’ money and even used some funds for personal purchases. Alexandre’s scam caused investors to lose millions of dollars, and this case should serve as yet another warning to cryptocurrency executives that the Southern District of New York is closely watching and ready to prosecute any and all misconduct in the crypto markets.”
According to the allegations in the Indictment and other filings and statements made in court:
From in or about September 2021, up to and including in or about May 2022, ALEXANDRE operated EminiFX, Inc. (“EminiFX”), a purported investment platform that ALEXANDRE founded, and for which he solicited more than $248 million in investments from tens of thousands of individual investors. ALEXANDRE marketed EminiFX as an investment platform through which investors would earn passive income through automated investments in cryptocurrency and forex trading. ALEXANDRE offered his investors “guaranteed” high investment returns using new technology that he claimed was secret. Specifically, ALEXANDRE falsely represented to investors that they would double their money within five months of investing by earning at least 5% weekly returns on their investment using a “Robo-Advisor Assisted account” to conduct trading. ALEXANDRE referred to this technology as his “trade secret” and refused to tell investors what the technology was. Each week EminiFX’s website falsely represented to investors that they had earned at least 5% on their investment, which they could withdraw or re-invest.
In truth and in fact, and as ALEXANDRE well knew, EminiFX did not earn 5% weekly returns for its investors. ALEXANDRE did not even invest a substantial portion of the investor funds entrusted to him, and ALEXANDRE sustained millions of dollars in losses on the limited portion of funds that he did invest, which he did not disclose to his investors. Instead of using investors’ funds as he had promised, ALEXANDRE also misdirected at least approximately $14,700,000 to his personal bank account. For example, ALEXANDRE used $155,000 in investor funds to purchase a BMW car for himself and spent an additional $13,000 of investor funds on car payments, including to Mercedes Benz.
* * *
ALEXANDRE, 50, of Valley Stream, New York, pled guilty to one count of commodities fraud and agreed to pay forfeiture in the amount of $248,829,276.73, as well as restitution in an amount to be specified by the Court. The offense of commodities fraud carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. Sentencing before Judge Cronan is scheduled for July 12, 2023, at 4:00 p.m.
Mr. Williams praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and also thanked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which brought a separate civil action.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas Folly and Jared Lenow are in charge of the prosecution.
Boston Man Indicted for Commissioning Murder-for-Hire Targeting His Wife and Her BoyfriendRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Boston man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for trying to hire a contract killer to murder his wife and the wife’s boyfriend.
Mohammed Chowdhury, 46, was indicted on two counts of use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire. Chowdhury was previously arrested and charged by criminal complaint on Jan. 17, 2023. He has remained in custody since.
According to the charging documents, in November 2022, an individual notified federal law enforcement that Chowdhury was soliciting assistance in having his wife murdered. The individual said that Chowdhury had allegedly paid someone to conduct the murder for hire, but that they took the money and did not follow through with Chowdhury’s request. It is alleged that Chowdhury subsequently told the individual that he needed the murder done as soon as possible and that he would get the money to do so, even robbing a store if necessary to obtain the funds. The individual provided Chowdhury’s phone number to law enforcement, who thereafter used an undercover agent posing as a contract killer to communicate with Chowdhury about his alleged murder for hire plot.
It is alleged that on numerous occasions in December 2022 and January 2023, Chowdhury met with undercover agents posing as the contract killer and their associates, to seek help with killing his wife and her new boyfriend whom she left him for. It is alleged that during these meetings and communications, Chowdhury explained that his wife wouldn’t let him see his children and that he wanted the undercover agents to rob and beat his wife and her boyfriend so that he would not be a suspect. Chowdhury allegedly asked the agents, “So how we gonna disappear his, uh, body?” and stated, “No evidence. No evidence. No evidence from like, you know, that, uh, I did something, you know?” Chowdhury allegedly provided the undercover agents with photographs of his wife and her new boyfriend, where they lived, where they worked and their work schedules. It is alleged that Chowdhury ultimately agreed to pay $4,000 per murder, with a deposit of $500.
Chowdhury met with the undercover agents on Jan. 17, 2023, allegedly provided the $500 deposit and confirmed that he wanted the murders committed. Chowdhury was then taken into federal custody.
In October 2019, Chowdhury was charged in Boston Municipal Court – Roxbury Division with violating an Abuse Prevention Order prohibiting him from abusing, contacting, or coming within a certain distance of his wife. Chowdhury pleaded to sufficient facts and received a continuance without a finding.
The charging statute provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. The Boston Police Department provided valuable assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Luke A. Goldworm and John T. Dawley of Rollins’ Criminal Division 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.
Berkeley Resident Sentenced to Four Years in Prison in Tenderloin Fentanyl Distribution SchemeRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – David Ordonez was sentenced to 48 months in prison for his role in a scheme to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco, announced United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Acting Special Agent in Charge Bob P. Beris. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable William H. Orrick, United States District Judge.
Ordonez, 20, of Berkeley, California, pleaded guilty to the charges on September 19, 2022. According to his plea application, Ordonez admitted he was guilty of conspiring to distribute fentanyl and distributing fentanyl and methamphetamine on multiple occasions in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood.
The government’s sentencing memorandum describes three separate sales, on February 9, February 24, and March 9, 2022, in which Ordonez sold drugs to an undercover officer working with the DEA and the San Francisco Police Department. The government argued that each of the transactions happened in the Tenderloin and in violation of state stay-away orders against Ordonez. The government argued that Ordonez sold the undercover officer around 59 grams of fentanyl and 30 grams of methamphetamine in exchange for $1,200 on February 24, 2022. The government also argued in its sentencing memorandum that Ordonez sold the same undercover officer around 28 grams of fentanyl and 71 grams of methamphetamine in exchange for $1,000 on March 10, 2022, after telling the undercover officer in a text message the day before the deal that Ordonez had “good” fentanyl. The government further argued that at his arrest in Berkeley on April 19, 2022, Ordonez ran from the police with a backpack containing around 1,118.8 grams—nearly 2.5 pounds—of fentanyl and around 98 grams of methamphetamine, along with other illegal drugs.
In his plea application, Ordonez admitted to conspiring with another person to work to sell more than 40 grams of fentanyl from February 9, 2022, to the date of his arrest on April 19, 2022. Ordonez also admitted to traveling to the area near 7th and Market Streets in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, where he sold more than 40 grams of fentanyl to an undercover agent on February 24, 2022, and more than 50 grams of methamphetamine on March 10, 2022. Ordonez admitted that on April 19, 2022, he ran from police, dropping his backpack, which contained more than 40 grams of fentanyl. In its sentencing memorandum, the government argued that physical surveillance and cell phone data showed that Ordonez and his brother, Juan Carlos Hernandez-Ordonez, routinely travelled together from their shared apartment in Berkeley into the Tenderloin before their April 2022 arrests. The government argued that the location data supported the inference that Ordonez made a living selling fentanyl on a regular basis at particular times of day and night in the Tenderloin.
On May 3, 2022, a federal grand jury handed down an indictment charging Ordonez with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 40 grams and more of fentanyl, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B)(vi), two counts of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of 40 grams and more of fentanyl, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B)(vi), and one count of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of 50 grams and more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B)(viii). Ordonez pleaded guilty to each of these counts. In addition to the prison term of 48 months, Judge Orrick also ordered Ordonez to serve four years of supervised release to begin after his prison term. Ordonez has been detained since his arrest and will begin serving his sentence immediately.
On September 29, 2022, Ordonez’s brother, Juan Carlos Hernandez Ordonez, pleaded guilty to count four of the indictment, charging him with possession with intent to distribute and distribution of 40 grams and more of fentanyl, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B)(vi). On January 12, 2023, Judge Orrick sentenced Hernandez-Ordonez to a prison term of 18 months, followed by four years of supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Harding is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Jasmine Sanders and Amala James. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by DEA and the San Francisco Police Department.
One Pill Can Kill: Beware of pills bought on the street: One Pill Can Kill. Fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance, is a highly potent opiate that can be diluted with cutting agents to create counterfeit pills that purport to mimic the effects of Oxycodone, Percocet, and other drugs, but can be obtained at a lower cost. However, very small variations in the amount or quality of fentanyl creates huge effects on the potency of the counterfeit pills and can easily cause death. Fentanyl has now become the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in the United States. Counterfeit, fentanyl-laced pills are usually shaped and colored to resemble pills that are sold legitimately at pharmacies. For example, counterfeit pills known as M30s mimic Oxycodone, but when sold on the street they routinely contain fentanyl. These tablets are round and often light blue in color, though they may be made in many colors, and have “M” and “30” imprinted on opposite sides of the pill.
Ashton J. Ryan, Jr. Found Guilty of Fraud Resulting in Failure of First NBC BankRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS –Today U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that on February 9, 2023 a federal jury has returned a verdict of guilty on all forty-six (46) counts against former First NBC Bank President and CEO Ashton J. Ryan, Jr. and not guilty on all seven (7) counts against former First NBC Bank senior vice president Fred V. Beebe.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from 2006 through April 2017, RYAN and others conspired to defraud First NBC Bank (the “Bank”) through a variety of schemes. RYAN was the President and CEO of the Bank for most of its existence. RYAN and others, conspired to defraud First NBC Bank by disguising the true financial status of certain borrowers and their troubled loans, concealing the true financial condition of the Bank from the Board of Directors (the “Board”), auditors, and examiners.
When members of the Board or the Bank’s outside auditors or examiners asked about loans to these borrowers, RYAN and others made false statements about the borrowers and their loans, omitting the truth about the borrowers’ inability to pay their debts without getting new loans. As a result, the balance on these borrowers’ loans continued to grow resulting, ultimately, in the failure of First NBC. The Bank’s failure cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s deposit insurance fund slightly under $1 billion.
For RYAN, the charges include, Count 1, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1344 and 1349, multiple instances of bank fraud as listed in Counts 2 through 37, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344 and making false entries in bank records, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1005, as listed in Counts 38 through 46.
For each of the charged counts, the maximum penalties that may be imposed upon conviction are thirty years in prison; a fine of up to $1,000,000, or the greater of twice the gain to a defendant or twice the loss to any victim; up to five years of supervised release; and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
This case was investigated by the FBI New Orleans, the FDIC Office of Inspector General in Dallas, and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors’ Office of Inspector General in Miami. Agents and analysts devoted thousands of hours in reviewing millions of pages of emails, account records, and loan documents to uncover this fraud.
“We respect the jury’s verdict as it pertains to both individuals, said U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. “I want to thank the jurors who have done a great public service in giving their time to listen and evaluate the evidence and to render their verdict. This was a theft of epic proportions that grew from within that ultimately harmed the New Orleans economy. This case shows the dedication of this office, along with our law enforcement partners to prosecuting crime wherever it happens. Be it on the streets of our neighborhoods, or in board rooms downtown, this office will dedicate the time and resources to investigate and bring culprits to justice.”
“Mr. Ryan’s willingness to ignore and flaunt all sound financial practices left the American taxpayers to foot the 1-billion-dollar bill which remained following First NBC’s collapse,” said Douglas A. Williams, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of FBI New Orleans. “We thank our partners at the United States Attorney’s Office Eastern District, the FDIC Office of Inspector General and the Federal Reserve Board, Office of Inspector General. It is my hope that that today’s guilty verdict will result in some measure of justice for the more than 500 people who lost their jobs, and the countless stockholders who lost their financial investments.”
“The conviction of former FNBC President Ashton Ryan once again demonstrates that the FDIC OIG, working with our law enforcement partners, will continue to hold accountable bank executives who jeopardize the safety and soundness of our nation’s insured financial institutions,” said Anand Ramlall, Special Agent in Charge, Dallas Region, Office of Inspector General for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
“Ashton Ryan’s fraud scheme to deceive regulators and the public resulted in one of the largest bank failures since the financial crisis. His conviction sends a clear message that bank executives who commit fraud will be brought to justice for their actions. I commend our agent and our federal law enforcement partners for their hard work and persistence in this very complex case, which ultimately led to this conviction,” said Stephen Donnelly, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Eastern Region, Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The trial was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Payne, Nicholas Moses (Financial Crimes Unit), and Ryan McLaren (Appeals Unit).
* * *
Arkansas, Washington Business Owners Indicted for Conspiring to Defraud COVID-19 Relief ProgramsRead the Press Release
Spokane, Washington – Today, Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that a grand jury returned a Superseding Indictment charging Tyler Keith Andrews, age 37, of Bentonville, Arkansas, and Yuriy P. Anischenko, age 34, formerly of Spokane, with eleven counts of fraud in connection with a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds intended for struggling businesses. The charges in the Superseding Indictment are the most recent announced by the Eastern Washington COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force, which was created in 2022 to combat fraud against COVID-19 relief programs in Eastern Washington.
On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act. The CARES Act provided a number of programs through which eligible small businesses could request and obtain relief funding intended to mitigate the economic impacts of the pandemic for small and local businesses. One such program, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), provided government-backed loans to small businesses which could be forgiven so long as the proceeds were used for payroll and other eligible expenses. Another program, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, provided low interest loans that could be deferred until the conclusion of the pandemic to provide “bridge” funding for small businesses to maintain their operations during shutdowns and other economic circumstances caused by the pandemic. The PPP and EIDL programs have provided billions of dollars in aid, the vast majority of which have not been paid back, including hundreds of millions of dollars disbursed within Eastern Washington.
“COVID-19 relief programs quickly ran out of money due to the number of people and businesses that requested funding, which meant that some deserving small businesses could not obtain funding to keep their businesses open during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Waldref. “We created the COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force because it is critical to the strength and safety of our community in Eastern Washington that we all work together to combat pandemic-related fraud. Our dynamic Strike Force is ensuring that limited resources are provided to deserving local businesses that provide vital services for our communities.”
In February 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office began working with federal law enforcement agencies to create and launch a COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force that would leverage partnerships between different agencies to aggressively investigate and prosecute fraud against COVID-19 relief programs in Eastern Washington. The Strike Force consists of agency representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Inspector General (OIG), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Department of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs OIG, Department of Homeland Security OIG, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, General Services Administration OIG, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Energy OIG, and others. Cases investigated and prosecuted by the Strike Force have resulted in numerous indictments, convictions, and civil penalties, and have returned millions of dollars in fraudulently-obtained funds to the public.
The Superseding Indictment alleges that Andrews and Anischenko conspired with others to defraud COVID-19 relief programs by submitting fraudulent applications for funding for inactive businesses and by submitting false information. The Superseding Indictment further alleges that, as part of the conspiracy, Anischenko obtained more than $300,000, some of which he shared with Andrews, for two inactive and ineligible businesses. According to the Superseding Indictment, Anischenko recruited other co-conspirators for the scheme and connected them with Andrews, who then prepared and submitted fraudulent applications for the co-conspirators. The Superseding Indictment also alleges that Andrews submitted false and fraudulent COVID-19 funding applications for his own purported businesses. Finally, the Superseding Indictment charges Andrews with three counts of Aggravated Identity Theft for improperly using the name and identifying information of an Eastern Washington business owner to submit a fraudulent EIDL application, which the SBA did not approve. The Superseding Indictment alleges that the conspirators obtained millions of dollars through the fraud.
The fraud and conspiracy charges carry maximum sentences of up to 20 years in federal prison, while the identity theft charges carry 2-year mandatory sentences, which must be imposed consecutively to any sentences imposed on the fraud and conspiracy charges.
This case was investigated by SBA OIG, FBI, TIGTA, and the Strike Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Dan Fruchter and Tyler H.L. Tornabene are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
United States v. Anishchenko et al., Case No: 2-22-CR-0057-TOR
Amazon seller and consultant sentenced to 20 months in prison for bribery scheme and illegal tactics to benefit himself and clientsRead the Press Release
Seattle – An Acworth, Georgia man, who was deeply involved in a bribery scheme to obtain inside information and improper benefits from Amazon employees was sentenced today to 20 months in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Hadis Nuhanovic, 32, used inside information to break Amazon Marketplace platform rules and increase some sellers’ income to the detriment of others. At today’s sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones said there need to be significant consequences for commercial bribery. “I cannot find any other reason for your conduct than greed… Enough was not enough,” Judge Jones said.
“This was a long-running global conspiracy that not only harmed businesses selling on Amazon, it also harmed customers who purchased products unaware that they were counterfeit or the subject of customer complaints,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “Mr. Nuhanovic and his coconspirators bribed Amazon employees to reinstate banned products, or to remove bad reviews. Even after Amazon fired one of the coconspirators, Mr. Nuhanovic didn’t stop, he just recruited and bribed more employees for his and his coconspirators’ benefit.”
According to records filed in the case, since 2010, Nuhanovic operated an e-commerce business selling things such as DVDs, and smartphone cases. From 2017-18 he paid more than $20,000 in bribes for inside information from an Amazon employee. The inside info gave him a competitive advantage for his own business, and he also made money by selling some of the insider information to others. Nuhanovic communicated with that insider via an encrypted message system. He also recruited other Amazon employees who also accepted bribes.
The bribes assisted Nuhanovic with his scheme to continue selling counterfeit DVDs, by using legitimate invoices provided by insiders as a basis for his forged invoices – ones he used to claim that he was not selling counterfeits. He similarly used other companies’ invoices so he could continue selling dietary supplements from unapproved suppliers – something that put customers at risk.
Nuhanovic also used the inside information to help clients get reinstated, and to gin up false allegations about competitors. One competitor was suspended from the Amazon Marketplace because of a false intellectual property complaint filed by Nuhanovic and coconspirators. The coconspirators also sought confidential information on customers who posted bad reviews so that they could harass them.
"It was not good enough for Mr. Nuhanovic to cheat the public by selling counterfeit goods” said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “Instead, he and his coconspirators worked to deceive unwitting customers and further enrich themselves by bribing Amazon employees to assist in the scheme. I appreciate the work of our investigators and partners to put an end to this scheme.”
In asking the court to impose a two-year sentence, Assistant United States Attorney Miriam Hinman wrote to the court, “Nuhanovic and the co-conspirators’ crimes hurt Amazon and its users by violating basic principles of secure commerce upon which everyone relies. As our economy’s dependence on digital storefronts, platforms, and data continues to grow, almost every business entrusts its employees with valuable information—from key cards to private customer information—and the law must impose consequences on those who seek to wantonly violate that trust for personal profit.”
Nuhanovic also admits cheating on his taxes. In 2019 he claimed his company had gross receipts of $826,510 for tax year 2018. The actual gross receipts figure was $1,446,540. He failed to pay $125,050 in taxes for 2018 and an additional $35,403 in 2019.
Nuhanovic pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to violate the Travel Act and Filing a False Tax Return on September 28, 2022.
Today Judge Jones ordered him to forfeit $100,000 as proceeds of the conspiracy, and to pay $160,453 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
One defendant in this case, Rohit Kadimisetty, pleaded guilty and was sentenced last year to ten months in prison and a $50,000 fine. Kristen Leccese and Joseph Nilsen have pleaded guilty and are scheduled for sentencing on June 9, 2023. The remaining defendant, Ephraim Rosenberg, is scheduled for trial on May 15, 2023.
The case is being investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), and the Department of Justice Office of International Affairs.
Alliance Man Sentenced for Distributing Heroin and Fentanyl AnalogueRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Matthew Foster, 36, of Alliance, Nebraska, was sentenced today in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for distribution of heroin and fentanyl analogue. Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Foster to 180 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release from prison, he will begin a 3-year term of supervised release.
On February 3, 2021, law enforcement was dispatched to a residence in Alliance regarding an overdose victim. Law enforcement was able to show that Foster provided a fentanyl pill to the victim that resulted in an overdose. Medical personnel revived the victim with Narcan and the person survived.
On February 10, 2021, law enforcement used a confidential informant to purchase heroin and blue Fentanyl pills from Foster in Alliance. Directly after the controlled purchase, law enforcement executed a search warrant on Foster’s residence on February 10, 2021. During the search warrant, law enforcement seized blue Fentanyl pills and heroin.
This case was investigated by the Alliance Police Department and WING Task Force. WING is the Western Nebraska Intelligence Narcotics Group and includes the Alliance Police Department, Sidney Police Department, Scottsbluff Police Department, Scotts Bluff County Sheriff’s Office, and the Nebraska State Patrol.
Accountant Ordered to Pay Restitution and Serve Probation for Fraud Targeting D.C. Nonprofit OrganizationRead the Press Release
Defendant Diverted Nonprofit’s Funds to Personal Accounts
WASHINGTON – Keane Sims, 28, of Camp Springs, Maryland, was ordered to pay $30,000 restitution and sentenced to five years of probation for defrauding the Friends Community on National Legislation, a national nonprofit organization, by diverting organization funds to personal accounts. The sentence was announced today by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Robert J. Contee III, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Sims pleaded guilty in December 2022, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to second degree felony fraud. The Honorable Neal E. Kravitz also ordered six months of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, Sims made 12 fraudulent transfers from the organization to two personal bank accounts in July and August 2018, totaling more than $40,000. Sims, who was employed by the company as an accountant and responsible for maintaining the organization’s accounts payable, used her access to the organization’s accounting and cash management systems to steal the funds and hide the fraudulent transactions by manipulating vendor payee information.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Financial and Cyber Crimes Unit. They also commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian P. Kelly and Benjamin D. Bleiberg, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Thursday 9 February 2023
Whiteside County Man Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement from a Labor OrganizationRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — A Morrison, Ill. man pleaded guilty in federal court before U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston to embezzling from a labor organization.
BRENT TOPPERT, 42, was the elected Financial Secretary-Treasurer of Local 238 of the Security, Police, and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA). The SPFPA represented members engaged in providing security at a nuclear plant in Cordova, Ill. Toppert admitted in a plea agreement that in 2018 he made an unauthorized withdrawal of $500 from a bank account owned by the SPFPA, and that the withdrawal was not for any business purpose. Toppert admitted that he converted this money to his personal use.
The government alleged in the plea agreement that Toppert converted a total of $63,713.14 of the SPFPA’s assets to his personal use.
Toppert faces a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment. The actual sentence will be determined by the U.S. District Court, guided by the Sentencing Guidelines. Sentencing is set for June 6, 2023 at 1:30 p.m.
The guilty plea was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Thomas Murray, District Director of the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Labor Management Standards. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Love.
Whispering Pines Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – A Whispering Pines man and registered sex offender was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for possession of child pornography. Adam Mitchum Bailey, 44, was previously convicted on separate charges of child pornography possession in October of 2018. Bailey was charged with new child pornography charges in March of 2021. On August 22, 2022, Bailey pled guilty to possession of child pornography.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, Bailey pled guilty to the possession of child pornography and was sentenced in March 2019 to 24 months in the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and 10 years of supervised release. Halfway through his time in BOP, he was transferred to the Austin Wilkes Society re-entry facility in Fayetteville, North Carolina to complete his sentence, and was released in November 2020. Days before his release, facility staff discovered and searched an unauthorized cellphone found on Bailey’s bed, revealing images of child pornography. Evidence within the phone indicated that it belonged to Bailey.
The cellphone, along with another cellphone confiscated from Bailey several weeks earlier, were turned over to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Computer Crimes Unit. The second phone was also found to contain child pornography. In an interview with Bailey, he admitted to using both cellphones and electronically searching for the child pornography images.
Forensic examination of the phones recovered numerous files containing child pornography, including images of children under the age of 12. As a repeat offender, Bailey was subject to enhanced statutory minimums.
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 North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Computer Crimes Unit and the Bureau of Prisons investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan M. Stephany 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-00147-D.
Westminster Man Sentenced to 124 Months in Federal Prison for Weapons and Drug Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces Michael Thomas Delguidice, age 62, of Westminster, was sentenced to 124 months prison and 3 years supervised release for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to the plea agreement, on December 5, 2020, Westminster police were dispatched to a residence for a domestic disturbance, where the victim reported her car had been shot the night before. She reported that she then received a text from the defendant asking her to go to Blackhawk with him. She refused and the defendant texted back: "Ready for round two then?" The victim reported that Delguidice was circling her block on his motorcycle. When police contacted Delguidice, they found baggies of methamphetamine totaling 93 grams, a loaded .38 caliber revolver, two speed re-loaders and $3,405 in his jacket. They also found a stolen 10mm Glock semi-automatic handgun and ammunition in his motorcycle bag. Shell casings from the previous night’s drive-by shooting were tested and matched the 10mm handgun in the bag.
Judge William J. Martinez sentenced the defendant on February 7, 2023.
The FBI Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force and the Westminster Police Department investigated this case. Prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Brian Dunn.
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.
CASE NUMBER: 21-cr-00007
Wallingford Man Pleads Guilty to Child Exploitation ChargeRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Boston, today announced that JASON GORISS, 49, last residing in Wallingford, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to one count of possession of child pornography.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in November and December 2018, Goriss four images and five videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The images and videos included depictions of prepubescent children, and at least one image of bondage. Goriss shared some of the images and videos on an internet-based blog.
Goriss previously was convicted in Connecticut Superior Court of risk of injury to a minor.
Goriss is currently incarcerated in state custody for a violation of probation, he has other charges for sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor pending in Connecticut Superior Court.
Judge Thompson scheduled sentencing for May 17, at which time Goriss faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. The penalties in this matter are enhanced based on Goriss’s prior conviction for risk of injury to a minor.
This matter is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Wallingford Police Department, with the assistance of the Office of Adult Probation. The case is being prosecuted by Nancy V. Gifford and Neeraj N. Patel, with cooperation from the New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office.
This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.
U.S. Citizen Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Provide Electronic Equipment and Technology to the Government of IranRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Kambiz Attar Kashani, a dual citizen of the United States and Iran, was sentenced by United States District Judge Eric R. Komitee to 30 months’ imprisonment for conspiring to illegally export U.S. goods, technology, and services to end users in Iran, including the Government of Iran, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The defendant has agreed to pay a $50,000 fine. Kashani pleaded guilty to the charge in June 2022.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and Joseph R. Bonavolanta, Special Agent-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division (FBI), announced the sentence.
“Kashani defied export restrictions and sanctions against Iran, a country that sponsors international terrorism,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “His scheme undermined U.S. foreign policy and national security interests, and warranted a substantial sentence of incarceration to deter others.”
“Kashani conspired to illegally export U.S. goods and technology for the benefit of the Central Bank of Iran, a designated entity that materially supports known terrorist organizations,” said Assistant Attorney General Olsen. “The Department remains vigilant against any efforts to circumvent our export control laws, which exist to protect the security of the United States and its people.”
“Kambiz Attar Kashani will now head to prison for strengthening the economy of one of the world’s most infamous state sponsors of terrorism to line his own pockets, while circumventing U.S. laws in place to protect our national security interests. He used two United Arab Emirates companies to procure items from multiple American technology companies, including one located right here in Massachusetts,” said Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division Bonavolonta. “Today’s sentencing should send a strong message that the FBI and its law enforcement partners will continue to pursue and hold accountable those individuals who illegally export our country’s sensitive information and technology to hostile nations such as the Government of Iran.”
Between February 2019 and June 2021, Kashani conspired to illegally export goods and technology to end users in Iran, including the Central Bank of Iran (CBI). The U.S. government recognizes CBI as an agency of the Government of Iran and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has classified it as a Specially Designated National (SDN) acting for or on behalf of a terrorist organization. According to the U.S. government, CBI has materially assisted, sponsored and provided financial, material or technological support, goods or services to Lebanese Hizballah, a terrorist organization, and to the Qods Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which is a branch of the Iranian armed forces and represents the primary means of the Government of Iran to direct and implement its global terrorism campaign.
Kashani and his co-conspirators perpetrated the illegal transshipping scheme through two separate United Arab Emirates (UAE) companies. They used the UAE companies to procure electronic goods and technology from multiple U.S. technology companies, including one located in Brooklyn, for end users in Iran, including CBI, without obtaining required OFAC export licenses. Certain of the goods and technology Kashani and his co-conspirators transshipped were classified by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security as information security items subject to national security and anti-terrorism controls. Kashani and his co-conspirators intentionally concealed from the U.S. companies that they intended to send the items to Iran, falsely claiming that the UAE companies would be the ultimate end users.
As set forth in court papers, by providing the Government of Iran and end users in Iran with sophisticated, top-tier U.S. electronic equipment and software, the defendant and his co-conspirators enabled the Iranian banking system to operate more efficiently, effectively, and securely. In doing so, the defendant and his co-conspirators likely helped strengthen Iran’s economy and provided faster and more secure access to funds that enable the Government of Iran to further priorities including its nuclear program and terrorist agenda – exactly what the U.S. sanctions against Iran were intended to prevent.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Alexander A. Solomon and Meredith A. Arfa are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance provided by Trial Attorney S. Derek Shugert of the Justice Department’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
Defendant:
Kambiz Attar Kashani
Age: 45
United Arab EmiratesE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-33 (EK)
U.S. Citizen Sentenced for Conspiring to Provide Electronic Equipment and Technology to the Government of IranRead the Press Release
Earlier today in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, Kambiz Attar Kashani, 44, a dual citizen of the United States and Iran, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for conspiring to illegally export U.S. goods and technology to end users in Iran, including the Central Bank of Iran, in violation of the International Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The Central Bank of Iran is an Iranian government agency that, according to the U.S. government, has materially supported Lebanese Hizballah and the Qods Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, both designated terrorist organizations.
“Kashani conspired to illegally export U.S. goods and technology for the benefit of the Central Bank of Iran, a designated entity that materially supports known terrorist organizations,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Department remains vigilant against any efforts to circumvent our export control and sanctions laws, which exist to protect the security of the United States and its people.”
“Kashani defied export restrictions and sanctions against Iran, a country that sponsors international terrorism,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “His scheme undermined U.S. foreign policy and national security interests and warranted a substantial sentence of incarceration to deter others.”
“This is a sobering reminder that illegally exporting material is not an abstract economic concern – it is a crime with a direct impact on the safety of the American people,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI Counterintelligence Division. “Kambiz Attar Kashani pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally export technologies and goods to Iran, a designated state sponsor of terrorism. The recipient of these technologies was the Central Bank of Iran, an entity connected to organizations such as Iran’s Qods Force and Lebanese Hizbollah, both designated terrorist groups that represent a clear and present threat to the United States. As long as these threats persist, the FBI will not rest in our efforts to find these illegal exporters and bring them to justice.”
According to court documents, between February 2019 and June 2021, Kashani and his co-conspirators used two front companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to illegally procure electronic goods and technology from multiple U.S. technology companies, including one located in Brooklyn, for end users in Iran, including the Central Bank of Iran. Certain goods and technology Kashani and his co-conspirators transshipped were controlled by the U.S. government for national security and anti-terrorism reasons. Kashani and his co-conspirators intentionally concealed from the U.S. companies that they intended to send the items to Iran, falsely claiming that the UAE companies would be the ultimate end users. By providing the Central Bank of Iran and other end users in Iran with sophisticated, top-tier U.S. electronic equipment and software, Kashani and his co-conspirators enabled the Iranian banking system to operate more efficiently, effectively and securely.
The FBI is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander A. Solomon and Meredith A. Arfa for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case, with assistance provided by Trial Attorney S. Derek Shugert of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.