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Tuesday 31 January 2023
SDTX efforts continue against human traffickersRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – As National Human Trafficking Awareness Month comes to a close, the Southern District of Texas (SDTX) has reaffirmed its commitment to working with federal, state and local partners to combat human trafficking in all its forms, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
“Human trafficking is especially heinous,” said Hamdani. “Our office will continue to use every available resource to charge those who cause imaginable harm and exploit and endanger some of the most vulnerable members of our society.”
Over the past year, the SDTX has charged approximately a dozen cases as part of the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA) and has multiple active investigations and ongoing prosecutions on several more. Nearly 20 individuals are pending trial.
Two such matters in the SDTX involve men facing life in prison. Jonathan Smith-Byrd and Larry Odell Lewis allegedly used force, fraud and coercion to cause multiple women to engage in commercial sex. Both indictments allege the men coerced victims to engage in sex acts across state lines.
Two of Smith-Byrd’s alleged victims were minors when he trafficked them, according to the charges.
Just yesterday, a woman admitted to trafficking other women from a cantina bathroom as well as sex trafficking of a minor. She forced them into commercial sex and took their money. If they refused, she often threatened them with violence.
Another recent example includes a Houstonian who attempted to entice a South Texas minor into commercial sex which resulted in a more than 10-year federal prison sentence. At the time of his plea, Malcolm Lenard Thomas admitted to communicating via Instagram with someone he thought was a 15-year-old girl. He sent a bus ticket knowing the minor was coming to Houston to engage in commercial sex. He claimed his role would be to provide her with protection.
The undercover operation demonstrated how law enforcement is making efforts, in addition to recovering victims, by trying to stop the traffickers before they connect with actual children.
Hamdani attended a meeting with HTRA law enforcement members this month as well. He spoke and expressed his commitment to battling the human trafficking problem in the SDTX and elsewhere and commended HTRA and SDTX efforts in doing so thus far.
“HTRA will continue to be the gold standard for human trafficking task forces,” Hamdani added. “The efforts of law enforcement as well as the non-governmental organizations and others who provide victim services are so greatly appreciated. It takes all of us working together towards the same goal that makes this task force what it is today. I am proud our office has been a part of it since its inception.”
HTRA law enforcement includes members of the Houston Police Department; FBI, Homeland Security Investigations; Texas Attorney General’s Office; IRS-Criminal Investigation; Department of Labor (DOL); DOL – Wage and Hour Division; Department of State; Federal Air Marshals; Texas Alcoholic and Beverage Commission; Texas Department of Public Safety; Texas Rangers; Texas Parks and Wildlife; Social Security Administration – OIG; Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation; Texas Department of Family and Protective Services as well as police departments in Houston Independent School District (ISD), Conroe ISD and Missouri City; Harris County constables offices – Precincts one and four; sheriff’s offices in Harris, Montgomery, Fort Bend, Brazoria and Waller counties in coordination with District Attorney’s offices in Harris, Montgomery, Fort Bend and Galveston Counties. They work in coordination with victim service providers such as YMCA, United Against Human Trafficking and Texas Forensic Nurse Examiners.
Established in 2004, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Houston formed HTRA to combine resources with federal, state and local enforcement agencies and prosecutors, as well as non-governmental service organizations to target human traffickers while providing necessary services to those that the traffickers victimized. Since its inception, HTRA has been recognized as both a national and international model in identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking and prosecuting those engaged in trafficking offenses.
“As we come to the end of National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, we must not forget to look for the signs of human trafficking each and every day,” said Hamdani. “Together, we can combat this insidious crime and help to create a safer environment for everyone.”
To report a tip or ask for help, please call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
Renton, Washington, mid-level leader of local drug trafficking group connected to CJNG cartel, sentenced to prisonRead the Press Release
Seattle – The mid-level leader of a drug distribution cell that was one of the most violent seen in the Western District of Washington was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Jose Daniel Espinoza, 35, was indicted and arrested in July 2020, following an 18-month wiretap investigation. At times during the wiretap, law enforcement had to arrest potential targets of the group, or flood the area with marked patrol cars, to keep people safe. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour noted that Espinoza had a managing role in a drug trafficking group that used guns and distributed fentanyl – a very dangerous drug.
According to records filed in the case, over the course of the investigation, one person was shot outside a residence where the conspirators were converting methamphetamine from liquid to crystal form. On the wiretap, law enforcement heard conversations about kidnapping plots, and other instances of intimidation through use of violence and firearms.
Espinoza was a source for guns as well as drugs and was involved in providing firearms to conspirators who were collecting debts for the group. Espinoza was also tasked by those above him in the trafficking organization with getting firearms that could be taken through California and smuggled into Mexico.
Based on the seizures before and on the date of the takedown, the group was connected to 45 pounds of methamphetamine; 12 pounds of heroin; 3,200 fentanyl pills; 22 firearms; and $566,391.
In their sentencing memo, prosecutors cited the latest data on overdose deaths noting, “an average of 17 overdose deaths occurred each week in King County in 2022, with the surge in overdose deaths driven by fentanyl, which is involved in 70% of all confirmed overdose deaths that occurred by November of 2022.”
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Tacoma Resident Office in partnership with Tahoma Narcotics Enforcement Team (TNET), Kent Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, SeaTac Police Department, Thurston County Narcotics Team (TNT), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amy Jaquette and C. Andrew Colasurdo.
Rapid City Man Sentenced for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The sentencing took place on January 27, 2023.
Brian Jackson, 64, was sentenced to ten years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Jackson was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury in January of 2020. He pleaded guilty on September 23, 2022.
During the conspiracy, Jackson obtained and transported methamphetamine between California and South Dakota on multiple occasions, with the purpose of distributing the methamphetamine in Western South Dakota. On one return trip from California, Jackson was stopped by South Dakota Highway Patrol troopers and was found to be in possession of approximately two pounds of methamphetamine.
This case was investigated by the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET), which is a local drug task force comprised of law enforcement from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police Department, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, South Dakota Highway Patrol, and the South Dakota National Guard. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gina S. Nelson prosecuted the case.
Jackson was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Pleasant Hill Man Sentenced to 6.5 Years in Prison for Billion Dollar DC Solar Ponzi SchemeRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Ryan Guidry, 45, of Pleasant Hill, was sentenced today to six years and six months in prison and ordered to pay $619,415,950 in restitution for participating in a billion-dollar Ponzi scheme involving DC Solar, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
On Jan. 14, 2020, Guidry pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and aiding and abetting money laundering.
According to court documents, between 2011 and 2018, DC Solar manufactured solar generators that were mounted on trailers known as mobile solar generator units (MSG). The company touted the versatility and environmental sustainability of the mobile solar generators and claimed that they were used to provide emergency power to cellphone towers and lighting at sporting and other events. Jeff Carpoff, 52, Paulette Carpoff, 49, both of Martinez, and their co-conspirators solicited investors by claiming that there were favorable federal tax benefits associated with investments in alternative energy. They sold more solar generators than they manufactured to investors, making it appear that solar generators existed in locations that they did not, creating false financial statements, and obtaining false lease contracts, among other efforts to conceal the fraud. In reality, 9,000 of the approximately 17,000 solar generators claimed to have been manufactured by DC Solar did not exist and DC Solar paid early investors with funds contributed by later investors.
According to court documents, Guidry worked at DC Solar from 2012 through 2019 and became Vice President of Operations by 2015. Guidry understood DC Solar’s business model and knew that investors were being defrauded. Guidry accepted $1 million that he knew came from deceived investors to get a signature on a false lease contract, and split another $20,000 in cash with Alan Hansen, 51, of Vacaville, an employee of a telecom company for forging a signature on a related agreement. Guidry fabricated a spreadsheet of fictitious MSG locations, and then Guidry and Jeff Carpoff moved MSGs to their supposed operation sites the day before or even the day of investor inspections. This was done to trick investors into believing that the MSGs had been deployed at those sites all along, when the opposite was true.
In 2017 and 2018 when DC Solar was no longer making the MSGs it was selling, Guidry scraped old VIN stickers off of MSGs and put new ones on them at DC Solar warehouses in Benicia and Las Vegas, working with Jeff Carpoff and others. The VIN switching was to trick investors during inspections into believing that MSGs associated with the transaction under inspection existed and could be found at the locations the company had asserted.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher S. Hales and Kevin C. Khasigian prosecuted the case.
On Nov. 9, 2021, Jeff Carpoff was sentenced to 30 years in prison and ordered to pay $790.6 million in restitution for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. His wife Paulette Carpoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and money laundering, and on June 28, 2022, was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison.
On Nov. 16, 2021, Joseph W. Bayliss, 47, of Martinez, was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay $481.3 million in restitution for securities fraud and conspiracy in connection with the DC Solar scheme. On April 12, 2022, DC Solar CFO Robert A. Karmann, 56, of Clayton, was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay $624 million. On May 31, 2022, Alan Hansen was sentenced to eight years in prison for conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and aiding and abetting money laundering.
Ronald J. Roach, 55, of Walnut Creek, pleaded guilty to criminal offenses related to the fraud scheme and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 14, 2023. Roach faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years prison. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Pittsburgh Felon Sentenced to Life in Prison for Drug and Gun CrimesRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA - A former resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to life imprisonment plus 20 years of incarceration on his conviction of violating federal narcotics and firearm laws, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on James “Al Taric” Byrd, age 46. Judge Bissoon also recommended to the Bureau of Prisons that the Bureau of Prisons house the defendant in a maximum-security prison as far away from the Western District of Pennsylvania as possible.
According to evidence presented at trial, Byrd possessed with intent to distribute quantities of mixtures and substances containing detectible amounts of cocaine, cocaine base (also known as crack cocaine), heroin, and marijuana. Byrd also possessed a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon and carried and possessed said firearm during and in relating to a drug trafficking crime.
Specifically, on Feb. 23, 2015, a complainant called 911 to request police assistance regarding Byrd’s behavior outside of the victim’s home. The complainant detailed the threats Byrd was making towards the victim and noted that he said he had a gun. Officers arrived on the scene and approached Byrd’s vehicle. Byrd got into an altercation with officers and then attempted to flee on foot. Once apprehended, officers recovered marijuana, crack cocaine and powdered cocaine. The search of Byrd’s vehicle revealed a loaded firearm, ammunition, a bullet proof vest, two cellphones and heroin.
In its Sentencing Memorandum, the government outlined the defendant’s prior serious criminal history and other misconduct. Dating back to 1998, the defendant’s convictions include Aggravated Assault, Carrying a Firearm without a License, and other offenses. The conduct for these cases includes shooting people as well as the kidnapping and robbery of a drug dealer. The government’s Sentencing Memorandum also addressed additional violent and threatening conduct and the more than 70 prison misconduct reports that defendant accumulated at the Allegheny County Jail.
Assistant United States Attorneys Brendan T. Conway and Benjamin J. Risacher prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
United States Attorney Chung commended the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives and the McKeesport Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Byrd.
Phelps Man Arrested, Charged with Production, Receipt, Distribution, and Possession of Child PornographyRead 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 Eric Passalacqua, 36, of Phelps, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with production, receipt, distribution, and possession of child pornography. The charges carry a minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum of 30 years, a lifetime period of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle P. Rossi, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on January 20, 2023, the Rochester Office of the FBI received information from the FBI in Anchorage, Alaska, that an individual located in Phelps, NY, may have been responsible for exchanging child pornography with an individual in Alaska. On January 24, 2023, investigators executed a search warrant at Passalacqua’s residence. A preliminary forensic examination of his phone revealed multiple images of child pornography, including images that Passalacqua produced of a minor victim.
Passalacqua made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson and is being held.
The criminal complaint is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Darren Cox and the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff David Cirencione.
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.
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Pediatric surgeon sentenced to prison for possession, distribution of child pornographyRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Guy Rosenschein was sentenced to over 17 years in prison. Rosenschein, 68, of Albuquerque, pleaded guilty in federal court on Oct. 15 to seven counts of distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and one count of possession of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Rosenschein first came to the attention of law enforcement in 2016 following two CyberTipline Reports submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) by the online chat provider Chatstep. Chatstep reported that images containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) were posted by a user in Albuquerque, New Mexico. NCMEC forwarded the CyberTipline Reports to the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, which submitted the reports to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) for investigation.
BCSO learned that the posts on Chatstep were made from the residence of Rosenschein, then employed as a pediatric urologist and surgeon at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Based on that information, BCSO Detectives obtained a state search warrant for Rosenschein’s residence. The search revealed numerous electronic devices which contained CSAM.
After BCSO conducted their search, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) learned of the existence of a hidden room, containing a safe, located inside Rosenschein’s residence. The room, which was said to be behind a false wall inside a closet underneath the stairs, was present in the home before Rosenschein purchased it. The FBI obtained a second search warrant to reenter the residence, where they located two safes inside the hidden room. Inside one of the safes, agents located additional CSAM.
In total, law enforcement located approximately 19,116 images and 2,092 videos depicting CSAM on the devices seized from Rosenschein.
In addition to New Mexico, the investigation revealed that Rosenschein worked as a pediatric surgeon in several locations in the United States, including New York, Arkansas, and Missouri. Law enforcement learned of additional allegations in other states that Rosenschein had befriended young male patients before sexually abusing the young boys. The investigation to date has revealed three alleged victims of sexual abuse committed by Rosenschein and charges are pending in Arkansas in association with two of these alleged victims.
“Dr. Rosenschein’s conduct was shameful and heinous,” said United States Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez. “Distribution and possession of material depicting the sexual assault of children are serious offenses that cause ongoing harm to the victims and encourage the sexual exploitation and rape of minors. These offenses are horrific when committed by any offender, but it is all the more egregious that the offender in this case was a pediatric surgeon. Using a position of trust to exploit the most vulnerable should always come with the maximum penalties under the law.”
“This sentence serves as an important reminder to our community that even a trusted physician has the capability to pursue and possess horrendous materials involving children,” said New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez. “I thank all parties involved for holding Mr. Rosenschein accountable and commend the hard work that my ICAC team dedicated towards this effort.”
“I am proud of our detective's hard work on this case and their collaboration with the FBI,” said Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen. “Thank you to the United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico for prosecuting this horrific case. This is a heartbreaking example of true evil lurking in our community, and I am relieved knowing Rosenschein has been sentenced to prison.”
Upon his release from prison, Rosenschein will be subject to 10 years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.
The FBI Albuquerque Field Office and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case with assistance from the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah J. Mease and Holland S. Kastrin are prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
The case also was brought as a part of the New Mexico ICAC Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico. There are 86 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.
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Ohio Man Pleads Guilty to Lying on Federal Gun FormRead 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 Allen DeCola, 65, of Perry, Ohio, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford to making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua A. Violanti, who is handling the case, stated that DeCola is a former federal firearms licensee, who operated under the name MGA Arms, Inc. On three separate occasions in May 2018, DeCola sold a total of 21 firearms to three straw purchasers, meaning that the individuals buying the firearms were doing so for other people. However, all three straw purchasers falsely stated on a form required by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, that they were the actual purchaser of the firearms. DeCola knew that this was false.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division, and the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia. Additional assistance was provided by the ATF in Youngstown Ohio, and the Ashtabula, Ohio Police Department.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 27, 2023, before Judge Wolford.
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North-Central Florida Blimp Company Executive Sentenced to over Five Years in Federal Prison for COVID-19 Relief FraudRead the Press Release
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Patrick Parker Walsh, 42, Williston, Florida, was sentenced today, after previously pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering in connection to COVID-19 pandemic relief. Walsh was sentenced to 66 months in federal prison. The sentence was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
“The theft of any amount of taxpayer funds is inexcusable,” said U.S. Attorney Coody. “However, the defendant’s deceptive acts of diverting millions of dollars in emergency financial assistance from small businesses during the pandemic is simply beyond the pale. Today’s sentence both punishes the defendant’s criminal conduct and should serve as a significant deterrent to others who would selfishly steal from their fellow citizens to unlawfully enrich themselves. With our law enforcement partners, we remain committed to investigating and prosecuting those who engage in acts of covid-related fraud.”
Court documents reflect that between April 7, 2020, and January 21, 2021, Walsh submitted a total of 16 fraudulent applications to multiple federally insured financial institutions and other qualified lenders for Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans in the names of multiple businesses, including his blimp companies which were headquartered in Levy County. Walsh’s false PPP loan applications included several discrepancies: no record of some employees that were listed in Walsh’s applications, that the number of employees listed in multiple applications was more than previously listed in employer tax records, and that some of the companies claimed in the applications were not even established businesses as of February 15, 2020 (the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic relief programs). Additional investigation revealed that Walsh had used several of the same employees on PPP loan applications for different companies.
“Today, the defendant in this case was brought to justice for exploiting Federal relief programs and using the obtained funds for his personal gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Kyle A. Myles, of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG). “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold those accountable who take advantage of such programs and undermine the integrity of our Nation’s banking system.”
Walsh’s fraudulent PPP loan applications sought a total of $11,950,439 in PPP loan funds, of which he received a total of $4,996,167. Further, between March 2020 and July 2020, Walsh submitted a total of 18 fraudulent applications to the SBA for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs), in his own name and in the name of his wife. Walsh’s false EIDL applications were approved and a total of $2,822,000 was disbursed to him.
“Taxpayers thinking about stealing from government relief programs should stop in their tracks and simply look at the consequences of taking the next step,” said Ronald A. Loecker IRS-CI Acting Special Agent in Charge. “Today's sentencing is the result of federal law enforcement banding together to enforce not only the nation's tax laws, but especially cases where someone, for their own personal benefit, steals resources from the American people.”
“This sentence demonstrates that those that steal taxpayer dollars will be held accountable,” said SBA OIG’s Eastern Region Special Agent in Charge Amaleka Brathwaite-McCall. “I want to thank the U.S. Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and pursuit of justice.”
Additionally, Walsh engaged in multiple monetary transactions that involved at least $10,000 of fraudulently obtained PPP loan or EIDL proceeds that he obtained through his wire fraud scheme. Many of these transactions included payments for the purchase of real estate in Florida and Texas, oil leases, and to pay off his mortgage loans.
“Patrick Walsh abused a program that was designed to ease suffering caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Sherri E. Onks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division. “Instead of using millions of dollars in federal funds to help keep struggling businesses afloat and honest workers employed, he selfishly diverted it for his own personal gain. The FBI will hold accountable anyone who takes advantage of those in need during a national emergency, and we remain committed to working with our partners to ensure fraudsters are brought.”
The PPP, administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”), was designed to provide low-interest, forgivable loans to applicants to help fund certain permissible expenses for qualifying businesses amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, which included payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The EIDL program, also administered by the SBA, was designed to provide low-interest loans to small businesses in regions affected by declared disasters. The CARES Act authorized the SBA to provide EIDLs, up to $2 million, to eligible small businesses experiencing substantial financial disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Walsh’s imprisonment will be followed by three years of supervised release. Additionally, Walsh was ordered to pay restitution to the SBA in the amount of $7,818,167, and the Court entered an order of forfeiture in the same amount.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), and the U.S. Small Business Administration-Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG). Assistant United States Attorneys Justin M. Keen and David P. Byron prosecuted the case with the assistance of Assistant United States Attorney Katherine Kerwin, of the United States Attorney’s Financial Litigation Program.
This case was prosecuted as part the Department of Justice’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the CARES Act relief programs. The CARES Act is a federal law enacted in March 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the two programs that were developed through CARES Act is the PPP. It provides funding to businesses through PPP loans for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. PPP allows the interest and principal on loans to be forgiven if the business spends proceeds on certain expense items within a designated time and uses a certain percentage of the loan on payroll expenses. The Department of Justice remains vigilant in detecting, investigating, and prosecuting wrongdoing related to the crisis.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
North Liberty Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Davenport, IA – Jacob John Preuschl, age 28, of North Liberty, was sentenced on January 25, 2023, to 300 months in prison for production of child pornography and transfer of obscene material to minors. Preuschol was also ordered to pay a $10,000 special assessment under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act and a $3,000 special assessment under the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act. Following his prison term, Preuschl was ordered to serve seven years of supervised release.
Law enforcement identified Preuschl after the parent of a minor victim called the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) tipline after finding sexually explicit content between her daughter and an adult male on her cell phone. NCMEC referred the case to law enforcement in Nashville who identified Preuschl and referred the case to Iowa law enforcement. Preuschl met the victim on Snapchat and communicated with the victim for approximately four months and requested nude images and videos. Preuschl also sent the victim images of his genitals. After seizing his cell phone, law enforcement discovered that Preuschl had communicated with several other minor females on Snapchat and had acquired child pornography via the Telegram application.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Joint Forensic Analysis Cyber Team and the Nashville, Tennessee Police Department investigated the case.
This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Childhood” initiative, which was started in 2006 as a nationwide effort to combine law enforcement investigations and prosecutions, community action, and public awareness in order to reduce the incidence of sexual exploitation of children. Any persons having knowledge of a child being sexually abused are encouraged to call the Iowa Sexual Abuse Hotline at 1-800-284-7821.
Niles Physician Pleads Guilty to Illegally Prescribing Controlled Substances and Healthcare FraudRead the Press Release
CLEVELAND – Jeffrey Sutton, 65, a physician who practiced in Niles, Ohio, until early 2022, pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, to 31 counts of illegally prescribing patients opioids and other controlled substances, one count of illegally distributing controlled substances, and 20 counts of healthcare fraud.
According to court documents, from January 2015 through January 2022, Sutton knowingly prescribed medically unnecessary controlled substances to patients outside of the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. In doing so, court documents state that Sutton caused health care benefit programs to be fraudulently billed for both office visits and the controlled substances.
As part of his conduct, court documents state that Sutton prescribed opioid medications to patients for extended periods, including for over a decade, with little change in regimen and despite knowing that the opioid therapy treatment had failed. Court documents go on to state that Sutton also prescribed short-acting opioid therapy medications to patients for extended periods without establishing treatment goals, pain diagnoses, accurate examinations, and either without any medical imaging or with medical imaging that could not justify the opioid prescribing.
Court records show that, among his patients, Sutton escalated opioid dosages to extreme levels, sometimes increasing the dosage by more than 1,000% and sometimes prescribing more than 22 times the level of opioids that th U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified as posing a risk of overdose requiring increased scrutiny. Sutton combined those opioids with other medications like benzodiazepines, a combination that has been known to cause serious risks of slowed or difficult breathing, coma, and death. Sutton also ignored documented behaviors that indicated patients were abusing or diverting prescribed controlled substances or abusing non-prescribed controlled substances like cocaine and fentanyl.
In addition, Sutton admitted that he ignored warnings provided by prescription drug management organizations, insurance carriers, and state authorities about his high prescribing and danger to patients. He also admitted to ignoring and choosing not to act on patient requests to lower dosages.
Sutton also admitted to engaging in sexual acts with patients to whom he directly prescribed controlled substances, including during office visits. He also admitted to delivering dozens of oxycodone pills to the home of a patient with whom he was engaged in a sexual relationship, outside the course of treatment and without a valid prescription.
Finally, Sutton also pleaded guilty to fraudulently causing healthcare benefit programs to pay for patients to receive the medically unnecessary controlled substances and office visits that Sutton required patients to attend to obtain those prescriptions.
Federal investigators are asking anyone who would like to alert investigators to experiences or observations of Jeffrey Sutton’s practice of medicine or other issues to contact the Cleveland FBI at 216-583-5353.
Sutton is scheduled to be sentenced on May 23, 2023.
This case was investigated by the Cleveland FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS OIG), and the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliot Morrison.
New York Man Admits Distributing Fentanyl in New JerseyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A New York man today admitted distribution and possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Jose Migel Cleto, 64, of Manhattan, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of distribution and possession with the intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In April 2022, Cleto distributed, and possessed with the intent to distribute, 400 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl to a man in a commercial parking lot in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
Cleto faces a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of up to $1 million. Sentencing is scheduled for June 21, 2023.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vincent D. Romano of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.
New Jersey Man Sentenced for Assaulting Officers and Other ChargesRead the Press Release
Defendant Confronted Officers Outside Capitol Building
WASHINGTON – A New Jersey man was sentenced today for assaulting law enforcement officers and other charges for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.
Philip S. Young, 61, of Sewell, New Jersey, was sentenced to 8 months in prison. Young pleaded guilty November 2, 2022 in the District of Columbia to assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers, and interfering with officers during a civil disorder, both felony offenses, plus five related misdemeanor charges. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich ordered $2,000 restitution, and 36 months of supervised release.
According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, at approximately 2:46 p.m., Young was illegally on the Capitol grounds, standing on stairs leading to the Upper West Terrace. Someone in the crowd shouted, “1, 2, 3, go!” Young hurriedly went up the stairs. He was one of several people that lifted and pushed a metal bicycle rack barricade into a line of law enforcement officers. Later, at approximately 3:54 p.m., he had made his way to the east courtyard of the Capitol, where he was seen letting the air out of the tires of a black U.S. government vehicle.
Young was arrested on Aug. 19, 2021, in Sewell, New Jersey.
This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office and its South Jersey Resident Agency, and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identified Young as #276 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police.
In the 24 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 950 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 284 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
Nebraska Man Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken has sentenced a Chadron, Nebraska, man convicted of Abusive Sexual Contact. The sentencing took place on January 27, 2023.
William Bear Robe, 39, was sentenced to four years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Bear Robe was indicted for the charge by a federal grand jury in June of 2019. He was found guilty following a federal jury trial in Rapid City in September of 2022.
The conviction stems from Bear Robe engaging in sexual contact with a child under the age of 12 in 2012, at Oglala, South Dakota.
This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Poppen prosecuted the case.
Bear Robe was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Michigan Man Convicted on Charges of Providing Material Support to ISISRead the Press Release
A Michigan man was convicted by a federal jury today in the Eastern District of Michigan on charges of providing, attempting to provide, and conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, in connection with his support for ISIS in Syria from 2015-2018. He was also convicted of receiving military-type training from ISIS while in Syria.
Ibraheem Izzy Musaibli, 32, of Dearborn, was convicted after a nine-day trial conducted before U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson in Detroit. The jury deliberated for approximately four hours before returning the guilty verdict.
“With this verdict, the defendant is being held accountable for traveling overseas, joining ISIS, and receiving training from the terrorist organization,” stated Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen. “The National Security Division, working with our partners, is committed to identifying and holding accountable U.S. citizens who leave this country in order to join and support ISIS and other foreign terrorist organizations. I want to thank the many agents, analysts, and prosecutors who are responsible for this investigation and prosecution.”
“Ibraheem Musaibli traveled halfway around the world and joined a vicious, brutal, and violent terrorist organization known — and proud of — its barbaric acts of terror,” said U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison for the Eastern District of Michigan. “Today’s verdicts highlights the dedication of this office, along with our law enforcement partners, in pursuing anyone who poses a danger to the United States—no matter where they are located.”
“This defendant willingly traveled to Syria, joined ISIS, and attended a terrorist training camp,” said Special Agent in Charge James A. Tarasca of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “Today’s verdict demonstrates to anyone who would seek to contribute to ISIS’s terrorist activities that the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force will be unwavering in its mission to protect the American people by identifying, disrupting, and bringing them to justice.”
Evidence provided during the trial established that Musaibli, originally born in Dearborn, moved to Yemen in April 2015. From Yemen, he traveled to Syria in the fall of 2015 where he attended an ISIS-run religious training camp before undergoing military training where he learned to shoot, carry and otherwise handle a machine gun. Upon graduation from the ISIS military training camp, Musaibli swore allegiance to ISIS and its leader and remained with ISIS for over two and half years. Musaibli was eventually captured by Syrian Democratic Forces in 2018 and turned over to the FBI and flown back to the United States to face terrorism related charges.
Musaibli faces a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison when he is sentenced. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison for the Eastern District of Michigan, Assistant Director Robert R. Wells of the FBI Counterterrorism Division and Special Agent in Charge James A. Tarasca of the FBI Detroit Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hank Moon and Michael Martin for the Eastern District of Michigan prosecuted the case, with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Miami-Area Man Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Federal Prison for Multi-City Meth Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Hector Enrique Veliz Villeda (31, Hialeah) to six years and six months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Veliz Villeda had pleaded guilty on October 20, 2022.
According to court documents, in June and July 2022, Veliz Villeda and others were part of a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy moving kilogram quantities of high-purity methamphetamine throughout cities located in the Middle District of Florida, the Southern District of Florida and the Northern District of Alabama. Veliz Villeda received shipments of high-purity methamphetamine from a coconspirator in Birmingham, Alabama and subsequently transported the methamphetamine into the Miami and Tampa metropolitan areas for resale.
On June 14, 2022, at his home in Hialeah, Veliz Villeda obtained high-purity crystal methamphetamine from a coconspirator in Alabama. He later sold the drugs to a confidential source in Bradenton. On July 14, 2022, Veliz Villeda again traveled from Hialeah to Bradenton and sold more high-purity crystal methamphetamine he had received from coconspirators.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bradenton Police Department, and the Florida Highway Patrol. It was being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David W.A. Chee.
Mescalero man pleads guilty to assault in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Julius Scott Mendez pleaded guilty to assault of a spouse, intimate partner or dating partner resulting in substantial bodily injury and assault of a spouse, intimate partner or dating partner by strangling. Mendez, 30, of Mescalero, New Mexico, and an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.
In the plea agreement, Mendez admitted to attacking the victim, who is also an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe by kicking, punching, and strangling her until she lost consciousness. As a result of Mendez’s assault, the victim suffered substantial bodily injury to her head, face, and neck and had severe bruising over most of her body. The assault occurred on the Mescalero Apache Reservation.
At sentencing, Mendez faces up to ten years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Matilda McCarthy Villalobos and Eliot Neal are prosecuting the case.
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Man Sentenced to 300 Months in prison for a 2017 Claremore MurderRead the Press Release
A defendant was sentenced Tuesday in federal court for killing a man with a machete in Claremore in 2017, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Michael Eugene Spears, 59, of Claremore, to 300 months in prison for the second degree murder of victim Mark McKinney. Following his prison sentence, he will spend five years on supervised release.
“The defendant’s murderous act and attempted cover-up earned him a 25-year federal prison sentence,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “The dedicated work of the Claremore Police Department, FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tom Duncombe and Justin Bish have ensured justice for the victim and his family. I am proud of their resolve to hold accountable those who commit brutal acts of violence in our communities.”
"Today's sentencing brings to an end a tragic story of cold-blooded murder and an attempted cover-up by a merciless and violent criminal," said FBI Oklahoma City Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Gray. "Thanks to a determined investigation by the FBI, Claremore Police Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Oklahoma, Spears will be held accountable for his heinous crime."
The murder occurred following a disagreement between the two men on Nov. 18, 2017, in a trailer owned by Spears’ sister. Sometime after the brutal attack, Spears told a relative about his crime and asked to borrow a truck so he could transport the victim’s body to a lake, where he planned to dispose of it. A relative reported the crime to law enforcement the next morning and the victim’s body was recovered from the trailer.
Prosecutors argued for a sentence of 30 years in prison, given the brutal nature of the murder. In particular, prosecutors noted how the defendant had stabbed the victim repeatedly with the sixteen-inch-blade weapon, beat him until he was unrecognizable, took his phone and the few dollars in his pocket, and left him to die on the floor while Spears spent hours drinking.
The defense argued for a sentence of 15 years, contending that Spears’ years of alcoholism, his troubled childhood, his issues with judgment and impulse control, and evidence of cognitive decline showed a lower sentence was appropriate. The defense also pointed to Spears’ lack of criminal history and contended that Spears may have acted in self-defense.
Prosecutors noted that the defendant’s issues with impulse control and judgment were the very reasons he continued to pose a danger to the public and that the evidence at the crime scene in no way corroborated Spears’ claims of self-defense.
The FBI and Claremore Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas E. Duncombe and Justin G. Bish prosecuted the case.
Spears was previously charged and convicted of first degree murder in Rogers County District Court. Because the defendant is a tribal citizen and the crime occurred within the Cherokee Nation reservation, his state conviction was vacated following the Supreme Court’s McGirt v. Oklahoma decision and subsequent other court decisions. The U.S. Attorney’s Office then prosecuted the case. First degree murder under Oklahoma law has similar elements to the federal crime of second degree murder.
Man Pleads Guilty to Coercing and Threatening Children into Producing Images of Child Sexual AbuseRead the Press Release
A Tennessee man pleaded guilty today to coercing and threatening multiple minors into creating videos of themselves engaging in sexual activity.
According to court documents, Caleb Jordan, 22, of Mount Juliet, met three minors online through a video gaming platform. Jordan told the minors, who were between 11 and 14 years old, that people were coming to “get them” and threatened to kill or sexually assault their parents unless the minors created videos of themselves engaging in sexual activity. Jordan instructed them to perform and record specific sex acts and used these minors to create nearly 400 sexually explicit videos, some of which depict the minor victims crying or in visible distress. Jordan then attempted to sell the videos over an encrypted internet chatting application. Electronic devices seized from Jordan’s home also contained more than 10,000 images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.
Jordan pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of children. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 12 and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Henry C. Leventis for the Middle District of Tennessee, and Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Nashville made the announcement.
HSI Nashville is investigating the case with valuable assistance provided by HSI offices in Phoenix, Arizona, and Fort Myers, Florida.
Trial Attorney Kyle P. Reynolds of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Daughtrey for the Middle District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Man Charged with Hate Crime and Obstruction and Second Man Charged with Obstruction Offenses Following Murder of Transgender Woman in South CarolinaRead the Press Release
A five-count federal indictment was unsealed charging two South Carolina men with hate crime and obstruction offenses.
The indictment charges Daqua Ritter, 26, with a hate crime for the murder of a transgender woman because of her gender identity; using a firearm in connection with the hate crime; and obstruction of justice. The indictment also charges Xavier Pinckney, 24, with two obstruction offenses for providing false and misleading statements to authorities investigating the murder of the victim, Dime Doe.
The indictment alleges that on Aug. 4, 2019, Ritter shot Dime Doe, a transgender woman, because of Dime Doe’s actual and perceived gender identity. The indictment further charges Ritter with misleading state investigators about his whereabouts the day of the murder. The indictment also alleges that Pinckney concealed from state investigators the use of his phone to call and text Dime Doe the day of the murder and lied to state and federal investigators about seeing Ritter after the morning of the murder.
The hate crime count against Ritter carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The counts charging Ritter and Pinckney with obstruction of justice carry a maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment. The count charging Pinckney with lying to federal investigators carries a maximum penalty of five years of imprisonment.
The FBI’s Columbia Field Office investigated the case, with the assistance of South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brook Andrews, Ben Garner and Elle Klein for the District of South Carolina and Trial Attorney Andrew Manns of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an accusation. Each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Lincoln Man Sentenced to 30 Months’ Imprisonment for Assaulting Federal OfficersRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Balmore Hernandez-Castro, 24, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard to 30 months’ imprisonment following his conviction for assaulting a federal law enforcement officer. After he completes his prison sentence, Hernandez-Castro will also serve two years on supervised release, and he will be deported to El Salvador following the completion of his prison sentence. There is no parole in the federal system. Hernandez-Castro pleaded guilty to the offense on September 21, 2022.
Two deportation officers with the Department of Homeland Security had a warrant for Hernandez-Castro’s arrest. The morning of July 12, 2021, the officers observed Hernandez-Castro leave his home with another person, get into the passenger side of a car, and drive away. The officers stopped the car a couple of blocks away from Hernandez-Castro’s home. When the officers informed Hernandez-Castro they had a warrant for his arrest, Hernandez-Castro immediately began resisting arrest. He refused to get out of the car. A struggle ensued and during the struggle, Hernandez-Castro punched, kicked, and bit the deportation officers. Officers with the Lincoln Police Department responded to a 911 call for assistance. Several officers arrived on scene within a matter of a few minutes. With the assistance of the additional officers, and after the use of a Taser, Hernandez-Castro was finally arrested.
In addition to the deportation officers, and assistance from the Lincoln Police Department, agents with Homeland Security Investigations contributed additional follow-up investigation.
Lee’s Summit Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Robbery of Cell Phone StoreRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Lee’s Summit, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to the armed robbery of a T-Mobile store in Kansas City, Mo.
Derrick C. Davis, 22, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to one count of robbery and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime. Co-defendant Vondell D. Walton, 21, of Grandview, Mo., pleaded guilty on Dec. 6, 2021, to the armed robbery of a T-Mobile store in Raymore, Mo., and awaits sentencing.
By pleading guilty today, Davis admitted that he robbed the T-Mobile store at 819 N.W. Barry Road in Kansas City, Mo., on March 8, 2019. Davis and another suspect entered the store at approximately 9 p.m. as it was closing. Both men wore masks, gloves, and hoodies, and were armed with handguns. Davis pointed a black handgun at an employee’s head. They grabbed a plastic bin and stole several iPhones and iPads from a back room, including one that contained a GPS tracking device.
When Davis fled from the business in a 2015 BMW X1 hatchback, the tracking device activated and started to transmit GPS locations for the device. Police officers followed the locations and found the BMW in the area of Gregory Boulevard and Raytown Road. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle using their emergency lights and sirens; however, the vehicle refused to stop and officers pursued the vehicle. During the pursuit, the suspects threw a camouflage bag out of the vehicle near 90th Street and Raytown Road. Officer used stop sticks on the vehicle in the area of Bannister Road and Raytown Road, however, they lost sight of the vehicle shortly after that. Officers found the camouflage bag in the area of 90th Street and Raytown Road; the bag contained the stolen iPhones, an iPad, a tracking device, and a black Glock 9mm semi-automatic handgun.
A short time later, the BMW was found, partially burned, in Grandview, Mo. The vehicle appeared to have been intentionally set on fire. The fire was extinguished, and the vehicle was towed. Officers later found Walton’s driver’s license inside the vehicle, which was registered to Davis’s mother.
Just after midnight, Kansas City police officers were driving by the location where the camouflage bag had been found. Davis and another individual were walking on the shoulder of the roadway with their cell phone flashlights on, apparently looking for something. When officers contacted them, they denied they were looking for anything and were released from the scene.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, the government and Davis agree the court should impose a sentence of 14 years in federal prison without parole. The sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Barnes. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Independence, Mo., Police Department, and the FBI.
Leader of Marijuana Delivery Service Pleads Guilty to Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Washington D.C. man pleaded guilty today to laundering roughly $3,500,000 generated by the illegal sale of marijuana and THC.
According to court documents, Connor Pennington, 39, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Pennington was the Chief Executive Officer of JointVentures, LLC., a company that operated primarily under the name “Joint Delivery” as a delivery service of marijuana and THC products, including THC vape cartridges, wax, and edibles. JointVentures was never licensed as a medical marijuana dispensary in any state or the District of Columbia.
JointVentures operated the distribution and delivery side of the enterprise out of a residential building in downtown D.C., and delivered its products to customers using delivery drivers or cyclists. The business generated nearly $1.5 million in 2018 alone. By 2021, in just the first three quarters of the year, JointVentures generated well over $2.3 million in revenue. Pennington oversaw and approved of a scheme by which he and other representatives of the company deposited cash in denominations less than $10,000 into several bank accounts the company operated, thus allowing JointVentures to avoid scrutiny from the banks and to disguise the source of the cash.
Pennington is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division; and Damon E. Wood, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema accepted the plea.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Rumbaugh and David A. Peters are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-127.
Leader of International Drug Network Extradited from Costa Rica Sentenced to More Than 17 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge William Jung has sentenced Piero Antonio Lubo-Barros (52, Colombia), a/k/a “Nostradamus,” to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine knowing and intending it to be imported into the United States. The indictment against Lubo-Barros was returned in the Middle District of Florida in April 2019. He was arrested in January 2021 while living under an assumed identity in Costa Rica and then extradited to the United States in November 2021. Lubo-Barros pleaded guilty on August 10, 2022.
According to testimony presented at sentencing, beginning in approximately September 2017 and continuing through 2019, Lubo-Barros oversaw a transnational criminal conspiracy that transported cocaine throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, and directly to the United States, including parts of Texas, California, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Florida. During the investigation, Lubo-Barros discussed the shipment of cocaine through land and sea, including negotiating drug shipments, establishing new drug trafficking routes, paying his co-conspirators, discussing currency transfers, drug debts and methods used to avoid apprehension and detection by law enforcement. One such distribution was attempted by Lubo Barros in 2018 on board the cruise vessel the Island Princess as it docked in Fort Lauderdale. The cocaine distributed by Lubo-Barros and others displayed identifying symbols and marks. Those marks were found in kilograms of cocaine recovered by law enforcement in New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida.
Lubo-Barros’s co co-conspirator, Gerardo Gomez-Lubo, was also indicted in April 2019. He was later extradited from Panama to the United States. On June 24, 2022, Gomez Lubo was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.
“This case should serve as a reminder to those who seek to poison American communities with illicit drugs; the Drug Enforcement Administration is relentless in our pursuit of bad actors,” said Special Agent in Charge J. Todd Scott, head of DEA’s Louisville Division. “Wherever you are in the world, the dedicated men and women of the DEA will find you and bring you to justice.”
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant support with the defendant’s extradition. This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. 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.
Leader of Heroin Trafficking Ring Sentenced to More than 9 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has been sentenced in federal court to 114 months’ imprisonment followed by four years of supervised release on his conviction for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
United States District Judge William S. Stickman, IV imposed the sentence on Martise Smith, age 30.
According to information presented to the court, Smith conspired to distribute and possessed with intent to distribute heroin from June of 2019 through December of 2019. In 2019 the Federal Bureau of Investigation began investigating a heroin trafficking organization operating throughout the greater Pittsburgh area of which Smith was the leader. Beginning in July of 2019 and continuing through August of 2019, the FBI initiated a Title III wiretap investigation into the organization. Smith was intercepted communicating with his codefendant about selling heroin, acquiring quantities of heroin, prices of heroin, and the purity of the heroin. Through extensive physical and electronic surveillance, Smith was observed meeting with his codefendant to conduct heroin transactions. Judge Stickman referenced the seriousness of the offense as well as Smith’s criminal history.
Assistant United States Attorney Mark V. Gurzo prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Chung commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Allegheny County Police Department, the Stowe Township Police Department, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, the Office of the Attorney General, the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office, the North Versailles Police Department, the Allegheny County Port Authority Police Department, the Munhall Police Department, and the Pennsylvania State Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Smith.
This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Justice Department Observes National Human Trafficking Prevention MonthRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today commemorates National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and renews its commitment to investigating and prosecuting human traffickers, protecting victims, and preventing human trafficking from happening in the first place. We do this work in collaboration with our interagency partners and external stakeholders.
“As the Justice Department’s National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking recognizes, an effective response to human trafficking requires collaboration across government and beyond. Most important, it requires listening to victims and survivors and incorporating their perspectives into everything we do,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “As we commemorate National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the Department of Justice reaffirms our commitment to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of survivors, and to empowering them to help bring their traffickers to justice. The Justice Department will continue to work relentlessly to prevent human trafficking crimes, prosecute perpetrators of these crimes, and provide protection and trauma-informed assistance to victims and survivors.”
The Justice Department’s National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, announced last year by Attorney General Garland, laid out the Department’s multi-year strategy to combat all forms of human trafficking. Over the past 12 months, the Department has taken significant actions to implement the National Strategy. These actions include:
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Launching an interagency Forced Labor Initiative to enhance the detection, investigation, and prosecution of federal criminal forced labor violations. The Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit (HTPU) convened an interagency steering committee of subject matter experts from the FBI, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA), and the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security to conduct threat assessments and to screen for possible forced labor indicators. The steering committee identifies jurisdictions with elevated forced labor threats, prioritizes among actionable leads, and imparts specialized expertise and strategic guidance to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other law enforcement and non-governmental partners in each relevant jurisdiction.
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Establishing a departmental working group to review current policies, procedures, practices, and trainings to ensure that the Department is avoiding inappropriate immigration consequences and inappropriate arrest and punishment of victims of human trafficking.
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Convening a Working Group of Victim Assistance specialists from 17 components throughout the Department that meet regularly to exchange expertise in stabilizing and supporting vulnerable victims of human trafficking at all stages of the criminal justice process and to enhance the dissemination of victim-centered, trauma-informed best practices in victim-witness assistance to anti-trafficking partners nationwide.
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Partnering with over 200 federal, state, and local agencies to locate and assist victims of human trafficking, particularly child victims, as part of Operation Cross Country XII (OCC XII). The FBI’s Victim Services Division (VSD) coordinated the national victim assistance response for OCC XII, which included training on the importance of using a victim-centered, trauma-informed approach and ensuring the unique needs of each identified victim were addressed throughout the operation. VSD personnel, in collaboration with local non-government organizations (NGOs), child protective services, medical organizations, and other community, state, and national groups, provided more than 850 services to more than 220 identified minor and adult victims of human trafficking. These services included crisis intervention, needs assessments, child and adult protective services notification, mental health/safety planning, and referrals to human trafficking NGOs and service providers.
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Developing a comprehensive training on human trafficking and gender-based violence to train Bureau of Prisons staff on how to identify and respond to potential indicators of human trafficking among detained people.
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Strengthening coordination among departmental anti-trafficking subject matter experts, such as those in HTPU, the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices (USAOs), and the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), to identify challenges and improve District-level anti-trafficking efforts.
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Enhancing the response to human trafficking in Indian Country through increased cooperation with Tribal, federal, state, and local partners. For example, EOUSA, in partnership with the National Indian Country Training Initiative, published a memorandum reaffirming its commitment to ensuring USAOs receive training and support to effectively combat human trafficking and address challenges specific to Indian country. In addition, the Department’s Office on Violence Against Women provided funding for the Sovereign Responses to Sex Trafficking in Indian Country and Alaska national conference held this month in New Orleans. The conference brought together Tribal leadership, federal partners, and experts in the anti-trafficking field, including experts on domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, Missing or Murdered Indigenous People, and sex trafficking, in Tribal communities to better address the safety of children, women, and men.
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Funding an almost $1 million award from OVC to support a survivor-led team to assist OVC anti-trafficking grantees and their partners in intentional and sustainable engagement with survivors to improve anti-trafficking programming.
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Funding a $979,022 award from the National Institute of Justice to the National Opinion Research Center to conduct a rigorous 48-month multisite process and outcome evaluation of the Enhanced Collaborative Model Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking Program, which aims to develop, expand, or strengthen a multidisciplinary approach to fight human trafficking.
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Developing legislative proposals to amend existing statutes to combat human trafficking, assist victims, and increase prosecution of perpetrators. These proposals would significantly strengthen procedures for collecting mandatory restitution, criminalize fraudulent labor recruitment practices, and enable consistency in enforcement.
Anyone who has information about a potential human trafficking situation or who thinks they or someone they know may be a victim of human trafficking who needs help should contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Department of Justice’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.
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Honduran National Charged with Reentry of Deported AlienRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that MARTIR PERDOMO-CHAVEZ, age 44, a citizen of Honduras, was indicted on January 26, 2023, for illegal reentry of deported alien in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a).
According to the indictment, PERDOMO was encountered in the United States on or about January 5, 2023, after having been previously removed therefrom on or about June 11, 2008.
If convicted, PERDOMO faces a maximum term of imprisonment of two years, a maximum fine of $250,000, a maximum term of supervised release of one year, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.
U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans praised the work of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Spiro G. Latsis is in charge of the prosecution.
Gulfport Man and Woman Sentenced Regarding Harboring of Illegal AliensRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. – A Gulfport man was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, a $10,000 fine and $5,100 in special assessments for harboring illegal aliens within the United States. Additionally, a Chinese citizen, who is a Permanent Resident Alien of the U.S. and had been living in Gulfport, was sentenced to 5 years of federal probation and a $5,000 fine for misprision of a felony regarding the harboring of illegal aliens. Both of the defendants also were ordered to forfeit to the United States a house and land in D'Iberville, Mississippi, which had been used to harbor the aliens.
Hui Weng, 41, of Gulfport, and Yun Mei Weng, a Chinese national living in Gulfport, were sentenced in U.S. District Court in Gulfport. The two were convicted after pleading guilty on November 16, 2022.
Beginning at least by August 2019, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) received information that the Panda Palace Buffet was illegally hiring and harboring as employees, aliens unlawfully present in the United States, at its Gulfport and D’Iberville locations. The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, also joined in the investigation. HSI determined that Mr. Hui Weng had been working at or managing the Panda Palace Buffet in Gulfport. Although the facilities were rented, the owner of the equipment was Mrs. Yun Mei Weng. Mrs. Weng’s husband, the late Mr. Sheng Bin Weng, managed the Panda Palace Buffet in D’Iberville.
From their investigation, federal officials determined that the Wengs were hiring and harboring multiple illegal aliens from Central America who worked in the back of the restaurants washing dishes, cooking, cleaning, etc. The employees in the front, visible parts of the restaurants were lawful employees. In addition to hiring the illegal aliens, the Wengs provided housing for the aliens at two locations, including one rented house in Gulfport and another house in D’Iberville. The Wengs also provided transportation for the aliens back and forth between the harboring houses and the Panda Palace Buffet restaurant locations in D’Iberville and Gulfport.
On March 10, 2020, search warrants were served on both Panda Palace locations and the two houses being used as housing for illegal alien workers. Multiple illegal alien workers (including one 17 year-old minor at the Gulfport Panda Palace) were found, including four adult aliens who had unlawfully returned to the United States after being lawfully removed. These workers entered or remained in the U.S. in violation of law.
U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca, Special Agent in Charge David L. Denton of Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans, and Mathew Broadhurst, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General in Atlanta, made the announcement.
U.S. Attorney LaMarca praised the investigative efforts and coordination of Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris was the prosecutor for the case.
Georgia Man Pleads Guilty to Access Device Fraud in Connection with Transfer of Stolen DataRead the Press Release
CONCORD – David Wiley, 53, of Georgia, pleaded guilty in federal court to access device fraud, United States Attorney Jane E. Young announced today.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on February 16, 2022, Wiley participated in a recorded phone call with an individual cooperating with law enforcement. During the call, Wiley offered to sell stolen data, including victims’ names, credit card numbers, card expiration dates, and card verification value (CVV) codes. Wiley also discussed pricing and the best way to transfer the stolen data. Over the next few weeks, Wiley and the individual cooperating with law enforcement exchanged text messages discussing the transfer of an initial set of sample data.
On March 8, 2022, Wiley uploaded a password-protected spreadsheet containing the names, addresses, email addresses, credit card numbers, card expiration dates, CVV codes, and phone numbers of 200 victims to a secure File Transfer Protocol (FTP) website. Wiley then emailed the password to the individual cooperating with law enforcement to access the spreadsheet.
Wiley is scheduled to be sentenced on May 9, 2023.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Alexander S. Chen and Matthew T. Hunter.
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Four New Jersey Men Charged with Roles in ‘Ghost Gun’ Trafficking NetworkRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Four members of a gun manufacturing and trafficking network in Passaic and Hudson counties have been charged with weapons offenses related to the fabrication and sale of personally made firearms (PMFs), commonly known as “ghost guns,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Savion Clyburn, 20, and Corey Jenkins Jr., 30, both of Paterson, New Jersey; Richard Mullane, 26, of Bayonne, New Jersey; and Julian Santiago, 26, of Jersey City, New Jersey, are charged by complaint with conspiracy to engage in unlicensed firearms dealing and manufacturing and engaging in unlicensed firearms dealing and manufacturing, including by manufacturing and subsequently selling PMFs. Santiago is also charged with transferring a firearm to a felon. The defendants are scheduled to appear today before U.S. Magistrate Edward S. Kiel in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Beginning in December 2022, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), along with state and local law enforcement agencies, began investigating a firearms trafficking network, operating largely in Paterson and Bayonne, that included Clyburn, Jenkins, Mullane, and Santiago. During December 2022 and January 2023, law enforcement conducted at least nine controlled purchases which resulted in the recovery of 12 firearms, including 11 PMFs and one serialized Kel-Tec SUB-2000 Rifle, as set forth below:
Date
Defendant(s)
Firearm(s) Purchased
Week of Dec. 18, 2022
Clyburn
Jenkins
Two PMFs
Dec. 28, 2022
Santiago
One PMF
Jan. 3, 2023
Santiago
Jenkins
One PMF
Jan. 5, 2023
Clyburn
Jenkins
One PMF
Jan. 7, 2023
Santiago
Jenkins
Mullane
One PMF
Jan. 9, 2023
Clyburn
Jenkins
Mullane
Two PMFs
Jan. 17, 2023
Clyburn
Jenkins
Two PMFs
Jan. 17, 2023
Clyburn
One Kel-Tec SUB-2000 Rifle, bearing Serial No. EGN69
Jan. 25, 2023
Jenkins
Mullane
One PMF
Law enforcement officials have recovered PMFs that were customized with different colors and designs, and two of which were threaded for silencers.
All four defendants face a maximum prison sentence of five years and a maximum fine of up to $250,000 on each of Counts One and Two. Defendant Santiago faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000 on Count Three.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of ATF, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Bryan Miller in Newark; the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik; the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office; under the direction of Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes; the Passaic Police Department, under the direction of Chief Luis A. Guzman; the Paterson Police Department, under the direction of Acting Chief Bert Ribeiro; and postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher Nielsen, Philadelphia Division, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the Elizabeth, Plainfield, Hillside, Bayonne and East Orange police departments, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the New Jersey State Police, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Belgiovine of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Founder of Purported Cryptocurrency Company Sentenced to More Than Eight Years in Prison for Multi-Million-Dollar Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The founder of “My Big Coin,” a purported cryptocurrency and virtual payment services company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for marketing and selling fraudulent virtual currency and operating an unlicensed virtual currency exchange.
Randall Crater, 52, of Lake Mary, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 100 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Crater was also ordered to pay forfeiture of $7,668,317 and restitution in an amount that will be determined at a later date. In July 2022, Crater was convicted by a federal jury of four counts of wire fraud, three counts of unlawful monetary transactions and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
“For nearly four years, Mr. Crater perpetrated a brazen fraud scheme that preyed on investors and customers who put their faith in him and his fake business, resulting in victim losses of over $7.5 million. He saw the growing crypto marketplace as an opportunity to create the illusion of My Big Coin as a legitimate service from which investors would yield a profit. His lies and deception inflicted real trauma, pain and hardship on the lives of 55 individual victims and their families who funneled their money into bank accounts Mr. Crater controlled and used to finance his extravagant lifestyle,” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins. “I hope today’s sentence sends a strong message that fraudsters – in any market – who seek to exploit others will be found and brought to justice.”
“Spreading outright lies, Randall Crater defrauded dozens of victims out of more than $7.5 million, convincing them their cryptocurrency investments were backed by gold when in reality their hard-earned money went to funding his lavish lifestyle,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “The harm done here was significant—delayed retirement, tuition money lost, lives turned upside down—all because of one man’s greed. Today’s lengthy sentence doesn’t right those wrongs, but it does ensure Mr. Crater won’t be victimizing anyone else.”
“The excitement of being part of a new market in cryptocurrency can be very enticing to those who want to be in at the forefront; but in this case they found their investment was nothing more than an investment in Mr. Crater’s lavish lifestyle. Postal Inspectors remind consumers to thoroughly investigate all offers and don’t rely on what they’re told, even if they believe there is protection in their investments and deposits through the name recognition of an alleged renowned partner. In this case it was all lies, and now Mr. Crater will be held accountable for his illegal activities,” said Eric Shen, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigations Group.
Founded in 2013, My Big Coin claimed to offer virtual payment services through a fraudulent digital currency (or “Coins”), which Crater marketed to investors between 2014 and 2017 using misrepresentations. Crater, along with agents he paid to promote the scheme, claimed that the Coins were a fully functioning cryptocurrency backed by gold and that My Big Coin had a partnership with MasterCard. Crater also operated the My Big Coin Exchange, which was advertised as a fully functioning currency exchange where Coins could be transferred for government-backed fiat currency or other virtual currencies. Crater and others made these misrepresentations through social media, the internet, email and text messages.
In reality, the Coins were not backed by gold or other valuable assets, did not have a partnership with MasterCard and were not readily transferable on the My Big Coin Exchange. Over the course of the scheme, Crater obtained over $7.5 million from investors and customers, which he used to buy a house, cars, and over $1 million in antiques, artwork and jewelry.
In January 2018, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) alleged that My Big Coin was a fraud. The CFTC also filed civil charges against Crater and several of his associates for their involvement in the scheme. The civil action was stayed on March 8, 2019, pending resolution of the criminal case.
U.S. Attorney Rollins; Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; FBI SAC Bonavolonta; and USPIS Inspector in Charge Shen made the announcement today. The CFTC, the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network also provided valuable assistance with the matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Markham, of Rollins’ Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit, and Trial Attorney Babasijibomi Moore of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
Former Prisoner Transport Officer Sentenced for Civil Rights OffenseRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Anthony Buntyn was sentenced to 24 months in prison. A federal jury convicted Buntyn, 55, a former prisoner transport officer, on September 28, 2022, of willfully violating the Due Process rights of the detainees in his custody.
According to court documents and the evidence introduced at trial, Buntyn was a prisoner transport officer employed by Prisoner Transportation Services of America (PTS), a company 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. Buntyn was the supervising officer on a March 2017 PTS transport that stopped in New Mexico during a cross-country trip. Evidence at trial established that Buntyn knowingly created, and otherwise subjected the detainees to, dangerous, painful, and unhealthy conditions on the prisoner transport van. Specifically, evidence at trial showed that Buntyn would retaliate against detainees who complained of transport conditions by handcuffing the detainees behind their backs and forcing them to remain for hours in a small segregation cage inside the van, depriving detainees of meals and access to water while they remained in the cage, cranking up the heat in the already-hot van in retaliation for detainees complaining that, as they passed through the southwestern desert, they were in danger of overheating, and failing to provide the detainees with required restroom breaks until the detainees were left with no choice but to urinate in empty bottles or on the floor.
“Prisoner transport officers, even when they are employed by private companies, must abide by the laws and protect the constitutional rights of the people in their custody,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The department will continue to vigorously enforce our nation’s laws to ensure that officers who break the law — including those who are driving the nation’s backroads in prisoner transport vans and may therefore wrongly believe they can act with impunity — are held accountable.”
“Detainees are entitled to basic human dignity,” said U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez for the District of New Mexico. “Those who are responsible for their detention, from transport personnel to law enforcement and corrections officers, have the same duty to protect the rights and safety of their charges. Any abuse of detainees or failure to provide necessities is a violation of that trust and a violation of the law, and it will be roundly prosecuted.”
“During the cross-country transport of these individuals, a stop was made by the PTS at the Shawnee County Detention Center in Topeka, Kansas. If not for the Detention Center notifying the FBI of the detainees’ condition upon arrival, the FBI may have never known or been able to seek justice for these victims. Buntyn’s actions disparage the very core of what he was employed to do – protect these individuals while in his custody,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles Dayoub of the Kansas City Field Office. “He knowingly disregarded the detainees’ basic civil rights, putting these individuals in harm’s way. Today’s sentencing demonstrates the FBI’s unique ability to conduct a successful nationwide investigation alongside our law enforcement partners. ”
Upon his release from prison, Buntyn will be subject to 1 year of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the FBI Kansas City Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Brawley for the District of New Mexico and Trial Attorney Laura Gilson of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Division, with assistance from Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel prosecuted the case.
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23-18
Former Florida CEO Sentenced to Prison for Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
A former Jacksonville company CEO was sentenced yesterday to 32 months in prison for willfully attempting to evade the assessment of his federal income taxes.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2015 and 2016, Jason Cory, 49, of Jacksonville, was a manager at a New York-based IT services company and from 2017 through 2019, he was the CEO of a different IT services company based in Jacksonville. From 2015 through 2018, Cory used his positions to cause more than $1.5 million to be deposited into the bank accounts of Gambit Matrix LLC, a shell company he controlled. As CEO, Cory caused transfers to Gambit Matrix under the false pretense that they were payments for consulting services that had never been provided.
Cory did not report the income he earned through transfers to Gambit Matrix on his tax return for 2015 and did not file tax returns for the years 2016 through 2018 as required by law. To conceal the fraud scheme from the second company and evade taxes on his income for those years, Cory invented fictitious owners of Gambit Matrix, made false representations to his employer, and falsified emails and IRS Forms W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number). Cory used the money directed to Gambit Matrix to pay for personal expenses such as credit card bills, rent, and club memberships. In total, Cory evaded more than $600,000 in taxes through his actions.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Court Judge Marcia Morales Howard ordered Cory to serve three years of supervised release and to pay approximately $606,195 in restitution to the United States.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Richard J. Hagerman of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney David B. Mesrobian for the Middle District of Florida prosecuted the case.
Former Florida CEO Sentenced to Prison for Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
A former Jacksonville company CEO was sentenced yesterday to 32 months in prison for willfully attempting to evade the assessment of his federal income taxes.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2015 and 2016, Jason Cory, 49, of Jacksonville, was a manager at a New York-based IT services company and from 2017 through 2019, he was the CEO of a different IT services company based in Jacksonville. From 2015 through 2018, Cory used his positions to cause more than $1.5 million to be deposited into the bank accounts of Gambit Matrix LLC, a shell company he controlled. As CEO, Cory caused transfers to Gambit Matrix under the false pretense that they were payments for consulting services that had never been provided.
Cory did not report the income he earned through transfers to Gambit Matrix on his tax return for 2015 and did not file tax returns for the years 2016 through 2018 as required by law. To conceal the fraud scheme from the second company and evade taxes on his income for those years, Cory invented fictitious owners of Gambit Matrix, made false representations to his employer, and falsified emails and IRS Forms W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number). Cory used the money directed to Gambit Matrix to pay for personal expenses such as credit card bills, rent, and club memberships. In total, Cory evaded more than $600,000 in taxes through his actions.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Court Judge Marcia Morales Howard ordered Cory to serve 36 months of supervised release and to pay approximately $606,195 in restitution to the United States.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI investigated the case.
“For years, Jason Cory operated out of a sense of entitlement and greed, leading him to defraud previous employers and honest law-abiding taxpayers,” said IRS-CI Acting Special Agent in Charge Ronald A. Loecker. “The conviction and sentence show that IRS-CI will vigorously investigate those individuals intent on concealing their income, whether through the use of fictitious shell entities such as Gambit Matrix, or other sophisticated means.”
“The sentencing of Jason Cory is the result of a multi-agency effort to ensure justice for the American taxpayer,” said Sherri E. Onks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division. “Instead of following the law, Cory blatantly ignored it, and selfishly lined his wallet with money he wasn’t entitled to. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to allocate expert resources to investigate these crimes and prosecute those who are intent in defrauding the American public."
Trial Attorney Richard J. Hagerman of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney David B. Mesrobian for the Middle District of Florida prosecuted the case.
Former Chief Financial Officer Pleads Guilty for Failing to Pay over $3.6M in Employee Tax Withholdings and for Pocketing $130,000 from his Employer’s Bank AccountRead the Press Release
A former chief financial officer for a company with offices in Oklahoma pleaded guilty in federal court after failing to pay over to the IRS $3.6 million in income and FICA tax withholdings and for embezzling more than $130,000 from the company.
Paul B. Bowker, 60, a British national, fled the United States three years ago after being charged with the crimes. The U.S. Attorney’s Office eventually received a tip that led to Bowker’s arrest by local authorities in the United Kingdom. The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs worked with officials from the United Kingdom to ensure Bowker's extradition to the United States for prosecution.
Today, Bowker pleaded guilty to one count of failure to account for and pay over withholding and FICA (Social Security) taxes and one count of bank fraud. A federal judge will sentence Bowker at a later date.
At the time of the crime, Bowker was the chief financial officer and vice president of finance at a company that maintained offices in the Northern District of Oklahoma. In his role at the company, Bowker was responsible for withholding income taxes and FICA taxes from employees’ paychecks and for paying the monies over to the IRS. According to court document, from April 2014 through January 2016, Bowker withheld the funds but willfully failed to file quarterly employment tax returns for the company and failed to pay over the majority of the employment taxes owed to the IRS, totaling nearly $3.6 million. During the investigation, agents discovered that the defendant had not embezzled the tax monies that he willfully neglected to pay, and the IRS was able to recover the funds.
Bowker also committed bank fraud as the company’s chief financial officer. In his position, Bowker was entrusted with a company’s Visa credit card and was responsible for paying the monthly credit card bill by authorizing the electronic transfer of funds from the company’s checking account at Mabrey Bank, in Bixby, to the company’s Visa account. From January 2014 through December 2015, Bowker fraudulently used the Visa credit card to make $130,000 worth of purchases for his own benefit. Bowker purchased items at drug stores, department stores, online retailers, furniture stores, gas stations, and liquor stores. He paid for the Visa charges with funds from the company’s checking account at Mabrey Bank.
Bowker did this by calling the credit card processor and authorizing a one-time electronic transfer from Mabrey Bank to pay the credit card bill. By authorizing the payment via telephone, Bowker was able to avoid the company’s two-signature requirement on company checks.
IRS/Criminal Investigation and the FBI conducted the investigation. The Department of Justice Office of International Affairs coordinated the defendant’s extradition. Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard M. Cella and recently retired Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles M. McLoughlin prosecuted the case.
Drug trafficking ringleader, who hid huge amounts of drugs and cash on Arlington, Washington property, sentenced to 15 years in prisonRead the Press Release
Seattle – The leader of a violent, prolific drug trafficking ring was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 15 years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Cesar Valdez-Sanudo, 36, pleaded guilty in June 2022 to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to commit money laundering and carrying a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking crime. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said he based the sentence on the “stunning size of the drug trafficking organization, and the amount of fentanyl and the death it is causing in our community.”
“Mr. Valdez-Sanudo led a violent ring of drug traffickers and buried kilos of meth, heroin, and fentanyl on his Arlington property, along with more than $300,000 cash – proceeds from the harm he spread across the community,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “This is a long prison sentence, but given the harm these drugs are doing in our community, it is the appropriate sanction.”
Members of the drug ring were indicted in December 2020, following a lengthy wire-tap investigation. Law enforcement seized large amounts of drugs during the investigation including a 49-pound load of methamphetamine that was coming to Washington State from California, disguised in boxes.
All told, in the course of the investigation law enforcement seized approximately 143 pounds of methamphetamine, 15 pounds of heroin, 35,000 suspected fentanyl pills, 24 firearms, and approximately $ 778,000.
Valdez-Sanudo was the leader of the ring. In messages to his coconspirators, he discussed violence against a member of the ring suspected of stealing a drug load. When he was arrested at the Snoqualmie Casino, Valdez-Sanudo had three firearms in his vehicle, one with a homemade silencer. Valdez-Sanudo had told others he planned to confront a member of the ring who owed a debt for drugs.
When law enforcement searched Valdez-Sanudo’s Arlington property, they seized more than 27 kilos of meth, nearly 6 kilos of heroin, and nearly 2 kilos of fentanyl pills, much of it buried underground. On the property, there were 10 firearms.
Law enforcement seized cash, checks, and the contents of bank accounts as proceeds of the drug crime. Valdez-Sanudo schemed to launder more than $1 million through casinos. He also purchased property and vehicles to launder drug money. Conspirators sought to avoid banking transaction reporting requirements by making deposits in amounts below the $10,000 threshold.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Tacoma Residence Office in partnership with Tahoma Narcotics Enforcement Team (TNET), Kent Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, SeaTac Police Department, Tacoma Police Department, Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force (SRDTF), the Skagit County Sheriff's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amy Jaquette and C. Andrew Colasurdo.
Drug Organization Dispatcher Sentenced to Seven Years for Trafficking MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
SAN JOSE – Raul Jimenez-Verduzco was sentenced today to 84 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine, 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 United States District Judge Beth L. Freeman.
Jimenez-Verduzco, 24, a resident of San Jose and Milpitas, pleaded guilty on November 1, 2022. In his plea agreement, he admitted that from October 2020 to October 2021 he worked with a drug trafficking organization to distribute large amounts of controlled substances. In total, he conspired to distribute 198 pounds of methamphetamine, 10 pounds of heroin, and 40 pounds of cocaine. According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, the values of these drugs approximated $495,000 of methamphetamine, $63,000 of heroin, and $540,000 of cocaine.
Jimenez-Verduzco acted principally as a dispatcher who took phone orders from the drug trafficking organization’s customers and contacted couriers to deliver the drugs to the customers. He described that he engaged in hundreds of calls each week with customers ordering drugs and with couriers who he directed to deliver the drugs.
Jimenez-Verduzco admitted in his plea agreement that he also performed other tasks for the drug trafficking organization. For example, he kept drug shipments in his apartment until a co-conspirator could take the drugs to a larger stash house. He picked up money from customers and delivered it to another co-conspirator in charge of money handling. He also delivered drugs to customers. For these tasks, he was paid a weekly salary.
In his plea agreement, Jimenez-Verduzco described multiple drug deliveries that he made. On October 20, 2020, he met with a customer who was, unbeknownst to Jimenez-Verduzco, an undercover law enforcement agent. He delivered three ounces of pure methamphetamine and one ounce of heroin to the undercover agent. On August 18, 2021, Jimenez-Verduzco delivered drugs to a man parked in front of a parking complex on Harvard Avenue in Santa Clara. Jimenez-Verduzco put a trash bag containing 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of methamphetamine into the man’s car. Law enforcement officers stopped the car minutes later and seized the drugs. Lab testing determined the methamphetamine was 96% pure.
On October 21, 2021, Jimenez-Verduzco was arrested when a Santa Clara deputy sheriff conducted a traffic stop on the car he was driving in alone. Jimenez-Verduzco had $4,000 in cash with him and, inside a backpack on the front passenger’s seat, a pound of methamphetamine. Officers also found a cardboard box in the car’s trunk containing 19 pounds of methamphetamine along with heroin. Jimenez-Verduzco admitted in his plea agreement that he intended to distribute these drugs.
In addition to 84 months imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Freeman ordered three years of supervision of Jimenez-Verduzco following his release from prison. Jimenez-Verduzco was in custody at the sentencing hearing and begins serving his sentence immediately.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Tartakovsky, Lina Peng, and Ross E. Weingarten prosecuted the case with the assistance of Laurie Worthen. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by DEA, the Santa Clara Police Department, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, and the San Jose Police Department.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Dominican Man Pleads Guilty to Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dominican man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to illegally reentering the United States after deportation.
Jonathan Alcequiez-Sanchez, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Woodlock scheduled sentencing for June 1, 2023. Alcequiez-Sanchez was charged by criminal complaint on Nov. 25, 2022.
Alcequiez-Sanchez was deported from the United States on Sept. 18, 2018, after being arrested in the Bronx, N.Y. for unlawful entry. Sometime after his September 2018 removal, Alcequiez-Sanchez illegally reentered the United States.On or about Dec. 27, 2021, Alcequiez-Sanchez was convicted in Lawrence District Court of drug distribution and weapons charges for which he was sentenced to serve jail time at the Essex County House of Corrections. Alcequiez-Sanchez was taken into federal custody upon his release on Nov. 15, 2022.
The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien provides for a sentence of up to two years in prison, one year 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 Todd M. Lyons, Field Office Director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke A. Goldworm of Rollins’ Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
Domestic violence offender indicted for possession of firearmsRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A Hampshire County man with a prior conviction for domestic violence has been indicted for illegally possessing nine firearms.
Jason Lee Gordon of Rio, West Virginia, has been charged with being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, in April 2022, law enforcement officers responded to a domestic incident involving Gordon and subsequently observed that he had driven his automobile into a ditch. Gordon was arrested for driving under the influence and officers discovered nine guns and assorted ammunition in his automobile. One of the weapons was a ghost gun, or a privately manufactured firearm, while the other eight firearms were conventionally made.
It is alleged that Gordon, age 36, has a prior conviction from Mineral County and that prohibits him from possessing firearms. He is currently being detained in the Eastern Regional Jail. He will be arraigned in federal court on February 2.
“The prosecution of domestic abusers with guns continues to be a priority for my office,” said United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld. “Every case like this that we bring makes the community safer, not only for victims but also for the law enforcement officers who respond to domestic calls.”
The case is being investigated by the ATF, the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office, and the Hardy County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Eleanor F. Hurney, Assistant U.S. Attorney.
An indictment is merely an accusation and Gordon is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
District Man Arrested for the January 7, 2023, homicide of 13-year-old K.B.Read the Press Release
Defendant Accused of shooting juvenile in early morning hours outside his home after confronting him and other juveniles for apparently tampering with vehicles
WASHINGTON – Jason Michael Lewis, 41, of Washington, D.C., turned himself in today on a charge of second-degree murder while armed, stemming from the homicide of 13-year-old K.B. on January 7, 2023 in the Brookland neighborhood, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves announced.
Mr. Lewis will be arraigned on the charges in Courtroom C-10 of Superior Court in Washington, D.C. It is expected he will enter a plea and that the court will hear arguments to determine whether probable cause exists for the existing charges, and to decide whether to incarcerate Lewis pending trial. The court will also schedule a preliminary hearing within 10 days.
An arrest on a complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal law and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
In announcing the arrest, U.S. Attorney Graves commended the work of those investigating the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Deming man sentenced to 30 years in prison for producing child pornographyRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Guillermo Rodriguez Garcia was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Garcia, 40, of Deming, New Mexico, pleaded guilty in federal court on July 6, 2022, to production of a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
According to court records, Garcia came to the attention of the Deming Police Department in 2020 when officers responded to an incident relating to an accusation of sexual abuse of a child. During a follow-up interview, Garcia admitted that he had sexually molested a 12-year-old in his care “numerous times,” as well as another minor beginning when they were 10 years old. Garcia was arrested on state charges at that time. Garcia was federally arrested when it was discovered he had produced videos of himself sexually abusing the 12-year-old.
“Child victims of sexual assault are often doomed to a life sentence in the shadow of their abuse,” said United States Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez. “While Garcia will spend three decades in prison, the effects of his heinous actions will echo for far longer. That is why, during my term as the United States Attorney, I have personally prosecuted sex offenders and will use the weight of the federal government to protect our children from these pernicious predators.”
“This sentence matches the revolting actions of a despicable criminal who exploited innocent children for his personal gratification,” said Francisco B. Burrola, special agent in charge of HSI El Paso. “Homeland Security Investigations will never relent in our efforts to put child predators where they belong – behind bars!”
Upon his release from prison, Garcia will be subject to lifetime supervised release and must register as a sex offender.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated this case with assistance from the Sixth Judicial District Attorney’s Office and the Deming Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Marisa A. Ong and Matilda McCarthy Villalobos are prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
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Current Inmate Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Conspiracy to Commit Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that U.S. District Judge Lawrence L. Piersol has sentenced a current inmate from a Nebraska prison convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering. The sentencing took place on January 20, 2023.
Ray Noel Camacho, Sr., a/k/a “Pato,” age 38, was sentenced to 31 years in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $200. Camacho is already serving a 31 to 64-year prison sentence for terroristic threats and use of a firearm to commit a felony. His federal sentence will be served consecutively to his state sentence.
Camacho was indicted by a federal grand jury in March of 2021. He was found guilty on all charges as a result of a federal jury trial in November of 2022.
The conviction stemmed from incidents when Camacho, who was the leader of a large drug trafficking organization based in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota area, was responsible for the distribution of at least 120 pounds of methamphetamine. This consisted of approximately 70 lbs. of methamphetamine seized in South Dakota alone. In May of 2019, one traffic stop led to a search and seizure of 50 pounds of methamphetamine, which was stored within a spare tire and hidden compartments within the vehicle.
Camacho arranged and strategically orchestrated multi-pound deliveries of methamphetamine from Mexico, and payment for said deliveries, through three-way phone calls made from the South Dakota State Penitentiary. Said calls were recorded by the prison and used as key evidence in his trial. Camacho recruited numerous co-conspirators to aid him in his organization, which included current and former inmates and individuals known to them from the outside community. Camacho is the last of 22 defendants involved in this drug trafficking organization to be found guilty.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigation, Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force, and the IRS Criminal Investigation team. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Hodges and Paige Petersen prosecuted the case.
Camacho was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Cumberland County Man Charged with Fraud and Identity Theft Offenses for Fraudulently Obtaining Prescription MedicationsRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Zedan RaShwan, age 24, of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, was charged on January 27, 2023, in a criminal information with wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the information alleges that RaShwan and his coconspirators used the stolen identities and DEA registration numbers of healthcare providers to order fraudulent prescriptions at various pharmacies. RaShwan and his coconspirators obtained and distributed those prescription medications, which included the controlled substances Promethazine with Codeine, Hydrocodone, and Clonazepam.
“Distributing prescription drugs outside the legitimate supply chain puts consumers’ health at risk,” said Special Agent in Charge George A. Scavdis, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Metro Washington Field Office. “We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who jeopardize the public health.”
“This individual used stolen identities to fraudulently obtain and sell dangerous drugs, fueling the opioid epidemic in Pennsylvania,” said Acting Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry. “Thanks to the hard work and cooperation of our agencies, this defendant will be held accountable for his crimes. We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to keep Pennsylvania safe and get these drugs out of our communities.”
The case was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration, Office of the Inspector General, and by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo is prosecuting the case.
The maximum penalty under federal law for the wire fraud conspiracy offense is 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. The aggravated identity theft offense carries a mandatory two-year sentence of imprisonment that is to run consecutive to any other term of imprisonment imposed. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Criminal informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Sexually Abusing A Seven-Year-Old ChildRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – On January 26, 2023, a 60-year-old Washington, D.C. man was sentenced to 60 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for sexually abusing his seven-year-old great niece, U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves announced.
The man, who is not identified here to protect the privacy of the victim, pleaded guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to a charge of second-degree child sexual abuse. On January 26, 2023, pursuant to the limitations contemplated in the negotiated plea agreement, the Honorable Robert Okun sentenced the defendant to prison, followed by supervised release. The defendant must also register as a sex offender for 10 years.
According to the government’s evidence, in November 2018, the defendant was staying at the apartment of his niece who is the mother of the victim. One evening, while on the couch, the defendant pulled the victim onto the couch with him and covered her with a blanket. The defendant then proceeded to touch the victim’s genitalia with his hand. At the time of the offense the defendant was a convicted sex offender and was on supervised release in a previous child sexual abuse case.
In announcing the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Graves commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth and Family Services Division. He also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the D.C. Children’s Advocacy Center. He acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocates Tracey Owusu and Maria Garcia, Paralegal Specialist Cynthia Muhammad, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Marco Crocetti and Bonnie Thompson, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Connecticut Tax Return Preparer Charged with Tax Fraud OffensesRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Joleen D. Simpson, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven has returned a 25-count indictment charging DAVID ETIENNE, 48, of Norwich, with tax fraud offenses.
The indictment was returned on January 25, 2023. Etienne appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria E. Garcia in New Haven and pleaded not guilty. He is released on a $100,000 bond pending trial.
As alleged in the indictment, Etienne operated as a tax return preparer through several businesses, including Los Maestros Inc, Los Maestros Group, Tax Experts USA, and Tax Experts USA Inc. For the 2015 through 2019 tax years, Etienne prepared numerous federal tax returns for clients that included false expenses and losses in connection with sole proprietorship businesses when he knew the taxpayers had not operated sole proprietorship businesses, false unreimbursed employee expenses, and, in certain instances, false medical, dental or education-related expenses.
The indictment charges Etienne with 25 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false income tax returns, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of three years on each count.
U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This investigation is being conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer R. Laraia and Lauren C. Clark.
Canton Woman Sentenced for Online Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Canton woman was sentenced today for her role in a fraud conspiracy involving romance scams and pandemic unemployment fraud.
Florence Mwende Musau, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Allison D. Burroughs to 44 months in prison and 30 months of supervised release. Musau was also ordered to pay approximately $957,000 in restitution and to forfeit approximately $350,000 and a Lexus SUV. In 2021, Musau was charged with, and pleaded guilty to, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.
Musau participated in a conspiracy involving romance scams and other online frauds designed to deceive victims into sending money to bank accounts controlled by her and others. Criminals perpetrating romance scams create fictitious profiles on online dating or social media websites, gain the trust of potential victims and then direct those victims to transfer money under false pretenses.
To further the conspiracy, Musau used fake passports in the names of numerous aliases to open bank accounts in and around Boston to receive the proceeds of the romance scams. Musau then executed large cash withdrawals from those accounts, generally structured in amounts less than $10,000, in an effort to evade detection and currency transaction reporting requirements. Musau also received the proceeds of fraudulent state pandemic unemployment assistance benefits in the names of victims. As part of the scheme, Musau used at least three different aliases to open nearly ten fraudulent bank accounts and receive approximately $1 million in fraud proceeds.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Special assistance was provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian J. Stearns of Rollins’ Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
California Man Sentenced for Illegal Possession of FirearmRead the Press Release
RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken has sentenced a Modesto, California, man convicted of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person. The sentencing took place on January 30, 2023.
Zachery Moore, 29, was sentenced to four years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Moore was indicted for Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person by a federal grand jury in October of 2021. He pleaded guilty on September 23, 2022.
In July of 2021, in Rapid City, South Dakota, Moore, a previously convicted felon who is prohibited from possessing firearms, was found in possession of a stolen Kimber, model Micro 9, 9mm, semi-automatic pistol, which was found after Moore came into contact with law enforcement. Moore was also found in possession of heroin and other drug distribution materials.
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.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Rapid City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case.
Moore was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Blasdell Man Who Impersonated A Homeland Security Officer Going to PrisonRead 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 David J. Erhardt, 52, of Blasdell, NY, who was convicted of unauthorized possession of imitation badge, was sentenced to serve six months in prison by U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who handled the case, stated that in May 2016, Erhardt entered into a romantic relationship with a woman (Victim) and during that relationship, falsely stated that he had obtained employment with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. On August 30, 2020, Erhardt texted the Victim a photograph of a United States Homeland Security Investigations badge. However, Erhardt was not an employee or contractor of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and had no legal authority to possess a United States Homeland Security Investigations badge or colorable imitation.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John Pias, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of Professional Responsibility, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Jimmy Valenzuela.
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Alameda County Resident Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Conspiring to Sell MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Ernesto Madrigal, a/k/a Tiger, a/k/a Tigre, was sentenced to serve 60 months in federal prison for his part in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, 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 United States District Judge James Donato.
Madrigal, 28, formerly of Alameda County, pleaded guilty to the charge on May 9, 2022. According to his plea agreement, Madrigal admitted that in early March of 2020, he offered to sell a pound of methamphetamine to a person he believed to be a customer. Madrigal used his telephone and text messages to arrange for the transaction. Specifically, on March 5, 2020, Madrigal sent a text message to the informant with information regarding a meeting for the transaction. Further, prior to the transaction, Madrigal provided the informant with the phone number of another individual who Madrigal said would be delivering the drugs on his behalf. Madrigal also told the informant over the phone that the courier would arrive at a prearranged location in Emeryville, Calif. on March 6, 2020. Madrigal told the informant that the courier would arrive with five pounds of methamphetamine and that he would separate out one pound of the drugs for the sale. The informant and an undercover officer met with the courier on March 6, 2020. The courier provided over 1,350 grams of a substance containing methamphetamine in exchange for $1,250.
In addition to the sale of the drugs on March 6, 2020, Madrigal also acknowledged that he asked the informant whether he was interested in purchasing counterfeit pills for sale and offered to provide the informant with 10 pounds of methamphetamine so that the informant could sell the drugs and provide a portion of the proceeds to Madrigal. On April 24, 2020, Madrigal arranged another sale with the informant for 250 counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl.
A federal grand jury indicted Madrigal on April 29, 2021, charging him with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C). Madrigal pleaded guilty to the charge.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Donato ordered Madrigal to serve three years of supervised release following his release from prison. Madrigal was in custody at his sentencing hearing and will begin serving his sentence immediately.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ross Weingarten and Joseph Tartakovsky prosecuted the case, with the assistance of Linda Love. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by DEA.
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.
Additional Four Charged in Connection with Plot to Kill Haitian PresidentRead the Press Release
MIAMI – Today, U.S. federal law enforcement transferred into U.S. custody four men detained in Haiti to face criminal charges in the Southern District of Florida related to their alleged involvement in the July 7, 2021 assassination of former Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.
A criminal complaint charges dual Haitian-American citizens James Solages, 37, Joseph Vincent, 57, and Colombian citizen German Alejandro Rivera Garcia, 44, with conspiring to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States and providing material support and resources resulting in death, and conspiring to do so, knowing or intending that such support and resources would be used to prepare for or carry out the conspiracy to kill or kidnap.
A separate criminal complaint charges dual Haitian-American citizen Christian Sanon, 54, with conspiring to smuggle goods from the United States and cause export information not to be filed, as well as with smuggling goods from the United States and providing unlawful export information.
Solages, Vincent, Rivera, and Sanon are scheduled to make their initial federal court appearances tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia Otazo-Reyes in Miami.
Including these four defendants, seven individuals are now in U.S. custody, charged with U.S. crimes for their roles in the assassination plot. The other men charged are Mario Antonio Palacios Palacios, 43, Rodolphe Jaar, 49, and Joseph Joel John, 51, who were arrested last year.
As alleged in the complaints, Solages, Vincent, Rivera, Sanon, and others participated in crimes that culminated in the assassination of the Haitian President.
It is alleged that in April 2021, Solages, Sanon, and others met in South Florida to discuss regime change in Haiti and support for Sanon, an aspiring Haitian political candidate. After that meeting, a list of equipment and weapons needed for the regime change operation was shared with Solages, who then shared it with Sanon. According to the complaint, items on that list included rifles, machineguns, tear gas, grenades, ammunition, bulletproof vests, and other weapons and equipment.
In May 2021, Sanon contracted for equipment needed to support his “private military” forces in Haiti. His private forces included about 20 Colombian nationals with military training who were recruited to assist in the operation and provide security to Sanon. Rivera led the Colombian group, according to the allegations.
It is alleged that Sanon conspired with others to ship 20 ballistic vests for use by his private military forces from South Florida to Haiti on June 10, 2021. The vests were shipped without the required export license from the U.S. Department of Commerce and without the required export information filings.
In mid-June 2021, support for President Moïse’s replacement shifted to a former Haitian Supreme Court Judge. That Judge signed a document requesting assistance to further the arrest and imprisonment of President Moïse. In addition, a document purportedly signed by that Judge claimed to provide immunity in Haiti to those who participated in the operation.
On June 19, 2021, Solages, Vincent, Rivera, and others communicated about their plans to arrest President Moïse, detain him, and take him away in an airplane to an unknown location. The plan did not go forward when the conspirators failed to obtain the plane and necessary weapons for the operation.
On June 28, 2021, according to the charging documents, Solages traveled from Haiti to South Florida to share with others the documents purportedly signed by the Haitian Judge requesting assistance and immunity. Solages flew back to Haiti on July 1, 2021, to participate in the operation against the President.
It is alleged that on July 6, 2021, Solages, Vincent, Rivera, and others met at a house near President Moïse’s residence, where firearms and equipment were distributed and Solages announced that the mission was to kill President Moïse. On July 7, 2021, several individuals arrived outside President Moïse’s residence, some of whom were wearing ballistic vests. They entered the President’s home and killed him, according to the allegations.
Haitian authorities arrested Solages, Vincent, Rivera, and Sanon. They were detained in Haiti until today’s transfer to the United States.
Solages, Vincent, and Rivera face up to life imprisonment if convicted. Sanon faces up to 20 years if convicted. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge Maged Behnam of the FBI Miami Field Office, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Buckley of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami made the announcement.
FBI and HSI investigated these cases.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Goldbarg and Monica Castro of the Southern District of Florida, Trial Attorneys Frank Russo and Jessica Fender of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, and Emma Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Paster is handling asset forfeiture. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case numbers 22-mj-04161 and 23-mj-02178.
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