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28 February 2023
Co-Leader of COVID-19 Loan Fraud Ring Extradited from Montenegro to Begin Serving Prison SentenceRead the Press Release
A California woman who fled to Montenegro to avoid serving a lengthy prison sentence has been returned to the United States after spending approximately one year as a fugitive.
Tamara Dadyan, 43, of Encino, was extradited by Montenegro and arrived in Los Angeles Monday evening. She is expected to appear this afternoon in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
According to court documents, Dadyan was a member of a Los Angeles-based fraud ring who engaged in a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $20 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) COVID-19 relief funds. Dadyan and her co-conspirators used dozens of fake, stolen, or synthetic identities – including names belonging to elderly or deceased people and foreign exchange students who briefly visited the United States years ago and never returned – to submit fraudulent applications for approximately 150 PPP and EIDL loans.
In support of the fraudulent loan applications, Dadyan and her co-conspirators also submitted false and fictitious documents to lenders and the Small Business Administration (SBA), including fake identity documents, tax documents, and payroll records. Dadyan and her co-conspirators then used the fraudulently obtained funds as down payments on three luxury homes in California. They also used the funds to buy gold coins, diamonds, jewelry, luxury watches, designer handbags, cryptocurrency, securities, and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
In June 2021, Dadyan pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and one count of aggravated identity theft. She was sentenced in December 2021 to 10 years and 10 months in prison.
In January 2022, Dadyan fled the United States. U.S. authorities determined Dadyan had fled to Montenegro where she joined Richard Ayvazyan and Marietta Terabelian, two other participants in the scheme and conspiracy who also fled after their convictions. Ayvazyan and Terabelian, who were respectively sentenced to 17 years and six years in prison, were extradited to the United States from Montenegro in November 2022.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Los Angeles Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Weston King of the SBA Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), Western Region; and Special Agent in Charge Jay N. Johnson of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG), Western Region, made the announcement.
The Government of Montenegro, including the Ministry of Justice, provided significant assistance in the extradition of Dadyan to the United States. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Dadyan.
The FBI Los Angeles Field Office, IRS-CI, SBA-OIG, and FHFA-OIG investigated the case. The U.S. Marshals Service transported Dadyan from Montenegro to the United States.
Trial Attorney Christopher Fenton of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Faerstein and Scott Paetty for the Central District of California are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Boyle for the Central District of California is handling forfeiture. Trial Attorney Goran Krnaich and International Affairs Specialist Marina Shimarova of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs handled the extraditions with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney John Lulejian for the Central District of California.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted more than 200 defendants in more than 130 criminal cases and has seized over $78 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.
In May 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 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 via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Charleston Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Scott Phalen, 63, of Charleston, pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on July 15, 2022, law enforcement officers responded to a report from an employee at a Kanawha City restaurant in Charleston that an individual had placed a firearm in a trash can at the restaurant. Officers recovered a SCCY, model CPX-1, 9mm semi-automatic pistol from the trash can. Phalen admitted to possessing the firearm and further admitted to placing the firearm in the trash can.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Phalen was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his prior felony conviction for first-degree sexual abuse in Kanawha County Circuit Court on February 14, 2012.
Phalen is scheduled to be sentenced on June 22, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Charleston Police Department.
Chief United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Troy D. Adams is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-204.
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Central Oregon Woman Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Sexually Abusing a Child, Sharing Video of Abuse OnlineRead the Press Release
EUGENE, Ore.—A Redmond, Oregon woman was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison today for sexually abusing a six-year-old child, videorecording the abuse, and sharing the video online with a romantic partner.
Selina Wynne Duflo, 35, was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison and 12 years’ supervised release.
According to court documents, on a least two occasions in July 2019, Duflo, acting at the direction of her romantic partner—Daniel Seibert, 30, of Lake Forest, California—sexually abused a six-year-old child in her care, recorded the abuse, and sent the recordings to Seibert. In 2019, federal agents executed a search warrant for digital devices in their investigation of Seibert. While searching Seibert’s devices, police recovered videos of Duflo sexually abusing a six-year-old child. One of the videos also included a two-year-old child.
On May 4, 2021, a federal grand jury in Eugene returned a four-count indictment charging Duflo with production and transportation of child pornography. On December 1, 2022, Duflo pleaded guilty.
On January 21, 2021, Seibert was sentenced in the Central District of California to 292 months in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to producing child pornography, traveling to engage in illicit sex, and using a facility of commerce to induce a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from Oregon State Police and the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Pamela Paaso, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children are encouraged to contact HSI at (866) 347-2423 or submit a tip online at report.cybertip.org.
Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor. It is important to remember child sexual abuse material depicts actual crimes being committed against children. Not only do these images and videos document the victims’ exploitation and abuse, but when shared across the internet, re-victimize and re-traumatize the child victims each time their abuse is viewed. To learn more, please visit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at www.missingkids.org.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Celebrate Safe Communities 2023Read the Press Release
HONOLULU – The United States Attorney’s Office, Weed and Seed Hawaii, Inc., State of Hawaii Attorney Generalʻs Office, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Office of the Securities Commissioner, and the Honolulu Police Department, in partnership with Pearlridge Center and along with other community partners are coordinating the Celebrate Safe Communities Day on Saturday, March 4, 2023, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Pearlridge Center Mauka. This is a free event for the entire community.
This partnership was formed so these federal, state and county agencies and other service providers could better work together to keep communities safe from crime, fraud, and disasters. “We are delighted to participate again in this event, which has helped educate our community about important safety issues since 2012,” said United States Attorney Clare E. Connors. “Everyone is a potential target and to keep safe, it is critical to know about threats such as online scams, fraud prevention, disaster preparedness, and substance abuse prevention. This partnership helps our different agencies provide as much useful information to as many families as possible.”
There will be over 30 interactive vendors at Pearlridge Center Mauka along with static displays in the TJ Maxx parking lot. Some of the vendors and static displays include those from the United States Attorney’s Office, Honolulu Police Department, Honolulu Fire Department, Hawaii Army National Guard, Department of Public Safety canine unit, Hickam Federal Credit Union’s Keiki ID, Walk Wise Hawaiʻi, Aloha Medical Mission and many other excellent resources vendors.
For more details, please visit pearlridgeonline.com. For more information, contact Lorrie Kanno, Program Director, Weed and Seed Hawaii at [email protected] (e-mail) or https://weedandseedhi.org./ (web).
Cairnbrook Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Methamphetamine and Unlawfully Possessing a Firearm and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A former resident of Cairnbrook, PA pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of violating federal narcotics and firearms laws, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
Travis Emert., age 43, pleaded guilty to Counts One and Two of the Indictment, before United States District Judge Stephanie L. Haines.
In connection with the guilty plea, on or about Nov. 9, 2021, Emert knowingly, intentionally, and unlawfully, possessed with the intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance. Further, on or about Nov. 9, 2021, Emert knowingly, intentionally, and unlawfully, possessed firearms and ammunition, after having previously been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.
Judge Haines scheduled sentencing for July 5, 2023. The law provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both, for Count One, and a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both, for Count Two. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Arnold P. Bernard Jr. is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Laurel Highlands Resident Agency, Pennsylvania State Police, and the Somerset County District Attorney’s Office conducted the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of Emert.
Brown County Man Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute and Distribution of MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A Timewell, Illinois man, Thomas L. Langan, 58, of the 1800 block of East Street. has been sentenced to 60 months for possession with intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine.
At the sentencing hearing, the government presented evidence that the defendant sold 100% pure methamphetamine from his residence in Brown County on multiple occasions, culminating in a search warrant of the residence resulting in federal prosecution. The months long investigation also resulted in the forfeiture of Langan’s residence by the Brown County State’s Attorney, due to its use in the trafficking of methamphetamine. Evidence was also presented that Langan had a prior conviction from Brown County relating to manufacturing methamphetamine at the residence in 2013.
Langan was indicted in May of 2022 and pleaded guilty in September of 2022. He has been detained by the United States Marshals Service since his arrest.
The statutory penalties for distribution of more than 5 grams of methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute more than five grams of methamphetamine are not less than five years in prison and up to 40 years in prison, at least 4 years of supervised release, and up to a $5,000,000 fine. The statutory penalties for distribution of methamphetamine are up to 20 years in prison, up to 3 years of supervised release, and up to a $1,000,000 fine.
“Ice methamphetamine’s rampant use in Central Illinois places a burden on everyone. Our society’s health care systems, social services, law enforcement, and the community, have suffered the devastating impact of pure methamphetamine on communities in Central Illinois,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Seberger. “I would like to thank the local, state, and federal agencies for their cooperative and dedicated efforts in this successful prosecution.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Illinois State Police West Central Illinois Task Force investigated the case with assistance from the Brown County Sheriff’s Office and the Brown County State’s Attorney. Assistant United States Attorney Sarah E. Seberger represented the government in the prosecution.
Bookkeeper Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Money from Alaska Native VillageRead the Press Release
ANCHORAGE – A Minto woman entered a guilty plea for embezzling, stealing, and obtaining by fraud money that was owned and under the care, custody, and control of an Indian tribal government.
According to court documents, Melanie Gail Titus, 52, of Minto, was employed as the bookkeeper for the Minto Village Council, which is the federally recognized native governing body for the Native Village of Minto. The Minto Village Council receives federal funding from various federal agencies. The defendant embezzled a total of $55,753.99 between January 2015 and June 2019 from the Minto Village Council. As its bookkeeper, she developed several schemes during her employ including issuing herself multiple payroll checks for the same pay periods, tendering duplicative deposits, and issuing duplicative reimbursements for work expenses.
The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on June 1, 2023, for the federal charge of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Lane S. Tucker of the District of Alaska made the announcement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Alaska State Troopers, investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney George Tran is prosecuting the case.
Berks County Man Indicted for Fraudulently Selling Body ArmorRead the Press Release
SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Marco Decamillo, age 46, of Reading, Pennsylvania, was indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge of mail fraud.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the indictment alleges Decamillo perpetrated a scheme using his company, “Downrange Tactical,” to advertise and sell ballistic rifle plates and other body armor which Decamillo falsely claimed were certified by the National Institute of Justice. The indictment further alleges, that on January 13, 2021, Decamillo mailed four body armor plate inserts to a P.O. Box in Wyoming, Pennsylvania.
The matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant U.S. Attorney James Buchanan is prosecuting the case.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is twenty years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. 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.
Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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Bemidji Man Pleads Guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Bemidji man has pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to the defendant’s guilty plea and court documents, on May 2, 2022, law enforcement observed Levi Adams Westbrook, 30, meet with a suspected drug trafficker in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. As Westbrook was traveling back toward northern Minnesota, officers stopped the vehicle in which Westbrook was a passenger. After Westbrook exited the vehicle, officers saw a plastic bag with approximately one pound of methamphetamine on the front passenger floorboard where Westbrook was sitting. Officers also seized a .22 caliber “pen” gun from the passenger compartment. The “pen” gun discharged as the police were securing the gun into evidence.
Westbrook pleaded guilty on February 24, 2023, in U.S. District Court before Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Southeast Minnesota Violent Crime Enforcement Team, and the Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley M. Endicott is prosecuting the case.
- Belle Vernon Man Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for Receipt and Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material
Ava Man Faces Additional Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – An Ava, Mo., man previously indicted for producing child pornography after photos of the child victim’s sexual assault were discovered at his former residence now faces additional charges that include victimizing a second child.
Harold Lloyd Blair, Jr., 66, was charged in a three-count superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield. Today’s indictment replaces the original indictment returned on Dec. 6, 2022, and includes two additional counts.
Today’s superseding indictment retains the original charge against Blair for using a minor to produce child pornography from Dec. 24, 2010, to Dec. 23, 2014. It also includes a second count, involving another child victim allegedly used by Blair to produce child pornography from Oct. 17, 2013, to Oct. 16, 2014.
The indictment also charges Blair with one count of possessing child pornography.
The investigation began on Dec. 2, 2022, when workers employed by Douglas County, Mo., were tearing down Blair’s former residence after he sold it to the county. The workers discovered a filing cabinet that contained images of child pornography and contacted the Douglas County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.
The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan. It was investigated by the Douglas County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, and the West Plains, Mo., Police Department, with assistance from the Douglas County, Mo., Prosecuting Attorney.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Ava Man Faces Additional Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – An Ava, Mo., man previously indicted for producing child pornography after photos of the child victim’s sexual assault were discovered at his former residence now faces additional charges that include victimizing a second child.
Harold Lloyd Blair, Jr., 66, was charged in a three-count superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield. Today’s indictment replaces the original indictment returned on Dec. 6, 2022, and includes two additional counts.
Today’s superseding indictment retains the original charge against Blair for using a minor to produce child pornography from Dec. 24, 2010, to Dec. 23, 2014. It also includes a second count, involving another child victim allegedly used by Blair to produce child pornography from Oct. 17, 2013, to Oct. 16, 2014.
The indictment also charges Blair with one count of possessing child pornography.
The investigation began on Dec. 2, 2022, when workers employed by Douglas County, Mo., were tearing down Blair’s former residence after he sold it to the county. The workers discovered a filing cabinet that contained images of child pornography and contacted the Douglas County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.
The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan. It was investigated by the Douglas County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, and the West Plains, Mo., Police Department, with assistance from the Douglas County, Mo., Prosecuting Attorney.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Authorities Make Huge Methamphetamine Seizure at Border; Tijuana Man Arrested and ChargedRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – A Tijuana man appeared in federal court late yesterday to face federal drug trafficking offenses following the seizure of more than 2,200 pounds of methamphetamine and 53 pounds of fentanyl discovered in the Chevy van he was driving as he attempted to cross into the United States through the Otay Mesa Port of Entry Cargo Facility.
It is believed to be one of the largest methamphetamine seizures in San Diego County.
The complaint alleges that on February 22, 2023, at approximately 3:47 p.m., the 2005 Chevy Van applied for entry into the United States through the Otay Mesa Commercial Port of Entry. A Customs and Border Protection Officer referred the vehicle to a secondary inspection area based on a computer-generated referral. Officers found 63 packages in the rear cargo area of the van concealed within cardboard boxes. The packages contained substances that field-tested positive for methamphetamine and fentanyl. Law enforcement then arrested the driver, Andres Gonzales Soriano.
“This is huge quantity of dangerous drugs that is no longer destined for the streets of San Diego and beyond,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “A seizure of this magnitude saves lives.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team as well as Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations for their excellent work on this case.
“These drugs are a blight that destroy lives and fuel crime and violence in our communities,” said Chad Plantz, special agent in charge, HSI San Diego. “This massive seizure likely saved lives and delivers a significant financial blow to the drug cartels.
“CBP officers are the front-line of stopping these dangerous drugs from entering the U.S.” said Sidney K. Aki, CBP Director of Field Operations in San Diego. “Keeping our communities safe is among our top priorities, and this major interdiction will prevent its negative impacts and the proceeds from funding transnational criminal organizations.”
DEFENDANTS Criminal Case No: 23-mj-0611-BLM
Andres Gonzalez Soriano 24 Tijuana
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Importation of Methamphetamine and Fentanyl, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 and 960
Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison, $1 million fineAGENCY
United States Customs and Border Protection
Homeland Security Investigations
Drug Enforcement Administration
Border Crime Suppression Team
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
27 February 2023
Wichita Man Indicted for Sex TraffickingRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN.– A federal grand jury in Wichita returned an indictment charging a Kansas man with sex trafficking.
According to court documents, Markeece Anderson, 30, of Wichita is charged with two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion. Anderson allegedly coerced a woman to engage in commercial sexual acts.
The Wichita Police Department is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart is prosecuting the case.
OTHER INDICTMENTS
Veronica Mora-Medero, 48, of Ontario, California, was indicted on one count of possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and one count of interstate travel in aid of racketeering. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is investigating the case. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Katie Andrusak is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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West Tennessee Man Sentenced to 14 Years for Methamphetamine PossessionRead the Press Release
Jackson, TN – Jonathan Wayne Green, 41, of Holladay, Tennessee, has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for possession of over 50 grams of actual methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz announced the sentence today.
According to the information presented in court, on April 16, 2019, an officer with the Camden Police Department responded to a trespassing complaint in a restricted area at Camden General Hospital. The officer observed a pickup truck which matched the description from the complaint. After the truck drove into a nearby McDonald’s parking lot, the officer conducted a traffic stop.
The driver, Jonathan Wayne Green, appeared to be nervous while talking with the officer and confessed that he was on state probation and that he had a large amount of methamphetamine in the backseat of his truck. A search of the truck revealed over a pound of methamphetamine (which was individually wrapped in three separate smaller bags inside of a larger Ziplock bag), cash, and drug paraphernalia. Green admitted to selling methamphetamine earlier that night.
United States District Judge S. Thomas Anderson sentenced Green to 168 months' imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the Camden Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
United States Attorney Kevin Ritz thanked Assistant United States Attorney Josh Morrow, who prosecuted this case, as well as law enforcement partners who investigated the case.
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For more information, please contact Public Information Officer Cherri Green at (901) 544-4231 or [email protected]. Follow @WDTNNews on Twitter for office news and updates.
West Seneca Man Going to Prison for Possession of Child PornographyRead 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 Shawn Johnson, 35, of West Seneca, NY, who was convicted of possession of child pornography, was sentenced to serve 48 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Rudroff, who handled the case, stated that in September 2019, investigators discovered an IP address, traced to Johnson, attempting to download suspected child pornography using the internet. On December 2, 2019, the FBI obtained a search warrant for Johnson’s Angle Road residence. As investigators executed the search, they encountered Johnson standing in his bedroom smashing a laptop computer against the wall and trying to damage it. The laptop, which sustained serious damage, was sent to the FBI's Digital Forensics Analysis Unit Laboratory where much of the data was recovered. The hard drive was found to contain numerous images and videos of child pornography.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia, and the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief Brian Gould.
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Wells Fargo Personal Banker Sentenced for Money Laundering and Bank FraudRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – Leopoldo Lora-Aguilera, a former Wells Fargo personal banker, was sentenced in federal court today to 33 months in custody for money laundering conspiracy and bank fraud.
Aguilera was arrested by FBI agents for his participation in an international money laundering organization based in Tijuana, Mexico which operated primarily in San Diego. The criminal organization laundered funds in excess of $12.5 million dollars before being disrupted by the FBI.
According to the plea agreement and other public records, Aguilera abused his position of trust as a personal banker with Wells Fargo Bank by opening bank accounts with false identities and wire transferring millions of dollars to Mexico. Aguilera conducted these transactions in exchange for thousands of dollars in cash payments from the criminal organization. The FBl's investigation linked these funds to the sale of narcotics by a Mexican drug cartel, specifically the sale of multi-kilogram amounts of fentanyl in the Midwest.
Aguilera admitted to opening 26 bank accounts for the money laundering organization, including eleven that were created by Aguilera using fictitious identities. Specifically, Aguilera used his position as a personal banker with Wells Fargo Bank to knowingly enter false names, passport numbers, and dates of birth on the fictitious bank accounts. These 11 fictitious accounts alone were used by the criminal organization to wire transfer a total of $3.8 million to Mexico. A majority of those wire transfers were conducted by Aguilera himself. Aguilera's use of these fictitious accounts was identified by Wells Fargo and brought to the attention of the FBI. Agents arrested Aguilar and disrupted the scheme shortly after.
In conjunction with Aguilera's arrest, the FBI identified and seized 17 bank accounts that belonged to the money laundering organization containing in excess of $230,000. Further investigation by the FBI resulted in a second round of arrests of Aguilera’s co-conspirators in the Spring of 2022. To date, the FBI has arrested Melisa Valdivia Diaz, Alma Leticia Murillo Valdivia, and Jorge Alberto Ortiz Borrego for participating in the multi-million-dollar money laundering scheme. All three defendants have pleaded guilty in a related case, admitting they participated in the conspiracy. Sentencings are pending.
“Money launderers are a lifeblood of the cartels,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “Today’s sentencing underscores that money launderers are key players in the cartel structure and will be treated as such.”
Grossman thanked the prosecution team and the FBI San Diego Cross Border Violence Task Force for their excellent work on this case.
“This case highlights the FBI’s dedication to holding all individuals accountable who make space for the cartels to function in our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “Although Lara-Aguilera was convicted on the financial aspect of these crimes, his actions directly facilitated the trafficking of fentanyl and other dangerous narcotics throughout our country. The FBI is committed to investigating all who manipulate U.S. financial systems to enable money laundering and drug trafficking.”
This case is the result of efforts by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI San Diego Cross Border Violence Task Force, who were assisted by Wells Fargo Bank's internal investigators in Arizona and California. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Blanca Quintero.
DEFENDANT Case Number 19-CR-1955-BAS
Leopoldo Lora-Aguilera Age: 58 Chula Vista, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Money Laundering Conspiracy – Title 18, U.S.C., Sections 1956(h) and 1957
Maximum penalties: Twenty years in prison and $500,000 fine
Bank Fraud – Title 18 U.S.C., Section 1344
Maximum Penalties: Thirty years in prison and $1 million fineAGENCY
FBI San Diego Cross Border Violence Task Force
Wells Fargo Agrees to Training on New Companywide Policy to Improve Telephone Access by Customers Who are Deaf or Hard of HearingRead the Press Release
DENVER—The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced that it has resolved a complaint under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) made by a Wells Fargo customer who is hard of hearing relating to accessing Wells Fargo’s banking services via telephone. In the resolution, Wells Fargo has adopted changes to its companywide ADA policy for communications with customers with disabilities and agreed to provide training to its call center representatives on the new policy.
The complainant, who has difficulty hearing and speaking on the telephone, attempted to use her caregiver to relay information on her behalf on telephone calls with Wells Fargo customer service representatives. The complainant was a consumer banking and credit card customer with Wells Fargo, and some of her telephone inquiries related to fraudulent charges that had been made using her credit card. The complainant alleged that Wells Fargo refused to permit the caregiver to assist the complainant, which prevented her from receiving services over the telephone. This refusal forced the complainant to visit Wells Fargo bank branches in-person during the COVID-19 pandemic in the summer and fall of 2020.
The ADA requires that places of public accommodation allow individuals with disabilities to use appropriate auxiliary aids and services, including by allowing others to communicate on their behalf, in order to ensure effective communication so that they can receive equal service from businesses and other public accommodations.
To resolve the complaint, Wells Fargo agreed to pay the complainant $10,000. In addition, Wells Fargo made changes to its companywide ADA policy to clarify that companions of individuals with disabilities may provide communication assistance. Wells Fargo also agreed to train call center employees and other customer service representatives on the policy. Wells Fargo also agreed to reach out to other customers who had made complaints about the same issue and notify them of the policy change. These companywide changes and efforts may affect numerous individuals nationwide, as Wells Fargo serves approximately one in three households in the United States, with approximately 4,700 banking locations across the country.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to ensuring that customers with hearing disabilities can access the same customer services that are offered to other customers,” said U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan. “We applaud Wells Fargo’s cooperation in adopting companywide policy changes and providing training to ensure that its customer service representatives provide equal access for customers with disabilities.”
Additional information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s civil rights enforcement program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/usao-co/civil-rights-enforcement.
This case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeyen Wu.
Wake County Man Convicted of 1995 Bombing at BTI Building Resentenced to More Than 37 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
NEW BERN, N.C. – Stephan Bullis, the man convicted in the July 1995 bombing at the then Business Telecom, Inc. (BTI) building located in North Raleigh, was resentenced on Friday to 450 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Today’s sentence will keep him in prison for an additional 10 years. Bullis, now 58, was originally convicted of six charges related to the incident following a jury trial in February 1996. At the time, he was sentenced to a mandatory life sentence, followed by consecutive terms of 30 years and 235 months. Due to changes in the law, two charges were vacated in September 2022, leaving only the 235-month sentence standing. At that time, the Court set the matter for resentencing.
“Stephan Bullis caused terror in the Raleigh community because the pipe bomb at BTI came only a few short months after the Oklahoma City bombing and at a time when the infamous ‘Unabomber’ was at large,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “At the original sentencing, the Judge noted the heinous nature of the crime, the number of victims and potential victims, as well as the defendant’s lack of remorse. The defendant knowingly risked harm to countless individuals and inflicted psychological trauma on numerous others. This new sentence holds Bullis accountable for his horrific actions and keeps him behind bars where he belongs.”
According to court documents and other information presented in court, Bullis mailed two pipe bombs on or around Friday, July 7, 1995. The first package, addressed to his then wife – an employee of BTI, detonated when she opened it on Monday, July 10, 1995. The explosion destroyed most of his wife’s left hand, a portion of her upper right arm and caused numerous cuts, burns and bruises across her body. The bomb also injured a nearby colleague. The second bomb was found in an out-of-service United States Postal Service Collection bin located at Crabtree Valley Mall on July 25, 1995. The second bomb was found 10 days after the arrest of Bullis, who did nothing to warn authorities of the second pipe bomb package even though it was in a public space where an explosion had the potential to injure numerous individuals.
Evidence presented at trial showed that Mr. Bullis had begun an affair with a clerk at a video rental store and had recently increased the payout on his wife’s life insurance policy. In the months before the bombing, he began purchasing books such as “The Poor Man’s James Bond” and “The Anarchist Cookbook,” which both include designs and instructions for making explosive devices. In the month immediately before the attack, Bullis learned that his wife’s company had increased her work-funded life insurance policy and included a double-indemnity clause in the event of an accidental death. Statements made by Bullis indicated that he believed the accidental death needed to occur while his wife was at work for the double indemnity clause to apply.
Several victims of the bombing incident, including the defendant’s former wife and co-workers who were present, spoke or provided statements at the resentencing recounting the physical and psychological impacts of the crime that they experience to this day. As one victim impact statement said, “He acted with total disregard for all the people that would forever be affected by this crime…”
Bullis was convicted of six counts including two counts of mailing a pipe bomb with intent to kill another, one count of arson resulting in injury to another person, one count of attempted arson and two counts of use of a destructive device during a crime of violence. Bullis’ conviction has been upheld by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The United States Postal Inspection Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Raleigh Police Department originally investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis Duffy and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Peaden handled the resentencing.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:95-CR-00142-FL.
UPS employees charged with trafficking cocaineRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A total of five people have been arrested on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Orlando Candelario Almanza, 49, Edinburg, and Fidencio Salinas Jr., 51, Pharr, are set to make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nadia S. Medrano at 9:30 a.m. today.
Also arrested last week and who made their appearance already were Javier Enrique Mendoza, 48, Pharr, and Jose Felipe Lozano, 58, Edinburg. Enrique Bernardo Gamez, 45, Hidalgo, was previously in custody on related charges and will make his appearance in the near future.
The multi-count indictment was returned Feb. 21 and unsealed upon the arrests last week.
On multiple occasions between March 24 through Oct. 3, 2022, the indictment alleges the five individuals conspired to transport cocaine through UPS packages.
Salinas and Almanza are both allegedly UPS employees who knowingly transported the packages of cocaine. The charges allege Mendoza provided the packages of cocaine to UPS employees, while Lozano allegedly provided fraudulent labels for the packages. Gamez stored the cocaine at his residence prior to transport, according to the charges.
Law enforcement seized approximately 60 kilograms of cocaine these individuals allegedly trafficked.
If convicted, they all face up to life in prison and a possible $10 million fine.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, Hidalgo County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force and FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Garcia is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
U.S. Attorney Nick Brown leads DOJ delegation to commemorate “Bloody Sunday,” and passage of Voting Rights Act of 1965Read the Press Release
Seattle – U.S. Attorney Nick Brown will be joined by more than 30 other U.S. Attorneys from across the country as a delegation to commemorate the 58th Anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” the March over Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge, and the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Over March 4-6, 2023, U.S. Attorneys from across the country will meet with community and civil rights leaders while exploring some of the significant and educational civil rights institutions in Alabama.
“As the leaders of the Department of Justice in our districts, we can never forget the historic events that shaped our history and inform our work today,” said U.S. Attorney Brown. “We will be meeting with distinguished Federal Judge Myron Thompson, learning about the important work of the Johnson institute, and exploring the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice. As we grapple with hate crimes and civil rights abuses in our own states, these resources bring home what is at stake in our civil rights work.”
In addition to the Selma March scheduled for Sunday March 5, 2023, the U.S. Attorneys will meet with Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, as part of the subcommittee work supporting the Attorney General Advisory Committee (AGAC).
Other meetings and visits during the trip will focus on both historic civil rights conflicts and issues that are still fresh today.
- The group will meet with distinguished jurist Myron Thompson, the first Black Assistant Attorney General for Alabama and the second Black Federal Judge in the state. As the former Chief Judge in the Middle District of Alabama, Judge Thompson was instrumental in preserving the Montgomery bus station where the Freedom Riders were attacked in 1961 and the establishment of the Freedom Rides Museum. Judge Thompson is a recipient of the Thurgood Marshall award for his “personal contributions and extraordinary commitment to the advancement of civil rights.”
- The group will also meet with Bryan Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit organization that provides legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced, or abused in state jails and prisons.
- The attorneys will visit The Johnson Institute in the Montgomery federal courthouse where many key civil rights cases were decided. The Johnson Institute demonstrates through its programming the importance of the U.S. Constitution and the independent judiciary.
- They will go to The Legacy Museum, which provides a comprehensive history on the legacy of slavery. Lynching, codified racial segregation, and the emergence of over-incarceration in the 20th century, are examined in depth and brought to life through film, images, and first-person narratives at the museum.
- At the Memorial for Peace and Justice the group will reflect on America’s History of racial injustice. Set on a six-acre site, the memorial uses sculpture, art, and design to contextualize racial terror. The site includes a memorial square with 800 six-foot monuments to symbolize thousands of racial terror lynching victims in the United States.
The U.S. Attorneys from these districts are attending the Selma and Montgomery events: Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, South Carolina, Colorado, Nevada, Montana, Idaho, South Dakota, Western and Middle Districts of Louisiana, Eastern District of Wisconsin, Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan, Middle District of Florida, Northern and Eastern Districts of California, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Virginia, Western District of North Carolina, Southern District of Ohio, Eastern District of New York, and the Southern District of West Virginia.
U.S. Attorney Brown and Civil Rights Subcommittee Vice-Chair Rachael Rollins are appreciative of the work done by the Middle District of Alabama to host the delegation.
Two North Shore Men Indicted for Drug Conspiracy Involving Tens of Thousands of Counterfeit PillsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Two men from the North Shore have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston in connection with a drug conspiracy involving tens of thousands of counterfeit pills containing methamphetamine and fentanyl.
Charles Bates, 31, of Reading, and Aaron Lenardis, 36, of Saugus, were indicted on one count each of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and 40 grams or more of fentanyl. Lenardis was also indicted on an additional count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and 40 grams or more of fentanyl and one count of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. Bates and Lenardis will appear in federal court in Boston tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. They were initially charged by complaint in October 2022.
According to the charging documents, in August 2022, an investigation began into Bates after he ordered 50 kilograms of an orange binding agent commonly used to make counterfeit Adderall pills, which he was allegedly observed picking up at a UPS store in Boston.
Court filings allege that Bates exchanged text messages with drug customers and associates in which he spoke about pills that are “made to order,” described being physically present at the place where the pills were made and “watching the guy work so no corners have been cut.” It is also alleged that Bates drafted recipes for counterfeit pills that he kept on his phone or sent to others. It is alleged that the offense involved at least 136,000 counterfeit pills containing methamphetamine, equivalent to approximately 40 kilograms of such pills.
It is further alleged that after the pill press broke, Bates traveled to Pawtucket, R.I., to obtain a replacement. Bates was allegedly observed transporting a large, heavy item that appeared to be a pill press to Lenardis’ residence in Saugus.
According to court documents, a search of Lenardis’ residence in Saugus on Oct. 25, 2022 resulted in the seizure of: an industrial pill press, 14 firearms including a Glock outfitted to operate as a machinegun, at least 1.85 kilograms of pills and powder containing methamphetamine, at least 87.6 grams of pills and powder containing fentanyl and “M30” stamps commonly used to manufacture counterfeit pills.
The charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine each provide for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. The charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl each provide for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years of supervised release and a fine of up to $8 million. The charge of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel R. Feldman of Rollins’ Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Two Additional Municipal Employees Plead Guilty to Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Two Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) employees pleaded guilty on Feb. 9 to conspiring with another individual to engage in fraud on MTA excess vehicle auctions.
According to two plea agreements filed on Feb. 13 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in New York City, MTA employees Dzmitry Yaniuk and Marina Yaniuk engaged in a conspiracy with a third co-conspirator, Timour Abramov, to thwart the competitive bidding process on numerous excess vehicle auctions conducted by the MTA to ensure that a company controlled by the co-conspirators submitted the winning bid and would be awarded the contract. As part of the conspiracy, Marina Yaniuk, an MTA sales specialist, provided Dzmitry Yaniuk and Abramov confidential pricing information in violation of MTA rules. Abramov previously pleaded guilty to one count of fraud conspiracy on Jan. 30.
“The MTA’s riders and New York’s taxpayers trust government employees to put public service first,” said Director Daniel Glad of the Justice Department's Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF). “When public servants abuse their positions and cheat for personal gain, the Antitrust Division and its PCSF partners will hold them accountable.”
“Our office remains grateful for the diligence and commitment from our law enforcement partners at the Department of Justice, who continue to work to ensure that individuals attempting to defraud the MTA are held fully responsible for their actions and whose behavior should not unfairly reflect on tens of thousands of honest, hardworking MTA employees,” said Acting MTA Inspector General Elizabeth Keating.
Dzmitry Yaniuk and Marina Yaniuk each pleaded guilty to one count of fraud conspiracy that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. The fines may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victim of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine. A federal district court judge will determine the defendants’ sentences after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The guilty pleas are the result of an investigation conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Office, the Office of the MTA Inspector General, and the FBI Newark's Atlantic City Resident Agency . Acting Assistant Chief Steven Tugander and Trial Attorneys Milosz Gudzowski, Dina Hoffer, and Richard Samboy are prosecuting the case.
In November 2019, the Department of Justice created the PCSF, a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant, and program funding at all levels of government – federal, state and local. For more information, visit https://www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force.
Tuskegee Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Drug and Gun Crimes Committed While on Supervised ReleaseRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama – Today, United States Attorney Sandra J. Stewart announced that Shaheyne Phillip Thomas, 28, from Tuskegee, Alabama, received a 100-month prison sentence. Thomas had previously pleaded guilty to committing federal gun and drug offenses while on supervised release from a previous conviction. The judge also ordered that Thomas serve five years of supervised release following his prison sentence.
According to Thomas’s plea agreement and other court records, on March 30, 2021, officers from the Alexander City Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle Thomas was driving. When speaking with Thomas, the officers noticed the smell of alcohol. They also saw an open container inside the car. When the officers asked Thomas for a driver’s license and proof of insurance, he was unable to produce either. The officers then searched Thomas’s vehicle and found methamphetamine, $657 in cash, and a 9mm handgun, which was located under the floormat on the driver’s side of the vehicle. On November 18, 2022, Thomas pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. The 100-month sentence was ordered on February 23, 2023.
At the time of the March 2021 arrest, Thomas was on federal supervised release. He had previously served approximately three years in prison following a 2018 federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Soon after the March 2021 arrest, in June of 2021, a judge revoked Thomas’s supervised release and sentenced him to 24 months in prison for violating the terms of his release. Thomas will serve the 100-month sentence imposed last week only after he finishes serving the 24-month sentence imposed in June of 2021.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Alexander City Police Department investigated the case, with assistance from the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. Assistant United States Attorney Russell T. Duraski prosecuted this case.
Trussville Man Charged in Multi-Million-Dollar Kickback and Health Care Fraud CaseRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Another individual has been charged in a series of related cases involving multi-million-dollar health care fraud conspiracies, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Special Agent in Charge Tamala E. Miles.
A federal grand jury yesterday week returned a five-count indictment against John Alan Robson, 40, of Trussville, on charges of health care fraud conspiracy, kickback conspiracy, and kickbacks. According to the indictment, Robson was a sales rep who marketed to doctors’ offices various health care products and services, including prescription drugs from specialty pharmacies, durable medical equipment (DME), and electro-diagnostic testing. Robson was paid fees for the prescriptions, DME, and tests he generated from doctors. From at least 2014 through 2018, Robson allegedly conspired with others to pay and receive kickbacks to induce medical providers to issue medically unnecessary prescriptions and order medically unnecessary goods and services, which were then billed to Medicare and other health insurers.
One of those services was electro-diagnostic testing provided by a Huntsville-based electro-diagnostic testing company called QBR, or Diagnostic Referral Community. Robson received per-patient payments from QBR for inducing medical providers to order tests from QBR. According to the indictment, medical providers received payments from QBR too; the payments were disguised as hourly payments for the ordering physician’s time and staff’s time, but in reality they were per-patient kickbacks.
The case against Robson is related to several other cases that have resulted in convictions in the last year. Dr. Eric Beck, 64, of Huntsville, pleaded guilty last year to health care fraud conspiracy for his role in the QBR scheme. John Hornbuckle, 53, of Huntsville, pleaded guilty to health care fraud and kickback conspiracy offenses for his role, as QBR’s CEO, in orchestrating the fraud. James Ewing Ray, 52, of Gadsden, pleaded guilty to health care fraud and kickback conspiracy for his role as a sales rep who marketed QBR’s scheme to medical practices and received kickbacks per test ordered.
Early last year, a jury convicted Dr. Mark Murphy, 65, and his wife Jennifer Murphy, 66, both of Lewisburg, Tennessee, of drug distribution, fraud, and kickback crimes. The Murphys operated North Alabama Pain Services, which closed its Decatur and Madison offices in early 2017. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the Murphys took kickbacks from QBR of more than a million dollars. In return, Dr. Murphy ordered electro-diagnostic tests from QBR for his patients, regardless of whether there was a medical need for those tests. Dr. Murphy also pre-signed prescriptions for expensive specialty topical creams, sprays, and patches, which patients then received whether they wanted the products or not. Before the Murphys went to trial, a co-defendant, Brian Bowman, 42, of Gadsden, pleaded guilty to health care fraud conspiracy. According to Bowman’s plea agreement, Bowman marketed QBR’s electro-diagnostic testing to medical providers, and was paid a fee for each test they ordered. Bowman received nearly a million dollars in fees from QBR. Bowman also marketed high-reimbursing specialty prescription drugs to the Murphys and other providers and received payments for the prescriptions he generated.
Beck, Hornbuckle, Ray, Mark Murphy, Jennifer Murphy, and Bowman are all awaiting sentencing. Other co-conspirators have already been sentenced.
The maximum penalty for conspiracy to commit health care fraud is ten years in prison; the maximum penalty for conspiracy to receive kickbacks is five years in prison; each kickback count also carries up to ten years.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys J.B. Ward and Don Long are prosecuting it.
An indictment contains only charges. Each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Three Sentenced in “Grandparent Scam” Conspiracy that Defrauded Rhode Island SeniorsRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE – Three men have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a “grandparent scam” conspiracy that defrauded more than a dozen Rhode Island seniors between the ages of seventy-nine and ninety-four out of more than $300,000, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.
At least fourteen Rhode Island seniors were contacted by members of the conspiracy who impersonated family members or attorneys, claiming that a family member, often a grandchild, had been arrested and was in immediate need of cash for bail payments. The victims were directed to gather cash for these fake bail payments and to provide the money to a courier who would be sent to their home.
Bryan Valdez-Espinosa, 22, and Diego A. Alarcon, 22, of Union City, NJ; and Jason Hatcher, 40, of New York, NY, previously admitted to a federal judge that in June 2021, they traveled around Rhode Island posing as the couriers, collecting cash from victims of the scam. The elder victims were defrauded out of a total of $304,081.
In July 2022, Hatcher pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft; Alarcon and Valdez-Espinosa each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
On Friday, Alarcon was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith to 30 months of incarceration to be followed by 3 years of federal supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution totaling $304,081; Valdez-Espinosa was sentenced by Judge Smith on February 13, 2023, to 30 months of incarceration to be followed by 3 years of federal supervised release, and to pay restitution in the amount of $262,240; Jason Hatcher was sentenced on November 21, 2022, to 33 months in federal prison followed by three years of federal supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution totaling $304,081.
The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lee H. Vilker , G. Michael Seaman, and Christine D. Lowell.
The matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations.
United States Attorney Cunha thanks the Warwick, Cranston, East Providence, Johnston, Hopkinton, Cumberland, Coventry, North Kingstown, Barrington, and Smithfield Police Departments for their assistance with the investigation.
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Sturgis Man Indicted for Sexual Exploitation of a MinorRead the Press Release
RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a federal grand jury has indicted a Sturgis, South Dakota, man for Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet, Attempted Receipt of Child Pornography, and Attempted Transfer of Obscene Material to a Minor.
Bobby Allan Aldinger, age 52, was indicted in November of 2022. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta L. Wollmann on February 21, 2023, and pleaded not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is a mandatory minimum of 15 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, mandatory minimum of five years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund for each count. Restitution may also be ordered.
The charges relate to Aldinger attempting to sexually exploit an undercover law enforcement agent posing as a 14-year-old female.
The charge is merely an accusation and Aldinger is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah B. Collins is prosecuting the case.
Aldinger was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has been set for May 2, 2023.
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St. Louis Man Accused of Producing Child Sexual Abuse Materials with Multiple VictimsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis, Missouri has been charged by complaint in U.S. District Court with production of child pornography and accused of making and disseminating videos involving multiple victims.
Tracy Jenkins, 57, was charged Friday and appeared in court Monday. Charging documents say the local office of the FBI received information Thursday that FBI headquarters had potentially identified and located one of the victims in a series of videos containing child sexual abuse material that had been circulating online. Investigators verified the identity of that victim and conducted interviews that led to the identification of four other minors who were also subjected to years of sexual abuse by Jenkins that Jenkins recorded, the charging documents say.
A court-approved search of Jenkins’ home located a hard drive that contained well over 100 videos that matched those circulating online and containing recordings of the abuse of the identified minors as well as others who have not yet been identified, the charging documents say.
The complaint says Jenkins has a prior conviction for misdemeanor sexual misconduct in a 1997 case in St. Louis Circuit Court.
“The FBI has been continuously working to identify these victims since 2017 when we first became aware this child sexual abuse material,” said Special Agent in Charge Jay Greenberg of the FBI St. Louis Division. “In fact, the FBI initiative called 'Operation Rescue Me' has identified more than 600 child victims like these since 2008 using technology and painstaking investigative work.”
“The FBI worked tirelessly to identify and rescue the minors whose abuse was depicted in videos circulating online,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming.
The production of child pornography charge is punishable by 15 to 30 years in prison, a $250,000 or both.
Charges set forth in a criminal complaint are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting the case.
South Carolina Man Who Trafficked Guns into Connecticut Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MARQUIS JEROME POLLARD, 42, of Yemassee, South Carolina, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 96 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for firearm offenses related to an illegal gun trafficking operation.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in the spring of 2021, ATF Task Force officers learned that Pollard used straw purchasers to obtain firearms in South Carolina, and sold the firearms in Connecticut. On April 19, 2021, investigators made a controlled purchase of a 9mm Glock handgun and a drum magazine from Pollard and Quinn Mooring in New Haven in exchange for $1,500. The firearm was one of five 9mm handguns that had been purchased by an individual at a pawn shop in Port Royal, South Carolina, in the month prior to the transaction in Connecticut.
On May 3, 2021, investigators surveilled the firearm purchaser as he picked up two additional handguns from the Port Royal firearm dealer and traveled to a restaurant parking lot in Beaufort, South Carolina, where he transferred them to Pollard. When law enforcement attempted to arrest Pollard, he fled in his vehicle at a high rate of speed. Pollard drove on sidewalks and over curbs during the pursuit, and was eventually apprehended in a residential neighborhood after abandoning his car and attempting to flee on foot. Investigators recovered three firearms from his vehicle, including the two handguns that he received in the restaurant parking lot, and a loaded .40 caliber pistol with a 30-round magazine.
The investigation revealed that Pollard paid two separate straw purchasers to acquire at least 17 firearms for him. In addition to the two handguns that were seized from Pollard’s vehicle and the 9mm handgun that investigators purchased from Pollard in New Haven in April 2021, five additional firearms have been recovered by law enforcement. One was recovered from a felon in New Haven in June 2021; one was recovered from the scene of a shooting in Hamden; one was recovered after it was used in a shooting in New Haven; one was recovered from a juvenile in South Carolina after it had been used in multiple crimes; and one was recovered earlier this month in Hamden from an individual who was fleeing from law enforcement in possession of the firearm and a distribution quantity of crack cocaine. Nine firearms have not been recovered.
Pollard’s criminal history includes multiple felony convictions. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
Pollard was charged by indictments in both the District of Connecticut and in the District of South Carolina. The South Carolina case was transferred to Connecticut for further prosecution.
Pollard has been detained since his arrest. On October 28, 2022, he pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
On January 13, 2022, Mooring, of New Haven, pleaded guilty of possession of a firearm by a felon. He awaits sentencing.
The individuals who purchased firearms for Pollard in South Carolina were charged and convicted in the District of South Carolina.
This matter has been investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), West Haven Police Department, New Haven Police Department, Beaufort Police Department, and Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Konstantin Lantsman. The South Carolina case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Carra J. Henderson in the District of South Carolina.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
South Bend Man Sentenced to 78 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – Mustafaa Slim, 29 years old, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Robert L. Miller, Jr. after pleading guilty to possessing with intent to distribute controlled substances and being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Slim was sentenced to 78 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, on two occasions in May 2022, Slim sold a heroin/fentanyl substance to an individual. A search warrant executed at Slim’s residence resulted in the recovery of 3 firearm, fentanyl/methamphetamine, cocaine, and over $8,000.00 in cash. This is Slim’s third conviction involving guns and his second involving drugs. Slim’s prior felony convictions preclude him from possessing the firearms.
This case was investigated by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the assistance of the South Bend Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jerome W. McKeever.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
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Seneca County Man Sentenced for Defrauding the U.S. Coast GuardRead 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 Dennis Daniels, 73, of Romulus, NY, who was convicted of mail fraud and willful failure to file an income tax return, was sentenced to serve two years’ probation, and pay restitution, including $22,440 to the U.S. Coast Guard and students, and $115,757 to the Internal Revenue Service, by U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron J. Mango and David J. Rudroff, who handled the case, stated that Daniels owned and operated Sea Tech Marine Training, which offered U.S. Coast Guard approved training courses to include operator uninspected passenger vessel (OUPV), one-hundred-ton masters license (Masters), assistance towing endorsement and auxiliary sail endorsement. Daniels also owned and operated Sea Test, a business that offered drug testing programs for United States Coast Guard license holders. Between 2014 and 2017, Daniels received gross income totaling approximately $665,327 but failed to file income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service for those years. The tax owed on the unreported income was approximately $115,757.
In addition, in January and February 2019, Daniels taught 23 students the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) approved OUPV course with a Masters upgrade. The course should have included 80 hours of classroom instruction time, however, Daniels only provided 51 hours of classroom instruction. In addition, Daniels provided the students with the answers to certain examination questions and instructed students to provide false information regarding prior sea service.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, under the direction of Neal Marzloff, Special Agent-in-Charge, Central Region; the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector-in-Charge Ketty Larco-Ward of the Boston Division; and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Thomas Fattorusso, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Office.
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Riverside County Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Knowingly Preparing False Tax Returns that Caused over $3 Million in Losses to IRSRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Riverside tax preparer pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges for knowingly filing thousands of tax returns that falsely claimed deductions, such as fake medical expenses and bogus mortgage interest, and which caused more than $3 million in losses to the IRS.
Andrew Zepeda Hansack, 39, pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return.
According to his plea agreement, starting in January 2015, Hansack prepared personal income tax returns at AJ Loyal Income Tax Service, a Riverside-based company. Hansack filed tax returns for some of his clients that included false itemized deductions. Specifically, Hansack filed tax returns for these clients that indicated they had paid mortgage interest for their homes, when in truth, as Hansack knew, his clients did not own a home. Hansack also claimed false medical expenses, sales tax, and gifts by cash or check on some tax returns he prepared that he knew to be false.
For the tax years 2015 through 2019, Hansack filed approximately 2,533 tax returns with false deductions on behalf of his clients. Because of Hansack’s criminal activity, the IRS was prevented from assessing and collecting the correct amount of taxes owed by the clients. This resulted in a loss in assessed and collected taxes to the IRS between approximately $3,369,886 and approximately $3,799,378.
For example, in February 2020, Hansack aided and assisted the preparation of a federal income tax return for a South Gate resident. This tax return falsely claimed $30,488 in itemized deductions, including deductions for mortgage interest. The false and fraudulent deductions caused the South Gate taxpayer to claim a refund from the IRS in the amount of $7,318 to which the taxpayer was not entitled.
Hansack has agreed to pay a criminal fine of at least $50,000 and also agreed to a permanent ban on him helping to prepare tax returns for anyone other than himself or his spouse.
United States District Judge Stephen V. Wilson scheduled a May 22 sentencing hearing, at which time Hansack will face a statutory maximum sentence of three years in federal prison for each count.
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Jeff Mitchell of the Major Frauds Section is prosecuting this case.
Repeat Offender Charged with Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Camden County man was arrested for possessing multiple images and videos of child sex abuse, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Matthew Knapp, 38, of Lindenwold, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of possession of child pornography. He made his initial appearance on Feb. 23, 2023, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sharon A. King in Camden federal court and was released on $100,000 unsecured bond.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In February 2022, an undercover law enforcement officer conducted an online session using a publicly available peer-to-peer program, which allows internet users to trade digital files. A user shared multiple files featuring images or videos of child sexual abuse from an internet address traced to Knapp’s residence. On May 10, 2022, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Knapp’s residence and seized, among other things, a computer, three hard drives, and a flash drive that contained depictions of child sex abuse, including images of prepubescent children.
Knapp was convicted of aggravated indecent assault of a person less than 16 years of age in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in 2007. For a repeat offender, the charge of possession of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison, a maximum of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.
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 the arrest. U.S. Attorney Sellinger also thanked the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay; and the Lindenwold Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Michael McCarty Jr., for their assistance with the investigation leading to the arrest.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elisa T. Wiygul of the Criminal Division in Camden.
The charge and allegations against the defendant are merely accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Osceola County Mortgage Loan Officer Charged with Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
Orlando, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Omayra Ujaque (52, Saint Cloud) with three counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, she faces up to 30 years in federal prison on each bank fraud count and a mandatory consecutive 2 years’ imprisonment for the aggravated identity theft count.
According to the indictment, Ujaque, in her capacity as a licensed mortgage loan officer, created and executed a mortgage fraud scheme targeting the financial institution where she worked. To ensure that otherwise unqualified borrowers were approved for mortgage loans, Ujaque falsified borrowers’ income through completely fabricated or inflated monthly child support payments on mortgage loan applications that she signed and certified to the financial institution’s underwriting department. In furtherance of her scheme, Ujaque created fictitious Final Judgments of Dissolution of Marriage and Final Orders Modifying Child Support showing the borrowers were entitled to receive non-existent monthly child support payments. Ujaque then used the names of judges from the Circuit Court of the Ninth District of Florida and forged their signatures on the fabricated Final Judgments of Dissolution of Marriage or Final Orders Modifying Child Support. Ujaque then created bogus Florida Department of Revenue Statements showing the party purportedly paying monthly child support payments to the borrowers and manufactured phony prepaid debit card statements showing the borrowers purportedly withdrawing the non-existent monthly child support payments.
In most cases, the children did not exist or the borrowers had never been married. Ujaque submitted bogus paperwork to the financial institution to support the false monthly income on the loan applications. Based on Ujaque’s misrepresentations, the financial institution approved and funded the mortgage loans.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation. It will be prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Chris Poor.
North Carolina Woman Indicted for Making False StatementsRead the Press Release
RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a federal grand jury has indicted a Greensboro, North Carolina, woman on two counts of False Statement.
Erin Lynn Hower, M.D., age 38, was indicted in January of 2023. She appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollman on February 24, 2023, and pleaded not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to five years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
In July of 2020, at Pine Ridge, South Dakota, Hower knowingly made false statements in an employment application she submitted to Indian Health Services.
The charge is merely an accusation and Hower is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson is prosecuting the case.
Hower was released on bond pending trial. A trial date has been scheduled for May 2, 2023.
Nigerian National Pleads Guilty to Multi-Million Dollar Fraud Schemes and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Joseph Modile, a Nigerian national, pleaded guilty to an indictment in the Eastern District of New York charging him with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, and an information filed in the Southern District of Texas and transferred to the Eastern District of New York, charging him with money laundering and wire fraud. The proceeding was held before United States Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr. When sentenced, Modile faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment for each of the fraud counts and the money laundering count and a consecutive sentence of two years’ imprisonment for the aggravated identity theft count. Upon completion of his sentence, Modile faces deportation from the United States.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Alamdar S. Hamdani, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas (SDTX), announced the guilty plea.
“With today’s guilty plea, Modile is revealed as a prolific fraudster and money launderer who has left a trail of fake documents, plundered bank accounts, and financial victims from Brooklyn all the way across the country,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “I commend all of the law enforcement agencies for pulling together the threads of the defendant’s complex schemes in order to hold him accountable for his multiple crimes.”
“A major figure in fraud has been taken out of the equation,” stated United States Attorney Hamdani. “Thanks to the partnerships in law enforcement and the sophisticated techniques used during the investigation, this prolific money launderer had no choice but admit his guilt and will be held accountable for his crimes.”
Mr. Peace expressed his thanks to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, and the New York City Police Department, which conducted this investigation as part of an enterprise Priority Transnational Organized Crime (PTOC) of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), the FBI’s Houston Field Office which led the OCDETF operation, the FBI’s Boston Field Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, New York County District Attorney’s Office, the Houston Police Department, and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office for their substantial assistance.
In a scheme that was charged in the Eastern District of New York, from January 2014 and September 2018, Modile and others defrauded victims, businesses, and financial institutions in the United States through a sophisticated home equity line of credit (HELOC) scheme involving a series of bank account takeovers. During this time, Modile and others also laundered proceeds from the bank account takeovers. In furtherance of the HELOC fraud scheme, Modile and others acquired personal identifying information (PII) of the actual holders of the targeted bank accounts at the financial institutions. The co-conspirators then used the PII to impersonate the actual holders of the targeted bank accounts, thereby gaining control of the accounts. In some cases, members of the conspiracy recruited “runners,” who impersonated the actual account holders inside bank branches using forged and fraudulent identification documents created at the direction of Modile and others. In most instances, the stolen funds were first deposited into fraudulent bank accounts set up and controlled by co-conspirators in the names of the actual victims from whom the money had been stolen. In other cases, the bank accounts into which the stolen funds were first deposited were in the names of sham corporations, which were opened using false and fraudulent identification. In total, Modile and others stole at least $5 million as part of the HELOC fraud scheme.
In a related scheme charged in the Eastern District of New York, in May 2018, Modile and others engaged in a separate Business Email Compromise scheme, using fraudulent emails and telephone calls to steal approximately $10.2 million from a victim company. The co-conspirators impersonated a contractor of an entity located in St. Paul, Minnesota, through a fraudulent email address and directed representatives of the entity to deposit the funds in an account controlled by members of the conspiracy. Modile and others then laundered those stolen funds through bank accounts controlled by members of the conspiracy.
Finally, as set forth in the information filed in the Southern District of Texas, from November 2017 until May 2018, Modile knowingly devised a scheme to defraud victims. Modile used his cellular phone to communicate with others about financial transactions for the purpose of executing his scheme to defraud. In particular, he directed an individual already convicted in Houston, Texas to withdraw cash from their bank account and provide to others. Modile also directed the individual in Houston to lie to their financial institution regarding the reason for withdrawing money from their account. In February 2018, Modile orchestrated and directed a substantial amount of money into an account of the individual in Houston. The money derived from wire fraud and Modile was aware the money came from unlawful activity.
This effort is part of an OCDETF operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF
The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorney David Pitluck is in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist William Daniels, along with Assistant United States Attorney Rodolfo Ramirez of the Southern District of Texas.
The Defendant:
JOSEPH MODILE
Age: 45
Los Angeles, CaliforniaE.D.N.Y. Docket Nos. 21-CR-108 and 23-CR-50 (DG)
Niagara Falls Woman Going to Prison for Stealing Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars from Investment Firm ClientsRead 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 Jennifer Campbell, 48, of Niagara Falls, NY, who was convicted of wire fraud, was sentenced to serve 36 months in prison and pay restitution totaling $371,332.11 by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas A. C. Penrose, who handled the case, stated that Campbell was employed as the Office Manager and Chief Compliance Officer at an investment advisory firm based in Buffalo, with access to client accounts. Between November 2018, and May 2021, Campbell used this access to steal over $500,000 from several clients and from the firm itself, primarily by writing checks from client accounts, forging the signatures of either the client or a principal at the firm, and then depositing the checks into her own personal account.
Campbell took various steps to conceal her theft. In one instance, she sent a victim a falsified account statement that purported to show an account balance of approximately $148,000, when in fact the account at the time had a balance of only $93. In another instance, Campbell took funds from a client and transferred them to the bank account of one of her earlier victims. Finally, Campbell gained access to the email accounts of the firm’s principals and diverted emails that they received from anti-money laundering and financial crimes personnel at the firm’s broker-dealer, who had begun to raise questions about some of the transactions that Campbell had engaged in. In an effort to put off these inquiries, Campbell sent several emails using the email account of a firm principal. In these emails, Campbell made various false statements and submitted fake documentation in an effort to make the transactions appear legitimate.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Thomas Fattorusso, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia.
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New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy, Carjacking, and Weapons ViolationsRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that on Monday, February 27, 2023, TYRESE HARRIS, age 19, a resident of Orleans Parish, pled guilty to a five-count superseding indictment for conspiracy, carjacking, and weapons violations. Count 1 charged HARRIS with conspiracy to commit carjackings beginning on August 19, 2021 through February 1, 2022 in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371. Count 2 of the indictment charged HARRIS with a carjacking that occurred on August 19, 2021, on Washington Avenue in New Orleans, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2119(1). Count 3 charged HARRIS with using a firearm in furtherance of the carjacking, a crime of violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924(c)(1)(A)(ii) and 2. In Count 4 of the indictment, HARRIS was charged with an attempted carjacking on Howard Avenue on January 18, 2022 in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2119(1). Finally, in Count 5, HARRIS was charged with a carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury that occurred on February 1, 2022 on S. Carrollton Avenue in New Orleans, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2119(2) and 2. HARRIS’ sentencing is set for May 30, 2023.
If convicted of Count 1 , HARRIS faces a maximum sentence of 5 years, a fine of up to $250,000.00, and a period of up to 3 years of supervised release. If convicted of these Counts 2 and 4, HARRIS faces a maximum sentence of 15 years of imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000.00,and a period of up to 3 years of supervised release. If convicted of Count 3, HARRIS faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 7 years up to a maximum of life imprisonment, to be run consecutive to any other sentence imposed, a fine of up to $250,000.00, and a period of up to 5 years of supervised release. If convicted of Count 5, HARRIS faces a sentence of a maximum 25 years of imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000.00, and a period of up to 3 years of supervised release. As to each count of the superseding indictment, HARRIS also faces payment of a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the New Orleans Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Inga Petrovich of the Violent Crime/Strike Force Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy, Carjacking, and Weapons ViolationsRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that on Monday, February 27, 2023, TYRESE HARRIS, age 19, a resident of Orleans Parish, pled guilty to a five-count superseding indictment for conspiracy, carjacking, and weapons violations. Count 1 charged HARRIS with conspiracy to commit carjackings beginning on August 19, 2021 through February 1, 2022 in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371 . Count 2 of the indictment charged HARRIS with a carjacking that occurred on August 19, 2021, on Washington Avenue in New Orleans.in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2119(1). Count 3 charged HARRIS with using a firearm in furtherance of the carjacking, a crime of violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924(c)(1)(A)(ii) and 2 In Count 4 of the indictment, HARRIS was charged with an attempted carjacking on Howard Avenue on January 18, 2022 in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2119(1). Finally, in Count 5, HARRIS was charged with a carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury that occurred on February 1, 2022 on S. Carrollton Avenue in New Orleans, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2119(2) and 2. HARRIS’ sentencing is set for May 30, 2023.
If convicted of Count 1 , HARRIS faces a maximum sentence of 5 years, a fine of up to $250,000.00, and a period of up to 3 years of supervised release. If convicted of these Counts 2 and 4, HARRIS faces a maximum sentence of 15 years of imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000.00,and a period of up to 3 years of supervised release. . If convicted of Count 3, HARRIS faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 7 years up to a maximum of life imprisonment, to be run consecutive to any other sentence imposed, a fine of up to $250,000.00, and a period of up to 5 years of supervised release. If convicted of Count 5, HARRIS faces a sentence of a maximum 25 years of imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000.00, and a period of up to 3 years of supervised release. As to each count of the superseding indictment , HARRIS also faces payment of a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the New Orleans Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Inga Petrovich of the Violent Crime/Strike Force Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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New Hampshire Man Indicted for Allegedly Robbing Five Massachusetts BanksRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A New Hampshire man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston for the allegedly committing a string of five bank robberies across Northern Massachusetts.
Reinaldo Ortiz, 45, of Manchester, N.H., was indicted on five counts of bank robbery. Ortiz was previously arrested and charged by criminal complaint on Jan. 12, 2023.
According to the charging documents, between March 9 and March 24, 2022, Ortiz drove from New Hampshire to Massachusetts and robbed a string of banks in Fitchburg, Lowell, Chelmsford, Wilmington and Lexington. It is alleged that Ortiz entered each of the banks disguised in a mask and demanded cash from the teller’s drawer. When the tellers complied, Ortiz allegedly made off with several thousand dollars in cash and fled the scene of the robbery in a gray 2006 Honda Accord. A subsequent investigation allegedly found Ortiz’s fingerprints on a glove discarded outside one of the robbed banks and that his cellphone movement was consistent with the robbery route.
The charge of bank robbery provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Manchester (N.H.) Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin A. Tolkoff of Rollins’ Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Nashville Acupuncture Clinic Agrees to Pay $300,000 to Resolve False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
NASHVILLE – U.S. Attorney Henry C. Leventis announced today that the United States has reached an agreement with Nashville Acupuncture Clinic, PLLC (NAC) to settle allegations of violating the False Claims Act (FCA). Under the terms of the agreement, NAC will pay $300,000 to resolve the allegations.
“Health care fraud is a top priority of this office,” said U.S. Attorney Leventis. “We will continue to aggressively pursue anyone involved in fraud against government programs. Whether it be a corporate entity, a clinic, or an individual provider, those who seek to exploit federal health care programs for financial gain can expect to be the focus of our civil and criminal enforcement efforts.”
The United States contends that the NAC violated the FCA by submitting false claims to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for non-reimbursable acupuncture for which the claims were not authorized, not allowed as coded, or lacked supporting documentation. The settlement covers conduct from the period of January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2020, during which the VA reimbursed NAC for claims arising from false statements.
These allegations follow an internal audit by the VA - Office of Inspector General and in its published report issued in December 2021. The audit team estimated that improper payments for acupuncture amounted to about $137 million nationwide during FY 2018 and FY 2019.
“The VA OIG is committed to using all available resources, including proactive data reviews of medical provider billing to identify any billing practices that are statistical outliers. Today’s settlement is a result of those efforts,” said Special Agent in Charge Kim Lampkins of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Mid-Atlantic Field Office. “This civil settlement is a testament to the VA OIG’s commitment to safeguarding the integrity of VA’s healthcare programs and preserving taxpayer funds."
The civil claims resolved by settlement are allegations. There has been no determination or admission of liability in this matter.
This case was investigated by the VA-Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kara F. Sweet represented the United States.
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Money Launderer for $5 Million Vehicle Sale Scam Extradited from SpainRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that ION VIOREL IONITOIU, a Romanian national who resided in Spain, was extradited to the United States on bank fraud and money laundering offenses arising from a scheme to launder money derived from an online vehicle sale scam that took in at least $5 million from defrauded consumers.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Ionitoiu is the seventh member of an operation that laundered fraud proceeds for online swindlers who preyed on U.S. consumers who has been charged, and he will now face justice for his actions. This Office is committed to rooting out both those who commit the underlying fraud and their enablers, regardless of where they reside.”
As alleged in the Indictment, and based on other documents filed in court and statements made in court: [1]
From at least March 2019 through at least April 2021, ION VIOREL IONITOIU was an intermediary between co-conspirators who defrauded consumers who were trying to buy vehicles online and a money laundering crew that operated in Brooklyn, New York. Other members of the conspiracy, pretending to represent car dealerships, advertised vehicles that they did not own and were not authorized to sell on fake websites with domain names that sounded like legitimate car dealerships or through online marketplaces like Craigslist and eBay. Victims who responded to those advertisements and negotiated a purchase price were instructed by the purported sellers to wire payment to bank accounts in New York. Unbeknownst to the victims, the accounts were opened at IONITOIU’s direction by co-conspirators who operated in Brooklyn, including KAROL KAMINSKI, STANISLAV TUNKEVIC, ARTURAS GILYS, and SVETLANA VAIDOTIENE. Once the payments cleared, the account owners quickly withdrew the funds before the victims realized they had been defrauded. The victims never received the vehicles they thought they had bought or any refunds from the fake sellers. In total, dozens of victims were defrauded of a total of at least $5 million.
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ION VIOREL IONITOIU, 34, a Romanian national and Spanish resident, was extradited to the United States on February 24, 2023. IONITOIU is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1,000,000, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
KAROL KAMINSKI, 33, STANISLAV TUNKEVIC, 48, and ARTURAS GILYS, 41, all of Lithuania, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. They are scheduled to be sentenced on March 28, 2023, by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres.
SVETLANA VAIDOTIENE, 55, of Lithuania, was sentenced to time-served (10 months and eight days) on January 17, 2023. She was also ordered to forfeit and to make restitution in the amount of $271,000 and has been removed from the United States.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of Homeland Security Investigations. He also thanked the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs of the Department’s Criminal Division, the United States Marshals Service, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania, and the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau for their assistance in this investigation.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Lai is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment, and the description of the Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described herein should be treated as an allegation as to the charged defendant.
Mexican National Sentenced to Federal Prison for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
DENVER – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Jesus Ruiz Velasco-Ochoa, age 38, of Guadalajara, Mexico, was sentenced to 8 years in federal prison after earlier pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.
According to the plea agreement, co-defendant Candelaria Vallejo-Gallo, based in Aurora and Denver, organized the interstate transportation and local distribution of large quantities of illegal drugs. Co-conspirators worked with Mexico-based sources of supply to arrange pickups of illegal drugs from California-based intermediaries working with and for those Mexico-based sources of supply. During the course of the FBI's investigation into her activities, Vallejo-Gallo arranged for the transport of large quantities of methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl. To effectuate her scheme of drug distribution, Vallejo-Gallo employed a network of co-conspirators, including interstate load runners, local runners, local multi-pound drug customers (who would, in turn, distribute to lower-level drug distributors), and lieutenants to coordinate the activities of the aforementioned coconspirators.
The defendant served as one of the primary interstate load runners for the conspiracy, which lasted from at least March 19, 2019, until February 12, 2020. On July 31, 2019, for example, intercepted calls indicated the delivery of 46 pounds of methamphetamine in a load carried by the defendant. On October 21, 2019, two co-defendants started a load run to California at Candelaria Vallejo-Gallo’s direction, where they coordinated with the defendant and others to pay for drugs and transport drugs back to Colorado. On their way back to Colorado on October 23, 2019, Utah State Patrol stopped them and refused to allow the defendant, who was driving the load vehicle, to drive any further because he was unlicensed. Another co-defendant took over driving. The defendant transferred the methamphetamine he was carrying to the co-defendant so that she could complete the run. The Colorado State Patrol (CSP) conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle. A narcotics K-9 on scene alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle. Based on the positive dog sniff, CSP searched the vehicle, discovering approximately 53 pounds of methamphetamine in a large suitcase inside the trunk of the sedan.
“Today’s announcement is the result of a lengthy investigation and prosecution of several defendants, which would not have been possible without the diligent work of our many law enforcement partners,” said United States Attorney Cole Finegan. “This combined effort took a significant drug trafficking organization off the streets of Denver and Aurora.”
“This individual was a member of a drug-trafficking organization (DTO) that distributed significant amounts of methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin and cocaine onto the streets of metro Denver. As a result of this multi-agency investigation, this DTO is no longer operational in Denver and Aurora,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Leonard Carollo. “FBI Denver is committed to working with federal, state and local partners in operations like this to dismantle DTOs, mitigate the distribution of illegal drugs and make our communities safer.”
“This multi-agency investigation and subsequent lengthy sentencing sends the strong message that HSI will use every resource and authority necessary to hold those accountable that jeopardize the safety of our communities for profit,” said Ryan L. Spradlin, Special Agent in Charge, HSI Denver. “This investigation that stretched across multiple states and crossed international borders can only be accomplished by dedicated law enforcement professionals that adopt a “One Badge” philosophy.”
“Targeting the profits generated by drug traffickers is a key step in the investigative process, and vital to disrupting and dismantling their organization,” said Andy Tsui, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation Denver Field Office. “IRS-CI, our law enforcement partners, and the United States Attorney’s Office will continue to work together to eliminate this threat to our communities.”
United States District Court Judge Raymond Moore sentenced Velasco-Ochoa on February 24, 2023.
Agents and deputies assigned to the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Strike Force from the FBI, HSI, ICE ERO, IRS-CI, and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation and were assisted by officers and deputies from the DEA, the Colorado State Patrol, the Aurora Police Department, and the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Cyrus Y. Chung handled the prosecution of the case.
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.
Case number: 20-cr-0028
Member of Violent North Shore Drug Enterprise Sentenced for Possessing Firearm in Fentanyl Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A member of a prolific and violent North Shore-based drug trafficking organization that manufactured and supplied over 30 kilograms of fentanyl pills was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for possessing firearms, including an automatic weapon.
Ernest Johnson, 34, a/k/a “Yo Pesci,” a/k/a “Mr. Live Mr. Drive,” of Salem, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to 90 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In May 2022, Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of firearm and ammunition.
“We can only hope that the ‘Yo Pesci’ show has reached its final episode. Mr. Johnson was an active participant in a violent drug enterprise that coordinated armed robberies, engaged in violent shootings and pumped more than 500,000 deadly fentanyl pills onto our streets. He not only unlawfully possessed a stockpile of dangerous firearms, including a machine gun and large capacity magazines, but Mr. Johnson brazenly flaunted his arsenal through livestream videos,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “His behavior, both on and off social media, promoted violence and a complete disregard for the rule of law. His days as social media influencer for criminal enterprises have ended. Our office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to put down violent criminal organizations and do everything in our power to keep our communities safe.”
“Today, convicted felon Ernest Johnson learned his fate for brandishing numerous firearms he wasn’t allowed to possess in support of an extremely violent drug trafficking enterprise that dealt deadly fentanyl and orchestrated numerous shootings and armed robberies, using an arsenal of firearms, including machine guns,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “The FBI’s North Shore Gang Task Force will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify, investigate, and eliminate violent criminal organizations like the one Johnson belonged to that are responsible for inflicting serious harm on our communities.”
“Armed violent drug dealers are wreaking havoc in our communities, and using fentanyl in counterfeit prescriptions is a deadly combination. ATF will continue to work alongside our OCDETF partners to become a force multiplier in stopping these organizations from devastating our neighborhoods,” said James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Division.
Johnson was arrested and charged in June 2021 along with co-conspirators Vincent Caruso, Laurie Caruso and Nicole Benton – all of whom pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. On Dec. 15, 2022, Benton was sentenced to two years in prison and three years of supervised. On June 30, 2022, Vincent Caruso was sentenced to 250 months (more than 20 years) in prison and five years of supervised release. On June 29, 2022, Laurie Caruso was sentenced to nine years in prison and four years of supervised release.
Johnson was a member of a large drug trafficking organization (DTO) operated by Vincent Caruso, a self-admitted Crip gang member, that included Benton and Vincent Caruso’s mother, Laurie Caruso, among others. The DTO specialized in the manufacture and sale of pressed counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl designed to imitate Percocet tablets. The DTO produced the pills using multiple large pill presses and distributed the illicit drugs to dealers throughout the North Shore. According to court papers, Caruso boasted about utilizing a pill press that weighed 1,000 pounds and was capable of producing 15,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills per hour – with pill retailing for between $10-$20, thereby generating millions of dollars in retails sales. In total, the Caruso DTO trafficked more than 30 kilograms of fentanyl, equating to 500,000 pills per year.
Johnson served in a security role as Vincent Caruso’s driver and personal assistant. As a member of the DTO, Johnson possessed and used a variety of firearms (including an AR-15; a fully automatic Glock 17; multiple large caliber revolvers; and a number of pistols equipped with large-capacity magazines) to threaten rival drug dealers and cultivate the DTO’s violent reputation in furtherance of its drug trafficking activities. The investigation determined Johnson was involved in multiple violent offenses committed on behalf of the DTO, including an attempted armed robbery in May 2021. Additionally, Johnson used social media to post and message photos and videos that showcased the DTO’s arsenal of firearms, fentanyl pills, cash and high-end jewelry. In a number of videos, Johnson boasted about his involvement in shootings, beatings and drug trafficking, promoted the DTO’s reputation for violence and gunplay, as well as identified and threatened people he believed to be a “rat” or a “snitch.” Based on multiple prior felony convictions, Johnson was prohibited from lawfully possessing firearms.
FAUSA Levy; FBI SAC Bonavolonta; ATF SAC Ferguson; and John E. Mawn Jr., Interim Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement today. Assistance was provided by the Essex, Middlesex and Suffolk County District Attorneys’ Offices; Essex, Middlesex, Suffolk and Hancock (Maine) County Sheriffs’ Departments; U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine; Maine Drug Enforcement Agency; and the Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, Danvers, Everett, Lynn, Malden, Salem, Saugus, Somerville, Revere, Bolton (Maine), Bangor (Maine), Portland (Maine) and Westbrook (Maine) Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.
The operation was conducted by a multi-agency task force through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply. More information on the OCDETF program is available here: https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf/about-ocdetf.
Mason County Man Sentenced to Prison for Child Pornography CrimeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Matthew Ryan Harper, 22, of Point Pleasant, was sentenced today to six years in prison, to be followed by 15 years of supervised release, for distribution of child pornography. Harper must also register as a sex offender.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on June 9, 2021, Harper used the Snapchat social media platform to distribute a video of a prepubescent minor female subjected to sexually explicit conduct. Harper admitted to distributing videos containing child pornography on three additional occasions in June 2021. Harper communicated with others on Snapchat and the Omegle online chat website about obtaining and trading child pornography during this time.
Harper further admitted to possessing 100 images and 38 videos of child pornography on January 25, 2022. Some of the images depicted toddlers.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Julie White prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-60.
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Man Sentenced to Four Years for Committing COVID-19 Relief Fraud While on Home Confinement for Similar Financial CrimesRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago businessman has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for re-offending while still serving a federal sentence stemming from an earlier financial fraud conviction.
Shortly after being released from prison and while on home confinement near the end of his 60-month sentence for theft of government funds and aggravated identity theft, CARLOS SMITH, 58, of Park Forest began submitting fraudulent applications for government-backed loans intended to support businesses suffering economic effects from the Covid-19 pandemic. Smith first submitted a fraudulent application for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) Program, run by the Small Business Administration (SBA), in April 2020, while he was on home confinement. Shortly after obtaining the EIDL funds, and while serving the supervised release portion of this prior sentence, he fraudulently sought and obtained a second loan, this time through the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). In both applications, Smith lied about the condition and performance of his purported business, CLS Financial Services, Inc., which did not operate during the year prior to the pandemic, when defendant was incarcerated. In the PPP application, Smith also lied about his criminal history and submitted fake tax documents. Between the two loans, Smith received approximately $421,900. Smith pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering on June 22, 2022.
The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Manish S. Shah on February 23, 2023.
The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Justin Campbell, Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; and Hannibal Ware, Inspector General of the U.S. Small Business Administration. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Heidi Manschreck.
Anyone with information about attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it to the Department of Justice by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721, or filing an online complaint form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Man Sentenced to 37 Months for Burglarizing Missouri Ranger Station and Stealing National Park Service TruckRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Monday sentenced a man who broke into a Shannon County, Missouri ranger station in 2021 and stole a National Park Service pickup to 37 months in prison, which will run consecutive to a probation violation in a state gun case.
Marvin R. “Mark” Remster, 40, was also ordered to pay more than $17,000 in restitution.
Remster admitted in a November guilty plea that he broke into the Round Spring Ranger Station in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways national park. Remster also admitted stealing a Chevrolet Silverado pickup owned by the National Park Service.
The burglary and theft were discovered on the night of Dec. 26, 2021, when law enforcement officials were notified that the ranger station was on fire.
Remster, who was being sought on unrelated warrants, was spotted near a truck outside a home in Crawford County on Jan. 4, 2022. He was arrested after a brief foot chase, and admitted possessing a 20-gauge shotgun that had been found in the truck. He also admitted breaking into the ranger station through a window and looking for items to steal. Remster found the truck keys, stole the truck and then drove it to an acquaintance’s garage.
Remster, of Crawford County, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau November 21, 2022 to charges of burglary, theft of government property and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The National Park Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office and the Missouri State Fire Marshal’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Koester is prosecuting the case.
Louisville Man Sentenced to over 29 Years in Federal Prison for Fentanyl Distribution, Drug Conspiracy and Firearms Offenses, and for Assaulting Federal OfficerRead the Press Release
Louisville, KY – A local man, Terrell Trammell, age 28, was sentenced on February 24, 2023 to 29 years and four months years in prison, followed by a 5-year term of supervised release, for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin, distribution of fentanyl, possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and assaulting, impeding, or interfering with a federal officer. Trammell was convicted by a federal jury following a four-day trial in November 2022.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI Louisville Field Office, Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Maynard of the ATF Louisville Field Division, and Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel of the Louisville Metro Police Department made the announcement.
According to court documents and evidence presented at the trial, between July 2020, and November 5, 2020, Trammell conspired with others to distribute fentanyl and heroin in the Louisville area. On October 9, 2020, Trammell sold fentanyl to an undercover informant in southern Jefferson County. Trammell, who was a multi-time convicted felon, utilized juveniles to assist in possessing and distributing fentanyl and heroin, as well as in possessing and handling firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.
On November 5, 2020, agents and detectives with the FBI, ATF, HSI, and LMPD attempted to execute a search warrant at an apartment in the Valley Station area of Louisville, which Trammell and other conspirators were using to store fentanyl, heroin, and firearms. Prior to execution of the warrant, Trammell and a 16-year-old crashed their vehicle into an FBI agent, injuring and pinning the agent between two vehicles. Agents ultimately seized an AR-style pistol, a Glock 9-millimeter pistol, and an extended magazine. The FBI laboratory found Trammell’s DNA on the AR-style pistol. From the apartment, agents seized approximately 41 grams of fentanyl and two firearms, one of which had been traded to Trammell in exchange for drugs.
“The significant sentence imposed by the Court is a result of the serious nature of the crimes committed by Mr. Trammell as well as his criminal past,” stated U.S. Attorney Bennett. “Individuals involved in drug dealing, illegal possession of firearms, and the assault of agents in the Western District should know they will face a lengthy term in federal prison for such conduct. I commend the work of our federal law enforcement partners, LMPD, and the prosecutors in this case.”
“Stopping violent criminals, who pedal deadly narcotics, prey upon our youth, and assault those protecting our community, is one of the most important things law enforcement does,” stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Cohen. “The increase in assaults on federal law enforcement officers—and law enforcement in general is disturbing. It will not be tolerated. Hopefully, Trammell’s sentence sends the message that prosecution and prison are the end result of engaging in such conduct.”
“ATF is pleased to have assisted Louisville Metro Police Department and the FBI in this investigation into a violent individual who placed our youth in danger by involving them in drug trafficking,” said ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge Maynard. “This sentence also demonstrates that violence against law enforcement will not be tolerated as we continue to work together to keep our communities safe.”
This case was investigated by the FBI, ATF, and LMPD, with assistance from the DEA and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, HSI.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank Dahl and Erin McKenzie represented the United States during the trial of the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
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Live Oak Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Possess and Transfer Unregistered Firearm SilencersRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Gregory Austin Eward (25, Live Oak) today pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess and transfer unregistered firearm silencers. Eward faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, Eward and his father and co-defendant, Dustin Eward, operated Eward Research Inc., a company that marketed and sold firearm silencers (also known as suppressors) over the internet. In lightly coded language, their website, ewardresearch.com, advertised the sale of combinations of parts designed and intended for use in assembling firearm silencers – never using the term “silencer,” but referring to individual components as “toobz,” threaded “end caps,” “spacers,” and “spools.” Sales could be completed with either cash or cryptocurrency. The website included photographs of the items for sale, which were identifiable as components of firearms silencers.
In 2018, Dustin Eward was interviewed by two FBI Special Agents. He told the agents that he lived with his son and that they operated a business out of their home. According to Dustin Eward, they produced and sold “solvent traps” and adaptors for firearms. It is common for sellers of illicit firearms silencers to falsely claim that their products are not actually silencers, but instead are “solvent traps,” that is, devices supposedly designed to catch or “trap” dirty cleaning solvent pushed through the barrel of a firearm from the chamber end and out through the muzzle.
In January and again in February 2022, an undercover ATF Special Agent ordered three silencers from the Ewards, paying for them with cryptocurrency. Surveillance video from a post office showed Gregory Eward mailing one of the parcels containing silencers that the agent eventually received.
The devices were examined by an ATF Firearms Enforcement Officer and firearms expert who concluded that the devices were consistent in design and construction with firearms silencers that he had examined in the past and he recognized the devices to be firearms silencers. The officer noted that to make the silencers functional, an end-user would need to drill center holes through the silencers’ baffles and end cap; the officer estimated, however, that this task only would require five to ten minutes to complete. Notably, also included in the parcels that the Ewards had mailed were 3D-printed tools, including a tool designed to act as a “jig” to accurately guide the drilling of center holes through the silencers. These silencers were not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, as required by federal law.
At the time of his arrest, on May 9, 2022, Gregory Eward had a Glock-type handgun on the back seat of the car. The pistol had no serial number and was loaded. Agents also located three rifle bump-stocks in the car’s open trunk. These devices also had no serial numbers.
During an interview after his arrest, Gregory Eward acknowledged that he was the CEO of Eward Research and that he and his father worked for the company. He volunteered that his products look like silencers, but he denied that he was selling these products as silencers or silencer kits. He later acknowledged that their products were similar to silencers, and they would operate as silencers if a hole was drilled through them. Eward claimed that these products were intended to store small items, such as fishing line, a syringe, or a towel.
On May 10, 2022, FBI and ATF Special Agents executed a search warrant at the Ewards’ home. They located approximately 105 firearms, over 12,000 rounds of ammunition, and 35 assembled firearms silencers. There was also a sufficient quantity of parts (including metallic tubes, baffles, and threaded endcaps), which were designed or redesigned, and intended for use in assembling or fabricating more than 300 additional firearm silencers.
Gregory Eward’s co-defendant, Dustin Eward, is scheduled to proceed to trial in June 2023. He is charged by indictment with conspiracy to possess and distribute unregistered silencers, possession of unregistered silencers, transfer of unregistered silencers, and threatening to assault and murder a federal law enforcement officer. An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
“This outcome reflects the tireless efforts of investigators from several federal, state and local agencies,” said ATF Tampa Field Division’s Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard Coes. “Northeast Florida is much safer today, thanks to their teamwork.”
“Although law enforcement continues to fight violent crime, it remains a threat in too many of our communities,” said Sherri E. Onks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division. “The FBI and our local, state and federal law enforcement partners remain focused on identifying and investigating those who commit violent crime, including those who traffic in illegal firearms. Let this case be a warning that we will not rest while Americans live in fear of violence in their neighborhoods.”
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office, the Live Oak Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Lake City Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kirwinn Mike, Michael J. Coolican, and Cherie Krigsman.
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.
Download Plea AgreementLandlord and Former Operators of Upstate New York Nursing Home Pay $7,168,000 to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations of Worthless Services Provided to ResidentsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department, together with the New York State Office of the Attorney General, announced today that the United States and New York State have entered into settlement agreements with the landlord and several individuals and entities involved in the operation of Saratoga Center for Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Care (Saratoga Center), a nursing facility in Ballston Spa, New York. Leon Melohn; Alan “Ari” Schwartz; Jeffrey Vegh; Jack Jaffa; 149 Ballston Ave., LLC; Ballston Two, LLC; Saratoga Center for Care, LLC; and Saratoga Care and Rehabilitation Center, LLC (the Settling Parties) collectively agreed to pay $7,168,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by causing the submission of false claims to the Medicaid program for worthless services provided to residents. Saratoga Center closed in February 2021, after this investigation was initiated.
“This settlement demonstrates the Department of Justice’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that nursing home residents receive the quality of care to which they are entitled,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “When individuals or entities put the welfare of these vulnerable residents in jeopardy, they will be held accountable.”
Before issuing a license to operate a nursing home, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) thoroughly reviews, among other things, an applicant’s character and competence to ensure that the operator will provide a consistently high level of care to residents. After a months-long vetting process, in 2014, NYSDOH approved Schwartz and Vegh to operate Saratoga Center with Leon Melohn, through entities he managed and controlled, acting as its landlord (Melohn and his entities are hereinafter referred to as the Landlord). This license vested in Schwartz and Vegh the nondelegable duty to oversee the operations of the home. But in or around early 2017, due to a financial dispute, the Landlord required the legally licensed operators to surrender control of Saratoga Center. The Landlord replaced them with Jaffa and a business associate of his, along with various corporate entities, even though none of them had – and they never obtained – the necessary license from the NYSDOH. Jaffa and his associate undertook all the nondelegable duties that remained the responsibility of Schwartz and Vegh.
These unlicensed individuals operated Saratoga Center from February 2017 until it closed in February 2021. During that period, the United States contends that Saratoga Center delivered worthless services to residents, and its physical conditions deteriorated to such a degree that it violated federal and state regulations. Specifically, the operators failed to adequately staff the home, and residents suffered medication errors, unnecessary falls, and the development of pressure ulcers. Additionally, Saratoga Center did not consistently maintain hot water throughout the facility, have an adequate linen inventory, and dispose of solid waste. In 2019, Saratoga Center was placed on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Special Focus Facility list – a list of the worst-performing nursing homes in the United States. Saratoga Center remained on the list until its closure.
The United States contends that, between February 2017 and February 2021, the Settling Parties knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims for payment to Medicaid for worthless nursing services. This settlement resolves those allegations.
“Nursing homes should protect the health and well-being of every resident,” said U.S. Attorney Carla Freedman for the Northern District of New York. “That did not happen at Saratoga Center. Instead, a business dispute between the operators and landlord led to dangerous conditions for residents and staff, and caused the submission of false claims to Medicaid for worthless services. This case demonstrates that we will hold responsible people accountable when they pocket federal funds while providing substandard care. Thank you to Attorney General James and her office for collaborating on this case.”
“We trust nursing homes to protect New Yorkers during their most vulnerable days, but the owners, unlicensed operator and landlord of Saratoga Center repeatedly violated the law for their own benefit,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “Instead of providing the quality care and compassion that residents deserved, the owners of Saratoga Center deceived regulators and left residents to suffer deplorable conditions and neglect. I am grateful to U.S. Attorney Freedman and team for their partnership in holding Saratoga Center accountable for putting New Yorkers in harm’s way. My office will continue to ensure nursing home residents are protected, and I encourage anyone who has witnessed alarming conditions, resident neglect, or abuse at a nursing home to contact my office.”
In connection with the settlement, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG), negotiated voluntary exclusions of the individuals and entities. Schwartz; Saratoga Center for Care, LLC; 149 Ballston Ave, LLC; and Ballston Two, LLC will be excluded from Medicare, Medicaid, and all other Federal health care programs, as defined in 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(f), for a period of ten years. Vegh will be excluded for eleven years. Jaffa and Saratoga Care and Rehabilitation Center, LLC, will be excluded for twenty years.
“Ensuring safety and quality of care for nursing home residents is a top priority,” said Inspector General Christi A. Grimm of the HHS OIG. “When nursing home owners, operators, and landlords are responsible for substandard care in their facilities, HHS OIG will not hesitate to pursue their exclusion and bar them from future participation in federal health care programs.”
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort among the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, the Justice Department’s Civil Division Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, the New York State Office of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Moran for the Northern District of New York and Attorneys Carol Wallack and Lyle Gruby of the Justice Department’s Civil Division handled this matter for the United States. Special Assistant Attorneys General Emily Auletta and Hillary Gray Chapman handled this matter for the Office of the New York Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The exclusions of the individuals and entities were negotiated by Senior Counsel Felicia Heimer for HHS OIG.
The United States’ investigation was part of its Elder Justice Initiative, which supports the efforts of state and local prosecutors, law enforcement, and other elder justice professionals to combat elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation, with the development of training, resources and information. Learn more about the Justice Department’s Elder Justice Initiative at http://www.justice.gov/elderjustice.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.