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1 February 2023
Bloomington Man Sentenced to over 5 Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking Fentanyl from California Using U.S MailRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS- Jacob Magness, 23, of Bloomington, Indiana, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for possession and distribution of fentanyl and other controlled substances
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According to court documents, on November 1, 2021, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service was alerted to a suspicious package with a nonexistent return address coming from California. The package was addressed to Jacob Magness’s Bloomington residence. On November 2, 2021, Indiana State Police examined the package and found it to contain approximately 211 grams of fentanyl pills, 110 grams of counterfeit Xanax pills, and 4 grams of LSD gel. Magness ordered and tracked the drugs via Snapchat.
On November 3, 2021, Bloomington Police Department officers executed a search warrant at Magness’s Bloomington residence. Officers located $2,251 in cash, approximately 20 fentanyl pills, approximately 13 ecstasy pills, approximately 5 grams of cocaine, 11 firearms, and multiple high-capacity magazines.
“Fentanyl traffickers value profits far more than the lives they are putting in danger,” said Zachary A. Myers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “They will use any means necessary, including the U.S. Postal Service, to satisfy their greed and exploit substance abuse. I commend the work of the USPIS, ISP, and the Bloomington PD in curtailing this defendant and saving lives in the process.”
“What we have here today is a perfect example of what happens when different law enforcement agencies pool their resources and expertise to achieve a common goal to protect the citizens of Indiana from the illegal and dangerous drugs. It is our duty as postal inspectors to go after those individuals who attempt to ship illicit drugs through the US Mail. Our goal to protect the nation’s mail system from criminal misuse was achieved through our partnership with Indiana State Police and Bloomington Police Department.” Rodney M Hopkins, Postal Inspector in Charge, Detroit Division.
USPIS investigated this case with valuable assistance provided by the Bloomington Police Department and ISP. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Evans Barker. Judge Barker also ordered that Magness be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 4 years following his release from federal prison. Additionally, Magness is subject to a $500.00 fine.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant United States Attorney Patrick G. Gibson, who prosecuted this case.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, as little as two milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal, depending on a person’s body size, tolerance, and past usage. One kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people. 6 out of 10 illegal fentanyl tablets sold on U.S. streets now contain a potentially lethal dose of the drug.
One Pill Can Kill: Avoid pills bought on the street because One Pill Can Kill. Fentanyl is a highly potent opioid that drug dealers dilute with cutting agents to make counterfeit prescription pills that appear to be Oxycodone, Percocet, Xanax, and other drugs. Fentanyl is used because it’s cheap. Small variations in the quantity or quality of fentanyl in a fake prescription pill can accidentally create a lethal dosage. Fentanyl has now become the leading cause of drug poisoning deaths in the United States. Fake prescription pills laced with fentanyl are usually shaped and colored to look like pills sold at pharmacies, like Percocet and Xanax. For example, fake prescription pills known as “M30s” imitate Oxycodone obtained from a pharmacy, but when sold on the street the pills routinely contain fentanyl. These particular pills are usually round tablets and often light blue in color, though they may be in different shapes and a rainbow of colors. They often have “M” and “30” imprinted on opposite sides of the pill. Do not take these or any other pills bought on the street – they are routinely fake and poisonous, and you won’t know until it’s too late.
Beavercreek man sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempting to travel overseas to join ISIS-KRead the Press Release
DAYTON, Ohio – A Beavercreek, Ohio, man who was arrested by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force at John Glenn International Airport in 2018 while trying to travel to Afghanistan to join ISIS or ISIS- Khorasan (ISIS-K) was sentenced today in federal court.
Naser Almadaoji, 23, an Iraqi-born United States citizen, was sentenced to 120 months in prison and 15 years of supervised release.
Almadaoji pleaded guilty in November 2021 just before his jury trial was scheduled to begin. He admitted to attempting to provide material support – himself, as personnel – to foreign terrorist organizations, namely ISIS and ISIS-K.
“Almadaoji was not just an ideological supporter of terrorism, he attempted to train to fight, assassinate, kidnap and kill, in hopes of employing violence in America on behalf of ISIS,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “Thanks to the FBI and our other law enforcement partners, Almadaoji was ultimately unsuccessful in his plan to become a human weapon and will now spend a decade in federal prison.”
“Mr. Almadaoji was stopped by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force while attempting to join ISIS and learn the deadly methods of terrorists,” stated FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge J. William Rivers. “The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, and our partners, will continue to work to protect the community from those determined to support terrorism and plan violent attacks.”
According to court documents, Almadaoji purchased a plane ticket for travel on October 24, 2018, and was arrested by FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force officers after checking in and obtaining his boarding pass.
The defendant intended to travel to Astana, Kazahkstan, where he planned to be smuggled into Afghanistan so that he could join and receive military training from ISIS-K in support of both that terrorist group and ISIS.
Almadaoji explained to an individual whom he believed to be an ISIS supporter that he wanted “weapons experts training, planning and executing, hit and run, capturing high value targets, ways to break into homes and avoid security guards. That type of training.” He began making travel plans in September 2018.
Prior to that, between February 16 and 24, 2018, Almadaoji traveled to Egypt and Jordan for the purpose of joining ISIS’s affiliate in the Sinai Peninsula, ISIS Wilayat Sinai, another designated foreign terrorist organization, but he ultimately was unsuccessful.
Almadaoji told an individual posing as an ISIS supporter online about his proposed plot to start a conflict in the United States between the federal government and anti-government militias. He asked the purported ISIS supporter for a guide on how to make a car bomb.
In August 2018, Almadaoji also told the purported ISIS supporter that he was “always willing” to assist with “projects” in the United States.
Almadaoji recorded and sent a video of himself wearing a headscarf and pledging allegiance to the leader of ISIS.
In addition, Almadaoji translated a purported ISIS document from Arabic to English, telling his contact, “Don’t thank me . . . it’s my duty.”
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice National Security Division; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge of the Cincinnati Division of the FBI; Alan J. Hill, Oakwood Public Safety Director; and Greene County Sheriff Scott Anger announced the sentence imposed today by Senior U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice.
Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas A. Dingeldein and Trial Attorney Justin Sher of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are representing the United States in this case.
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Arrest of Christopher D. Bruey for Traveling with A Minor Across State Lines for Criminal Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Christopher D. Bruey (“Bruey”), was arrested today in Knoxville, Tennessee by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) on charges of transporting a minor in interstate commerce with the intent to engage in an unlawful sexual activity.
Bruey made an initial appearance on February 1, 2023, in United States District Court in Knoxville, before the Honorable Jill E. McCook, United States Magistrate Judge. A trial will be scheduled later in 2023.
The details of the charges are outlined in the complaint and supporting affidavit which are on file as public records in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton, III of the Eastern District of Tennessee and FBI Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico made the announcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan S. Kirk will represent the United States in this case.
Members of the public are reminded that these are only charges and that every person is presumed innocent until their guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
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Albuquerque man sentenced for assaulting letter carrierRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Elias Gallegos was sentenced to more than 4 years in prison. A federal jury convicted Gallegos, 27, of Albuquerque, on October 25, 2022, of assaulting a federal officer using a deadly or dangerous weapon.
According to court documents, Gallegos assaulted a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier on Sept. 17, 2021, as the letter carrier was delivering mail on foot near the corner of Constitution Avenue NE and Monroe St. NE in Albuquerque. Gallegos brandished a knife at the letter carrier, chased him, and then threw a rock at him, which missed.
The letter carrier returned to his mail truck and called 911. As Albuquerque police responded to the scene and attempted to approach Gallegos, Gallegos fled on foot. Gallegos jumped several residential backyard fences before police contained him to a shed in the backyard of a residence on Manzano Street. When Gallegos attempted to approach the back door of the residence, officers apprehended him. During a search of the shed where Gallegos had been hiding, officers found a torch lighter and the pocketknife used in the assault.
“The men and women of the U.S. Postal Service brave our streets daily in service of the public,” said United States Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez. “When those streets level senseless threats, the United States will protect the federal employees who serve our nation and hold accountable those who plague our community with violence.”
“Today’s sentencing of Elias Gallegos shows the determination of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, along with their law enforcement partners, to vigorously pursue and bring criminals to justice who attempt to commit crimes or harm any postal employee” stated Melisa Llosa, Inspector in Charge of the USPIS Phoenix Division.
Upon his release from prison, Gallegos will be subject to 3 years of supervised release.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Albuquerque Police Department investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Samuel A. Hurtado and Patrick Cordova prosecuted the case.
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23-22
31 January 2023
Woman Who Aided Robber on St. Louis Arch Grounds Sentenced to 2 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Tuesday sentenced a woman who aided a juvenile who committed an armed robbery on the Arch Grounds to two years in prison.
Kaniya Sloan, 20, of Belleville, was in downtown St. Louis on Sept. 13, 2021 along with Christopher Franklin and a juvenile male. The juvenile robbed a man and a woman at gunpoint at about 7:30 p.m. on the grounds of the Gateway Arch, according to court documents. The woman handed over her purse and the male victim handed over his iPhone and wallet.
Franklin then drove with Sloan and the juvenile to a WalMart in Illinois, where they sold the phones in an EcoATM kiosk about 30 minutes later.
Two days after the robbery, St. Louis police spotted Franklin’s vehicle in downtown St. Louis and stopped them. Franklin, Sloan and the juvenile were in the vehicle, along with a black Glock 19 handgun and one of the items from the female vehicle’s purse.
Both Sloan and Franklin admitted their involvement after being confronted with photographs of the EcoATM kiosk transaction.
Both Sloan and Franklin pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to a robbery. Franklin, now 20, of St. Louis County, was sentenced in October to two years in prison.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the National Park Service investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Hoag prosecuted the case.
Winnebago Man Sentenced for Sexual Abuse of a MinorRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Robert McClelland, 39, of Winnebago, Nebraska, was sentenced on January 30, 2023, for sexual abuse of a minor. United States District Court Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced McClelland to 11 years and 3 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release from prison, McClelland will begin a ten-year term of supervised release.
In May of 2020, the minor victim disclosed that when she was 5 or 6 years old, McClelland touched her private area and made McClelland touch his penis. When the minor victim asked McClelland to stop, he did. McClelland was interview by law enforcement and admitted to the conduct.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Williamsburg Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering and Conspiracy Involving Labor TraffickingRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Midlothian man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud and commit offenses against the United States, including human trafficking of individuals from Central America, benefiting from forced labor, money laundering, and harboring undocumented non-citizens.
According to court documents, George William Evans, 68, was the fifty-percent owner of a commercial laundry business, Northstar Holdings of Virginia LLC d/b/a Magnolia Cleaning Services, LLC. Evans participated in a conspiracy to harbor, transport, and benefit from the employment of undocumented noncitizens at the commercial laundry business he co-owned. Between the first quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2022, the business’s wage records reflect approximately 121 employees with alleged invalid or mismatched Social Security Numbers and wage payments of more than $1.2 million to these employees.
At the direction of Evans and his coconspirators, Magnolia Cleaning Services exploited undocumented noncitizens to work long hours in poor working conditions. In some cases, employees were threatened with deportation, physical harm, and harm to their families if they refused to work as directed. Some undocumented employees lived in the laundry facility without access to a kitchen or bathroom with a shower or bathtub. One employee was a child who was made to work night shifts while attending school during the day.
Evans pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud and commit offenses against the United States and engaging in a transaction in criminally derived property. Evans agreed to forfeit an amount not less than $3,938,630 to the United States - of which he agreed to pay $1,969,315 no later than thirty days before sentencing. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 20. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy offense and ten years in prison for the money laundering offense. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Derek W. Gordon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C.; Troy Springer, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Washington, DC Regional Office, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; and Damon E. Wood, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Wilson Hanes accepted the plea.
This investigation was conducted by the Hampton Roads Human Trafficking Task Force, a collaboration between federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutors, as well as non-governmental organizations, working together to combat human trafficking in the Hampton Roads Region.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian J. Samuels and D. Mack Coleman are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:22-cr-92.
Utah Man Charged with Mail Fraud for Alleged $5.8 Million Scheme to Defraud Organic Produce Distributor via Sham InvoicesRead the Press Release
RIVERSIDE, California – A Utah man was arraigned in federal court today on a grand jury indictment alleging that he participated in a long-running scheme in which he sent fake invoices on behalf of a shell company to defraud an organic produce distributor out of $5.8 million.
Kevin Scott Horton, 55, of Saratoga Springs, Utah, is charged with seven counts of mail fraud. He pleaded not guilty to the charges today in Riverside federal court and a March 28 trial date in United States District Court in Los Angeles was scheduled in this matter.
According to the indictment and other court documents, from February 2000 to April 2018, Horton schemed with Tony Anhtuan Rawlings, 56, of Garden Grove, the management information systems director at Melissa’s World Variety Produce Inc., a Vernon-based company, to defraud Melissa’s out of its money through the approval of payment of invoices for fictitious services.
In February 2000, Horton allegedly created a shell company called Creative Network Solutions (CNS). At Rawlings’s instruction, Horton allegedly created one or two fictitious invoices per month, in which CNS billed Melissa’s for services that CNS did not provide.
Horton provided the fictitious invoices to Rawlings, who approved them and then provided them to a Melissa’s executive who ensured that Melissa’s paid CNS the amounts listed on the sham invoices, the indictment alleges.
Rawlings falsely represented to Melissa’s executives that CNS provided information technology and information systems services to Melissa’s. In fact, Horton had no background in computers and CNS never provided services to Melissa’s or any other company, the indictment states.
Horton, along with Rawlings, allegedly caused Melissa’s to send CNS payment in the form of checks mailed through the United States Postal Service. Horton allegedly deposited the checks he received through the scheme into a bank account that he controlled. Horton allegedly provided Rawlings a portion of the money that Melissa’s paid to CNS in the form of checks sent via U.S. Mail to an address in Irvine that Rawlings controlled.
In total, Horton, along with Rawlings, allegedly caused Melissa’s to pay CNS approximately $5,805,504 because of the fictitious invoices.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted of all charges, Horton would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each mail fraud count.
Rawlings pleaded guilty in August 2022 to one count of mail fraud. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 1.
The FBI investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Eli A. Alcaraz of the Riverside Branch Office is prosecuting this case.
U.S. Promoter of Foreign Cryptocurrency Companies Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for His Role in Multi-Million Dollar Securities Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
BROOKLYN, NY – Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, John DeMarr was sentenced by United States District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall to 60 months in prison for his participation in a cryptocurrency and securities fraud scheme. The Court also ordered DeMarr to pay $3,513,305.41 in forfeiture. In July 2021, DeMarr pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Kenneth A. Polite Jr., Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Donald Alway, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Los Angeles Field Office (FBI), and Tyler Hatcher, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Los Angeles (IRS-CI), announced the sentence.
“DeMarr took advantage of those who trusted him, persuading them to double down on their investments when he knew that his cryptocurrency companies and their dubious celebrity endorsements were scams being used to fund his lavish lifestyle,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “The victims ultimately lost everything, so it is appropriate that DeMarr lose his freedom for concocting this fraud.”
“Cryptocurrency schemes are on the rise. The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and our law enforcement partners are working diligently to identify and investigate criminals who perpetrate these schemes, like John DeMarr,” stated IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge Hatcher. “DeMarr, a promoter of several digital asset-related companies, conspired with others to defraud victims and made misleading representations for significant profits. DeMarr diverted funds into accounts he controlled and spent the money to maintain a lavish lifestyle. Those who line their pockets with profits from these schemes should know they will not go undetected and will be held accountable.”
According to court filings, DeMarr, a promoter of several digital asset-related companies, conspired with others to defraud investor victims by inducing them to invest in their companies, “Start Options” and “B2G,” based on materially false and misleading representations. Start Options purported to be an online investment platform that provided cryptocurrency mining, trading, and digital asset trading services. B2G was purportedly an “ecosystem” that would allow users to trade B2G tokens, provide digital wallet staking, and trade digital and fiat currencies “on a secure, comprehensive platform.” Both Start Options and B2G, however, were fraudulent.
DeMarr and others falsely claimed that investor funds would be invested in digital asset mining and trading platforms that would earn them massive profits. In reality, the funds were never invested and instead diverted to accounts controlled by DeMarr and others and used for various personal expenditures, including the purchase of a Porsche, jewelry, and the remodeling of DeMarr’s home in California.
Start Options also purported to feature celebrity endorsements to promote its securities offerings. For example, a professional athlete purportedly endorsed Start Options and his name and likeness were used without his consent. Based on this and other fraudulent promotional materials, investors sent millions of dollars’ worth of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and fiat currency to financial accounts, including cryptowallets, controlled by DeMarr and others in the United States and abroad. In late January 2018, rather than permitting Start Options investors to withdraw money from their accounts after the requisite time period, DeMarr and others required investors to roll over their accounts into an unregistered “initial coin offering,” or ICO, of B2G. Investors never actually received any digital tokens, and funds from the offering were not used to develop the B2G platform.
Additionally, DeMarr and others also paid various promoters, including an actor famous for martial arts films made in the 1980s and 1990s, to serve as a promoter and celebrity spokesperson, falsely claiming that B2G could generate an “8,000%” return for investors within one year, and that he was a participant in the ICO. DeMarr and others also created false press releases and whitepapers about B2G, fabricated B2G account statements, and refused to allow investors to withdraw their money.
This case was investigated by the FBI and IRS-CI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaitlin T. Farrell, Hiral D. Mehta, David C. Pitluck, Antoinette N. Rangel and Special Agent Martin Sullivan of the Eastern District of New York and Trial Attorney Kevin Lowell of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. Assistant United States Attorney Claire Kedeshian of the Office’s Asset Recovery Section is handling forfeiture matters.
The Defendant:
JOHN DEMARR
Age: 58
Santa Ana, CaliforniaE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-CR-153 (LDH)
U.S. Attorney Recognizes Human Trafficking Prevention MonthRead the Press Release
BOSTON – U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins recognizes Human Trafficking Prevention Month and reaffirms the office’s commitment to seeking justice for all trafficking victims and survivors.
In August 2022, Rollins created a new standalone criminal Civil Rights and Human Trafficking Unit which has, to date, charged nearly a dozen new criminal cases and initiated several other ongoing investigations in the areas of sex trafficking, labor trafficking and human smuggling. Since its inception, the new unit has assisted 15 victims in eight different states who were victims of trafficking here in Massachusetts. On the prevention front, the office just kicked off an indicator training series this month – partnering with Homeland Security Investigations – aimed at a broad range of employers, including city and state inspectors, as well as hospitality and travel employees, just to name a few.
“Human trafficking is modern day slavery. It is a civil rights violation of the highest order that impacts victims across races, genders, age, immigration status and socio-economic standing. Traffickers use threats, lies, grooming techniques, or violence to exploit vulnerabilities, manipulate and control their victims. Sadly, this crime often goes entirely unseen or ignored. That is why we launched our indicator training series with HSI – to educate the public about labor and sex trafficking and to expose how prevalent it is here in Massachusetts. We recently trained over 100 public employees in Boston, with additional trainings sessions forthcoming. My hope is that by providing people across all sectors the tools they need to spot signs of human trafficking and by sharing the lived experiences of those who have endured it, we can encourage and empower workers in all trades to take part in helping protect the welfare of our most vulnerable. Human trafficking is a real threat to human dignity, public safety and public health. We need urgent and meaningful solutions,” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins.
As part of its outreach efforts, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has established strong community partnerships with several local and state agencies to increase and improve collaboration. This includes regular meetings with the Commonwealth Anti-Trafficking Task Force; the Governor’s Council to Address Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence’s Human Trafficking Subcommittee; the Western Massachusetts Human Trafficking Task Force; and the Plymouth County Human Trafficking Task Force. The office has also committed to continuing to meet with and learn from survivor-lead organizations across Massachusetts.
If you or someone you know may be impacted or experiencing human trafficking, please visit https://polarisproject.org/ for information and resources.
U.S. Attorney Announces Availability of $489,571 in Funding to Reduce Violent Crime and Gun Violence in the Western District of KentuckyRead the Press Release
Louisville, KY – Michael A. Bennett, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, announced today that applications are now being accepted for Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) grant funding for Western District of Kentucky for the reduction of violent crime and gun violence.
“Project Safe Neighborhoods is the Department’s flagship program designed to effectively reduce violent crime and gun violence,” said U.S. Attorney Bennett. “PSN’s core principles of 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, bring together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to decrease violent crime. I encourage community organizations and law enforcement agencies throughout our 53 counties to apply for funding and utilize their expertise to make our communities safer for all citizens.”
The PSN program has $489,571 to award in the Western District. The grant activities will be managed through the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet’s JPSC’s electronic grants management system, also known as Intelligrants 10.0 (IGX). Applications must be submitted no later than Friday, February 24, 2023, at 6:00 pm ET. Technical assistance with application preparation and submission is available from the JPSC upon request.
When considering grant awards, the Western District of Kentucky’s PSN Team will give priority to youth-serving organizations that provide prevention programming; mental health and social services assistance for at-risk individuals; crime prevention training, de-escalation training and community training for law enforcement officers; gang task forces; and equipment, services, and technology for law enforcement.
Western District of Kentucky community organizations and law enforcement agencies interested in applying for this PSN grant funding can open the hyperlink below.
https://justice.ky.gov/Departments-Agencies/GMD/Documents/PSN%20Solicitation%20USAO%20FINAL%2012-21-22.pdf
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U.S. Attorney Announces $1.3 Million Settlement of Civil Fraud Lawsuit Against Apparel Importer for Underreporting Value of Goods to Avoid Paying Customs DutiesRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Ivan J. Arvelo, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), AnnMarie R. Highsmith, Executive Assistant Commissioner for U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (“CBP”) Office of Trade, and Francis Russo, Director of CBP Field Operations New York, announced that the United States has entered into a settlement agreement to resolve a civil fraud lawsuit against HIGH LIFE LLC (“HIGH LIFE”), an apparel design and import company headquartered in Manhattan, for underreporting to CBP the value of apparel imported into the United States. The settlement resolves claims that HIGH LIFE underreported the value of 67 apparel shipments in order to avoid paying the full customs duties owed. Under the settlement agreement approved by U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero, HIGH LIFE has agreed to pay $1.3 million to the United States and has made admissions regarding certain conduct alleged in the Government’s Complaint.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Rather than comply with the law, High Life chose to underreport the value of apparel imported into this country to avoid paying legally mandated customs duties. This Office will continue to hold companies accountable when they make misrepresentations to CBP to enhance their own bottom line.”
HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Ivan J. Arvelo said: “This settlement should serve as a warning to companies that attempt to bolster their bottom line by cheating and defrauding the United States. Individuals or organizations that knowingly and willfully use tactics such as undervaluing or misclassifying goods to avoid paying lawful customs charges are violating the laws of international commerce and HSI will not stand by idly. Our special agents will work diligently with our law enforcement partners to protect legitimate businesses by apprehending those that exploit our trade systems and rob our government of vital revenues.”
CBP Executive Assistant Commissioner AnnMarie R. Highsmith said: “Importers need to know that manipulating the values they report to CBP can come with serious consequences. This case is a great example of the collaborative trade enforcement efforts between teams at CBP, who identified the original pattern of misconduct, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
CBP Director of Field Operations Francis Russo said: “U.S. Customs and Border Protection has a cadre of dedicated professionals – import specialists and regulatory auditors – with expertise in the financial details surrounding imports, including terms of sale and their effect on the dutiable value of goods when they arrive in the United States. Our trade experts found anomalies in High Life’s value calculations based on the terms of sale to its foreign suppliers and paved the way for the Justice Department and Homeland Security Investigations to move this case forward and bring it to a successful conclusion. Their knowledge and collaboration with our law enforcement partners stopped High Life’s efforts to defraud the United States of hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue.”
As alleged in the Complaint filed in Manhattan federal court:
HIGH LIFE purchases apparel from foreign vendors (the “Vendors”), who in turn contract with overseas factories to manufacture the apparel. In December 2015, after CBP had detained numerous HIGH LIFE shipments due to concerns that the declared values were fraudulent, HIGH LIFE decided to transition its business model. Instead of purchasing the apparel on Landed Duty Paid (“LDP”) terms — meaning that HIGH LIFE paid the Vendors a price inclusive of all costs associated with importing the merchandise — HIGH LIFE began purchasing the merchandise on Free on Board (“FOB”) terms. Under the new FOB model, HIGH LIFE assumed importation responsibilities, including the responsibility to declare the value of the imported goods and pay the associated customs duties.
As the importer of record, HIGH LIFE was permitted, if certain criteria were met, to declare the value of the imported goods based on the price the Vendors paid the factories (“First Sale Price”), instead of the price HIGH LIFE paid the Vendors. However, HIGH LIFE could only declare the First Sale Price as the value of the orders if the goods were the subject of a bona fide sale between the Vendors and the factories, the goods were clearly destined for export to the United States, and the factories and the Vendors dealt with each other at arm’s length, in the absence of any non-market influences that affected the legitimacy of the sales price.
From January 21, 2016, through June 1, 2016 (the “Relevant Time Period”), HIGH LIFE materially underreported the value of previously ordered apparel in 67 imported shipments. In transitioning from LDP to FOB terms, HIGH LIFE developed a formula that worked backwards from a previously negotiated LDP price to calculate what HIGH LIFE wanted the FOB price and First Sale Price to be and then used that First Sale Price to declare the values of 67 shipments. The prices used by HIGH LIFE for customs reporting purposes were determined after the orders for the apparel had been placed, after the pricing structure had been negotiated, and after the apparel was in production. It was improper to declare the imported merchandise using these values because the prices were not based on a bona fide sale between the Vendors and the overseas factories and were not the result of arm’s length negotiations between those Vendors and the factories in the absence of any non-market influences. Indeed, HIGH LIFE instructed the Vendors on how to calculate and report the prices that HIGH LIFE ultimately used to declare the values to CBP.
As part of the settlement, HIGH LIFE admits, acknowledges, and accepts responsibility for the following conduct:
- Once HIGH LIFE transitioned to an FOB model, it assumed importation responsibilities for the shipments. As the importer of record, HIGH LIFE could then, if certain criteria were met, declare the value of the imported goods based on the price the Vendors paid the factories, instead of the price HIGH LIFE paid the Vendors. However, HIGH LIFE could only declare the First Sale Price as the value of the orders if the goods were the subject of a bona fide sale between the Vendors and the factories, clearly destined for export to the United States, and the factories and the Vendors dealt with each other at arm’s length, in the absence of any non-market influences that affected the legitimacy of the sales price.
- In transitioning from LDP to FOB terms, HIGH LIFE developed a formula that worked backwards from a previously negotiated LDP price to calculate what HIGH LIFE wanted the FOB price and First Sale Price to be and then used that First Sale Price to declare the values of 67 shipments made during the Relevant Time Period (the “Subject Orders”). HIGH LIFE requested the Vendors to delay shipping merchandise while the First Sale Prices for the Subject Orders were finalized. Indeed, on December 24, 2015, HIGH LIFE’s Production Manager asked the Vendors to “hold as many shipments as possible until we finalize the First Sale.”
- Beginning in late December 2015 and continuing through January 2016, HIGH LIFE instructed the Vendors to apply HIGH LIFE’s formula to calculate the First Sale Price that HIGH LIFE would report to CBP for purposes of calculating the duties owed by HIGH LIFE.
- After the Vendors emailed spreadsheets to HIGH LIFE that purported to reflect the First Sale Prices for the Subject Orders, a member of HIGH LIFE’s production team sent an email to the Vendors directing them to “rework your FOB and [First Sale Price] based on the Highlife Estimate freight.” Following their receipt of these emails, the Vendors replied to HIGH LIFE within 24 hours with revised First Sale Prices for the merchandise included in the Subject Orders.
- When importing the Subject Orders, HIGH LIFE ultimately declared to CBP that the duties owed should be calculated based on the First Sale Prices the Vendors reported to HIGH LIFE.
- If HIGH LIFE had paid duties to CBP based on the prices HIGH LIFE itself paid for the merchandise included in the Subject Orders, instead of calculating the duties based on the purported First Sale Prices reported by the Vendors pursuant to HIGH LIFE’s instructions, HIGH LIFE would have paid significantly higher customs duties for the Subject Orders.
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Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Department of Homeland Security, HSI, and CBP.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Frauds Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Jean Hu and Anthony J. Sun are in charge of the case.
Two District Men Sentenced to Prison Terms in the Fatal Shooting of A Man in Northeast Washington, DCRead the Press Release
Defendant Shot Victim in Mid-Morning Attack
WASHINGTON – Stanley Brown, 30, of Washington, D.C, was sentenced today to 12 years in prison for fatally shooting a man in Northeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Brown pleaded guilty on October 7, 2022, to voluntary manslaughter while armed. In addition to the prison term, the Honorable Milton C. Lee ordered five years of supervised release.
Brown’s co-defendant, Emmanuel Taylor, 39, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 50 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Brown pleaded guilty on October 7, 2022, to unlawful possession of a firearm.
According to the government’s evidence, on Jan. 23, 2020, at approximately 10:15 a.m., Brown approached the victim, Jimmy Beynum, on foot in the 1600 block of F Street NE. Brown shot Mr. Beynum multiple times and then fled the scene. Mr. Beynum, 37, died on Jan. 29, 2020, as a result of multiple gunshot wounds.
The investigation determined that earlier that day, Emmanuel Taylor left his apartment in Southeast Washington with Brown and dropped him off in the area where the murder took place. When police searched the apartment six days later, Taylor attempted to jump out of the window and threw the murder weapon out of the window.
In announcing the pleas, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of the officers, detectives and other personnel who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They acknowledged the efforts of those who handled the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Sitara Witanachchi, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Puja Bhatia, and Victim/Witness Program Specialist Karina Hernandez. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Seidel and Brian Ganjei, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Texas Teacher Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison on Child Porn ChargesRead the Press Release
ALPINE, Texas – A Valentine, Texas man was sentenced in federal court in Alpine last week to 20 years in prison and 15 years of supervised release for distributing child sexual abuse material.
According to court documents, Albert Douglas Ackley, 60, uploaded and shared ten files containing child sexual abuse material over a mobile messaging app. The files were flagged by the app and sent to the Internet Crimes Against Children database for law enforcement investigation. Agents executed a search warrant at Ackley’s residence, where they found multiple devices containing prepubescent child sexual abuse material. At the time of the investigation, Ackley had been teaching math to grades seven through 12 at a local public school.
Ackley was arrested March 15, 2022 and has remained in federal custody. He pleaded guilty on Aug. 12, 2022 to one count of distribution of child pornography.
“We will continue to vigorously prosecute those who distribute or create an illegal market for child pornography as they violate the sanctity and innocence of our children,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas. “We are grateful for our law enforcement partners, and to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, as we work together to protect our kids and hold these offenders accountable for the harm they cause in society.”
“This sentence shows that HSI special agents are laser focused on doing our part to bring to justice those who victimize children,” said Special Agent in Charge Francisco B. Burrola of the Homeland Security Investigations El Paso Division. “HSI is most appreciative of the collaborative partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety that is a force multiplier to combat this horrific crime of child exploitation.”
HSI and the Texas Department of Public Safety investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Ellis 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.
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Sully County Men Sentenced for Crop Insurance FraudRead the Press Release
PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court, has sentenced two Sully County, South Dakota, men convicted of False Statements in Connection with Federal Crop Insurance. The sentencing took place on January 30, 2023.
James Garrett, age 68, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $1,045,544 in restitution to the United States. Levi Garrett, age 44, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $279,396 in restitution to the United States.
The defendants were indicted for several counts of False Statement in Connection with Federal Crop Insurance by a federal grand jury in October of 2021. A jury convicted James Garrett of two counts and Levi Garrett of one count following a six-day trial on October 31, 2022.
James Garrett and his son Levi Garrett operated a family farm and ranch in Sully County. In 2018, the defendants falsely certified to a crop insurance company that they planted 2,200 total acres of sunflowers. In fact, the defendants did not plant any sunflowers, and they wrongfully received indemnity from the insurance company as if their entire crop failed. In 2019, James Garrett falsely certified he planted 47.5 acres of corn as part of a larger claim. In fact, no corn was planted, and he wrongfully received indemnity from the insurance company that year. The defendants fraudulently obtained over $1.3 million in total benefits from their crimes.
“The federal crop insurance program is a vital risk management tool designed to help honest farmers sustain their agricultural productions under difficult circumstances. James and Levi Garrett unlawfully exploited that program and lined their pockets at the expense of taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Ramsdell. “Our office is committed to prosecuting any South Dakotan who dishonestly takes advantage of government programs, and we do so in partnership with hard-working investigators like those individuals at the U.S. Department of Agriculture who pursued this case.”
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Risk Management Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cameron J. Cook and Alexis A. Warner prosecuted the case.
The defendants were ordered to report to their prison facility as designated by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
St. Charles Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Trying to Bring 100 Pounds of Methamphetamine to the St. Louis AreaRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Tuesday sentenced a man from St. Charles, Missouri caught trying to bring 100 pounds of methamphetamine to the St. Louis area to 10 years in prison.
A traffic stop in Kansas led to the case against Demond Benard McDaniels Jr., of St. Charles, and Dawuane Lamont Rhodes Jr., of St. Louis. On Oct. 8, 2020, a Geary County Sheriff’s deputy stopped a van and found two duffle bags containing roughly 100 pounds of methamphetamine that was being driven from Colorado to McDaniels in the St. Louis area. The Drug Enforcement Administration then arranged for the controlled delivery of the drugs.
McDaniels first arranged to have Rhodes pick up and pay for the methamphetamine at a University City garage. Rhodes was arrested with $15,005 in cash, an assault-style weapon and a pistol. McDaniels was then told that Rhodes didn’t show, and he arrived only to be arrested with $6,930 in cash and jewelry.
Investigators later found $93,820 in cash and a pistol at McDaniels’ home.
McDaniels Jr., 26, and Rhodes Jr., 25, pleaded guilty in November to one felony count of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. They agreed to forfeit more than $155,000 seized during the investigation, a 2016 Dodge Charger Hellcat, a 2015 Mercedes Sprinter van and a 2015 Dodge Charger Hellcat.
Rhodes is scheduled to be sentenced March 3.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul D’Agrosa prosecuted the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Shreveport Man Sentenced to 27 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiring to Advertise the Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that James Ray Williams, 51, of Shreveport, Louisiana, has been sentenced by United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. to 27 years in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, on child pornography charges. Williams was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $6,000.
Williams was charged in a superseding indictment in November 2021 with conspiracy to advertise the distribution of child pornography. He pleaded guilty to the charge on August 30, 2022. According to information introduced in court, beginning in May 2021 and continuing through July 7, 2021, Williams was the master administrator of multiple private chat groups on the Kik Messenger app and had his own username. These private chat groups were dedicated to the advertisement and distribution of child pornography. As the master administrator, Williams posted rules to the private chat groups. He also recruited members to the private chat groups, some of whom he appointed to be sub-administrators of and enforce the rules in the groups. One of the rules required members of the private chat groups to post child pornography.
On or about May 9, 2021, Williams a.k.a. “travis_m495” published an advertisement in the private chat group an advertisement offering to distribute child pornography. The advertisement consisted of a Mega link with a file path which contained videos and images of child pornography.
Alexander Pennington, a convicted sex offender from Las Vegas who Williams appointed as a sub-administrator of the private chat groups, was charged as a co-defendant in this case. Pennington previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 years in prison in connection with this case for his role in the conspiracy to advertise the distribution of child pornography.
The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Cassidy.
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Sacaton Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Shooting DeathRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Last week, Jordan Antonio Sullivan, 24, of Sacaton, Arizona, an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Community, was sentenced by United States District Judge Michael T. Liburdi to a total of 25 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Sullivan previously pleaded guilty to Second Degree Murder and Using a Firearm During a Crime of Violence.
On March 23, 2020, Sullivan shot the victim in the neck with a shotgun before hitting the victim in the back of the head with the gun. Sullivan then stole the victim’s car and ran over the victim to ensure he was dead.
Sullivan will serve his 25 years in federal prison after completing a state sentence for Second Degree Murder. In the state case, CR-2020-116748-001, he was sentenced to 18 years for a murder he committed in April 2020.
The Gila River Police Department and the FBI conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Raynette Logan, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR-22-00652-PHX-MTL
RELEASE NUMBER: 2023-010 _SullivanSDTX efforts continue against human traffickersRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – As National Human Trafficking Awareness Month comes to a close, the Southern District of Texas (SDTX) has reaffirmed its commitment to working with federal, state and local partners to combat human trafficking in all its forms, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
“Human trafficking is especially heinous,” said Hamdani. “Our office will continue to use every available resource to charge those who cause imaginable harm and exploit and endanger some of the most vulnerable members of our society.”
Over the past year, the SDTX has charged approximately a dozen cases as part of the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA) and has multiple active investigations and ongoing prosecutions on several more. Nearly 20 individuals are pending trial.
Two such matters in the SDTX involve men facing life in prison. Jonathan Smith-Byrd and Larry Odell Lewis allegedly used force, fraud and coercion to cause multiple women to engage in commercial sex. Both indictments allege the men coerced victims to engage in sex acts across state lines.
Two of Smith-Byrd’s alleged victims were minors when he trafficked them, according to the charges.
Just yesterday, a woman admitted to trafficking other women from a cantina bathroom as well as sex trafficking of a minor. She forced them into commercial sex and took their money. If they refused, she often threatened them with violence.
Another recent example includes a Houstonian who attempted to entice a South Texas minor into commercial sex which resulted in a more than 10-year federal prison sentence. At the time of his plea, Malcolm Lenard Thomas admitted to communicating via Instagram with someone he thought was a 15-year-old girl. He sent a bus ticket knowing the minor was coming to Houston to engage in commercial sex. He claimed his role would be to provide her with protection.
The undercover operation demonstrated how law enforcement is making efforts, in addition to recovering victims, by trying to stop the traffickers before they connect with actual children.
Hamdani attended a meeting with HTRA law enforcement members this month as well. He spoke and expressed his commitment to battling the human trafficking problem in the SDTX and elsewhere and commended HTRA and SDTX efforts in doing so thus far.
“HTRA will continue to be the gold standard for human trafficking task forces,” Hamdani added. “The efforts of law enforcement as well as the non-governmental organizations and others who provide victim services are so greatly appreciated. It takes all of us working together towards the same goal that makes this task force what it is today. I am proud our office has been a part of it since its inception.”
HTRA law enforcement includes members of the Houston Police Department; FBI, Homeland Security Investigations; Texas Attorney General’s Office; IRS-Criminal Investigation; Department of Labor (DOL); DOL – Wage and Hour Division; Department of State; Federal Air Marshals; Texas Alcoholic and Beverage Commission; Texas Department of Public Safety; Texas Rangers; Texas Parks and Wildlife; Social Security Administration – OIG; Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation; Texas Department of Family and Protective Services as well as police departments in Houston Independent School District (ISD), Conroe ISD and Missouri City; Harris County constables offices – Precincts one and four; sheriff’s offices in Harris, Montgomery, Fort Bend, Brazoria and Waller counties in coordination with District Attorney’s offices in Harris, Montgomery, Fort Bend and Galveston Counties. They work in coordination with victim service providers such as YMCA, United Against Human Trafficking and Texas Forensic Nurse Examiners.
Established in 2004, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Houston formed HTRA to combine resources with federal, state and local enforcement agencies and prosecutors, as well as non-governmental service organizations to target human traffickers while providing necessary services to those that the traffickers victimized. Since its inception, HTRA has been recognized as both a national and international model in identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking and prosecuting those engaged in trafficking offenses.
“As we come to the end of National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, we must not forget to look for the signs of human trafficking each and every day,” said Hamdani. “Together, we can combat this insidious crime and help to create a safer environment for everyone.”
To report a tip or ask for help, please call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
Renton, Washington, mid-level leader of local drug trafficking group connected to CJNG cartel, sentenced to prisonRead the Press Release
Seattle – The mid-level leader of a drug distribution cell that was one of the most violent seen in the Western District of Washington was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Jose Daniel Espinoza, 35, was indicted and arrested in July 2020, following an 18-month wiretap investigation. At times during the wiretap, law enforcement had to arrest potential targets of the group, or flood the area with marked patrol cars, to keep people safe. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour noted that Espinoza had a managing role in a drug trafficking group that used guns and distributed fentanyl – a very dangerous drug.
According to records filed in the case, over the course of the investigation, one person was shot outside a residence where the conspirators were converting methamphetamine from liquid to crystal form. On the wiretap, law enforcement heard conversations about kidnapping plots, and other instances of intimidation through use of violence and firearms.
Espinoza was a source for guns as well as drugs and was involved in providing firearms to conspirators who were collecting debts for the group. Espinoza was also tasked by those above him in the trafficking organization with getting firearms that could be taken through California and smuggled into Mexico.
Based on the seizures before and on the date of the takedown, the group was connected to 45 pounds of methamphetamine; 12 pounds of heroin; 3,200 fentanyl pills; 22 firearms; and $566,391.
In their sentencing memo, prosecutors cited the latest data on overdose deaths noting, “an average of 17 overdose deaths occurred each week in King County in 2022, with the surge in overdose deaths driven by fentanyl, which is involved in 70% of all confirmed overdose deaths that occurred by November of 2022.”
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Tacoma Resident Office in partnership with Tahoma Narcotics Enforcement Team (TNET), Kent Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, SeaTac Police Department, Thurston County Narcotics Team (TNT), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amy Jaquette and C. Andrew Colasurdo.
Rapid City Man Sentenced for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The sentencing took place on January 27, 2023.
Brian Jackson, 64, was sentenced to ten years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Jackson was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury in January of 2020. He pleaded guilty on September 23, 2022.
During the conspiracy, Jackson obtained and transported methamphetamine between California and South Dakota on multiple occasions, with the purpose of distributing the methamphetamine in Western South Dakota. On one return trip from California, Jackson was stopped by South Dakota Highway Patrol troopers and was found to be in possession of approximately two pounds of methamphetamine.
This case was investigated by the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET), which is a local drug task force comprised of law enforcement from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police Department, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, South Dakota Highway Patrol, and the South Dakota National Guard. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gina S. Nelson prosecuted the case.
Jackson was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Pleasant Hill Man Sentenced to 6.5 Years in Prison for Billion Dollar DC Solar Ponzi SchemeRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Ryan Guidry, 45, of Pleasant Hill, was sentenced today to six years and six months in prison and ordered to pay $619,415,950 in restitution for participating in a billion-dollar Ponzi scheme involving DC Solar, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
On Jan. 14, 2020, Guidry pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and aiding and abetting money laundering.
According to court documents, between 2011 and 2018, DC Solar manufactured solar generators that were mounted on trailers known as mobile solar generator units (MSG). The company touted the versatility and environmental sustainability of the mobile solar generators and claimed that they were used to provide emergency power to cellphone towers and lighting at sporting and other events. Jeff Carpoff, 52, Paulette Carpoff, 49, both of Martinez, and their co-conspirators solicited investors by claiming that there were favorable federal tax benefits associated with investments in alternative energy. They sold more solar generators than they manufactured to investors, making it appear that solar generators existed in locations that they did not, creating false financial statements, and obtaining false lease contracts, among other efforts to conceal the fraud. In reality, 9,000 of the approximately 17,000 solar generators claimed to have been manufactured by DC Solar did not exist and DC Solar paid early investors with funds contributed by later investors.
According to court documents, Guidry worked at DC Solar from 2012 through 2019 and became Vice President of Operations by 2015. Guidry understood DC Solar’s business model and knew that investors were being defrauded. Guidry accepted $1 million that he knew came from deceived investors to get a signature on a false lease contract, and split another $20,000 in cash with Alan Hansen, 51, of Vacaville, an employee of a telecom company for forging a signature on a related agreement. Guidry fabricated a spreadsheet of fictitious MSG locations, and then Guidry and Jeff Carpoff moved MSGs to their supposed operation sites the day before or even the day of investor inspections. This was done to trick investors into believing that the MSGs had been deployed at those sites all along, when the opposite was true.
In 2017 and 2018 when DC Solar was no longer making the MSGs it was selling, Guidry scraped old VIN stickers off of MSGs and put new ones on them at DC Solar warehouses in Benicia and Las Vegas, working with Jeff Carpoff and others. The VIN switching was to trick investors during inspections into believing that MSGs associated with the transaction under inspection existed and could be found at the locations the company had asserted.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher S. Hales and Kevin C. Khasigian prosecuted the case.
On Nov. 9, 2021, Jeff Carpoff was sentenced to 30 years in prison and ordered to pay $790.6 million in restitution for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. His wife Paulette Carpoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and money laundering, and on June 28, 2022, was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison.
On Nov. 16, 2021, Joseph W. Bayliss, 47, of Martinez, was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay $481.3 million in restitution for securities fraud and conspiracy in connection with the DC Solar scheme. On April 12, 2022, DC Solar CFO Robert A. Karmann, 56, of Clayton, was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay $624 million. On May 31, 2022, Alan Hansen was sentenced to eight years in prison for conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and aiding and abetting money laundering.
Ronald J. Roach, 55, of Walnut Creek, pleaded guilty to criminal offenses related to the fraud scheme and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 14, 2023. Roach faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years prison. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Pittsburgh Felon Sentenced to Life in Prison for Drug and Gun CrimesRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA - A former resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to life imprisonment plus 20 years of incarceration on his conviction of violating federal narcotics and firearm laws, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on James “Al Taric” Byrd, age 46. Judge Bissoon also recommended to the Bureau of Prisons that the Bureau of Prisons house the defendant in a maximum-security prison as far away from the Western District of Pennsylvania as possible.
According to evidence presented at trial, Byrd possessed with intent to distribute quantities of mixtures and substances containing detectible amounts of cocaine, cocaine base (also known as crack cocaine), heroin, and marijuana. Byrd also possessed a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon and carried and possessed said firearm during and in relating to a drug trafficking crime.
Specifically, on Feb. 23, 2015, a complainant called 911 to request police assistance regarding Byrd’s behavior outside of the victim’s home. The complainant detailed the threats Byrd was making towards the victim and noted that he said he had a gun. Officers arrived on the scene and approached Byrd’s vehicle. Byrd got into an altercation with officers and then attempted to flee on foot. Once apprehended, officers recovered marijuana, crack cocaine and powdered cocaine. The search of Byrd’s vehicle revealed a loaded firearm, ammunition, a bullet proof vest, two cellphones and heroin.
In its Sentencing Memorandum, the government outlined the defendant’s prior serious criminal history and other misconduct. Dating back to 1998, the defendant’s convictions include Aggravated Assault, Carrying a Firearm without a License, and other offenses. The conduct for these cases includes shooting people as well as the kidnapping and robbery of a drug dealer. The government’s Sentencing Memorandum also addressed additional violent and threatening conduct and the more than 70 prison misconduct reports that defendant accumulated at the Allegheny County Jail.
Assistant United States Attorneys Brendan T. Conway and Benjamin J. Risacher prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
United States Attorney Chung commended the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives and the McKeesport Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Byrd.
Phelps Man Arrested, Charged with Production, Receipt, Distribution, and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Eric Passalacqua, 36, of Phelps, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with production, receipt, distribution, and possession of child pornography. The charges carry a minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum of 30 years, a lifetime period of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle P. Rossi, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on January 20, 2023, the Rochester Office of the FBI received information from the FBI in Anchorage, Alaska, that an individual located in Phelps, NY, may have been responsible for exchanging child pornography with an individual in Alaska. On January 24, 2023, investigators executed a search warrant at Passalacqua’s residence. A preliminary forensic examination of his phone revealed multiple images of child pornography, including images that Passalacqua produced of a minor victim.
Passalacqua made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson and is being held.
The criminal complaint is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Darren Cox and the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff David Cirencione.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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Pediatric surgeon sentenced to prison for possession, distribution of child pornographyRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Guy Rosenschein was sentenced to over 17 years in prison. Rosenschein, 68, of Albuquerque, pleaded guilty in federal court on Oct. 15 to seven counts of distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and one count of possession of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Rosenschein first came to the attention of law enforcement in 2016 following two CyberTipline Reports submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) by the online chat provider Chatstep. Chatstep reported that images containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) were posted by a user in Albuquerque, New Mexico. NCMEC forwarded the CyberTipline Reports to the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, which submitted the reports to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) for investigation.
BCSO learned that the posts on Chatstep were made from the residence of Rosenschein, then employed as a pediatric urologist and surgeon at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Based on that information, BCSO Detectives obtained a state search warrant for Rosenschein’s residence. The search revealed numerous electronic devices which contained CSAM.
After BCSO conducted their search, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) learned of the existence of a hidden room, containing a safe, located inside Rosenschein’s residence. The room, which was said to be behind a false wall inside a closet underneath the stairs, was present in the home before Rosenschein purchased it. The FBI obtained a second search warrant to reenter the residence, where they located two safes inside the hidden room. Inside one of the safes, agents located additional CSAM.
In total, law enforcement located approximately 19,116 images and 2,092 videos depicting CSAM on the devices seized from Rosenschein.
In addition to New Mexico, the investigation revealed that Rosenschein worked as a pediatric surgeon in several locations in the United States, including New York, Arkansas, and Missouri. Law enforcement learned of additional allegations in other states that Rosenschein had befriended young male patients before sexually abusing the young boys. The investigation to date has revealed three alleged victims of sexual abuse committed by Rosenschein and charges are pending in Arkansas in association with two of these alleged victims.
“Dr. Rosenschein’s conduct was shameful and heinous,” said United States Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez. “Distribution and possession of material depicting the sexual assault of children are serious offenses that cause ongoing harm to the victims and encourage the sexual exploitation and rape of minors. These offenses are horrific when committed by any offender, but it is all the more egregious that the offender in this case was a pediatric surgeon. Using a position of trust to exploit the most vulnerable should always come with the maximum penalties under the law.”
“This sentence serves as an important reminder to our community that even a trusted physician has the capability to pursue and possess horrendous materials involving children,” said New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez. “I thank all parties involved for holding Mr. Rosenschein accountable and commend the hard work that my ICAC team dedicated towards this effort.”
“I am proud of our detective's hard work on this case and their collaboration with the FBI,” said Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen. “Thank you to the United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico for prosecuting this horrific case. This is a heartbreaking example of true evil lurking in our community, and I am relieved knowing Rosenschein has been sentenced to prison.”
Upon his release from prison, Rosenschein will be subject to 10 years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.
The FBI Albuquerque Field Office and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case with assistance from the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah J. Mease and Holland S. Kastrin are prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
The case also was brought as a part of the New Mexico ICAC Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico. There are 86 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.
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23-20
Ohio Man Pleads Guilty to Lying on Federal Gun FormRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Allen DeCola, 65, of Perry, Ohio, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford to making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua A. Violanti, who is handling the case, stated that DeCola is a former federal firearms licensee, who operated under the name MGA Arms, Inc. On three separate occasions in May 2018, DeCola sold a total of 21 firearms to three straw purchasers, meaning that the individuals buying the firearms were doing so for other people. However, all three straw purchasers falsely stated on a form required by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, that they were the actual purchaser of the firearms. DeCola knew that this was false.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division, and the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia. Additional assistance was provided by the ATF in Youngstown Ohio, and the Ashtabula, Ohio Police Department.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 27, 2023, before Judge Wolford.
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North-Central Florida Blimp Company Executive Sentenced to over Five Years in Federal Prison for COVID-19 Relief FraudRead the Press Release
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Patrick Parker Walsh, 42, Williston, Florida, was sentenced today, after previously pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering in connection to COVID-19 pandemic relief. Walsh was sentenced to 66 months in federal prison. The sentence was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
“The theft of any amount of taxpayer funds is inexcusable,” said U.S. Attorney Coody. “However, the defendant’s deceptive acts of diverting millions of dollars in emergency financial assistance from small businesses during the pandemic is simply beyond the pale. Today’s sentence both punishes the defendant’s criminal conduct and should serve as a significant deterrent to others who would selfishly steal from their fellow citizens to unlawfully enrich themselves. With our law enforcement partners, we remain committed to investigating and prosecuting those who engage in acts of covid-related fraud.”
Court documents reflect that between April 7, 2020, and January 21, 2021, Walsh submitted a total of 16 fraudulent applications to multiple federally insured financial institutions and other qualified lenders for Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans in the names of multiple businesses, including his blimp companies which were headquartered in Levy County. Walsh’s false PPP loan applications included several discrepancies: no record of some employees that were listed in Walsh’s applications, that the number of employees listed in multiple applications was more than previously listed in employer tax records, and that some of the companies claimed in the applications were not even established businesses as of February 15, 2020 (the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic relief programs). Additional investigation revealed that Walsh had used several of the same employees on PPP loan applications for different companies.
“Today, the defendant in this case was brought to justice for exploiting Federal relief programs and using the obtained funds for his personal gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Kyle A. Myles, of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG). “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold those accountable who take advantage of such programs and undermine the integrity of our Nation’s banking system.”
Walsh’s fraudulent PPP loan applications sought a total of $11,950,439 in PPP loan funds, of which he received a total of $4,996,167. Further, between March 2020 and July 2020, Walsh submitted a total of 18 fraudulent applications to the SBA for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs), in his own name and in the name of his wife. Walsh’s false EIDL applications were approved and a total of $2,822,000 was disbursed to him.
“Taxpayers thinking about stealing from government relief programs should stop in their tracks and simply look at the consequences of taking the next step,” said Ronald A. Loecker IRS-CI Acting Special Agent in Charge. “Today's sentencing is the result of federal law enforcement banding together to enforce not only the nation's tax laws, but especially cases where someone, for their own personal benefit, steals resources from the American people.”
“This sentence demonstrates that those that steal taxpayer dollars will be held accountable,” said SBA OIG’s Eastern Region Special Agent in Charge Amaleka Brathwaite-McCall. “I want to thank the U.S. Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and pursuit of justice.”
Additionally, Walsh engaged in multiple monetary transactions that involved at least $10,000 of fraudulently obtained PPP loan or EIDL proceeds that he obtained through his wire fraud scheme. Many of these transactions included payments for the purchase of real estate in Florida and Texas, oil leases, and to pay off his mortgage loans.
“Patrick Walsh abused a program that was designed to ease suffering caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Sherri E. Onks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division. “Instead of using millions of dollars in federal funds to help keep struggling businesses afloat and honest workers employed, he selfishly diverted it for his own personal gain. The FBI will hold accountable anyone who takes advantage of those in need during a national emergency, and we remain committed to working with our partners to ensure fraudsters are brought.”
The PPP, administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”), was designed to provide low-interest, forgivable loans to applicants to help fund certain permissible expenses for qualifying businesses amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, which included payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The EIDL program, also administered by the SBA, was designed to provide low-interest loans to small businesses in regions affected by declared disasters. The CARES Act authorized the SBA to provide EIDLs, up to $2 million, to eligible small businesses experiencing substantial financial disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Walsh’s imprisonment will be followed by three years of supervised release. Additionally, Walsh was ordered to pay restitution to the SBA in the amount of $7,818,167, and the Court entered an order of forfeiture in the same amount.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), and the U.S. Small Business Administration-Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG). Assistant United States Attorneys Justin M. Keen and David P. Byron prosecuted the case with the assistance of Assistant United States Attorney Katherine Kerwin, of the United States Attorney’s Financial Litigation Program.
This case was prosecuted as part the Department of Justice’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the CARES Act relief programs. The CARES Act is a federal law enacted in March 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the two programs that were developed through CARES Act is the PPP. It provides funding to businesses through PPP loans for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. PPP allows the interest and principal on loans to be forgiven if the business spends proceeds on certain expense items within a designated time and uses a certain percentage of the loan on payroll expenses. The Department of Justice remains vigilant in detecting, investigating, and prosecuting wrongdoing related to the crisis.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
North Liberty Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Davenport, IA – Jacob John Preuschl, age 28, of North Liberty, was sentenced on January 25, 2023, to 300 months in prison for production of child pornography and transfer of obscene material to minors. Preuschol was also ordered to pay a $10,000 special assessment under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act and a $3,000 special assessment under the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act. Following his prison term, Preuschl was ordered to serve seven years of supervised release.
Law enforcement identified Preuschl after the parent of a minor victim called the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) tipline after finding sexually explicit content between her daughter and an adult male on her cell phone. NCMEC referred the case to law enforcement in Nashville who identified Preuschl and referred the case to Iowa law enforcement. Preuschl met the victim on Snapchat and communicated with the victim for approximately four months and requested nude images and videos. Preuschl also sent the victim images of his genitals. After seizing his cell phone, law enforcement discovered that Preuschl had communicated with several other minor females on Snapchat and had acquired child pornography via the Telegram application.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Joint Forensic Analysis Cyber Team and the Nashville, Tennessee Police Department investigated the case.
This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Childhood” initiative, which was started in 2006 as a nationwide effort to combine law enforcement investigations and prosecutions, community action, and public awareness in order to reduce the incidence of sexual exploitation of children. Any persons having knowledge of a child being sexually abused are encouraged to call the Iowa Sexual Abuse Hotline at 1-800-284-7821.
Niles Physician Pleads Guilty to Illegally Prescribing Controlled Substances and Healthcare FraudRead the Press Release
CLEVELAND – Jeffrey Sutton, 65, a physician who practiced in Niles, Ohio, until early 2022, pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, to 31 counts of illegally prescribing patients opioids and other controlled substances, one count of illegally distributing controlled substances, and 20 counts of healthcare fraud.
According to court documents, from January 2015 through January 2022, Sutton knowingly prescribed medically unnecessary controlled substances to patients outside of the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. In doing so, court documents state that Sutton caused health care benefit programs to be fraudulently billed for both office visits and the controlled substances.
As part of his conduct, court documents state that Sutton prescribed opioid medications to patients for extended periods, including for over a decade, with little change in regimen and despite knowing that the opioid therapy treatment had failed. Court documents go on to state that Sutton also prescribed short-acting opioid therapy medications to patients for extended periods without establishing treatment goals, pain diagnoses, accurate examinations, and either without any medical imaging or with medical imaging that could not justify the opioid prescribing.
Court records show that, among his patients, Sutton escalated opioid dosages to extreme levels, sometimes increasing the dosage by more than 1,000% and sometimes prescribing more than 22 times the level of opioids that th U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified as posing a risk of overdose requiring increased scrutiny. Sutton combined those opioids with other medications like benzodiazepines, a combination that has been known to cause serious risks of slowed or difficult breathing, coma, and death. Sutton also ignored documented behaviors that indicated patients were abusing or diverting prescribed controlled substances or abusing non-prescribed controlled substances like cocaine and fentanyl.
In addition, Sutton admitted that he ignored warnings provided by prescription drug management organizations, insurance carriers, and state authorities about his high prescribing and danger to patients. He also admitted to ignoring and choosing not to act on patient requests to lower dosages.
Sutton also admitted to engaging in sexual acts with patients to whom he directly prescribed controlled substances, including during office visits. He also admitted to delivering dozens of oxycodone pills to the home of a patient with whom he was engaged in a sexual relationship, outside the course of treatment and without a valid prescription.
Finally, Sutton also pleaded guilty to fraudulently causing healthcare benefit programs to pay for patients to receive the medically unnecessary controlled substances and office visits that Sutton required patients to attend to obtain those prescriptions.
Federal investigators are asking anyone who would like to alert investigators to experiences or observations of Jeffrey Sutton’s practice of medicine or other issues to contact the Cleveland FBI at 216-583-5353.
Sutton is scheduled to be sentenced on May 23, 2023.
This case was investigated by the Cleveland FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS OIG), and the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliot Morrison.
New York Man Admits Distributing Fentanyl in New JerseyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A New York man today admitted distribution and possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Jose Migel Cleto, 64, of Manhattan, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of distribution and possession with the intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In April 2022, Cleto distributed, and possessed with the intent to distribute, 400 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl to a man in a commercial parking lot in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
Cleto faces a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of up to $1 million. Sentencing is scheduled for June 21, 2023.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vincent D. Romano of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.
New Jersey Man Sentenced for Assaulting Officers and Other ChargesRead the Press Release
Defendant Confronted Officers Outside Capitol Building
WASHINGTON – A New Jersey man was sentenced today for assaulting law enforcement officers and other charges for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.
Philip S. Young, 61, of Sewell, New Jersey, was sentenced to 8 months in prison. Young pleaded guilty November 2, 2022 in the District of Columbia to assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers, and interfering with officers during a civil disorder, both felony offenses, plus five related misdemeanor charges. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich ordered $2,000 restitution, and 36 months of supervised release.
According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, at approximately 2:46 p.m., Young was illegally on the Capitol grounds, standing on stairs leading to the Upper West Terrace. Someone in the crowd shouted, “1, 2, 3, go!” Young hurriedly went up the stairs. He was one of several people that lifted and pushed a metal bicycle rack barricade into a line of law enforcement officers. Later, at approximately 3:54 p.m., he had made his way to the east courtyard of the Capitol, where he was seen letting the air out of the tires of a black U.S. government vehicle.
Young was arrested on Aug. 19, 2021, in Sewell, New Jersey.
This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office and its South Jersey Resident Agency, and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identified Young as #276 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police.
In the 24 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 950 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 284 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
Nebraska Man Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken has sentenced a Chadron, Nebraska, man convicted of Abusive Sexual Contact. The sentencing took place on January 27, 2023.
William Bear Robe, 39, was sentenced to four years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Bear Robe was indicted for the charge by a federal grand jury in June of 2019. He was found guilty following a federal jury trial in Rapid City in September of 2022.
The conviction stems from Bear Robe engaging in sexual contact with a child under the age of 12 in 2012, at Oglala, South Dakota.
This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Poppen prosecuted the case.
Bear Robe was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Michigan Man Convicted on Charges of Providing Material Support to ISISRead the Press Release
A Michigan man was convicted by a federal jury today in the Eastern District of Michigan on charges of providing, attempting to provide, and conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, in connection with his support for ISIS in Syria from 2015-2018. He was also convicted of receiving military-type training from ISIS while in Syria.
Ibraheem Izzy Musaibli, 32, of Dearborn, was convicted after a nine-day trial conducted before U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson in Detroit. The jury deliberated for approximately four hours before returning the guilty verdict.
“With this verdict, the defendant is being held accountable for traveling overseas, joining ISIS, and receiving training from the terrorist organization,” stated Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen. “The National Security Division, working with our partners, is committed to identifying and holding accountable U.S. citizens who leave this country in order to join and support ISIS and other foreign terrorist organizations. I want to thank the many agents, analysts, and prosecutors who are responsible for this investigation and prosecution.”
“Ibraheem Musaibli traveled halfway around the world and joined a vicious, brutal, and violent terrorist organization known — and proud of — its barbaric acts of terror,” said U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison for the Eastern District of Michigan. “Today’s verdicts highlights the dedication of this office, along with our law enforcement partners, in pursuing anyone who poses a danger to the United States—no matter where they are located.”
“This defendant willingly traveled to Syria, joined ISIS, and attended a terrorist training camp,” said Special Agent in Charge James A. Tarasca of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “Today’s verdict demonstrates to anyone who would seek to contribute to ISIS’s terrorist activities that the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force will be unwavering in its mission to protect the American people by identifying, disrupting, and bringing them to justice.”
Evidence provided during the trial established that Musaibli, originally born in Dearborn, moved to Yemen in April 2015. From Yemen, he traveled to Syria in the fall of 2015 where he attended an ISIS-run religious training camp before undergoing military training where he learned to shoot, carry and otherwise handle a machine gun. Upon graduation from the ISIS military training camp, Musaibli swore allegiance to ISIS and its leader and remained with ISIS for over two and half years. Musaibli was eventually captured by Syrian Democratic Forces in 2018 and turned over to the FBI and flown back to the United States to face terrorism related charges.
Musaibli faces a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison when he is sentenced. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison for the Eastern District of Michigan, Assistant Director Robert R. Wells of the FBI Counterterrorism Division and Special Agent in Charge James A. Tarasca of the FBI Detroit Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hank Moon and Michael Martin for the Eastern District of Michigan prosecuted the case, with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Miami-Area Man Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Federal Prison for Multi-City Meth Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Hector Enrique Veliz Villeda (31, Hialeah) to six years and six months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Veliz Villeda had pleaded guilty on October 20, 2022.
According to court documents, in June and July 2022, Veliz Villeda and others were part of a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy moving kilogram quantities of high-purity methamphetamine throughout cities located in the Middle District of Florida, the Southern District of Florida and the Northern District of Alabama. Veliz Villeda received shipments of high-purity methamphetamine from a coconspirator in Birmingham, Alabama and subsequently transported the methamphetamine into the Miami and Tampa metropolitan areas for resale.
On June 14, 2022, at his home in Hialeah, Veliz Villeda obtained high-purity crystal methamphetamine from a coconspirator in Alabama. He later sold the drugs to a confidential source in Bradenton. On July 14, 2022, Veliz Villeda again traveled from Hialeah to Bradenton and sold more high-purity crystal methamphetamine he had received from coconspirators.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bradenton Police Department, and the Florida Highway Patrol. It was being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David W.A. Chee.
Mescalero man pleads guilty to assault in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Julius Scott Mendez pleaded guilty to assault of a spouse, intimate partner or dating partner resulting in substantial bodily injury and assault of a spouse, intimate partner or dating partner by strangling. Mendez, 30, of Mescalero, New Mexico, and an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.
In the plea agreement, Mendez admitted to attacking the victim, who is also an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe by kicking, punching, and strangling her until she lost consciousness. As a result of Mendez’s assault, the victim suffered substantial bodily injury to her head, face, and neck and had severe bruising over most of her body. The assault occurred on the Mescalero Apache Reservation.
At sentencing, Mendez faces up to ten years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Matilda McCarthy Villalobos and Eliot Neal are prosecuting the case.
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23-19
Man Sentenced to 300 Months in prison for a 2017 Claremore MurderRead the Press Release
A defendant was sentenced Tuesday in federal court for killing a man with a machete in Claremore in 2017, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Michael Eugene Spears, 59, of Claremore, to 300 months in prison for the second degree murder of victim Mark McKinney. Following his prison sentence, he will spend five years on supervised release.
“The defendant’s murderous act and attempted cover-up earned him a 25-year federal prison sentence,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “The dedicated work of the Claremore Police Department, FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tom Duncombe and Justin Bish have ensured justice for the victim and his family. I am proud of their resolve to hold accountable those who commit brutal acts of violence in our communities.”
"Today's sentencing brings to an end a tragic story of cold-blooded murder and an attempted cover-up by a merciless and violent criminal," said FBI Oklahoma City Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Gray. "Thanks to a determined investigation by the FBI, Claremore Police Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Oklahoma, Spears will be held accountable for his heinous crime."
The murder occurred following a disagreement between the two men on Nov. 18, 2017, in a trailer owned by Spears’ sister. Sometime after the brutal attack, Spears told a relative about his crime and asked to borrow a truck so he could transport the victim’s body to a lake, where he planned to dispose of it. A relative reported the crime to law enforcement the next morning and the victim’s body was recovered from the trailer.
Prosecutors argued for a sentence of 30 years in prison, given the brutal nature of the murder. In particular, prosecutors noted how the defendant had stabbed the victim repeatedly with the sixteen-inch-blade weapon, beat him until he was unrecognizable, took his phone and the few dollars in his pocket, and left him to die on the floor while Spears spent hours drinking.
The defense argued for a sentence of 15 years, contending that Spears’ years of alcoholism, his troubled childhood, his issues with judgment and impulse control, and evidence of cognitive decline showed a lower sentence was appropriate. The defense also pointed to Spears’ lack of criminal history and contended that Spears may have acted in self-defense.
Prosecutors noted that the defendant’s issues with impulse control and judgment were the very reasons he continued to pose a danger to the public and that the evidence at the crime scene in no way corroborated Spears’ claims of self-defense.
The FBI and Claremore Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas E. Duncombe and Justin G. Bish prosecuted the case.
Spears was previously charged and convicted of first degree murder in Rogers County District Court. Because the defendant is a tribal citizen and the crime occurred within the Cherokee Nation reservation, his state conviction was vacated following the Supreme Court’s McGirt v. Oklahoma decision and subsequent other court decisions. The U.S. Attorney’s Office then prosecuted the case. First degree murder under Oklahoma law has similar elements to the federal crime of second degree murder.
Man Pleads Guilty to Coercing and Threatening Children into Producing Images of Child Sexual AbuseRead the Press Release
A Tennessee man pleaded guilty today to coercing and threatening multiple minors into creating videos of themselves engaging in sexual activity.
According to court documents, Caleb Jordan, 22, of Mount Juliet, met three minors online through a video gaming platform. Jordan told the minors, who were between 11 and 14 years old, that people were coming to “get them” and threatened to kill or sexually assault their parents unless the minors created videos of themselves engaging in sexual activity. Jordan instructed them to perform and record specific sex acts and used these minors to create nearly 400 sexually explicit videos, some of which depict the minor victims crying or in visible distress. Jordan then attempted to sell the videos over an encrypted internet chatting application. Electronic devices seized from Jordan’s home also contained more than 10,000 images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.
Jordan pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of children. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 12 and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Henry C. Leventis for the Middle District of Tennessee, and Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Nashville made the announcement.
HSI Nashville is investigating the case with valuable assistance provided by HSI offices in Phoenix, Arizona, and Fort Myers, Florida.
Trial Attorney Kyle P. Reynolds of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Daughtrey for the Middle District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Man Charged with Hate Crime and Obstruction and Second Man Charged with Obstruction Offenses Following Murder of Transgender Woman in South CarolinaRead the Press Release
A five-count federal indictment was unsealed charging two South Carolina men with hate crime and obstruction offenses.
The indictment charges Daqua Ritter, 26, with a hate crime for the murder of a transgender woman because of her gender identity; using a firearm in connection with the hate crime; and obstruction of justice. The indictment also charges Xavier Pinckney, 24, with two obstruction offenses for providing false and misleading statements to authorities investigating the murder of the victim, Dime Doe.
The indictment alleges that on Aug. 4, 2019, Ritter shot Dime Doe, a transgender woman, because of Dime Doe’s actual and perceived gender identity. The indictment further charges Ritter with misleading state investigators about his whereabouts the day of the murder. The indictment also alleges that Pinckney concealed from state investigators the use of his phone to call and text Dime Doe the day of the murder and lied to state and federal investigators about seeing Ritter after the morning of the murder.
The hate crime count against Ritter carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The counts charging Ritter and Pinckney with obstruction of justice carry a maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment. The count charging Pinckney with lying to federal investigators carries a maximum penalty of five years of imprisonment.
The FBI’s Columbia Field Office investigated the case, with the assistance of South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brook Andrews, Ben Garner and Elle Klein for the District of South Carolina and Trial Attorney Andrew Manns of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an accusation. Each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Lincoln Man Sentenced to 30 Months’ Imprisonment for Assaulting Federal OfficersRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Balmore Hernandez-Castro, 24, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard to 30 months’ imprisonment following his conviction for assaulting a federal law enforcement officer. After he completes his prison sentence, Hernandez-Castro will also serve two years on supervised release, and he will be deported to El Salvador following the completion of his prison sentence. There is no parole in the federal system. Hernandez-Castro pleaded guilty to the offense on September 21, 2022.
Two deportation officers with the Department of Homeland Security had a warrant for Hernandez-Castro’s arrest. The morning of July 12, 2021, the officers observed Hernandez-Castro leave his home with another person, get into the passenger side of a car, and drive away. The officers stopped the car a couple of blocks away from Hernandez-Castro’s home. When the officers informed Hernandez-Castro they had a warrant for his arrest, Hernandez-Castro immediately began resisting arrest. He refused to get out of the car. A struggle ensued and during the struggle, Hernandez-Castro punched, kicked, and bit the deportation officers. Officers with the Lincoln Police Department responded to a 911 call for assistance. Several officers arrived on scene within a matter of a few minutes. With the assistance of the additional officers, and after the use of a Taser, Hernandez-Castro was finally arrested.
In addition to the deportation officers, and assistance from the Lincoln Police Department, agents with Homeland Security Investigations contributed additional follow-up investigation.
Lee’s Summit Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Robbery of Cell Phone StoreRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Lee’s Summit, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to the armed robbery of a T-Mobile store in Kansas City, Mo.
Derrick C. Davis, 22, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to one count of robbery and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime. Co-defendant Vondell D. Walton, 21, of Grandview, Mo., pleaded guilty on Dec. 6, 2021, to the armed robbery of a T-Mobile store in Raymore, Mo., and awaits sentencing.
By pleading guilty today, Davis admitted that he robbed the T-Mobile store at 819 N.W. Barry Road in Kansas City, Mo., on March 8, 2019. Davis and another suspect entered the store at approximately 9 p.m. as it was closing. Both men wore masks, gloves, and hoodies, and were armed with handguns. Davis pointed a black handgun at an employee’s head. They grabbed a plastic bin and stole several iPhones and iPads from a back room, including one that contained a GPS tracking device.
When Davis fled from the business in a 2015 BMW X1 hatchback, the tracking device activated and started to transmit GPS locations for the device. Police officers followed the locations and found the BMW in the area of Gregory Boulevard and Raytown Road. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle using their emergency lights and sirens; however, the vehicle refused to stop and officers pursued the vehicle. During the pursuit, the suspects threw a camouflage bag out of the vehicle near 90th Street and Raytown Road. Officer used stop sticks on the vehicle in the area of Bannister Road and Raytown Road, however, they lost sight of the vehicle shortly after that. Officers found the camouflage bag in the area of 90th Street and Raytown Road; the bag contained the stolen iPhones, an iPad, a tracking device, and a black Glock 9mm semi-automatic handgun.
A short time later, the BMW was found, partially burned, in Grandview, Mo. The vehicle appeared to have been intentionally set on fire. The fire was extinguished, and the vehicle was towed. Officers later found Walton’s driver’s license inside the vehicle, which was registered to Davis’s mother.
Just after midnight, Kansas City police officers were driving by the location where the camouflage bag had been found. Davis and another individual were walking on the shoulder of the roadway with their cell phone flashlights on, apparently looking for something. When officers contacted them, they denied they were looking for anything and were released from the scene.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, the government and Davis agree the court should impose a sentence of 14 years in federal prison without parole. The sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Barnes. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Independence, Mo., Police Department, and the FBI.
Leader of Marijuana Delivery Service Pleads Guilty to Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Washington D.C. man pleaded guilty today to laundering roughly $3,500,000 generated by the illegal sale of marijuana and THC.
According to court documents, Connor Pennington, 39, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Pennington was the Chief Executive Officer of JointVentures, LLC., a company that operated primarily under the name “Joint Delivery” as a delivery service of marijuana and THC products, including THC vape cartridges, wax, and edibles. JointVentures was never licensed as a medical marijuana dispensary in any state or the District of Columbia.
JointVentures operated the distribution and delivery side of the enterprise out of a residential building in downtown D.C., and delivered its products to customers using delivery drivers or cyclists. The business generated nearly $1.5 million in 2018 alone. By 2021, in just the first three quarters of the year, JointVentures generated well over $2.3 million in revenue. Pennington oversaw and approved of a scheme by which he and other representatives of the company deposited cash in denominations less than $10,000 into several bank accounts the company operated, thus allowing JointVentures to avoid scrutiny from the banks and to disguise the source of the cash.
Pennington is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division; and Damon E. Wood, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema accepted the plea.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Rumbaugh and David A. Peters are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-127.
Leader of International Drug Network Extradited from Costa Rica Sentenced to More Than 17 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge William Jung has sentenced Piero Antonio Lubo-Barros (52, Colombia), a/k/a “Nostradamus,” to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine knowing and intending it to be imported into the United States. The indictment against Lubo-Barros was returned in the Middle District of Florida in April 2019. He was arrested in January 2021 while living under an assumed identity in Costa Rica and then extradited to the United States in November 2021. Lubo-Barros pleaded guilty on August 10, 2022.
According to testimony presented at sentencing, beginning in approximately September 2017 and continuing through 2019, Lubo-Barros oversaw a transnational criminal conspiracy that transported cocaine throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, and directly to the United States, including parts of Texas, California, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Florida. During the investigation, Lubo-Barros discussed the shipment of cocaine through land and sea, including negotiating drug shipments, establishing new drug trafficking routes, paying his co-conspirators, discussing currency transfers, drug debts and methods used to avoid apprehension and detection by law enforcement. One such distribution was attempted by Lubo Barros in 2018 on board the cruise vessel the Island Princess as it docked in Fort Lauderdale. The cocaine distributed by Lubo-Barros and others displayed identifying symbols and marks. Those marks were found in kilograms of cocaine recovered by law enforcement in New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida.
Lubo-Barros’s co co-conspirator, Gerardo Gomez-Lubo, was also indicted in April 2019. He was later extradited from Panama to the United States. On June 24, 2022, Gomez Lubo was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.
“This case should serve as a reminder to those who seek to poison American communities with illicit drugs; the Drug Enforcement Administration is relentless in our pursuit of bad actors,” said Special Agent in Charge J. Todd Scott, head of DEA’s Louisville Division. “Wherever you are in the world, the dedicated men and women of the DEA will find you and bring you to justice.”
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant support with the defendant’s extradition. This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Leader of Heroin Trafficking Ring Sentenced to More than 9 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has been sentenced in federal court to 114 months’ imprisonment followed by four years of supervised release on his conviction for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
United States District Judge William S. Stickman, IV imposed the sentence on Martise Smith, age 30.
According to information presented to the court, Smith conspired to distribute and possessed with intent to distribute heroin from June of 2019 through December of 2019. In 2019 the Federal Bureau of Investigation began investigating a heroin trafficking organization operating throughout the greater Pittsburgh area of which Smith was the leader. Beginning in July of 2019 and continuing through August of 2019, the FBI initiated a Title III wiretap investigation into the organization. Smith was intercepted communicating with his codefendant about selling heroin, acquiring quantities of heroin, prices of heroin, and the purity of the heroin. Through extensive physical and electronic surveillance, Smith was observed meeting with his codefendant to conduct heroin transactions. Judge Stickman referenced the seriousness of the offense as well as Smith’s criminal history.
Assistant United States Attorney Mark V. Gurzo prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Chung commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Allegheny County Police Department, the Stowe Township Police Department, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, the Office of the Attorney General, the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office, the North Versailles Police Department, the Allegheny County Port Authority Police Department, the Munhall Police Department, and the Pennsylvania State Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Smith.
This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Justice Department Observes National Human Trafficking Prevention MonthRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today commemorates National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and renews its commitment to investigating and prosecuting human traffickers, protecting victims, and preventing human trafficking from happening in the first place. We do this work in collaboration with our interagency partners and external stakeholders.
“As the Justice Department’s National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking recognizes, an effective response to human trafficking requires collaboration across government and beyond. Most important, it requires listening to victims and survivors and incorporating their perspectives into everything we do,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “As we commemorate National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the Department of Justice reaffirms our commitment to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of survivors, and to empowering them to help bring their traffickers to justice. The Justice Department will continue to work relentlessly to prevent human trafficking crimes, prosecute perpetrators of these crimes, and provide protection and trauma-informed assistance to victims and survivors.”
The Justice Department’s National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, announced last year by Attorney General Garland, laid out the Department’s multi-year strategy to combat all forms of human trafficking. Over the past 12 months, the Department has taken significant actions to implement the National Strategy. These actions include:
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Launching an interagency Forced Labor Initiative to enhance the detection, investigation, and prosecution of federal criminal forced labor violations. The Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit (HTPU) convened an interagency steering committee of subject matter experts from the FBI, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA), and the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security to conduct threat assessments and to screen for possible forced labor indicators. The steering committee identifies jurisdictions with elevated forced labor threats, prioritizes among actionable leads, and imparts specialized expertise and strategic guidance to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other law enforcement and non-governmental partners in each relevant jurisdiction.
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Establishing a departmental working group to review current policies, procedures, practices, and trainings to ensure that the Department is avoiding inappropriate immigration consequences and inappropriate arrest and punishment of victims of human trafficking.
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Convening a Working Group of Victim Assistance specialists from 17 components throughout the Department that meet regularly to exchange expertise in stabilizing and supporting vulnerable victims of human trafficking at all stages of the criminal justice process and to enhance the dissemination of victim-centered, trauma-informed best practices in victim-witness assistance to anti-trafficking partners nationwide.
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Partnering with over 200 federal, state, and local agencies to locate and assist victims of human trafficking, particularly child victims, as part of Operation Cross Country XII (OCC XII). The FBI’s Victim Services Division (VSD) coordinated the national victim assistance response for OCC XII, which included training on the importance of using a victim-centered, trauma-informed approach and ensuring the unique needs of each identified victim were addressed throughout the operation. VSD personnel, in collaboration with local non-government organizations (NGOs), child protective services, medical organizations, and other community, state, and national groups, provided more than 850 services to more than 220 identified minor and adult victims of human trafficking. These services included crisis intervention, needs assessments, child and adult protective services notification, mental health/safety planning, and referrals to human trafficking NGOs and service providers.
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Developing a comprehensive training on human trafficking and gender-based violence to train Bureau of Prisons staff on how to identify and respond to potential indicators of human trafficking among detained people.
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Strengthening coordination among departmental anti-trafficking subject matter experts, such as those in HTPU, the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices (USAOs), and the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), to identify challenges and improve District-level anti-trafficking efforts.
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Enhancing the response to human trafficking in Indian Country through increased cooperation with Tribal, federal, state, and local partners. For example, EOUSA, in partnership with the National Indian Country Training Initiative, published a memorandum reaffirming its commitment to ensuring USAOs receive training and support to effectively combat human trafficking and address challenges specific to Indian country. In addition, the Department’s Office on Violence Against Women provided funding for the Sovereign Responses to Sex Trafficking in Indian Country and Alaska national conference held this month in New Orleans. The conference brought together Tribal leadership, federal partners, and experts in the anti-trafficking field, including experts on domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, Missing or Murdered Indigenous People, and sex trafficking, in Tribal communities to better address the safety of children, women, and men.
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Funding an almost $1 million award from OVC to support a survivor-led team to assist OVC anti-trafficking grantees and their partners in intentional and sustainable engagement with survivors to improve anti-trafficking programming.
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Funding a $979,022 award from the National Institute of Justice to the National Opinion Research Center to conduct a rigorous 48-month multisite process and outcome evaluation of the Enhanced Collaborative Model Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking Program, which aims to develop, expand, or strengthen a multidisciplinary approach to fight human trafficking.
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Developing legislative proposals to amend existing statutes to combat human trafficking, assist victims, and increase prosecution of perpetrators. These proposals would significantly strengthen procedures for collecting mandatory restitution, criminalize fraudulent labor recruitment practices, and enable consistency in enforcement.
Anyone who has information about a potential human trafficking situation or who thinks they or someone they know may be a victim of human trafficking who needs help should contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Department of Justice’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.
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Honduran National Charged with Reentry of Deported AlienRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that MARTIR PERDOMO-CHAVEZ, age 44, a citizen of Honduras, was indicted on January 26, 2023, for illegal reentry of deported alien in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a).
According to the indictment, PERDOMO was encountered in the United States on or about January 5, 2023, after having been previously removed therefrom on or about June 11, 2008.
If convicted, PERDOMO faces a maximum term of imprisonment of two years, a maximum fine of $250,000, a maximum term of supervised release of one year, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.
U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans praised the work of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Spiro G. Latsis is in charge of the prosecution.
Gulfport Man and Woman Sentenced Regarding Harboring of Illegal AliensRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. – A Gulfport man was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, a $10,000 fine and $5,100 in special assessments for harboring illegal aliens within the United States. Additionally, a Chinese citizen, who is a Permanent Resident Alien of the U.S. and had been living in Gulfport, was sentenced to 5 years of federal probation and a $5,000 fine for misprision of a felony regarding the harboring of illegal aliens. Both of the defendants also were ordered to forfeit to the United States a house and land in D'Iberville, Mississippi, which had been used to harbor the aliens.
Hui Weng, 41, of Gulfport, and Yun Mei Weng, a Chinese national living in Gulfport, were sentenced in U.S. District Court in Gulfport. The two were convicted after pleading guilty on November 16, 2022.
Beginning at least by August 2019, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) received information that the Panda Palace Buffet was illegally hiring and harboring as employees, aliens unlawfully present in the United States, at its Gulfport and D’Iberville locations. The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, also joined in the investigation. HSI determined that Mr. Hui Weng had been working at or managing the Panda Palace Buffet in Gulfport. Although the facilities were rented, the owner of the equipment was Mrs. Yun Mei Weng. Mrs. Weng’s husband, the late Mr. Sheng Bin Weng, managed the Panda Palace Buffet in D’Iberville.
From their investigation, federal officials determined that the Wengs were hiring and harboring multiple illegal aliens from Central America who worked in the back of the restaurants washing dishes, cooking, cleaning, etc. The employees in the front, visible parts of the restaurants were lawful employees. In addition to hiring the illegal aliens, the Wengs provided housing for the aliens at two locations, including one rented house in Gulfport and another house in D’Iberville. The Wengs also provided transportation for the aliens back and forth between the harboring houses and the Panda Palace Buffet restaurant locations in D’Iberville and Gulfport.
On March 10, 2020, search warrants were served on both Panda Palace locations and the two houses being used as housing for illegal alien workers. Multiple illegal alien workers (including one 17 year-old minor at the Gulfport Panda Palace) were found, including four adult aliens who had unlawfully returned to the United States after being lawfully removed. These workers entered or remained in the U.S. in violation of law.
U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca, Special Agent in Charge David L. Denton of Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans, and Mathew Broadhurst, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General in Atlanta, made the announcement.
U.S. Attorney LaMarca praised the investigative efforts and coordination of Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris was the prosecutor for the case.
Georgia Man Pleads Guilty to Access Device Fraud in Connection with Transfer of Stolen DataRead the Press Release
CONCORD – David Wiley, 53, of Georgia, pleaded guilty in federal court to access device fraud, United States Attorney Jane E. Young announced today.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on February 16, 2022, Wiley participated in a recorded phone call with an individual cooperating with law enforcement. During the call, Wiley offered to sell stolen data, including victims’ names, credit card numbers, card expiration dates, and card verification value (CVV) codes. Wiley also discussed pricing and the best way to transfer the stolen data. Over the next few weeks, Wiley and the individual cooperating with law enforcement exchanged text messages discussing the transfer of an initial set of sample data.
On March 8, 2022, Wiley uploaded a password-protected spreadsheet containing the names, addresses, email addresses, credit card numbers, card expiration dates, CVV codes, and phone numbers of 200 victims to a secure File Transfer Protocol (FTP) website. Wiley then emailed the password to the individual cooperating with law enforcement to access the spreadsheet.
Wiley is scheduled to be sentenced on May 9, 2023.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Alexander S. Chen and Matthew T. Hunter.
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Four New Jersey Men Charged with Roles in ‘Ghost Gun’ Trafficking NetworkRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Four members of a gun manufacturing and trafficking network in Passaic and Hudson counties have been charged with weapons offenses related to the fabrication and sale of personally made firearms (PMFs), commonly known as “ghost guns,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Savion Clyburn, 20, and Corey Jenkins Jr., 30, both of Paterson, New Jersey; Richard Mullane, 26, of Bayonne, New Jersey; and Julian Santiago, 26, of Jersey City, New Jersey, are charged by complaint with conspiracy to engage in unlicensed firearms dealing and manufacturing and engaging in unlicensed firearms dealing and manufacturing, including by manufacturing and subsequently selling PMFs. Santiago is also charged with transferring a firearm to a felon. The defendants are scheduled to appear today before U.S. Magistrate Edward S. Kiel in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Beginning in December 2022, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), along with state and local law enforcement agencies, began investigating a firearms trafficking network, operating largely in Paterson and Bayonne, that included Clyburn, Jenkins, Mullane, and Santiago. During December 2022 and January 2023, law enforcement conducted at least nine controlled purchases which resulted in the recovery of 12 firearms, including 11 PMFs and one serialized Kel-Tec SUB-2000 Rifle, as set forth below:
Date
Defendant(s)
Firearm(s) Purchased
Week of Dec. 18, 2022
Clyburn
Jenkins
Two PMFs
Dec. 28, 2022
Santiago
One PMF
Jan. 3, 2023
Santiago
Jenkins
One PMF
Jan. 5, 2023
Clyburn
Jenkins
One PMF
Jan. 7, 2023
Santiago
Jenkins
Mullane
One PMF
Jan. 9, 2023
Clyburn
Jenkins
Mullane
Two PMFs
Jan. 17, 2023
Clyburn
Jenkins
Two PMFs
Jan. 17, 2023
Clyburn
One Kel-Tec SUB-2000 Rifle, bearing Serial No. EGN69
Jan. 25, 2023
Jenkins
Mullane
One PMF
Law enforcement officials have recovered PMFs that were customized with different colors and designs, and two of which were threaded for silencers.
All four defendants face a maximum prison sentence of five years and a maximum fine of up to $250,000 on each of Counts One and Two. Defendant Santiago faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000 on Count Three.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of ATF, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Bryan Miller in Newark; the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik; the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office; under the direction of Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes; the Passaic Police Department, under the direction of Chief Luis A. Guzman; the Paterson Police Department, under the direction of Acting Chief Bert Ribeiro; and postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher Nielsen, Philadelphia Division, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the Elizabeth, Plainfield, Hillside, Bayonne and East Orange police departments, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the New Jersey State Police, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Belgiovine of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Founder of Purported Cryptocurrency Company Sentenced to More Than Eight Years in Prison for Multi-Million-Dollar Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The founder of “My Big Coin,” a purported cryptocurrency and virtual payment services company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for marketing and selling fraudulent virtual currency and operating an unlicensed virtual currency exchange.
Randall Crater, 52, of Lake Mary, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 100 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Crater was also ordered to pay forfeiture of $7,668,317 and restitution in an amount that will be determined at a later date. In July 2022, Crater was convicted by a federal jury of four counts of wire fraud, three counts of unlawful monetary transactions and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
“For nearly four years, Mr. Crater perpetrated a brazen fraud scheme that preyed on investors and customers who put their faith in him and his fake business, resulting in victim losses of over $7.5 million. He saw the growing crypto marketplace as an opportunity to create the illusion of My Big Coin as a legitimate service from which investors would yield a profit. His lies and deception inflicted real trauma, pain and hardship on the lives of 55 individual victims and their families who funneled their money into bank accounts Mr. Crater controlled and used to finance his extravagant lifestyle,” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins. “I hope today’s sentence sends a strong message that fraudsters – in any market – who seek to exploit others will be found and brought to justice.”
“Spreading outright lies, Randall Crater defrauded dozens of victims out of more than $7.5 million, convincing them their cryptocurrency investments were backed by gold when in reality their hard-earned money went to funding his lavish lifestyle,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “The harm done here was significant—delayed retirement, tuition money lost, lives turned upside down—all because of one man’s greed. Today’s lengthy sentence doesn’t right those wrongs, but it does ensure Mr. Crater won’t be victimizing anyone else.”
“The excitement of being part of a new market in cryptocurrency can be very enticing to those who want to be in at the forefront; but in this case they found their investment was nothing more than an investment in Mr. Crater’s lavish lifestyle. Postal Inspectors remind consumers to thoroughly investigate all offers and don’t rely on what they’re told, even if they believe there is protection in their investments and deposits through the name recognition of an alleged renowned partner. In this case it was all lies, and now Mr. Crater will be held accountable for his illegal activities,” said Eric Shen, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigations Group.
Founded in 2013, My Big Coin claimed to offer virtual payment services through a fraudulent digital currency (or “Coins”), which Crater marketed to investors between 2014 and 2017 using misrepresentations. Crater, along with agents he paid to promote the scheme, claimed that the Coins were a fully functioning cryptocurrency backed by gold and that My Big Coin had a partnership with MasterCard. Crater also operated the My Big Coin Exchange, which was advertised as a fully functioning currency exchange where Coins could be transferred for government-backed fiat currency or other virtual currencies. Crater and others made these misrepresentations through social media, the internet, email and text messages.
In reality, the Coins were not backed by gold or other valuable assets, did not have a partnership with MasterCard and were not readily transferable on the My Big Coin Exchange. Over the course of the scheme, Crater obtained over $7.5 million from investors and customers, which he used to buy a house, cars, and over $1 million in antiques, artwork and jewelry.
In January 2018, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) alleged that My Big Coin was a fraud. The CFTC also filed civil charges against Crater and several of his associates for their involvement in the scheme. The civil action was stayed on March 8, 2019, pending resolution of the criminal case.
U.S. Attorney Rollins; Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; FBI SAC Bonavolonta; and USPIS Inspector in Charge Shen made the announcement today. The CFTC, the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network also provided valuable assistance with the matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Markham, of Rollins’ Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit, and Trial Attorney Babasijibomi Moore of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
Former Prisoner Transport Officer Sentenced for Civil Rights OffenseRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Anthony Buntyn was sentenced to 24 months in prison. A federal jury convicted Buntyn, 55, a former prisoner transport officer, on September 28, 2022, of willfully violating the Due Process rights of the detainees in his custody.
According to court documents and the evidence introduced at trial, Buntyn was a prisoner transport officer employed by Prisoner Transportation Services of America (PTS), a company hired by local jails and prisons throughout the country to transport people who had been arrested pursuant to out-of-state warrants and needed to be transported back to the states that had issued the warrants. Buntyn was the supervising officer on a March 2017 PTS transport that stopped in New Mexico during a cross-country trip. Evidence at trial established that Buntyn knowingly created, and otherwise subjected the detainees to, dangerous, painful, and unhealthy conditions on the prisoner transport van. Specifically, evidence at trial showed that Buntyn would retaliate against detainees who complained of transport conditions by handcuffing the detainees behind their backs and forcing them to remain for hours in a small segregation cage inside the van, depriving detainees of meals and access to water while they remained in the cage, cranking up the heat in the already-hot van in retaliation for detainees complaining that, as they passed through the southwestern desert, they were in danger of overheating, and failing to provide the detainees with required restroom breaks until the detainees were left with no choice but to urinate in empty bottles or on the floor.
“Prisoner transport officers, even when they are employed by private companies, must abide by the laws and protect the constitutional rights of the people in their custody,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The department will continue to vigorously enforce our nation’s laws to ensure that officers who break the law — including those who are driving the nation’s backroads in prisoner transport vans and may therefore wrongly believe they can act with impunity — are held accountable.”
“Detainees are entitled to basic human dignity,” said U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez for the District of New Mexico. “Those who are responsible for their detention, from transport personnel to law enforcement and corrections officers, have the same duty to protect the rights and safety of their charges. Any abuse of detainees or failure to provide necessities is a violation of that trust and a violation of the law, and it will be roundly prosecuted.”
“During the cross-country transport of these individuals, a stop was made by the PTS at the Shawnee County Detention Center in Topeka, Kansas. If not for the Detention Center notifying the FBI of the detainees’ condition upon arrival, the FBI may have never known or been able to seek justice for these victims. Buntyn’s actions disparage the very core of what he was employed to do – protect these individuals while in his custody,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles Dayoub of the Kansas City Field Office. “He knowingly disregarded the detainees’ basic civil rights, putting these individuals in harm’s way. Today’s sentencing demonstrates the FBI’s unique ability to conduct a successful nationwide investigation alongside our law enforcement partners. ”
Upon his release from prison, Buntyn will be subject to 1 year of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the FBI Kansas City Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Brawley for the District of New Mexico and Trial Attorney Laura Gilson of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Division, with assistance from Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel prosecuted the case.
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