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29 November 2022
Sacramento Repeat Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Joshua Klomp, 48, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to possession of child pornography following a prior sex offense conviction, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, in 2018, during a probation visit in 2018, Klomp was found to be in possession of two cellphones that contained thousands of images and video files of thousands of images and video files of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct. At the time he possessed these images and video files, Klomp was on federal supervised release for a 2006 federal conviction for possession of child pornography. Klomp served 10 years in prison for that offense. Prior to that federal conviction, Klomp was also previously convicted in Butte County in 1995 of committing a lewd and lascivious act with a child.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Stefanki is prosecuting the case.
Klomp is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on Feb. 14, 2023. Klomp faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison, as well as a $250,000 fine. 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.
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 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.
Sacramento Attorney and Filer of ADA Lawsuits Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Sacramento attorney and filer of thousands of disability discrimination lawsuits pleaded guilty today to filing a false tax return on which he underreported the income he earned from many of those lawsuits. U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Scott Norris Johnson, 60, of Carmichael, owned and operated Disabled Access Prevents Injury Inc (DAPI), a legal services corporation. First using DAPI, and later a law firm, Johnson filed more than 4,000 lawsuits in the Eastern District of California and elsewhere under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and related California statutes, naming himself as the plaintiff.
Under the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996, payments related to lawsuit settlements or awards are taxable unless paid on account of personal physical injury or physical sickness. Johnson, who worked as an attorney at the IRS earlier in his career, was required to report the taxable portion of the lawsuit settlements and awards he received. He nonetheless intentionally underreported this income on his 2012, 2013, and 2014 tax returns. By understating the lawsuit settlements and awards, Johnson and DAPI paid little to no income tax for tax years 2012, 2013 and 2014. Johnson caused a loss to the IRS of more than $250,000.
IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine T. Lydon and Assistant Chief Matthew J. Kluge of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
Johnson is scheduled to be sentenced on March 7. 2023, by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez and faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for filing a false tax return. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Red Lake Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for MurderRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Red Lake man has been sentenced to 144 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for a 2020 murder that took place on the Red Lake Indian Reservation, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on September 12, 2020, Ralph Edward Cloud, Jr., 38, killed his cousin, Allen Smith, in Smith’s home. Concerned about a relationship between his wife and Smith, Cloud walked several miles to Smith’s residence and attacked him, using a metal cabinet and its drawers to beat Smith to death.
Cloud was sentenced today in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge Michael J. Davis. On July 14, 2022, Cloud pleaded guilty to one count of murder in the second degree.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Red Lake Tribal Police Department and the FBI Headwaters Safe Trails Task Force.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily A. Polachek and Deidre Y. Aanstad prosecuted the case.
Readout of U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland’s Meeting with Dutch Minister of Justice and Security Dilan Yeşilgöz-ZegeriusRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland met yesterday in Washington, D.C. with Dutch Minister of Justice and Security Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius.
In the meeting, Attorney General Garland and Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius renewed their commitment to the close law enforcement partnership between the United States and the Netherlands. This partnership includes cooperation aimed at combating cybercrime, organized crime, drug trafficking, money laundering, and terrorism, among other law enforcement matters. Both leaders agreed that the cross-border nature of criminal organizations requires enhanced cross-border cooperation.
“Our international partnerships are force-multipliers in the Justice Department’s work to keep our country safe, defend democracy, and uphold the rule of law,” said Attorney General Garland. “We are grateful for the assistance and collaboration of our Dutch law enforcement partners, and we will continue to strengthen our shared efforts to disrupt and combat the most urgent threats facing both of our nations.”
Attorney General Garland thanked Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius for the Netherlands’ assistance to the United States’ efforts, through Task Force KleptoCapture, to hold accountable Russian oligarchs and others who seek to evade U.S. sanctions. They also discussed their joint commitment to uphold the rule of law and seek justice for victims of Russia’s continued aggression in Ukraine.
Rapid City Man Indicted for Failure to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.
Sonny Ray Escarsega, a/k/a Sonny Ray Ruiz, age 41, was indicted in November of 2022. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Moreno on November 23, 2022, and pleaded not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 10 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, five years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
Escarsega was convicted of Aggravated Sexual Abuse in July of 2003. As a result of this conviction, he is required to register as a sex offender. It is alleged that between August 24, 2022, and October 25, 2022, Escarsega, a person required to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, and a sex offender by reason of a conviction under federal law, failed to properly register and update his registration.
The charge is merely an accusation and Escarsega is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson is prosecuting the case.
Escarsega was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has been set for January 17, 2023.
Pittsburgh Man Pleads Guilty to Violating Federal Firearms LawsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – Daryl Williams pled guilty to possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
Williams, age 24 of Pittsburgh, pled guilty before United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon. William admitted possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, once on May 6, 2018, and then again on May 29, 2018.
Judge Bissoon scheduled sentencing to occur on March 22, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. The law provides for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison and a fine of up to $500,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is to be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.
The Greentree Police Department, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives conducted the investigation leading to the conviction in this case.
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.
Pensacola Sex Offender Sentenced to Eleven Years in Federal Prison for Illegal Firearm Charges and Supervision ViolationsRead the Press Release
PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – James Leroy Smith Jr., 38, of Pensacola, Florida, was sentenced to 134 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle, and multiple violations of his federal supervised release conditions. Smith was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the firearm charges, and he was sentenced to an additional 14 months for his supervision violations to run consecutively to his firearm case. The sentence was announced today by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
“Senseless violence by armed felons endangers the pubic and results in serious consequences,” stated U.S. Attorney Coody. “Our partners at the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office are to be commended for their swift actions in apprehending this violent felon. Due to their efforts our community is safer, and this repeat offender is exactly where he belongs – back behind bars.”
Court records indicate Smith was arrested by Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies on April 24, 2021, after shooting a black AR-style rifle loaded with rounds in a 100-round double-drum magazine at another car while driving through a Pensacola residential area. At the time, Smith was being supervised by the U.S. Probation Office following a prison sentence imposed for failure to register as a sex offender. In addition to that federal offense, he had nine other felony convictions, including a prior conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and a conviction for sexual battery.
The sentence resulted from a joint investigation by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Forbes prosecuted this case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
As part of its PSN strategy, the United States Attorney’s Office is encouraging everyone to lock their car doors, particularly at night. Burglaries from unlocked automobiles are a significant source of guns for criminals in the Northern District of Florida. Please do your part and protect yourself by locking your car doors.
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.
Penobscot County Man Faces 10 Years to Life Following Guilty Plea to Federal Drug and Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
BANGOR, Maine: A Penobscot County man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Bangor to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, and being an unlawful user of controlled substances in possession of a firearm.
According to court records, between January 2018 and December 2021, Matthew Catalano, 33, along with others, trafficked methamphetamine and fentanyl in Penobscot County, Aroostook County and elsewhere. On February 17, 2021, Catalano was arrested by the Orono Police Department following a traffic stop during which he was found in possession of large amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl, a loaded 9mm handgun and drug paraphernalia.
Catalano faces a minimum of ten years imprisonment and up to life imprisonment on the two drug charges and up to ten years imprisonment on the firearm charge. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigative report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistance was provided by the Orono, Bangor, Brewer, Caribou, Presque Isle, and Houlton police departments. U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee also recognized the cooperation and coordination provided by the Maine State Attorney General’s Office and the Aroostook County District Attorney’s Office.
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces: 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.
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Pennsylvania man sentenced for sex offender registry violationRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Donald Edward Hunker, of East Berlin, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 41 months of incarceration for a sex offender registry violation, United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced.
Hunker, 41, pleaded guilty in March 2022 to one count of “Failure to Update Sex Offender Registration.” Hunker, who is required to register as a sex offender, failed to update is registration when he traveled from out-of-state to stay in Preston County from May to August of 2020.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Wagner prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The United States Marshals Service investigated.
Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
Owner of Trucking Companies Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Conspiracy in Fatal Tanker Explosion, Tax Evasion and COVID FraudRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – The owner of several Inland Empire-based trucking companies was sentenced today to 120 months in federal prison for ordering the illegal repair of a tanker that resulted in an explosion and the death of one his employees – the second time one of his welders was killed.
Carl Bradley Johansson, 64, of Newport Beach, was also sentenced for tax evasion and fraudulently obtaining approximately $954,417 in COVID-relief money while free on bond in the tanker explosion case.
Johansson was sentenced by United States District Judge Virginia A. Phillips, who also ordered Johansson to pay $1,252,979 in restitution to two banks and the IRS.
Johansson pleaded guilty in September 2021 to two felony counts in relation to the tank explosion – one count of conspiring to make illegal repairs on the cargo tanks and to defraud the United States Department of Transportation, and one count of welding without required certifications. He also pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion, one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of bank fraud. Johansson admitted that he committed the bank fraud offenses stemming from the PPP scam while he was on pretrial release in the tanker explosion case. Johansson has been in custody since his arrest on the PPP charges in July 2021.
Tanker Explosion Case
Johansson controlled and operated two Corona-based trucking companies -- National Distribution Services, Inc. (NDSI), which operated from about 2009 through 2015, and NDSI’s successor company, Wholesale Distribution, Inc. (WDI), which did business as Quality Services. Johansson established NDSI following a 15-month federal prison sentence he served after one of his welders was killed in another tanker explosion in 1993. Johansson created WDI to take over NDSI’s operations so he could continue to illegally operate cargo tanks that were ordered out of service after two more welding-caused explosions at NDSI in 2012 and 2014.
On May 6, 2014, NDSI management ordered workers to do welding work on a tanker that had not been fully cleaned of the crude oil inside of it. This resulted in an explosion that killed a company welder and severely injured a second worker.
For the next four years, Johansson and other employees of NDSI and WDI conspired to obstruct a federal investigation into the explosion by making multiple false statements to local, state and federal officials to conceal that NDSI had conducted illegal welding repairs, that Johansson controlled NDSI and WDI, and that the deceased and injured employees worked for him. For example, on the day of the fatal explosion, when investigators arrived at NDSI, Johansson identified himself as being a customer service representative with another company and said the welders were employed by an outside tank-repair company.
Johansson and NDSI submitted false statements to federal regulators to have the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rescind an Out-of-Service Order which prohibited the company from operating approximately 37 cargo tanks to haul gasoline or ethanol because the FMCSA had determined that those cargo tanks presented safety risks. Johansson signed, under oath, an affidavit that falsely claimed NDSI had never engaged in tank repairs and that his shop manager worked for an outside tank-repair company.
To circumvent the Out-of-Service Order, Johansson, at the end of 2014, converted NDSI to operate under the WDI name. WDI was a “reincarnated” or “chameleon” carrier – it had almost all the same employees and management as NDSI, and it operated out of the same warehouse, but with a new name to evade regulators. WDI continued to violate the Out-of-Service Order through early 2018 by using the prohibited cargo tanks to haul gasoline and ethanol.
As part of the conspiracy and to further conceal his control of NDSI and WDI, Johansson did not file income tax returns for the years 2012 through 2017. Johansson failed to report to the federal government at least $1,174,173 in income from the trucking companies. He used that income to pay for personal expenses – including renting a large home in Corona for at least $12,000 per month and using company accounts to make $200,000 in tuition payments at his children’s private high schools and universities.
In total, Johansson admitted to unlawfully avoiding the payment of at least $298,562 in federal income taxes from 2012 to 2017.
COVID-Relief Fraud
In April 2020, while free on bond in the explosion case, Johansson directed another trucking company he controlled, the Ontario-based Western Distribution LLC, to apply for a $436,390 PPP loan. After the loan was funded, Johansson directed Western Distribution in May and June of 2020 to immediately spend the PPP funds. Rather than use the funds to keep the company’s employees on staff, Johansson laid off most of the company’s employees, but rehired many of them in late 2020. To create the impression that Western Distribution had spent more of its PPP loan on its payroll than it did, in September 2020 Johansson moved 21 employees from a separate company that Johansson controlled – the Merced County-based Agri-comm Express Inc. – onto Western Distribution’s payroll, even though those employees never worked for Western Distribution.
In March 2021, Johansson caused Western Distribution to repeat the same fraudulent representations concerning its employee lists and payroll numbers when the company submitted a second PPP loan application, this time for $231,527. The second loan application was also approved.
The total loss in the COVID-relief fraud matter was approximately $954,417.
At today’s sentencing hearing, Judge Phillips also sentenced NDSI and WDI to one year of probation. Each company pleaded guilty in September 2021 to one count of conspiring to make illegal repairs on cargo tanks and defrauding the United States Department of Transportation. NDSI pleaded guilty to an additional count of welding without required certifications. Judge Phillips also sentenced Western Distribution to three years of probation and ordered it to pay $667,917 in restitution. In September 2021, Western Distribution pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of bank fraud.
Enrique Garcia, 48, of Pomona, Johansson’s shop manager and co-defendant, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of welding without required certifications and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.
Donald Cameron Spicer, 71, of Fullerton, Johansson’s safety manager and co-defendant, pleaded guilty to conspiring to make illegal repairs on the cargo tanks and to defraud the United States Department of Transportation. He is scheduled to be sentenced on February 6, 2023.
The United States Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated these matters.
Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew W. O’Brien and Joseph O. Johns of the Environmental and Community Safety Crimes Section prosecuted this case.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Newport News Man Pleads Guilty to Unlawful Purchase of a Firearm Used in Three Local ShootingsRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man pleaded guilty yesterday to the unlawful purchase and possession of a firearm that was used in three community shootings.
According to court documents, Khalil Rashad Armstrong, 21, asked his older cousin to purchase a handgun for Armstrong. Only 20 years old at the time, Armstrong was not old enough to purchase a handgun himself. Armstrong gave his cousin the money to purchase the firearm and selected the make and model. Around February 21, 2021, Armstrong’s cousin made false oral and written statements to a local licensed firearm dealer in order to straw-purchase the firearm for Armstrong. The firearm was recovered by police on July 27, 2021, at the crime scene of a local rival gang shootout approximately 125 days after it was purchased. Forensic ballistics confirmed the firearm had been used in two other shootings, once on May 2, 2021, resulting in property damage, and once on February 21, 2021, the same day it was purchased.
On May 12, Armstrong’s cousin and co-defendant, Destiny Na’iymah Davis, 23, of Newport News, pleaded guilty to her role in the unlawful straw-purchase of the firearm. She faces a maximum of 5 years in prison when sentenced on December 5.
Armstrong pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm and to being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 30, 2023. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison on the first charge and a maximum of 15 years in prison on the second. 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; Christopher Amon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; and Steve R. Drew, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Wilson Hanes accepted the plea.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Osyf is 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-12.
New Orleans Man Charged with International Parental KidnappingRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that KIDUS AWLACHEW, age 32, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, was charged today in a one-count bill of information with international parental kidnapping, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1204. The charge stems from AWLACHEW allegedly retaining a child in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, with the intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of another person’s parental rights.
If convicted, AWLACHEW faces up to three years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000.00, up to one year of supervised release after imprisonment, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.
U. S. Attorney Evans reiterated that a bill of information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg is in charge of the prosecution.
Minneapolis Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Tax CrimesRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS– A Minneapolis tax preparer has pleaded guilty to federal tax violations, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, Sue Yang, 48, of Circle Pines, operated a tax preparation business in Minneapolis. Yang participated in the IRS’s e-file program, a specialized program the IRS offers to qualified tax preparers, and was assigned a unique Electronic Filing Identification Number (known as an “EFIN”). In 2010, the IRS conducted a periodic suitability review of Yang and found that he failed to file a 2009 personal income tax return and that he owed substantial federal income taxes from tax years 2005 through 2008. The IRS notified Yang repeatedly that his failure to resolve his tax obligations would result in sanctions, including suspension of his EFIN or his expulsion from the IRS e-file program. In August 2012 Yang was suspended from the IRS e-file program and was no longer authorized to electronically file tax returns.
From August 2012 through April 2022, despite his suspension from the e-file program, Yang operated surreptitiously as an e-filing tax preparer. Yang disguised his unauthorized participation in the e-file program by enlisting others to obtain unique EFINs, which Yang then used to file thousands of tax returns electronically on behalf of his customers. These tax returns were electronically transmitted to the IRS purporting to have been prepared by other individuals. From 2012 through 2020, Yang impeded the IRS’s suitability review and circumvented his e-file suspension by electronically filing more than 26,000 tax returns using misappropriated EFINs.
From 2018 through 2021, Yang received approximately $765,000 in compensation from working as a tax preparer but, in order to further obscure his unauthorized conduct, he did not report any income related to his tax preparation business. Yang’s unlawful conduct resulted in a combined federal tax loss of approximately $214,297.
Yang pleaded guilty today before Judge Eric C. Tostrud to one count of filing a false federal income tax return and one count of corruptly impeding and obstructing the administration of the internal revenue laws. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
This case was jointly investigated by IRS – Criminal Investigations and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew S. Ebert is prosecuting the case.
Man Who Sexually Abused Sleeping Woman Sentenced to More than Fifteen Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
A man who sexually abused a sleeping woman was sentenced today to more than fifteen years in federal prison.
Robin Roberts, age 67, from the Meskwaki Settlement, received the prison term after a June 1, 2022 jury verdict finding him guilty of sexual abuse.
The evidence at trial showed that on July 8, 2021, the victim went to Roberts’ residence. During her time at the residence, Roberts sexually abused the victim while she was sleeping.
Roberts was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Roberts was sentenced to 188 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay a $5,000 special assessment pursuant to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Roberts is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lisa C. Williams and Liz Dupuich and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Meskwaki Nation Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-CR-0060.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Man Sentenced for Delaware County Murder and AssaultRead the Press Release
A Jay man was sentenced Tuesday in federal court for shooting and killing his mother and wounding a second family member.
“Christopher Weeley fatally shot his mother and seriously wounded a second family member at a home in Jay in 2021. My thoughts are with the family and the second victim as she continues her long-term recovery,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “Weeley will serve 24 years in prison for the harm he has caused to his family. My office remains steadfast in its commitment to seek justice for victims affected by violence.”
“The outcome of this case is a direct result of the excellent partnership we have with the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma,” said FBI Oklahoma City Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Gray. “Today’s sentence ensures Christopher Weeley will be brought to justice for his horrific crime and hopefully begins the healing process for his grieving family.”
U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Christopher Leo Weeley, 42, to 24 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release.
During sentencing, Weeley, a long time drug user, apologized to his family although they were not in attendance. He told the court that he heard drugs did horrible things to families but didn’t think it would ever happen within his own family. He called the crimes a nightmare he couldn’t take back.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Roberts shared with the court that the surviving victim continues to receive treatment for her injuries. He further relayed that she could not bring herself to come to the hearing because she felt it would harm her emotionally at this time.
Weeley, at a previous hearing, pleaded guilty to second degree murder in Indian Country and assault with intent to commit murder in Indian Country.
Weeley admitted that on March 6, 2021, he killed his mother, Annie Marie Weeley, by shooting her with a firearm. He also admitted to shooting a second family member two times during the incident.
On March 6, 2021, a Delaware County Sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to a home in Jay. While en route, he received a radio call advising him there was a report of shots fired at the home with two possible victims. When he arrived at 11:17 pm, he found Mrs. Weeley wounded and unresponsive on the floor and a second family member on the couch with gunshot wounds to her stomach and lower back.
The two victims were transported to the hospital, where the mother was pronounced dead. The second victim underwent emergency surgery.
The FBI and Delaware County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan M. Roberts is prosecuting the case.
If you or someone you know is experiencing or has experienced family violence, you are not alone, and there are services available to help. The following agencies provide phone lines to victims in northeastern Oklahoma:
- Cherokee Nation One Fire, located in Tahlequah:24 hour line 918-772-4260.
-Muscogee Nation Family Violence Prevention Program, located in Okmulgee and other satellite offices: 24-hour line 918- 732-7979
-The Delaware Tribe of Indians Family and Children, located in Bartlesville: 24-Hour line: 918-331-7349
All three of the above agencies assist Indian and non-Indian victims.
-Domestic Violence Intervention Services (DVIS) located in Tulsa: 24-hour line 918.7HELP.ME (918.743.5763).
-Tulsa’s Family Safety Center also provides assistance and resources to domestic violence victims Monday-Friday from 8 am to 5 pm: (918) 742-7480. (this is NOT a 24 hour number).
-The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 800-799-7233 or text “start” to 88788.
Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Customers Who Bought Cryptocurrency-Mining Computers and Miner Hosting ServicesRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that CHET STOJANOVICH, a/k/a “Chester J. Stojanovich,” pled guilty today to wire fraud for defrauding more than a dozen victims of more than $2 million through fraudulent misrepresentations that he would provide the victims with specialized cryptocurrency-mining computers (“Miners”) and Miner hosting services that would provide the victims with a lucrative stream of “hash power” convertible into cryptocurrency. Instead, STOJANOVICH misappropriated his victims’ money and failed to provide them with the Miners and Miner hosting services they had purchased from him. STOJANOVICH is scheduled to be sentenced on March 2, 2023, before United States District Judge Denise Cote, who presided over today’s guilty plea hearing.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Cryptocurrency mining has generated much media attention and public excitement in the past few years, but new forms of money and investment can also generate fresh opportunities for old-fashioned fraud. Chet Stojanovich has pled guilty to using those time-worn fraud techniques on this new financial frontier as he stole millions of dollars from victims who thought they were investing in cryptocurrency mining.”
According to publicly filed documents in this case:
From at least 2019 until his arrest in April 2022, STOJANOVICH controlled various companies, including Chet Mining Co. LLC (“Chet Mining”). Starting in or about March 2019, STOJANOVICH engaged in a scheme to defraud people who were seeking to purchase Miners and Miner hosting services through which they expected to obtain “hash power” convertible into cryptocurrency and money. STOJANOVICH defrauded these victims by falsely telling them that he would purchase, and had purchased, Miners on their behalf and that he would provide them with Miner hosting services and had already obtained such Miner hosting services for them.
In total, STOJANOVICH fraudulently induced more than a dozen customer-victims to pay a total of more than $2 million to STOJANOVICH and his companies, ostensibly in return for Miners and Miner hosting services. Despite fraudulent representations to the contrary, STOJANOVICH: (1) failed to provide many of the Miners that he told customers he had acquired; (2) failed to provide the Miner hosting services and cryptocurrency hash power that he represented he would provide; (3) employed deceptive practices to create the illusion that such Miners had been acquired and were being used to provide hash power to those customers; and (4) misappropriated his customers’ funds and spent the funds on unrelated and personal expenditures, including chartered air flights, hotel rooms, limousines, and private parties.
Defrauding at Least 10 Victims in 2019
In the spring and early summer of 2019, STOJANOVICH fraudulently induced at least 10 customers to pay a total of more than $2 million to STOJANOVICH and Chet Mining in return for Miners and Miner hosting services. Based on these and other misrepresentations, STOJANOVICH issued at least 15 invoices to these 10 victims with instructions to make payment to STOJANOVICH or one of his companies. As directed by STOJANOVICH, these customers paid STOJANOVICH more than $2 million in bank wires and cryptocurrency transfers. However, STOJANOVICH failed to provide the Miners and Miner hosting services that he had agreed to provide and for which he had been paid.
Defrauding Three More Victims in 2021
In or about August and September 2021, STOJANOVICH induced at least three additional customer-victims to pay him a total of approximately $179,880 as payment for a total of 127 Miners. Ultimately, STOJANOVICH provided those customers with only three of the 127 Miners they had paid for and repaid those customers only approximately $61,000 of the $179,880 they had paid, mostly from funds misappropriated from another customer.
The March 2022 Deposition
Several of the victims of the scheme described in the Indictment brought lawsuits against STOJANOVICH in federal court in Manhattan. In one such lawsuit, Holmes et al. v. Chet Mining, Chet Stojanovich, et ano., Case No. 20 Civ. 4448 (LJL) (S.D.N.Y.), STOJANOVICH was ordered by the court to appear for a deposition on March 4, 2022. During that deposition, STOJANOVICH testified falsely on a number of subjects. For example, in response to several questions, STOJANOVICH testified that he did not know the answers without looking in his personal cellphone and falsely testified that his phone was downstairs in his rental car or in storage. The deposition was thereupon adjourned for a half-hour, and STOJANOVICH was instructed to retrieve his cellphone and return to the deposition. Instead, STOJANOVICH left the deposition and loitered in the vicinity of his car until after everyone else participating in the deposition had left. Shortly thereafter, he returned to Canada, where he resided until he was arrested on April 11, 2022, following his attempt to re-enter the United States.
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STOJANOVICH, 38, previously of New York, New York, but residing in California since his release on bail in this case, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the sentencing judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the investigation of this case
This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Raymond Lewis is in charge of the prosecution.
Madison County Resident Indicted for Violating U.S. Sanctions Against IranRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – An indictment was unsealed today charging Ray Hunt, 69, of Madison County, with federal offenses related to an illegal scheme to export U.S.-origin goods to Iran.
The 15-count indictment charges the defendant with conspiracy to defraud the United States, sanctions violations, smuggling goods from the United States, and submitting false or misleading export information.
According to the indictment, since at least November 2017, the defendant conspired to export U.S.-origin parts used in the oil and gas industry, including control valves and oil tubing, through his Alabama-based company, Vega Tools LLC, to customers in Iran. The defendant transshipped the goods to Iran through Turkey and the UAE to evade U.S. sanctions.
Hunt was arrested and made his initial court appearance earlier today. If convicted, Hunt faces a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison and up to a $1 million fine for violating U.S. trade sanctions against Iran. In addition, he faces up to five years for the conspiracy charge, 10 years for the smuggling offense, and up to five years for the false information offense. 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 Prim F. Escalona for the Northern District of Alabama and Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Carson of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement (OEE) Miami Office made the announcement.
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security investigated the case in coordination with the FBI.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Henry Cornelius and Jonathan “Jack” Harrington of the Northern District of Alabama and Trial Attorneys Emma Dinan Ellenrieder and Adam P. Barry of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Kensington Drug Boss Sentenced to Almost Twenty Years in Prison for Supplying Narcotics Advertised with the Label ‘Funeral’Read the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Ricardo Carrion, a.k.a. “PR,” 42, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced to 19 years and four months (or 232 months) in federal prison after being convicted at trial of multiple drug trafficking charges, including conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute crack and heroin. The charges stemmed from his leadership role in supplying a drug trafficking organization operating on the 3100 block of Weymouth Street, steps from McPherson Square and just two blocks from the notorious intersection of Kensington & Allegheny Avenues in the Kensington section of Philadelphia.
This case originated from a joint investigation into the scourge of drug trafficking and overdoses in the Kensington area conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Philadelphia Police Department. After a series of search warrants were executed in 2019, the DEA developed information that the defendant was the supplier of narcotics for an organization selling heroin stamped with the word “Funeral” to advertise its potency and lethalness to addicted consumers.
Covert surveillance showed Carrion repeatedly carrying large bags into stash houses. When investigators initiated a traffic stop of a cab in which Carrion was the sole passenger, they recovered a bag containing over 3,300 flip top containers of crack cocaine. Evidence presented at the September 2021 trial showed that the defendant used code words including “lenta,” which translates to “slow” in English, and “hard cola” to discuss the heroin he ordered for street dealers. Prosecutors also presented evidence that the defendant supplied thousands and thousands of doses of heroin and crack cocaine to this city block from 2018 until the DEA and PPD dismantled his drug operation.
During the trial, Carrion threatened one of the main witnesses against him. After he was convicted and the jury was dismissed, the defendant asked the court for the personal information of the jurors, a request that was immediately denied. During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors presented evidence demonstrating the defendant’s lengthy criminal record and life of drug dealing.
“This years-long drug trafficking enterprise impacted more than just this one block in one neighborhood; it left a path of destruction across Kensington and throughout Philadelphia,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “This sentence sends a clear message that, in order to halt the flow of deadly drugs into our communities, our Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to investigating and prosecuting prolific drug dealers pedaling poison to those suffering from addiction.”
“Carrion ran a drug-trafficking organization in the heart of Kensington, an area in Philadelphia that has been so adversely affected by the illicit drug trade. His drug-trafficking activities were so nefarious that he distributed bags of heroin stamped “Funeral,” said Thomas Hodnett, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division. “For his conviction on multiple federal drug charges, Carrion is rightly and deservedly spending the next 20 years of his life in a federal prison cell.”
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The case was investigated by Drug Enforcement Administration and the Philadelphia Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jason D. Grenell and Derek E. Hines.
Kalamazoo Shooter Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN —U.S. Attorney Mark Totten announced today that U.S. District Court Judge Jane M. Beckering sentenced Deshay Malory, age 30, of Kalamazoo, to 120 months in federal prison for possessing a loaded, stolen firearm as a convicted felon in connection with cocaine dealing, one week after he fired at a car with two children inside, and all while he was on parole from an earlier drug conviction. In imposing the maximum sentence permitted by law, Judge Beckering emphasized the “seriousness of the offense,” and concluded that a “lengthy sentence” was “called for.”
“Malory’s actions put innocent lives in danger,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “While no one was injured, all shootings cause harm. The sudden crack of gunfire drives people to live in fear. It especially harms those present, who are all too often haunted by the jarring realization of what might have happened. My office will prosecute shooters to the fullest extent of the law.”
On April 4, 2022, police responded to a shooting in a Kalamazoo parking lot and learned that Malory had shot at a car with two adults and two children inside, striking a passenger door. Surveillance video from a nearby business confirmed Malory’s responsibility for the shooting. One week later, police arrested Malory in a Kalamazoo convenience store with a loaded, stolen pistol and two plastic baggies of cocaine. In Malory’s car, police found more plastic bags and a digital scale with white residue on it.
“Through strong relationships with our federal partners, the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety stands firm in pursuing violent offenders through targeted enforcement actions,” said Deputy Chief Dave Boysen of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety. “Today’s sentencing will send a message that gun violence will not be tolerated in Kalamazoo.”
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team, and the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Castle.
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Justice Department Secures Settlement with National Bakery Chain to Resolve Immigration-Related Discrimination ClaimsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has secured a settlement agreement with New York-based Lady M Confections Co. Ltd. and its West Coast affiliate, Lady M West Third LLC (together, Lady M), companies that operate bakeries and retail boutiques selling confections under the Lady M brand. The settlement resolves the department’s determination that Lady M violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by discriminating against non-U.S. citizens when checking their permission to work in the United States.
“Employers must verify that their employees have permission to work in the United States but cannot discriminate against them based on citizenship, immigration status or national origin when doing so,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division will continue to fight to remove unlawful barriers in the workplace.”
The department’s investigation began when a non-U.S. citizen complained that Lady M refused to accept his valid documentation proving his permission to work and requested additional unnecessary documentation. The department determined that for at least two years starting in January 2020, Lady M discriminated against non-U.S. citizens by demanding that they present specific documentation to prove they had permission to work in the United States. In particular, the department found that Lady M demanded lawful permanent residents show their permanent resident cards (sometimes known as “green cards”) to prove they could work, instead of allowing them to choose from among various acceptable documents to demonstrate their permission to work, as the company did with U.S. citizens.
Federal law allows all workers to choose which valid, legally acceptable documentation to present to demonstrate their identity and permission to work, regardless of citizenship, immigration status or national origin. The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from asking for specific documents because of a worker’s citizenship, immigration status or national origin. Indeed, many non-U.S. citizens, including lawful permanent residents, refugees and asylees, are eligible for several of the same types of documents to prove their permission to work as U.S. citizens (such as driver’s licenses and unrestricted Social Security cards). Employers must allow workers to present whatever acceptable documentation the workers choose and cannot reject valid documentation that reasonably appears to be genuine.
The settlement requires Lady M to pay civil penalties to the United States, train staff on the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, change its policies and be subject to departmental monitoring for a period of two years.
The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, the statute prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status and national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation; and intimidation.
Find more information on how employers can avoid discrimination when verifying permission to work on IER’s website. Learn more about how IER protects workers’ rights in this video. For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar; email [email protected]; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Subscribe to GovDelivery to receive updates from IER.
Applicants or employees who believe they were subjected to discrimination based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; or discrimination in the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify) based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin; or retaliation can file a charge or contact IER’s worker hotline for assistance.
Jury convicts repeat offender for once again being in the United States illegallyRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A 34-year-old from Tanlacut, San Luis Potosi, Mexico, has been convicted of illegal reentry after deportation, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
The jury deliberated for 20 minutes following a one-day trial before returning a guilty verdict against Laureano Mar-Peres.
At trial, the jury heard how authorities found Mar-Peres in Kenedy County as he attempted to circumvent the United States checkpoint located near Sarita. Mar-Peres previously had been removed from the United States twice before, most recently on Oct. 22, 2021.
The defense attempted to convey to the jury that with the amount of illegal aliens processed, there was no way to prove beyond a reasonable doubt Mar-Peres was the same person who had been ordered removed previously.
The jury was not convinced and found him guilty as charged.
U.S. District Judge David Morales presided over the trial and set sentencing for Feb. 22, 2023 at which time Mar-Peres faces up to 20 years in federal prison. He has been and will remain in custody pending sentencing.
Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Overman and Tyler Foster prosecuted the case.
Houston Men Sentenced to Federal Prison for Bowie County ATM BurglariesRead the Press Release
TEXARKANA, Texas – Three Houston men have been sentenced to prison for federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.
Marvin Charles Collins, 33; Aqunis Marquis Green, 23; and Antonio Thomas Foster, 21; each pleaded guilty on July 19, 2022, to conspiracy to commit bank theft. Today, Collins was sentenced to 29 months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution of $257,789; Green was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $70,324; and Foster was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution of $70,324. The sentencing hearings were held in front of U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder, III.
According to information presented in court, Collins, Green, and Foster, along with four other co-conspirators, conspired to burglarize ATMs (automated teller machines) in the Bowie County area. On Jan. 26, 2021, an ATM located at the Texar Federal Credit Union on Gibson Lane in Texarkana, Texas, was burglarized and approximately $127,654.00 was stolen. On Feb. 2, 2021, an ATM located at the Texar Federal Credit Union on W. 7th Street in Wake Village, Texas, was also burglarized and approximately $10,513.00 was stolen. In each burglary, one of the co-conspirators stole a pickup truck and then the defendants attached chains to the ATM and used the stolen truck to break open the ATM. There was approximately $60,000 in damage done to each ATM.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Wake Village Police Department, the Texarkana Police Department, and the Queen City Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan R. Jackson.
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Houma Man Pleads Guilty in Staged Automobile Collision SchemeRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that on November 28, 2022, JOSEPH BREWTON (“BREWTON”), age 56, of Houma, Louisiana, pled guilty to a count one (1) of his indictment, charging him with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371. In exchange for his plea of guilty, the government has agreed to dismiss five counts of Mail Fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1341 and 2. In pleading guilty to Count 1, the defendant faces a maximum penalty of five (5) years’ imprisonment; a term of supervised release of up to three (3) years; and a fine up to $250,000.00, as well as a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00. Today’s guilty plea brings the total number of defendants convicted in Operation Sideswipe to 42.
According to court documents, BREWTON served as a passenger in a staged automobile collision in August of 2015. Thereafter, he recruited family members and friends to participate in staged automobile collisions with tractor-trailers on March 27, 2017 and May 11, 2017. The passengers in these collisions filed fraudulent lawsuits that falsely claimed that the tractor-trailers were at fault. Through this scheme, BREWTON caused a loss of approximately $392,742.77. The Honorable Jane Triche Milazzo set sentencing in this matter for March 1, 2023.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office would like to acknowledge the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Louisiana State Police, and the Metropolitan Crime Commission with this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria M. Carboni; Brian M. Klebba, Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit; Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Rivera; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon S. Long.
Holland Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney Mark Totten today announced that Jonathon Thomas Burgett, 37, of Holland, Michigan was sentenced to 30 years in the Bureau of Prisons for the sexual exploitation of a child. In imposing sentence, U.S. District Judge Jane M. Beckering noted that Burgett “engaged in conduct that will, for a lifetime, severely impact” the victim. Burgett will be on supervised release for 5 years when he gets out of prison.
“This type of predation harms some of the most vulnerable members of our society and can cause lasting damage,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “My office will always pursue people who create child pornography and we will seek penalties to help protect other children from being victimized.”
Burgett was caught taking photographs through an adult female’s window in Allegan County. When law enforcement searched his phone, they found hundreds of images of child pornography, including sexually explicit images he had taken of a four-year-old. Judge Beckering noted that Burgett had “a long history” of similar offenses and despite treatment starting at an early age, “this was an addiction” for him.
“The images Burgett created are not merely pictures but are a permanent record of his sexual abuse and exploitation of a child,” said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “I struggle to think of behavior more reprehensible, and that is why investigating child predators is a priority for the FBI. I would like to thank the Allegan County Sheriff’s Office for bringing this defendant to our attention and for its assistance in obtaining some measure of justice for this victim.”
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan; county prosecutor’s offices; HSI; ICAC; the West Michigan Based Child Exploitation Task Force (WEBCHEX); and federal, state, and local law enforcement are working closely together to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children. Anyone with information or concerns about possible child exploitation should contact local law enforcement. For more information about Project Safe Childhood in West Michigan, including resources for children and parents, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmi/project-safe-childhood
This matter was investigated by the Allegan County Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s WEBCHEX task force.
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High-level drug distributor sentenced to ten years in prisonRead the Press Release
Seattle – A 36-year-old resident of Bothell, Washington, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Gabriel Vasquez-Ruiz has been in custody since a major drug ring takedown on December 16, 2020. At today’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour imposed five years of supervised release to follow the prison term.
According to records filed in the case, Vasquez-Ruiz was a high-volume drug distributor, able to order up pound quantities of methamphetamine for his customers. On multiple occasions in early 2019, Vazquez-Ruiz sold a total of more than three pounds of methamphetamine to a person working with law enforcement. Conversations intercepted by police in November 2020 established that Vazquez-Ruiz agreed to trade a half kilo of cocaine for an SUV and later ordered 5 pounds of meth.
The investigation of the drug ring resulted in the seizure of more than 247 pounds of methamphetamine, 35 pounds of heroin, 42,000 fentanyl pills, 24 firearms and more than $625,000 in cash and bank accounts.
Vazquez-Ruiz pleaded guilty on May 3, 2022, and in his plea agreement resolved both the federal charges and serious state charges.
In asking for a ten-year sentence prosecutors noted that Vazquez -Ruiz had been involved in drug dealing for many years. “…he did not simply sell small amounts of drugs to support his own habit. Rather, he worked alongside high-ranking members of a large transnational drug organization, selling significant quantities of drugs and at points supplying the organization with cocaine,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Tacoma Residence Office in partnership with Tahoma Narcotics Enforcement Team (TNET), Kent Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, SeaTac Police Department, Tacoma Police Department, Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force (SRDTF), the Skagit County Sheriff's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys C. Andrew Colasurdo and Amy Jaquette.
Hartford Man Sentenced to 42 Months in Federal Prison for Cocaine Trafficking OffenseRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JAVIER ACEVEDO, 42, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 42 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for a cocaine trafficking offense.
According to court documents and statements made in court, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force has been investigating the shipment of parcels containing controlled substances from Puerto Rico to Connecticut. In May 2021, investigators identified a suspicious package that was destined for an address on Giddings Street in Hartford. On May 15, 2021, investigators made a controlled delivery of the package. Approximately one hour after it was delivered, Acevedo picked up the package and then drove it to his residence on South Street, where he was encountered by law enforcement. A subsequent court-authorized search of the package revealed approximately two kilograms of cocaine.
The investigation revealed that Acevedo regularly received packages of cocaine that were shipped from Puerto Rico to his home address or other addresses associated with him, and held the packages until they were picked up by another individual. Acevedo received at least $500 for each package he received.
Acevedo was arrested on July 7, 2021. On April 27, 2022, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.
Acevedo, who is released on a $200,000 bond, is required to report to prison on January 17.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force includes members from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Postal Service – Office of the Inspector General, the Connecticut Army National Guard, and the Hartford, New Britain, Meriden and Town of Groton Police Departments.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Ruff.
Greenwood Man Sentenced to Six Years in Federal Prison for Embezzling $14 Million from his Former Employer to Fund His Lavish LifestyleRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS– Daniel Fruits, 47, of Greenwood, Indiana, was sentenced to six years in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and money laundering.
According to court documents, Fruits, who was hired to manage and run a Greenwood, Indiana-based trucking company, defrauded his employer out of more than $14 million over a 4.5-year period. From January 2015 through June 2019, a Kentucky-based entity invested over $14 million into the trucking company. Fruits used that money to fund his own lavish lifestyle including purchasing: real estate; several vehicles including two Ferraris and a Corvette; farm equipment including a horse trailer; a show horse; expensive jewelry including multiple Rolex watches; firearms; private jet flights; and high-end escort services. Fruits hid his theft by creating false and misleading financial statements. He then sent those statements to his employer to induce additional investments into the trucking company.
In mid-2019, Fruits’ employer asked Fruits to have an accountant review the trucking company’s financial statements and provide a report. Rather than comply, Fruits fabricated a letter, purportedly written by a Greenwood-based accountant. When the employer contacted the accountant to follow up, they learned that the accountant’s letter was false and fictitious. Fruits was fired the next day and the victims contacted law enforcement officers.
The investigation also revealed that Fruits attempted to defraud Fifth Third bank out of $432,000 by providing false documents to secure a mortgage. Finally, the investigation revealed that Fruits perpetrated a title wash scheme that fraudulently removed Ally Financial’s lien from a $69,607 truck.
Fruits was arrested on December 16, 2020. On August 18, 2021, a federal magistrate judge revoked Fruits’ conditions of pretrial release and ordered him detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshal, after finding that Fruits had committed several violations including being charged with new fraud offenses in state court.
“Mr. Fruits stole an outrageous sum of money to fuel an extravagant lifestyle, concealing his crimes with years of lies and false documents,” said Zachary A. Myers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Complex economic crimes such as these devastate the finances and security of businesses and individuals. The serious prison sentence imposed today demonstrates that this U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, IRS-CI, and all our law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to hold these criminals accountable.”
“Mr. Fruits put his personal greed ahead of loyalty to a company that had entrusted him with its money and used funds that were not his to finance a lavish lifestyle. Even after his arrest, the defendant still was intent on defrauding others for his personal gain,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Herbert J. Stapleton. “The FBI and our partners will continue to investigate those who engage in these types of financial fraud and ensure they are held accountable.”
“The role of IRS Criminal Investigation becomes even more important in embezzlement and fraud cases due to the complex financial transactions that can take time to unravel,” said Justin Campbell, Special Agent in Charge, Chicago Field Office. “We, along with our law enforcement partners, will vigorously pursue those who victimize their employers and violate the public trust, as demonstrated in today’s sentencing of Mr. Fruits.”
The FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Sara Evans Barker. As part of the sentence, Judge Barker ordered that Fruits be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for three years following his release from federal prison and ordered Fruits to pay $14,339,252.04 in restitution to his victims and a $14,270,000 money judgment.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn E. Olivier who prosecuted this case.
Government Contractor Agrees to Pay $8.4 Million to Resolve Claims Related to its Failure to Disclose Cost or Pricing DataRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that PowerSecure, Inc. (PowerSecure), located in Durham, North Carolina, has agreed to pay $8.4 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act arising from its failure to provide certified cost or pricing data when negotiating rates with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in connection with a sole source contract for the repair and restoration of Puerto Rico’s power grid following the damage caused by Hurricane Maria in September 2017.
The Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA) was enacted in 1962 to help level the playing field in sole source contracts – where there is no price competition – by making sure that government negotiators have access to the cost or pricing data that the offeror used when developing its proposal. Here, the United States alleged that PowerSecure violated the False Claims Act by knowingly failing to disclose cost or pricing data, as required by the TINA, regarding the rates that PowerSecure had used for “basecamp services” on a recent restoration project in Florida and Georgia following Hurricane Irma. The United States further alleged that PowerSecure failed to disclose cost or pricing data relating to labor and equipment costs in violation of TINA. The settlement resolves allegations that PowerSecure’s failures to disclose this information caused USACE to agree to inflated rates for labor, equipment and basecamp services.
“Where government contractors seek the award of a sole source contract, they have an obligation to be fully transparent with the government regarding the basis for their proposed pricing,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This settlement demonstrates the department’s commitment to holding accountable those who knowingly violate this important safeguard against the misuse of taxpayer funds.”
“With the recent passage and destruction of Hurricane Fiona serving as a backdrop, this settlement demonstrates our resolve to ensure that individuals and companies fully comply will all laws and regulations relating to the provision of disaster relief,” said U.S. Attorney Stephen Muldrow for the District of Puerto Rico. “This settlement also underscores the Justice Department’s use of all enforcement remedies at its disposal, including not only criminal and administrative penalties, but also civil enforcement actions as reflected by the settlement in this case.”
“This settlement is an example of the need for transparency and accountability in proposed pricing when negotiating sole source contracts,” said Acting Inspector General Sean O’Donnell for the Department of Defense. “Our auditors and investigators are committed to protecting the integrity of the procurement process through cooperation with our partners at the Department of Justice.”
“I appreciate the continued partnership with our law enforcement partners and the Justice Department’s Civil Division,” said Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “DHS OIG is committed to robust oversight of the federal acquisition process, and this settlement sends a strong message to individuals intent on procurement fraud.”
“DCAA appreciates the opportunity to support the Justice Department and our law enforcement partners by providing expert financial assistance regarding enforcement of the Truth in Negotiations Act,” said Defense Contract Audit Agency Investigative Support Division Chief Michael Mandolfo. “This interagency cooperation provides a strong safeguard for the warfighter and taxpayer.”
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico, with assistance from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, and the Defense Contract Audit Agency.
The matter was handled by Trial Attorney Jason M. Crawford of the Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney David O. Martorani-Dale for the District of Puerto Rico.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Goldsboro Man Sentenced to 18 Years for Trafficking Multi-Kilogram Quantities of MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – Chris Montreal Davis, 42, of Goldsboro, North Carolina was sentenced to 216 months in prison for trafficking methamphetamine.
According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, in May of 2018, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and the Winston-Salem Police Department, received information that Davis was part of a large-scale drug trafficking organization operating in Goldsboro which distributed large quantities of crystal methamphetamine and that Davis maintained several “trap houses” or “stash houses” in Goldsboro and employed runners, often times drug users, to hand deliver drugs.
On August 8, 2019, and September 12, 2019, law enforcement executed residential search warrants at the Goldsboro “trap houses” during which the following items were located and seized: drug paraphernalia, two .45 caliber handguns, a .40 caliber handgun, marijuana, $7,185.28 in U.S. currency, 52 grams of cocaine base, 57.5 grams of cocaine hydrochloride, 45 grams of heroin, an SKS assault rifle, a .38 caliber handgun, and a crossbow.
Davis was named in an Indictment filed on March 12, 2020, charging him with Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine and 500 grams or more of Cocaine, from 2018 to March 12, 2020, (Count One) and Distribution of 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine and Aiding and Abetting, (Count Two). On March 3, 2021, Davis entered a plea of guilty to both counts.
Over the course of the conspiracy, Davis was conservatively responsible for assisting in the distribution more than 15 kilograms of cocaine, 15 kilograms of methamphetamine, and 45 grams of heroin.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and the Winston-Salem Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer C. Nucci prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for case number 5:21-CR-00198-M-1.
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Gilmer County man sentenced for child pornography chargeRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Thomas Reed Ratliff, of Glenville, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 66 months of incarceration for a child pornography charge, First Assistant United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced.
Ratliff, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of “Possession of Child Pornography.” Ratliff admitted to having child pornography videos from August to November 2020 in Gilmer County.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Perri prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The FBI and the West Virginia State Police investigated.
Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
Fresno Man Sentenced to More than 5 years in Prison for Being a Felon in Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Marquis Hawkins, 30, of Fresno, was sentenced Monday to five years and 10 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, on March 7, 2019, law enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop on a car that Hawkins was driving. During the traffic stop, the officers searched Hawkins and found a loaded .38‑caliber revolver inside his sweatshirt pocket. Hawkins is prohibited from possessing firearms because he has previously been convicted of two crimes of domestic violence.
This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin J. Gilio prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice 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.
Former federal probation officer sentenced to prison for extorting individuals under her supervisionRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A former federal probation officer was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to six months in prison for extortion.
During her time as a probation officer, Helwa H. Qasem, 45, of Bexley, Ohio, accepted cash, pills, goods and services from individuals under her supervision.
According to court documents, from 2016 through 2018, Qasem accepted Xanax, cash, a sweater, a bag and below-market personal services in exchange for official actions as a probation officer.
In her role as a U.S. Probation Officer, Qasem supervised offenders who had been sentenced to terms of probation by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio or who were serving terms of supervised release after release from prison. It was part of her duties to report individuals who violated their terms of probation or supervised release.
Qasem extorted property from at least four individuals under her supervision and, in return, did not report violations committed by those individuals. For example, at least two individuals under supervision and the spouse of a third provided Xanax to Qasem for her personal use.
Qasem also unlawfully received several personal services, including moving services to help her relocate to a new home, and repairs to blinds, a dryer, a dishwasher, a washing machine and a vehicle. A person under Qasem’s supervision arranged for workers to provide these personal services for her.
Finally, Qasem shared confidential information she received from a Columbus police officer to an individual under her supervision. Qasem had received a police report detailing that an officer had met with a person who was attempting to become a confidential informant. The individual had provided information that a person under Qasem’s supervision was a drug trafficker. The report contained a photograph of the potential informant. Qasem showed that photograph to the person under her supervision and told him to stay away from the potential informant.
Qasem pleaded guilty in June 2022 to a bill of information charging her with extortion under color of official right.
As part of her sentence, Qasem was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release, with the first six months to be served under home detention.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI); Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant and other members of the FBI’s Southern Ohio Public Corruption Task Force announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorneys Peter K. Glenn-Applegate and Elizabeth A. Geraghty are representing the United States in this case.
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Former Rochester Housing Authority Chair Going to Prison for Fraud, Money Laundering and Lying to the FBIRead 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 George H. Moses, 53, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted by a federal jury for his role in defrauding three nonprofit organizations; Rochester Housing Charities (RHC), which provides housing to the elderly and disabled; the North East Area Development (NEAD), which assists low-income residents in the northeast quadrant of Rochester; and Quad A for Kids, which provided after-school and extended-day learning programs at some elementary schools in the Rochester City School District, was sentenced to serve 78 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford. Moses, who was also the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Rochester Housing Authority (RHA), was convicted of mail, wire, and tax fraud, federal program fraud, money laundering, and lying to the FBI.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard A. Resnick, Melissa M. Marangola, and Meghan K. McGuire, who handled the prosecution of the case, stated that Moses used money from the RHC and grant funds earmarked for the community for his own personal use, including to purchase a vehicle, a time share in Florida, a cruise, tickets to a New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden, health products, car repairs for his family’s vehicles, personal credit card payments, and multiple trips to Canada to visit his girlfriend at the apartment they had in Canada. Moses also paid wages to approximately 17 family members employed by NEAD and RHC.
In addition to defrauding Rochester Housing Charities and the Rochester Housing Authority, Moses was also convicted of:
• Lying to the FBI regarding his hiring of Adam McFadden as a subcontractor for RHC in 2015. McFadden, a former city councilmember, pleaded guilty to defrauding RHC with respect to the subcontract and is awaiting sentencing. Moses concealed the fact that he hired McFadden after McFadden was forced to resign as the Interim Executive Director of the RHA.
• Defrauding the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY). As Executive Director of the NEAD, Moses applied for a $125,000 grant for renovation of the Freedom Market, owned by Freedom Community Enterprise Inc., a subsidiary of NEAD. After receiving the grant, Moses and a co-conspirator Shirley Boone tricked DASNY into believing that NEAD paid Freedom Community $45,000 for construction work which never occurred. As a result, DASNY reimbursed NEAD $45,000 to which it was not entitled. Moses used the funds to pay wages to his family members employed by NEAD.
• Filing false tax returns for the years 2014 through 2018. He failed to report income he received from NEAD and the RHC, as well as took false deductions with respect to his wife’s cleaning business and falsely claimed childcare expenses.The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Michael Stansbury, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Jerome Winkle, and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Thomas Fattorusso, Special Agent-in-Charge.
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Former Police Officer Sentenced to 25 Years of Imprisonment for Stealing 125 Firearms from the Puerto Rico Police Bureau Shooting Range at Isla De CabraRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – United States District Court Judge Silvia Carreño Coll sentenced José Padilla-Galarza to a total of 25 years’ imprisonment and five years of supervised release for the theft of 125 firearms. Specifically, the defendant will be serving 20 years of imprisonment for his conviction on May 6, 2022, for counts One and Six, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act), concurrent with 10 years of imprisonment for his conviction on counts Three and Five, stealing firearms and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He will also serve 5 years of imprisonment, consecutive to the 20-year sentence, for his conviction under count Two, carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
“As proven at trial, the defendant, a former Puerto Rico Police Bureau (PRPB) officer, used his specialized knowledge of the PRPB to enrich himself by stealing and selling firearms,” said W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “The sentence imposed demonstrates the seriousness of defendant’s crimes and the Justice Department’s determination to investigate and prosecute such a blatant abuse of trust. Thanks to the diligent work of ATF, ICE-HSI, the FBI, and our trial team, the defendant will spend decades in federal prison for his crimes.”
During the trial, the government presented evidence that showed that Padilla-Galarza visited the PRPB Isla de Cabra Shooting Range on multiple occasions over a one-year period to become familiar with the personnel, their shifts, and the layout of the facility. Padilla-Galarza, as mastermind of the October 26, 2010, robbery at the range, took this time to plan how he and his co-conspirators would take 125 firearms from this PRBP facility, including two pistols taken from duty officers, 40 AR15 rifles, 24 shotguns, nine 9mm carbines, one MP3 rifle, and 49 pistols.
During the robbery, the co-conspirators used a white Ford Crown Victoria with fake PRPB decals to give it the appearance of an official PRPB patrol car and dressed as PRPB police officers, some in regular police uniforms and others in tactical uniforms. The co-conspirators assaulted, subdued, and bound the duty police officers at the range and stole the firearms stored in the vault to subsequently sell them for significant pecuniary gain and profit. This was the biggest firearms robbery in the history of Puerto Rico.
Padilla-Galarza’s 25-year sentence of imprisonment in this Hobbs Act case is also to be served consecutive to the 228-month term of imprisonment imposed by United States District Judge Daniel R. Dominguez on October 15, 2018, for conspiracy to commit bank robbery and bank robbery by force.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) lead the investigation with the collaboration of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The case was prosecuted and tried by Assistant United States Attorneys Max Pérez-Bouret and Jawayria Z. Auchter.
Former Long Island School Official Pleads Guilty in Kickback SchemeRead the Press Release
Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, Sharon Gardner, the former Director of Food Services for the Hempstead Union Free School District (“HUFSD”), pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud in connection with her participation in a kickback scheme. Gardner’s co-defendant, Maria Caliendo, the owner of food service providers Smart Starts NY, Inc. (“Smart Starts”) and Prince Umberto’s restaurant in Franklin Square, previously pleaded guilty on October 27, 2022 to the same offense and is awaiting sentencing. Today’s proceeding was held before United States District Judge Joanna Seybert. When sentenced, the defendants each face up to 20 years in prison. As part of their respective pleas, Gardner has agreed to forfeit approximately $120,000 and Caliendo has agreed to forfeit approximately $160,000.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); Bethanne M. Dinkins, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General (USDA-OIG); Terry Harris, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General, Eastern Regional Office; Thomas Fattorusso, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, New York; Anne T. Donnelly, Nassau County District Attorney; and Thomas P. DiNapoli, New York State Comptroller, announced the guilty plea.
“Gardner abused her position of trust as a school official in order to enrich herself with kickbacks she used to pay for overseas vacations and home furnishings. Now she will face the consequences for her greed,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute corrupt officials who illegally profit from our public institutions.”
“As today's guilty plea demonstrates, the defendant exploited her role in order to take advantage of the taxpayers for her own personal enrichment. The FBI and our Law Enforcement partners are committed to fighting public corruption and ensuring that those officials who abuse the trust placed in them are held accountable for their actions in the criminal justice system,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll.
USDA-OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Dinkins stated, “The School Breakfast Program (SBP) was created to provide food and nutrition to those who truly need this assistance. Those who are involved in fraud and abuse of USDA feeding programs will be investigated by our office to the fullest extent. This joint investigation identified individuals who sought to profit from the SBP through illegal schemes. The USDA Office of Inspector General will continue to dedicate investigative resources, working with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners, in order to protect the integrity of these programs and bring to justice those who commit fraud.”
“I am proud of the work of OIG Special Agents and our law enforcement partners in holding Ms. Gardner accountable for her criminal actions,” stated DOE-OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Harris. “We will continue to aggressively pursue those who misappropriate federal funds for their own selfish purposes. America’s students and taxpayers deserve nothing less.”
“This defendant leveraged her power as a Hempstead School District official to line her own pockets and those of her co-defendant for nearly two years,” stated Nassau County District Attorney Donnelly. “Gardner orchestrated the scheme, shirking her responsibilities to follow a legitimate bidding process and handing over the contract to Maria Caliendo, a local restaurant owner who had previously hosted Gardner’s holiday parties. Public funds are precious and finite. Individuals who exploit their positions to access those funds for their own financial gain will be found and prosecuted. I thank our law enforcement partners for their diligent work ensuring these defendants are now held accountable for their crimes.”
“Gardner exploited her position and betrayed the students, parents and taxpayers of the Hempstead School District to enrich herself,” stated Comptroller DiNapoli. “I thank United States Attorney Breon Peace, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly, the FBI and the Inspectors General for the Departments of Agriculture and Education for their partnership in holding Gardner accountable for her actions.”
According to court filings and facts presented at the plea proceeding, Gardner, in her capacity as the Director of Food Services for HUFSD, helped secure lucrative contracts for Caliendo’s company, Smart Starts, to provide prepackaged breakfast meals for Hempstead public school students. In exchange, Caliendo kicked back a portion of the contract proceeds totaling more than $100,000 to Gardner through fraudulent payroll deposits and other payments. To conceal the illegal nature of the arrangement, those payments were deposited into a bank account that was created in the name of one of Gardner’s family members. The kicked back funds were spent by Gardner on international vacations, a leased vehicle, and home furnishings. Approximately $13,000 in kicked back funds were also withdrawn by Gardner in cash from ATMs located near her home and workplace.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony Bagnuola and Charles P. Kelly are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendants:
SHARON GARDNER
Age: 56
Lindenhurst, New YorkMARIA CALIENDO
Age: 57
Elmont, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-229 (JS)
Former Cook County Land Bank Authority Employee Charged in Scheme to Fraudulently Purchase and Resell PropertiesRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A former employee of the Cook County Land Bank Authority used “straw buyers” to fraudulently purchase and resell properties from the agency on his behalf, according to a federal fraud charge filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago.
MUSTAFAA SALEH, 36, of Chicago, is charged with one count of wire fraud. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Arraignment in U.S. District Court in Chicago has not yet been scheduled.
The charge was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Machelle L. Jindra, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General in Chicago; and John S. Morales, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. Valuable assistance was provided by the Office of Special Inspector General for Troubled Asset Relief Program, IRS Criminal Investigation Division, Cook County Office of Independent Inspector General, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Office of Inspector General. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean J.B. Franzblau, Brian Netols, and Kirsten Moran.
Saleh worked as an asset manager for the CCLBA, a governmental entity that promoted the redevelopment and reuse of vacant, foreclosed, abandoned, and tax delinquent real estate by acquiring and transferring the property to private ownership. The CCLBA sold the real estate at below-market rates and prohibited the buyers from selling or renting a property until the CCLBA was satisfied that the buyer had adequately improved it. CCLBA employees were prohibited from purchasing a property from the agency unless it would be used for the employee’s primary residence.
According to the criminal information, Saleh from 2016 to 2021 used nominee or “straw” buyers to fraudulently purchase six properties from the CCLBA on Saleh’s behalf and thereafter redeveloped, resold, and otherwise used the properties for Saleh’s financial benefit. The properties were located in Chicago and the nearby suburbs of Oak Lawn and Midlothian, the information states.
In addition to the alleged property fraud, the information also accuses Saleh of fraudulently obtaining maintenance work from the CCLBA. Saleh in 2016 formed a property maintenance company called Evergreen Property Services and directed another individual to pose as its owner, the information states. Over the next three years, Saleh caused the CCLBA to contract with Evergreen and pay it more than $1 million for property maintenance services. CCLBA employees were prohibited from having a financial interest in property maintenance companies contracting with the agency.
The public is reminded that a charge is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Lewd Behavior on a Flight from Newark to BostonRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Florida man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to performing a lewd act aboard an aircraft in flight from Newark to Boston on Friday, April 8, 2022.
Donald Edward Robinson, 76, of Bonita Springs, Fla., pleaded guilty to one count of lewd, indecent and obscene acts while in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States. U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler scheduled sentencing for March 2, 2023. Robinson was arrested and charged on April 10, 2022.
On or about April 8, 2022, Robinson engaged in masturbation and exposed himself to a 21-year-old female passenger seated next to him while onboard a flight from Newark to Boston. Robinson then placed his hand on top of the victim’s thigh without her consent.
Shortly after departure, the victim recorded a 24-second video of Robinson fondling and manipulating his penis through his pants. A short time later, the victim looked over and saw that Robinson had exposed his penis. Approximately five minutes before landing, Robinson placed his hand on the victim’s thigh, prompting the victim to ask why he was touching her, to which Robinson withdrew his hand and looked out the window. The victim then got the attention of another passenger and displayed a message on her phone, “Hi, this man assaulted me and touched my leg and is masturbating.”
During the deplaning process, the victim approached a flight attendant about the incident but was unable to point Robinson out due to the volume of passengers deplaning. Security footage captured Robinson, upon exiting the secure area of the terminal, repeatedly looking back in the direction from which he came while proceeding to the baggage carousel level.
The charge of lewd, indecent and obscene acts while in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States provides for a sentence of up to 90 days in prison, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $5,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Dell’Anno of Rollins’ Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
Firearm Possession Results in Prison Time for South Florida Man with a Violent PastRead the Press Release
MIAMI – Markeith West, 28, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has been sentenced to 120 months in prison and three years of supervised release for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to the court record, on May 30, 2021, a Fort Lauderdale Police officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by West and detained him on outstanding warrants. Before the vehicle was towed, an inventory search was conducted revealing a black 9mm Masada pistol loaded with ten rounds of ammunition in the vehicle’s center console. The firearm was processed for DNA evidence which linked West to it.
Prior to May 2021, West had been convicted of several felony offenses including aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, strongarm robbery, felony battery, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. West was placed under arrest and later released on bond.
In June 2022, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) learned that West had an Instagram account where he posted photographs and streamed live videos of himself in possession of firearms and ammunition magazines. Agents began monitoring the account and were able to determine the location depicted in the images. On June 28, 2022, a search warrant was executed on that location and agents found an American Tactical, Omni Hybrid, multi-caliber rifle and a Glock model G45, 9x19 (9mm) caliber pistol equipped with a loaded thirty-round magazine.
In August 2022, West pled guilty to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Christopher A. Robinson, ATF, Miami Field Division, made the announcement.
ATF, Fort Lauderdale Field Office, investigated the case with assistance from Fort Lauderdale Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anita White prosecuted it.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Felon Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Methamphetamine Trafficking, Money Laundering, and Firearm Offenses in Terre HauteRead the Press Release
TERRE HAUTE – Steven Francis, 56, of Indianapolis, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, illegal possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon and laundering of monetary instruments.
According to court documents, in or around July 2020, the Vigo County (Indiana) Drug Task Force began investigating Francis for methamphetamine distribution. On January 19, 2021, Francis attempted to mail a parcel containing approximately $20,000 in U.S. currency to California. The cash came from Francis’ methamphetamine sales.
On February 17, 2021, investigators executed a search warrant at two addresses associated with Francis. Prior to doing so, officers stopped Francis as they saw him approaching one of the two properties. Francis had approximately $26,900 cash in his pocket. The money was drug proceeds. During the subsequent search of the building, investigators found approximately 295 grams of methamphetamine, a digital scale, a loaded semi-automatic firearm, and a safe containing approximately $27,960.
Investigators also searched Francis’ residence. Under the bed in Francis’s room, officers found five handguns, two AR-style rifles, and a loaded 100-round drum magazine. Elsewhere in the residence, investigators recovered approximately $86,060 in U.S. currency.
Francis admitted to selling pound-quantities of methamphetamine and storing the drug at the two properties.
Francis was convicted in state court in 2003 for possession of cocaine and possession of methamphetamine in two separate cases. Francis is prohibited from possessing firearms by federal law due to these felony convictions.
Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, and Michael Gannon, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Indianapolis Field Office, made the announcement.
DEA investigated the case in conjunction with the Vigo County Drug Task Force. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson. As part of the sentence, Judge Stinson ordered that Francis be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for four years following his release from federal prison. Judge Magnus-Stinson also ordered that the 8 seized firearms, ammunition, and $160,920 in seized cash all be forfeited as proceeds and instruments of the defendant’s crimes.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsay E. Karwoski who prosecuted this case.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Federal Grand Jury in Louisville Indicts New York Man for His Role in "Grandparent Scam" Targeting Senior VictimsRead the Press Release
Louisville, KY – A federal grand jury in Louisville returned an indictment in October charging a New York man with conspiracy to commit mail fraud for his role in a “grandparent scam” that impacted senior victims around the country, including a Meade County individual who lost tens of thousands of dollars to the scam. “Grandparent scams,” also known as “person-in-need scams,” involve perpetrators making false claims to victims that their loved one is in jeopardy and in need of money that the perpetrator will use to assist the loved one.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky and U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge Lesley Allison of the Pittsburg Division made the announcement.
According to court documents, Juan Carlos Arcena Cabrera, 28, of Yonkers, New York, conspired with others to trick seniors into sending cash payments under the false pretense that a grandchild or loved one had been in a car accident or was facing legal trouble. Scam callers would reach out to victims repeatedly, claiming more money was needed to cover additional emergency expenses. As part of this conspiracy, Cabrera posed as the grandson of a Kentucky victim and attempted to pick up a parcel full of cash that the victim had shipped from Kentucky to a FedEx store in New York.
Cabrera was arraigned yesterday in U.S. District Court. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. There is no parole in the federal system. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The United States Postal Inspection Service is investigating the case with assistance from the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Secret Service, and the New York Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Corinne E. Keel is prosecuting the case.
This case was investigated and prosecuted as part of the National Elder Justice Task Force and the Kentucky Elder Justice Task Force. The Department of Justice’s mission of its Elder Justice Initiative is to support and coordinate the Department’s enforcement and programmatic efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect and financial fraud and scams that target our nation’s older adults. In response to the growing need and targeting areas of greatest concern, the Department of Justice initially stood up 10 task forces made up of 11 federal districts to combat a variety of elder abuse, including elder financial exploitation. Kentucky’s federal districts make up two of the 11 districts under the Initiative. Kentucky’s task force is comprised of investigators, prosecutors, and others at the local, state, and federal level with a common objective of protecting seniors across Kentucky.
In October, the Department announced that as part of its continuing efforts to protect older adults and bring perpetrators of fraud schemes to justice it is expanding the Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force, adding 14 new U.S. Attorney’s Offices. Expansion of the Strike Force will help to coordinate the Department’s ongoing efforts to combat largest and most harmful fraud schemes that target or disproportionately impact older adults.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Eight Trey Gangster Crip Sentenced to 420 Months in Prison for Drug Trafficking and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – Troy Davis, aka “G-Trip” and “Trip” was sentenced yesterday to 420 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fifty (50) grams or more of methamphetamine, five (5) kilograms or more of cocaine and a quantity of marijuana and conspiracy to commit money laundering. On August 9, 2022, Davis pled guilty to all charges. Davis resided in Los Angeles, California, and traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina where he trafficked drugs.
“Our efforts to disrupt and dismantle dangerous drug organizations through this investigation has led to more than twenty indictments, and this prosecution resulted in removing a high-ranking national gang leader from our streets for 35 years,” stated U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “Raleigh is a safer place now that Davis, and many of his coconspirators are facing time behind bars.”
“An incredible amount of work went into building this case and taking this very dangerous individual off our streets,” said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Bennie Mims. “Through a collaborative effort with local, state, and federal partners, we brought a high-ranking gang member and one of the area’s main suppliers of illegal narcotics to justice and bettered public safety across the community.”
According to court documents and other information presented in court, Davis was the Los Angeles based source of supply for Dexter Maxwell, the leader of the Eight Tray Gangster Crips (ETGC) for North and South Carolina prior to his arrest. Maxwell has also pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges and is awaiting sentencing.
Davis held the rank of “G”, which is one of the highest levels of leadership in the ETGC organization. Davis used his influence to direct members of his gang in distributing and selling methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana in Raleigh. Davis personally flew from Los Angeles to Raleigh and lived for a month on Glenwood Avenue to help the local Raleigh ETGC learn how to cut the narcotics to increase profits for the organization. Davis was heavily involved in the day-to-day operations of the Raleigh ETGC.
For approximately two decades, ETGC has operated in North Carolina, including in the North Carolina prison system. The ETGC is recognized as a national criminal street gang originating out of Los Angeles and has a reputation for a propensity for violence that includes several homicides, aggravated assaults, and robberies. Members and associates of ETGC have been involved in numerous violent crimes that have resulted in the loss of life, decrease in quality of life, and damage to societal norms in and around the City of Raleigh. The ETGC members committed acts of violence to maintain membership and discipline, both within the gang and against non-gang members. Davis has a long history of violence and began committing acts of violence at age thirteen (13) and continued committing acts of violence against cooperators while in custody after pleading guilty in this case. Because of his violent acts, he is currently in solitary confinement.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launders, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. To date, more than 20 individuals have been indicted because of this investigation, including Deandre Earp, who was sentenced in January 2022 to 40 years in prison. Most of the defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Raleigh Police Department led the investigation with assistance from the Los Angeles Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Raleigh/Wake City-County Bureau of Identification and United States Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly L. Sandling prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:19-cr-00395-D-6.
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Edmund Thornton Pleads Not Guilty to Failing to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Edmund Thornton, 65, who until recently lived in East Calais, pleaded not guilty today in United States District Court in Burlington to a charge that he failed to register as a sex offender after moving to Vermont. U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Doyle ordered that Thornton be detained pending trial, which has not been scheduled.
According to court records, on October 27, 2022, a federal grand jury in Vermont returned a one count indictment alleging that Thornton violated the Sex Offender Registration And Notification Act (SORNA). Thornton was arrested in Pennsylvania on the charge on October 31 and has been held pending his transfer to Vermont.
Records indicate that in 1999, Thornton pleaded guilty in Pennsylvania to charges that included attempted deviate sexual intercourse with a ten-year-old girl. Thornton served several years in prison. Under Pennsylvania law, Thornton was required to register in that state as a convicted sex offender upon his release from custody. The federal Sex Offender Registration And Notification Act also required Thornton to promptly register with authorities in any state to which he moves. According to the indictment, Thornton moved to Vermont in about June 2020 but failed to register with authorities here, as required by SORNA.
The United States Attorney emphasizes that the charge in the indictment is merely an accusation and that Thornton is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty.
If convicted, Thornton faces up to ten years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000. The actual sentence would be determined with reference to federal sentencing guidelines.
This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service.
Thornton is represented by the Office of the Federal Defender. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.
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 Child Exploitation Obscenity Section, Criminal Division (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
Drug Dealing Husband and Wife Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
EUGENE, Ore.—A Douglas County couple known for distributing drugs was sentenced to federal prison today after they were linked to the overdose death of man to whom they had sold drugs to for more than a year.
Brian Joseph Ramos, 49, and Christine Marie Ramos, 41, residents of Yoncalla, Oregon, were sentenced to 70 and 51 months in federal prison, respectively. The Ramoses must also serve five-year terms of supervised release following the completion of their prison sentences.
According to court documents, in May 2018, detectives from the Douglas Interagency Narcotics Team (DINT) learned that an adult male stopped by the Ramoses home in Yoncalla after his release from a residential drug treatment program. Later the same day, the man tragically died of fentanyl poisoning. The next day, investigators interviewed the Ramoses who confirmed the man was at their residence the day prior, but denied giving him drugs. Christine Ramos, who was at work when the man stopped by their residence, admitted to selling the man pills for up to two years prior to his overdose. At one point after learning the man was injecting the pills she sold him, Christine Ramos stopped selling him drugs, but resumed thereafter.
Detectives searched the Ramoses’ residence and found several dozen grams of methamphetamine, 260 pills, drug paraphernalia, and digital scales. Several pills that later tested positive for fentanyl were found in the Ramoses’ vehicles. Evidence recovered from Brian Ramos’s phone revealed that he had in fact sold a pill to the man who succumbed to the fatal overdose.
On August 30, 2018, the Ramoses were charged by criminal complaint with conspiring with one another to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, oxycodone, and hydromorphone. On March 29, 2021, both waived indictment and pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by DINT and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Jeffrey S. Sweet, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Formed in October 1989, the Douglas Interagency Narcotics Team is a special investigative unit formed to combat illegal narcotics activity in Douglas County. DINT member agencies include Douglas County, including the Douglas County Sheriff and District Attorney’s Offices, the Oregon National Guard, Oregon State Police, and Roseburg Police Department.
Dominican Man Charged with Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dominican man has been charged with illegally reentering the United States after deportation.
Jonathan Alcequiez-Sanchez, 35, was charged with one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. Alcequiez-Sanchez is currently in the custody of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
According to the charging documents, Alcequiez-Sanchez was deported from the United States on Sept. 18, 2018, after being arrested in the Bronx, N.Y. for unlawful entry. It is alleged that sometime after his September 2018 removal, Alcequiez-Sanchez illegally reentered the United States.
On or about Dec. 27, 2021, Alcequiez-Sanchez was convicted in Lawrence District Court of drug distribution and weapons charges for which he was sentenced to serve jail time at the Essex County House of Corrections. Alcequiez-Sanchez was taken into federal custody upon his release on Nov. 15, 2022.
The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Todd Lyons, Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke A. Goldworm of Rollins’ Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
District Woman Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Assaulting Deputy United States Marshal in CourthouseRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON –Annabelle Liebsch, 38, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for assaulting a Deputy United States Marshal during a court proceeding in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Robert Dixon, U.S. Marshal for the U.S. Marshals Service for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
Liebsch was found guilty by a jury in September 2022, of felony assault of a law enforcement officer. She was sentenced by the Honorable Jason Park to a total of 36 months of incarceration; however, all but 18 months of that sentence was suspended pending the successful completion of an 18-month term of probation that will begin after Liebsch’s incarceration.
According to the government’s evidence, on May 2, 2022, the defendant was physically present in a Superior Court courtroom, before the Honorable Judge Thomas J. Motley, in a criminal hearing. At the conclusion of that hearing, Judge Motley ordered that she would remain detained. In response, Liebsch stated that she would like to “defect.”
She then got up from the defense table and walked towards a door at the back of the courtroom. Judge Motley ordered Liebsch to sit back down. When she refused, a Deputy U.S. Marshal and a Court Security Officer in the courtroom attempted to calm her down and restrain her. Their efforts continued into a small vestibule immediately behind the courtroom at which point Liebsch repeatedly head-butted the Deputy Marshal, striking the top of his head with such force that it caused a severe laceration that bled profusely. The Deputy Marshal subsequently had to be taken to a hospital, where five staples were required to close the wound.
Liebsch has been in custody ever since.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Marshal Dixon commended the work of those who investigated the case from the United States Marshals Service. They expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Richard Cheatham and Theresa Nelson.
Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alec Levy and Shakinah Douglas, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.
Detroit Area Software Developer Pleads Guilty to Employment Tax ViolationsRead the Press Release
A Michigan business owner pleaded guilty today to willful failure to collect and pay over employment taxes on behalf of his employees.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Yigal Ziv owned and operated Multinational Technologies, Inc. (MTI), a software developer based in Walled Lake. Ziv was responsible for filing MTI’s quarterly employment tax returns and collecting and paying to the IRS payroll taxes withheld from employees’ wages. From the first quarter of 2014 through the first quarter of 2018, Ziv collected approximately $691,000 in employment taxes from MTI’s employees, but did not file employment tax returns or pay the withheld taxes to the IRS. Even after learning of the IRS’s ongoing criminal investigation in May 2018, Ziv did not file MTI’s employment tax returns from the 4th quarter of 2019 through the 4th quarter of 2020 and did not pay over to the IRS approximately $199,000 in payroll taxes withheld from MTI’s employees. During the same period he did not pay over taxes to the IRS, Ziv caused MTI to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for his personal benefit, including home mortgage payments, luxury auto lease payments and department store purchases.
Ziv is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 22, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. He also faces a period of supervised release, monetary penalties and restitution. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison for the Eastern District of Michigan, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Charles Miller of IRS-Criminal Investigation Detroit Field Office made the announcement.
IRS Criminal-Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Kenneth C. Vert and George Meggali of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
Defendant in Murder-For-Hire Conspiracy Sentenced to Life in PrisonRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Jose David Navarro Cervellon, age 41, of Norcross, Georgia, today to life in federal prison, on charges related to a murder-for-hire that occurred on November 30, 2016, in Hyattsville, Maryland. On July 20, 2022, after an eight-day trial, a federal jury convicted Navarro for a murder-for-hire conspiracy. Navarro was also convicted for the use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of a murder-for-hire and for murder resulting from the use, carrying, brandishing and discharging of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Postal Inspector in Charge Damon E. Wood of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.
According to court documents and the evidence presented at his trial, Navarro was an associate of co-defendant Miguel Angel Ayala Rivera, the leader of the Pinos Locos Salvatrucha clique La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13 gang (“MS-13”) and co-defendant Miguel Antonio Renderos, whom Navarro knew from El Salvador. In November 2016, Renderos was looking for someone to murder Victim 1 in exchange for $10,000. Navarro introduced Renderos to Ayala Rivera, who agreed to commit the murder.
The evidence presented at trial proved that Renderos wanted Victim 1 to be killed because in 2012, after Renderos allowed the victim to move into the basement of Renderos’s home, Victim 1 began to have a romantic relationship with Renderos’s wife. With Navarro serving as the middleman between Renderos and Ayala Rivera, the defendants exchanged phone calls to arrange the murder.
As detailed at trial and in court documents, between November 1 and November 30, 2016, Navarro paid for a hotel room for Ayala Rivera and another MS-13 member, Luis Cruz Hernandez, at a hotel in College Park. During that time, Ayala Rivera, Navarro and Cruz Hernandez conducted surveillance of Victim 1 in and around Victim 1’s residence. On November 30, 2016, Navarro drove Ayala Rivera and Cruz Hernandez to Victim 1’s residence, where Ayala Rivera shot and killed Victim 1. After the murder, Navarro drove Ayala Rivera and Cruz Hernandez to collect payment from Renderos for the murder of Victim 1.
Co-defendants Miguel Angel Ayala Rivera, age 28, of Silver Spring, Maryland, and Miguel A. Renderos, age 48, of Hyattsville, Maryland, each pleaded guilty to their roles in the murder-for-hire and are awaiting sentencing. In a related case, Luis Cruz Hernandez, age 28, of Silver Spring, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to his role in the murder-for-hire and was sentenced to 51 years in federal prison.
This case is 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 that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Montgomery County Police Department and the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office for their assistance. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys William D. Moomau and Leah B. Grossi, who are prosecuting the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Cross-Country Meth Dealer Sentenced to 30 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va. – A former California man, who recently relocated to Meadowview, Virginia, was sentenced yesterday to 30 years in federal prison for his participation in a cross-country drug conspiracy that brought hundreds of pounds of crystal ice methamphetamine into the Southwest Virginia region.
Guy Benjamin Bowman, 57, was convicted following a jury trial in July 2022 of one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to distributing 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine as well as one count of distributing or possessing with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine.
According to evidence presented at trial, Bowman and Sally Mae Carr, 42, also of Meadowview operated their methamphetamine trafficking operation in Washington County, Virginia from January 2021 through April 2022 and conspired with Bowman’s sources in Chino Hills, California, to bring approximately 200 pounds of crystal methamphetamine into Southwest Virginia for redistribution. At the time of their arrests, over two pounds of crystal methamphetamine with a purity of over 98% and an estimated street value of $42,000, as well as over $7,000 in currency, were seized.
In October 2022, Carr was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison.
United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, and Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Washington Division made the announcement.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the Holston River Regional Drug Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Virginia State Police, and task force officers from both the Lebanon Police Department and Smyth County Sheriff’s Office.
Special Assistant United States Attorney M. Suzanne Kerney-Quillen, a Virginia Senior Assistant Attorney General assigned to the Attorney General’s Major Crimes and Emerging Threats Section, and Assistant United States Attorney Randy Ramseyer prosecuted the case for the United States.
Coraopolis Man Sentenced to 5 Years for Possessing Sexual Videos and Images of MinorsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court in Pittsburgh to 60 months’ imprisonment and eight years’ supervised release upon his conviction for possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor.
U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on Christopher A. Sennett, age 34, of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania.
According to information presented to the court during the earlier guilty plea hearing, Sennett was found in possession, on Sept. 26, 2018, of 120 videos and nine still images depicting the sexual exploitation of minors and determined to have distributed one such video over “Motherless.com”, an infamous pornography website.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Bissoon emphasized the dangerous nature of Sennett’s conduct and stated that she hoped that he would take advantage of sex offender treatment while incarcerated. Judge Bissoon further ordered Sennett to pay a $5000 special assessment under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.
Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Chung commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other members of the Western Pennsylvania Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Sennett.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Convicted Felon Who Repeatedly Attacked Planned Parenthood Clinic with BB Guns and Possessed Multiple Firearms Agrees to Plead GuiltyRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – In court documents filed this morning, an Inland Empire man admitted firing BB guns at the Planned Parenthood facility in Pasadena nearly a dozen times and agreed to plead guilty to violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
Richard Royden Chamberlin, 54, who currently resides in Ontario, but previously maintained a residence in Altadena, also admitted that he was carrying a loaded .22-caliber handgun during one of the attacks and agreed to plead guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, according to a plea agreement filed today in United States District Court.
Chamberlin acknowledged driving past the Planned Parenthood facility in Pasadena and fired his BB gun at the clinic on at least 11 occasions between June 2020 and May 2021. In his plea agreement, Chamberlin admitted that he intentionally conducted the attacks to intimidate and interfere with the clinic, its doctors, staff and patients specifically because the clinic was providing reproductive health services, including services related to the termination of pregnancies.
Beginning on June 27, 2020, Chamberlin’s attacks involved him firing BB pellets through the window of his car. The attacks caused physical damage to the clinic, including shattered windows, and also served to intimidate the staff of the clinic, Chamberlin admitted in the plea agreement.
On March 29, 2021, an employee of the clinic heard an object hit her office window, which caused her to fear for her physical safety and interfered with the performance of her job duties. The next day, at 8:30 a.m. while the clinic was open and receiving patients, defendant again drove by and fired his BB gun at the front entrance. During this attack, a patient’s support companion was seated on the front porch and was nearly hit when the BB gun pellets peppered the banners directly in front of where she was seated. No one was injured in any of the shootings.
On May 7, 2021, the Pasadena Police Department stopped Chamberlin while he was driving away from the clinic following yet another BB gun attack. At this time, Chamberlin possessed eight BB guns, including BB guns designed to look like assault rifles. On the front passenger seat of his vehicle, police found a backpack containing a .22-caliber pistol, which was loaded with 10 rounds of ammunition. In his plea agreement, Chamberlin admitted that he possessed this firearm and ammunition after being previously convicted in Arizona in 2012 of a felony offense of attempted transportation of a narcotic drug for sale.
Following his May 7, 2021, arrest, Chamberlin attempted to dispose of his remaining firearms by selling four firearms to a local consignment store and transferring ownership of eight additional firearms to a neighbor. During a subsequent search of his home, authorities recovered thousands of rounds of ammunition, gun powder, a dozen additional BB guns, a black cylinder resembling a suppressor, a Polymer 80 gun-making kit, various gun parts and multiple documents identifying and referring to Planned Parenthood.
Chamberlin agreed to plead guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, a felony offense that carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison, and one count of forcible interference with the obtaining and provision of reproductive health services, a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to one year in prison. A date for Chamberlin to appear in court to formally enter the guilty pleas has not yet been set.
The FBI and the Pasadena Police Department conducted the investigation in this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Frances S. Lewis of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section is prosecuting this case.