Latest Records
Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
18 November 2022
United States Attorney’s Office Honors Law Enforcement Personnel for Exceptional ServiceRead the Press Release
Fairview Heights, Ill. - United States Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe announced the recipients of the
2022 Law Enforcement Public Service Awards on Thursday, November 17, 2022. Personnel from several federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies who contributed to the success of federal cases were recognized for their commitment to pursuing justice and public safety.These awards recognize law enforcement officers and support personnel for exceptional leadership, outstanding collaboration, investigative achievement and excellence, victim assistance, and community engagement.
“Today we honor exceptional law enforcement officers and the vital public service they provide.
These women and men engage in an unrelenting and often unacknowledged fight to keep our communities safe every day. It is an honor today to recognize each of you for your service and successful investigations,” said United States Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “Each law enforcement partner was nominated by an Assistant United State Attorney. It is the partnership between law enforcement and these prosecutors, as well as the support staff of the United States Attorney’s Office, that ultimately leads to justice for victims, protecting the rule of law and successful prosecutions”.Nick Manns, Illinois State Police, was presented an award for his vision, implementation, and leadership of the Illinois Public Safety Enforcement Group (PSEG). Nick successfully developed partnerships with existing community organizations to implement trauma-informed interventions and provide needed social services for victims and witnesses identified by the PSEG Unit in the course of their investigations.
Investigator Amanda Wimmersberg, Illinois Attorney General, Investigations Division/High Tech
Crimes, received recognition for her tireless work to identify and remove some of the worst child predators in our communities and for the incredibly thorough investigation that led to the successful prosecution of Lance Wehrle. At trial, Amanda provided compelling testimony regarding her extensive forensic review and the deta ls of the abuse victim. Werhle was convicted and sentenced to 40 years in the Bureau of Prisons.Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Ayla Horlick received an award for her tireless work removing dangerous drugs from our community. Special Agent Horlick was also recognized as an exceptional team player that stays closely involved throughout the investigative process and prosecution of each matter she submits.
A group award was given to members of the Centralia Police Department and the Centralia Safe
Streets Working Group for their investigation which led the successful prosecution of Chris
Jamison, a prolific shooter and member of a well-known street gang in Centralia. Jamison was eventually sentenced to 78 months in the Bureau of Prisons, almost double the advisory sentencing guideline range. Receiving the award were Centralia Police Officers Lieutenant Jamie James, Sergeant Mike Peebles, and Officer Travis Ripperda and FBI Special Agent Ryan James.Personnel from the United States Postal Inspection Service were recognized for their outstanding work they have done over the past decade in bringing to justice fraudulent telemarketers who victimize citizens of Southern Illinois. Receiving the award were Inspector Adam Latham, Inspector
Kathy Broderick, Inspector Molly Emmerich, Analyst Tim Brunholz (Retired), and Analyst Marvin
Koechig.The United States Attorney’s Office “Exceptional Service Award” was presented to Federal Bureau of
Prisons (BOP) Supervisory Attorney Tracy Knutson. She will be retiring in December after serving 24 years with BOP. Knutson made significant contributions in civil and criminal matters handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.U.S. Attorney Karam Launches United Against Hate InitiativeRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam today announced his office’s participation in the Department of Justice’s new initiative to better counter hate crimes and hate incidents in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
The Middle District of Pennsylvania was one of the first of 16 U.S. Attorney Offices to launch the United Against Hate program. The United Against Hate initiative seeks to strengthen collaborative relationships of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies with communities in order to build trust and encourage the reporting of hate crimes and hate incidents. As part of the initiative, U.S. Attorney Karam hosted a meeting yesterday with an audience of various law enforcement agencies and community leaders from across the mid-state.
“The foundation of our democracy seeks for us all to have equal protection and opportunities under the law,” said U.S. Attorney Karam. “With the rising number of crimes occurring because of someone’s skin color, the faith they practice, who they love, or because they have a disability, we recognize the need to reach out to our community leaders and our state and local law enforcement colleagues to develop a partnership to combat acts of hate. Through the United Against Hate initiative, we have combined the strengths of law enforcement with community leaders to identify, report, investigate, and prosecute hate crimes.”
At this initial event, subject matter experts from the United States Attorney’s Office, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office; the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Pennsylvania State Police, the York County District Attorney’s Office, the Anti-Defamation League, and other local law enforcement identified federal and state criminal hate crime statutes. The audience was made up of groups of community leaders, civil rights advocates and organizations, and religious leaders of various faiths. Presenters highlighted differences between hate crimes versus hate incidents and provided options for responding to hate incidents when situations do not constitute a federal or state crime. Presenters also distinguished unlawful conduct from protected First Amendment activity, including identifying protected speech versus speech that advocates violence or encourages people to commit hate crimes.
As part of its United Against Hate programming, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to collaborate with communities across the Middle District of Pennsylvania to expand connections with those communities, further hate crimes prevention efforts, and encourage more people to report hate crimes and hate incidents.
Those who believe they are subject to hate crimes or incidents should contact local law enforcement and the FBI. Members of the public may report possible civil rights violations at https://civilrights.justice.gov/report/. Anyone in the Middle District of Pennsylvania may also report civil rights violations to the Civil Rights coordinator of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania by calling 717-614-4911 or emailing [email protected].
# # #
U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee Statement on Transgender Awareness Week and Transgender Day of RemembranceRead the Press Release
This week, the Human Rights Campaign announced in its annual report that at least 32 transgender and gender-nonconforming people have been killed in the United States in 2022 – “at least” because transgender victims may be misgendered in news or police reports, and deaths of transgender people often go unreported. The report described the victims as “overwhelmingly Black, under 35 and killed with a firearm” with trans women disproportionately at risk.
Transgender rights are human rights, and no one should ever be a target of a crime or harassment because of who they are. This week marks Transgender Awareness Week, and this Sunday is Transgender Day of Remembrance, a worldwide observance to remember and honor transgender victims of violence. It is an opportunity to bring attention to the threats and harassment transgender people face – including here in Maine – and to acknowledge those who have been victimized simply for being who they are.
I am aware that there is a feeling of mistrust among transgender Mainers towards law enforcement, and I understand and acknowledge the root causes of that wariness. I want all Mainers to feel seen, heard and respected in their interactions with law enforcement and to feel safe to report when they are the victim of crime. I am committed to doing what I can in my role as U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine, and I welcome the opportunity to work with LGBTQ+ leaders in Maine to build that trust.
# # #
Two Somerset County Attorneys Indicted for Visa FraudRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – Two Somerset County, New Jersey, attorneys were indicted today for making false statements under penalty of perjury in visa applications, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Steven G. Thomas, 52, and Maria Thomas, 81, both of Montgomery Township, New Jersey, were indicted for conspiring to prepare and file false visa applications on behalf of clients. Steven Thomas was also charged with one count of filing a false visa application.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2015 to 2021, the defendants encouraged their clients to apply for asylum under fraudulent pretenses. They advised their clients regarding the manner in which they were most likely to obtain asylum, knowing that these clients did not legitimately qualify for asylum. The defendants then prepared, or caused to be prepared, fraudulent applications and affidavits on behalf of those clients, which were submitted to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
A confidential source also met with Steven Thomas in January of 2020, and Steven Thomas filed a visa application containing numerous false statements in April 2020.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel in Newark, with the investigation leading to the indictment.
The government is represented by Senior Civil Rights Counsel Joseph Gribko.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Two Indicted in Cryptocurrency Money Laundering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
TYLER, Texas – A Nevada man and a South Carolina man have been indicted in a cryptocurrency money laundering conspiracy in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston.
Randall V. Rule, 71, of Reno, NV, and Gregory C. Nysewander, 64, formerly of Irmo, SC, were named in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury this week, charging them with money laundering conspiracy, money laundering, and a conspiracy to violate the Bank Secrecy Act.
According to the indictment, Rule and Nysewander are alleged to have conspired with others to launder the proceeds of wire fraud and mail fraud schemes through cryptocurrency. The defendants converted funds from romance scams, business email compromises, and real estate scams, and other fraudulent schemes into cryptocurrency and sent the cryptocurrency to accounts controlled by foreign and domestic co-conspirators. The defendants and their co-conspirators made false representations and concealed material facts, in order to avoid discovery of the fraudulent nature of deposits, wires, and transfers, such as providing instructions to co-conspirators and victims to label wire transfers as “loan repayments” and “advertising.” The defendants also made false representations and concealed material facts when completing account opening documents and when communicating with financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges. During the course of the conspiracy, Rule, Nysewander, and their co-conspirators allegedly laundered more than $2.4 million. Rule and Nysewander are also charged with willfully violating the money services business requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act.
If convicted, Rule and Nysewander face up to 20 years in federal prison on each money laundering charge and up to 5 years in federal prison on the conspiracy to violate the Bank Secrecy Act charge. A grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel C. Kummerfeld.
###
Two Doctors and the Operators of Three Pain Clinics Charged with $2.6 Million Illegal Opioid Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
DETROIT – Six individuals, including two doctors and the operators of three pain clinics, were charged with conspiring to illegally distribute over 500,000 opioid pills worth over $2.6 million in an indictment unsealed today, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.
Ison was joined in the announcement by James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mario Pinto, Special Agent in Charge of The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
The indictment charges the defendants with a drug conspiracy involving Schedule II controlled substances, including Oxycodone, Oxymorphone, Oxycodone-Acetaminophen (Percocet), and Hydrocodone (Norco), some of the most addictive and commonly diverted opioids having a significant street value.
Charged in the indictment are:Angelo Foster, 33, of Detroit, Michigan
Brandy King 33, of Detroit, Michigan
Dr. Juan Bayolo, 48, of Lake Mary, Florida
Dr. Renee Gonzalez Garcia, 62, of Henderson, Nevada
Latrina Williams, 45, of Sterling Heights, Michigan
Edward King, 33, of Northville, Michigan
The Indictment alleges that Foster, Edward King, and Brandy King operated several pain clinics in the Metro Detroit area, including Priority One Health Management, Lincoln Park Health Management, and Priority One Health Essentials. At each clinic location, patients were recruited by “patient recruiters” such as Williams, to see Drs. Bayolo and Gonzalez Garcia via telehealth. These doctors were paid to illegally issue opioid prescriptions, with no physical examination, for patients who had no legitimate medical need for the drugs.
As alleged in the indictment, these telehealth appointments allowed members of the conspiracy to receive cash payments in exchange for controlled substance prescriptions issued by doctors. According to the indictment, Drs. Bayolo and Gonzalez Garcia, along with other medical professionals, prescribed more than 500,000 dosage units of Schedule II controlled substances.
The prescribed controlled substances carried a conservative street value of more than $2.6 million.
“It is particularly disturbing when physicians break their oaths and illegally distribute highly addictive drugs. My office remains committed to pursuing medical providers who abuse their roles as physicians to harm our community.” U.S. Attorney Ison said.
“When medical professionals and others scheme to illegally provide medically unnecessary prescription drugs, they put patients at risk and drive up the cost of health care for everyone,” said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to investigate this type of health care fraud scheme and bring those who operate these criminal schemes to justice.”
“As the fight against the opioid crisis continues, our agency remains committed to investigating those – including medical professionals – who seek to profit from scams involving powerful controlled substance medications,” said Special Agent in Charge Mario M. Pinto of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. “We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to detect and take action against bad actors who allegedly participate in such schemes.”
“Those willing to profit off addiction are at the center of the opioid epidemic,” said Nessel. “The medical professionals who betrayed their oath to get rich off of substance use disorder are the most insidious actors in this scheme. I am proud of the work done by my department, in concert with our federal law enforcement partners, to pursue and prosecute those who exploited their positions while Michiganders suffered.”
The case was investigated by special agents and officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Michigan Department of Attorney General.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Alison A. Furtaw, Regina R. McCullough, and Lisandra Fernandez-Silber.
The Eastern District of Michigan is one of the twelve districts included in the Opioid Fraud Abuse and Detection Unit.An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Each defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Third Conspirator in Attempted $600,000 Cocaine Purchase Sentenced to 19 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger has sentenced Derek Morales-Figueroa (26, Orlando) to 19 years and 7 months years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Morales-Figueroa had pleaded guilty on May 10, 2022.
According to the plea agreement and other court documents, beginning on September 11, 2020, Morales-Figueroa and a co-conspirator, Jacob Luis Bonilla-Rivera, engaged in a series of phone calls with individuals they believed to be cocaine dealers but who were, in fact, undercover agents working on behalf of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). These discussions culminated in an agreement to purchase 20 kilograms of cocaine in Orlando. On September 16, 2020, HSI agents met with Bonilla-Rivera and Juan Omar Rodriguez, Jr. (21, Auburndale, Florida, where the conspirators showed HSI agents the $600,000 in cash they had brought to the deal in a hidden compartment in one of their vehicles. After doing so, Bonilla-Rivera and Rodriguez proceeded to a location where HSI agents had arranged to show them the 20 kilograms of cocaine to be purchased. Morales-Figueroa participated in inspecting the cocaine by video conferencing on one of the conspirator’s phones. After inspecting the cocaine, Bonilla-Rivera and Rodriguez returned to their car to retrieve the cash from the hidden compartment when they were arrested. Upon searching both vehicles, HSI agents found that both Bonilla-Rivera and Rodriguez had loaded firearms in their possession in the vehicles they had driven to the meeting, along with a total of $639,325 cash.
On September 17, 2020, Bonilla-Rivera and Rodriguez were charged for their roles in the conspiracy. Bonilla-Rivera and Rodriguez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possessing firearms in furtherance of that offense, and on March 12, 2021, each defendant was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.
Morales-Figueroa was not located at the time of the initial arrest. On March 10, 2021, Morales-Figueroa was identified in a traffic stop in Flagler County on Interstate-95. During the traffic stop, Morales-Figueroa was asked to get out of the vehicle and, instead, got out of the passenger’s seat and into the driver’s seat of the vehicle and fled from officers with an uninvolved minor in the back seat of the vehicle. On January 3, 2022, Morales-Figueroa was arrested at a Jacksonville residence in connection with a search of that residence and the seizure of nine kilograms of cocaine and significant quantities of U.S. currency.
“This investigation was based on the due diligence of hard working HSI special agents and task force officers who ultimately brought to justice these international narcotics traffickers," said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Orlando Assistant Special Agent in Charge David Pezzutti. "Our agency, along with our partners, work tirelessly to bring to justice those who attempt to poison our communities."
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from the Seminole County Sherriff’s Office, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill.
The Remaining Defendant in a 16-Member Drug Trafficking Organization with Ties to Grape Street Crips Gang SentencedRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – A now-33-year-old former California native has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison following a year-long investigation by local state and federal law enforcement agencies into a drug trafficking organization with ties to the Grape Street Crips gang.
In July 2019, a federal grand jury indicted 16 individuals in an eleven-count indictment for federal drug and gun charges. The indictment charged that the defendants conspired to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances, including methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl.
The defendants charged in the indictment were:
• Travon Allen a/k/a "Little Y," 30, Los Angeles, California
• Ozene Benson, 27, Memphis, Tennessee
• Vincent Boykin a/k/a "Veto," 31, Memphis, Tennessee
• Antwan Brown, 31, Memphis, Tennessee
• Christopher Brown, 29, Memphis, Tennessee
• Lonnell Davis, 41, Memphis, Tennessee
• Clifton Graves, 35, Memphis, Tennessee
• Preston Hampton a/k/a "Grape da Shooter," 26, Memphis, Tennessee
• Amber Howe, 31, Memphis, Tennessee
• Claude Cordell Irby, 23, Memphis, Tennessee
• Eddie Johnson a/k/a "Eddie Grape," 36, Memphis, Tennessee
• Lapheal Johnson a/k/a "Peaches," 25, Jackson, Tennessee
• Tionna Jones, 24, Memphis, Tennessee
• Terrell Kennedy, 34, Memphis, Tennessee
• Antonio Lurry, 37, Memphis, Tennessee
• Tarzell Worles a/k/a "Snugg," 26, Memphis, Tennessee
• Lapheal Johnson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. On May 5, 2022, she was sentenced to time served, followed by 4 years supervised release.
• Amber Howe pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute one kilogram of heroin and possession of heroin with intent to distribute. On June 23, 2020, she was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day imprisonment, followed by 3 years supervised release.
• Vincent Boykin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and possession of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. On April 29, 2021, he was sentenced to 150 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years supervised release.
• Clifton Graves pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. On May 11, 2021, he was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day imprisonment, followed by 4 years supervised release.
• Ozene Benson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and possession of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. On June 1, 2021, he was sentenced to 180 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years supervised release.
• Terell Kennedy pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. On November 5, 2020, he was sentenced to 60 months imprisonment, followed by 4 years of supervised release.
• Eddie Johnson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 50 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. On December 2, 2020, he was sentenced to time served, followed by 4 years of supervised release.
• Antwan Brown pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and possession of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. On December 3, 2020, he was sentenced to 78 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years supervised release.
• Christopher Brown pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, and conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or less of heroin. On July 1, 2021, he was sentenced to 120 months imprisonment followed by 3 years supervised release.
• Lonnell Davis pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than 50 grams of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. On June 29, 2021, he was sentenced to 60 months imprisonment, followed by 4 years supervised release.
• Tionna Jones pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. On June 22, 2021, she was sentenced to 37 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years supervised release.
• Antonio Lurry pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. On May 27, 2021, he was sentenced to 60 months imprisonment, followed by 4 years supervised release.
• Tarzell Worles pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 1 kilogram or more of heroin, possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, and possession of heroin with intent to distribute. On April 26, 2022, he was sentenced to 150 months imprisonment, followed by 5 years supervised release.
• Preston Hampton pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. On May 13, 2021, he was sentenced to 120 months imprisonment, followed by 5 years supervised release.
• Claude Cordell Irby pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. On January 25, 2022, he was sentenced to 37 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years supervised release.
• Travon Allen pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. On November 15, 2022, he was sentenced to 120 months imprisonment, followed by 5 years supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF is a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking organizations and organized criminal enterprises, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Shelby County Sheriff's Office
Narcotics Division, Memphis Police Department Organized Crime Unit, Bartlett Police Department, and West Tennessee Drug Task Force all investigated this case.
United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz thanked Assistant United States Attorney Mark Erskine, who prosecuted this case.
Statement of Special Counsel Jack SmithRead the Press Release
Following his appointment by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland today, Special Counsel Jack Smith made the following statement:
“I intend to conduct the assigned investigations, and any prosecutions that may result from them, independently and in the best traditions of the Department of Justice. The pace of the investigations will not pause or flag under my watch. I will exercise independent judgement and will move the investigations forward expeditiously and thoroughly to whatever outcome the facts and the law dictate.”
St. Louis County Felon Admits to Gun, Methamphetamine ChargesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis County, Missouri on Friday admitted being a felon in possession of both a firearm and methamphetamine.
Mosley Jumon Williams, 31, pleaded guilty in front of U.S. District Court Judge Catherine D. Perry to one felony charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and a misdemeanor charge of simple possession of methamphetamine.
Williams on Friday admitted prosecutors could prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he used the gun in a kidnapping during a family dispute in 2019.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department was told that on March 28, 2019, Williams tried to kidnap the boyfriend of Williams’ former mother-in-law to learn the location of Williams’ ex-wife. The boyfriend escaped. Police investigated and arrested Williams at a probation violation hearing for his prior domestic assault cases, but could not find the gun until Williams called his girlfriend and told her in coded language to move the gun to a closet.
Williams’ girlfriend allowed police to search their apartment, where officers found a .45-caliber, HS Produkt handgun with a flashlight-laser combination that the girlfriend had purchased for Williams and 42 tablets containing methamphetamine, Williams’ plea agreement says.
Williams is scheduled to be sentenced March 10. As part of the plea, both sides agreed to recommend a 10-year sentence.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary M. Bluestone is prosecuting the case.
Springfield Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Fentanyl Intended for DistributionRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Springfield man pleaded guilty today to a drug offense involving fentanyl distribution.
Christian Camacho, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for April 13, 2023. Camacho was indicted by a federal grand jury and arrested in May 2022.
On or about March 30, 2022, in Hampden County, Camacho knowingly possessed 40 grams or more of fentanyl intended for distribution. Additionally, at the time of his arrest, Camacho was found in possession of more than 129 grams of fentanyl laced with heroin packaged for distribution in more than 8,000 bags as well as $14,282 cash.
The charge of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl provides for a sentence of up to 40 years in prison, four years of supervised release and a fine of $2 million. 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; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in New England; and Springfield Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd E. Newhouse of Rollins’ Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
South Florida Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Sex Trafficking Offenses Against Minor GirlsRead the Press Release
MIAMI — A 26-year-old Broward County man was sentenced today in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., by U.S. District Court Judge William P. Dimitrouleas to 30 years in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiring to traffic minor girls for commercial sex.
On August 11, 2022, following a four-day trial, a federal jury found Kerby Brown Jr., aka “Slime,” guilty of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor, attempted sex trafficking of a minor, and sex trafficking of a minor.
Brown conspired to traffic at least five minor girls for commercial sex between November 2018 and May 2019. Starting in November 2018, he worked to recruit three minor girls for commercial sex work at a hotel party. Brown successfully posted a commercial sex advertisement online for at least one of those minors—Minor Victim 1—who was 14 years old. At the time, Minor Victim 1 was a runaway.
Between January and February 2019, Brown trafficked 15-year-old Minor Victim 2 for commercial sex. Like Minor Victim 1, she was a runaway when Brown recruited her. He lured Minor Victim 2 under the guise of offering her a free place to stay. However, Brown later caused her to sell herself for commercial sex in order to contribute to costs. He drove Minor Victim 2 from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando, Fla., where she engaged in commercial sex acts with strangers at his discretion. He then drove Minor Victim 2 back to Fort Lauderdale where she continued to engage in commercial sex acts.
Minor Victim 2 testified at trial that she forfeited the majority of proceeds from these commercial sex acts directly to Brown, who coordinated each encounter by using explicit photos of Minor Victim 2 to advertise to interested parties. During trial there was a voice recording where Brown had discussed Minor Victim 2 with an 18-year-old female co-conspirator.
Brown was arrested in May 2019 during a sex trafficking operation after he delivered his female co-conspirator for a commercial sex act with an undercover officer. In the car that Brown was driving, law enforcement found a 17-year-old girl. The only possessions the minor had with her were a cellular telephone and a purse containing condoms.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; acting Special Agent in Charge Robert M. DeWitt, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; acting Special Agent in Charge Aaron LaFortune, U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), Miami Field Office; Hollywood Police Department Chief Chris O’Brien; and Fort Lauderdale Police Department Chief Patrick Lynn announced the sentence.
This case was investigated by FBI’s Crimes Against Children Human Trafficking Task Force, in partnership with the Hollywood Police Department, and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Monica K. Castro and Manolo Reboso.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood assembles federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
To report suspected human trafficking or to obtain resources for victims, please call 1-888-373-7888; text “BeFree” (233733), or live chat at HumanTraffickingHotline.org. The toll-free phone, SMS text lines, and online chat function are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Help is available in English, Spanish, Creole, or in more than 200 additional languages. The hotline is not managed by law enforcement, immigration, or an investigative agency. Correspondence is confidential and you may request assistance or report a tip anonymously. To learn more about the U.S. Department of Justice’s efforts to combat human trafficking, visit www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.
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.
Smyrna Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Attempted Dover Home InvasionRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. - David C. Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Willilam Bailey, 39, of Smyrna was sentenced on November 16, 2022 to 10 years in federal prision for his role in an attempted Dover home invasion. Chief U.S. District Judge Colm F. Connolly pronounced the sentence.
According to court documents and statements made at the sentencing, around midnight on May 10, 2018, Bailey attempted a home invasion with separately charged defendant, Tyler Deberry, and another man. Armed with a sawed-off rifle, the three men tried to force their way into a Dover mobile home, expecting to rob its occupants of drugs and cash. The intruders attempted to enter through the trailer’s back door, but found it blocked on the inside by a washer/dryer. One of the intruders forced his head, shoulder, arm, and the rifle through the blocked doorway, while victims within the home fought back, pushing against the door to force it closed. Several shots were fired in the struggle before a victim took the rifle away from the intruders, who then fled. At sentencing, the prosecutor noted that this was Bailey’s second conviction for home evasion. Defendant Tyler Deberry’s sentencing is set for February 6, 2023.
U.S. Attorney Weiss stated, “In the middle of the night, the defendant joined with others in an armed attempt to break into a home. Bailey and his confederates dangerous plan failed only because the door was blocked, and the occupants fought back. My office is committed to prosecuting violent crimes, even more so when those crimes are committed by recidivists.”
The case was investigated by the Dover Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edmond Falgowski and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Graham Robinson.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the District of Delaware or on PACER by searching for Case No. 21-cr-79.
Slidell Woman Sentenced for FEMA FraudRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – SCHSHINETIA ANDERSON, age 44, a resident of Slidell, Louisiana, was sentenced on November 17, 2022 for FEMA fraud announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. The defendant was sentenced by the Honorable Mary Ann Vial Lemmon to 5 years of probation and ordered to pay $22,104 in restitution to FEMA.
According to court documents, on or about August 18, 2016, ANDERSON filed a fraudulent request for financial assistance due to a natural disaster related to the alleged loss of her primary residence. In truth and in fact, as she well knew, the house she had been renting did not sustain any damage and she prepared false records claiming that it had. She also prepared false and inflated rent lease agreements to increase the funds she received from FEMA. ANDERSON received approximately $22,104 as a result of her fraud.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security in investigating this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney G. Dall Kammer, Chief of the General Crimes Unit.
Six Federally Indicted and Arrested for Methamphetamine Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Louisville, KY – A federal grand jury in Louisville returned an indictment on November 2, 2022, charging six local men and women with engaging in a long-term drug trafficking conspiracy. One man was also charged with a firearm offense.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge J. Todd Scott of the DEA Louisville Field Division, Special Agent in Charge Jerry C. Templet, Jr. of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, and Chief Erika Shields of the Louisville Metro Police Department made the announcement.
According to court documents, Dion Brown, 29, Raheem Richardson, 30, Jamesha Hickman, 29, Demeeko Johnson, 28, Tyrece Clark, 29, and Hubert Brown, 51, all of Louisville, conspired to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine between May 23, 2022, and November 1, 2022. Brown, Richardson, Johnson, and Hickman also distributed 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on multiple occasions, and Richardson possessed a firearm after having been convicted of a felony. On November 16, 2022, all six defendants were arrested.
The defendants made their initial court appearances on November 17, 2022, before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Western District of Kentucky. If convicted, they each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. There is no parole in the federal system.
The DEA, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, and the Louisville Metro Police Department are investigating the case with assistance from the ATF and IRS Criminal Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia P. Gomez is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
###
Silver Spring Dentist Sentenced to More Than Two Years in Federal Prison for Scheme to Fraudulently Obtain Medicaid Funds by Recruiting Medicaid Beneficiaries Through the Payment of Kickbacks and BribesRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang today sentenced Edward T. Buford III, age 70, of Silver Spring, Maryland, to 30 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and healthcare fraud. Judge Chuang also ordered Buford to pay $1,267,630 in restitution.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Washington Field Office Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon, Office of Investigations, Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services; Special Agent in Charge Michael McGill of the Social Security Administration - Office of Inspector General, Philadelphia Field Division; and Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia.
Buford was a licensed dentist in Washington, D.C. and the owner and Chief Executive Officer of International Dental Associates, Inc. (IDA), a dental clinic located in Washington, D.C. According to his guilty plea, from January 2013 to May 2018, Buford led a scheme to file fraudulent Medicaid claims for dental services to Medicaid beneficiaries and recruited Medicaid beneficiaries to fuel the scheme through the payment of kickbacks and bribes.
Buford caused the submission of Medicaid claims for a variety of dental services, including dentures. As part of the conspiracy, Buford paid kickbacks to patient recruiters in exchange for referring Medicaid beneficiaries to IDA for dental services. At Buford’s direction, the recruiters offered cash bribes to beneficiaries to visit IDA and accept dental services. Medicaid paid substantially more for dentures than for many other dental services, including dental cleanings. Buford paid larger cash kickbacks to recruiters—approximately $50 per beneficiary—for beneficiaries that agreed to be fitted for dentures, and typically paid the recruited beneficiaries $20 to be fitted for dentures. Buford knew that Medicaid would not have paid the claims had it known they were procured through kickbacks and bribes.
As detailed in the plea agreement, even though dentures required multiple visits to fit and deliver, Buford caused the recruiters and beneficiaries to be paid only for the initial visit—after which Buford could bill Medicaid for the dentures—and numerous beneficiaries never returned to IDA after receiving the cash bribe. Buford stored hundreds of undelivered dentures on IDA’s premises, many of which had been billed to and paid for by Medicaid. As part of the scheme, Buford maintained a post office box in Silver Spring, Maryland as IDA’s billing address and received the fraudulently obtained payments at that location.
Based on the amount that Medicaid paid to Buford and IDA for dentures that were not delivered, the actual loss to Medicaid was at least $1,267,630.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI, HHS-OIG, the D.C. Office of the Inspector General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and SSA-OIG for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica C. Collins and Kelly O. Hayes, who prosecuted 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.
# # #
Saint Louis Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison for Sexually Exploiting a 14-year-old Owensboro GirlRead the Press Release
Owensboro, KY – Christopher Bertolett was sentenced yesterday to 30 years in prison for violating federal child exploitation laws.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Rob Holman of the United States Secret Service, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, and Chief Arthur Ealum Jr. of the Owensboro Police Department made the announcement.
Bertolett, 54, previously pled guilty to online enticement of a minor, transfer of obscene material to a minor, production of child pornography, and interstate travel to engage in illegal sexual activity.
In the change of plea hearing, Bertolett admitted that in January 2021, he met a 14-year-old girl through an online software application. The girl lived in Owensboro, Kentucky and Bertolett lived in Saint Louis, Missouri. The two communicated online from January 2021 until May 2021. Bertolett and the girl discussed a variety of topics while communicating online, including sexual activity. On or about February 4, 2021, Bertolett sent the 14-year-old girl pictures of his genitalia.
On or about May 9, 2021, Bertolett rented a car and drove from Saint Louis to Owensboro where he met the girl, drove her to an Owensboro motel, and sexually exploited her. Law enforcement officials arrested Bertolett on May 10, 2021.
In addition to the 30-year prison sentence, Bertolett was ordered to pay the victim $10,000.00 in restitution. He was also ordered to serve a life term of supervised release after his release from prison. There is no parole in the federal system.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jo E. Lawless and Raymond McGee prosecuted the case.
The United States Secret Service, the Kentucky Office of Attorney General’s Department of Criminal Investigations, and the Owensboro Police Department conducted the investigation.
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.”
###
Slidell Woman Sentenced for FEMA FraudRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – SCHSHINETIA ANDERSON, age 44, a resident of Slidell, Louisiana, was sentenced for FEMA fraud announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. The defendant was sentenced by the Honorable Mary Ann Vial Lemmon to 5 years of probation and ordered to pay $22,104 in restitution to FEMA.
According to court documents, on or about August 18, 2016, ANDERSON filed a fraudulent request for financial assistance due to a natural disaster related to the alleged loss of her primary residence. In truth and in fact, as she well knew, the house she had been renting did not sustain any damage and she prepared false records claiming that it had. She also prepared false and inflated rent lease agreements to increase the funds she received from FEMA. ANDERSON received approximately $22,104 as a result of her fraud.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security in investigating this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney G. Dall Kammer, Chief of the General Crimes Unit.
Rochester Drug Trafficker Pleads Guilty to Methamphetamine Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS- A Rochester drug trafficking ringleader has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to cour documents, from September 2021 through February 2022, Jerry Lee Milliken, 40, led a large-scale methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy that was based in Rochester, Minnesota and operated throughout southeastern Minnesota and elsewhere. Milliken organized the delivery of methamphetamine from a supplier in Kansas City, Missouri, to sub-distributors in the Rochester area. Milliken also collected and received drug proceeds and facilitated communications in support of the conspiracy. Between the fall of 2021 and the winter of 2022, law enforcement seized approximately 80 pounds of methamphetamine from the conspiracy during various enforcement operations.
Milliken pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge Susan Richard Nelson to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later time.
Aaron Raymond Dombovy, 30, one of Milliken’s coconspirators, pleaded guilty Wednesday, November 16, also to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. He also faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Rochester Police Department, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Southeast Minnesota Violent Crimes Enforcement Team, and the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Allen A. Slaughter Jr. is prosecuting the case.
Providence Man Admits to Trafficking MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE – A Providence man who was arrested by members of the FBI’s Rhode Island Safe Streets Gang Task Force during an investigation into methamphetamine trafficking throughout Rhode Island pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday to charges of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and two counts of distribution of methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.
Casimiro Pereira, 30, admitted that on July 25, 2019, and on August 15, 2019, he sold and delivered 20 grams of crystal meth to another individual.
A court-authorized search of Pereira’s residence on January 31, 2022, resulted in the seizure of approximately 136 grams of crystal meth and 8 grams of crack cocaine, along with various items used in the preparation, packaging, and distribution of crystal meth and crack cocaine.
Pereira is scheduled to be sentenced on March 2, 2023. Possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine is punishable by a statutory minimum mandatory term of incarceration of 10 years; distribution of methamphetamine is punishable a statutory minimum mandatory term of incarceration of 5 years. The defendant’s sentences will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sandra R. Hebert and Christine D. Lowell.
###
Previously Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to over Ten Years in Prison for Possessing over 600 Images of Child Pornography While on ProbationRead the Press Release
DETROIT - A previously convicted sex offender was sentenced to over ten years in federal prison for possessing over 600 images of child pornography while on probation, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.
Ison was joined in the announcement by James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Andrew Gregory, 36, of Madison Heights, Michigan, was sentenced by United States District Judge Stephen J. Murphy, III. At the time the FBI caught Gregory for his current crime, he was already serving a sentence of five years of probation from the Oakland County Circuit Court based on a prior conviction for distributing child sexually abusive materials.
In this case, an undercover employee from the Winnebago County, Wisconsin Sheriff’s Department discovered that Gregory was sending images of child pornography through the Kik instant messaging app. The images Gregory distributed included sexually abusive and explicit images of prepubescent children. Based on the discovery of the images Gregory sent on Kik, FBI agents then executed a search warrant at his home where they discovered that Gregory’s iPhone contained videos of sadistic and masochistic abuse of young children.
“Child pornography permanently records the victim’s abuse, and it leaves an indelible mark on victims. Repeat sex offenders deserve severe punishment for harming the most vulnerable in our society,” U.S. Attorney Ison stated.
This case was investigated by the Southeast Michigan Trafficking and Exploitation Crimes Task Force of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rosemary Wummel Gardey.Previously Convicted Randolph County Sex Offender Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS – Lance Parsons, 47, of Randolph County, Indiana, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to distribution and receipt of child sexual abuse material.
According to court documents, in March 2020, the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office began investigating Parsons alleged sexual assault of a child. During the investigation, law enforcement officers learned there was an outstanding warrant for Parsons arrest stemming from a child support case. On March 16, 2020, Parsons was arrested, and his smartphone seized. Law enforcement officers obtained a warrant to search for evidence of child exploitation offenses.
A forensic examination of Parsons’ smartphone revealed that Parsons engaged in messaging with other persons about child sexual abuse. Parsons’ smartphone also contained hundreds of photos and multiple videos of prepubescent children engaged in sexual activity with adults and other children. Parsons used the Kik Messenger and Mega applications to receive and distribute the visual depictions of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The child sexual abuse material distributed, received, and possessed by Parsons included visual depictions of children being subjected to sadistic or masochistic conduct, or other depictions of violence, and of infants or toddlers being made to engage in sexually explicit conduct.
At his sentencing hearing, the judge found that Parsons had engaged in a pattern of activity involving the sexual abuse or exploitation of children, and in 2017, Parsons was convicted of attempted sexual misconduct with a minor in Randolph County.
Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Jeffrey R. Adams, Special Agent in Charge of the USSS Indianapolis Field Office, and Art L. Moystner, Sheriff Randolph County made the announcement.
United States Secret Service and the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. The Randolph County Prosecutor’s Office and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department provided valuable assistance. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon. As part of the sentence, Judge Hanlon ordered that Parsons be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for life following his release from federal prison. Parsons was also ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to his minor victim and must register as sex offender wherever he lives, works, or goes to school, as required by law.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristina M. Korobov who prosecuted this case.
In fiscal year 2019, the most recent year for which data is available, the Southern District of Indiana was second out of the 94 federal districts in the country for the number of child sexual exploitation cases prosecuted.
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 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
Postal Employee Indicted and Arrested for Sexual Exploitation of a MinorRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On November 17, 2022, a federal grand jury returned an Indictment charging Ramón Rodríguez González with sexual exploitation of a minor. The arrest follows an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the assistance of the, United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General (USPS-OIG) and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau (PRPB).
According to court documents, Rodríguez González, 43, of Caguas, in or about April 2021 through June 24, 2022, did knowingly attempt to employ, use, persuade, induce, and coerce a female minor while she was 15 and 16 years old to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct.
“The sexual exploitation of minors is a horrific crime that can negatively affect victims for their entire lives,” said U.S. Attorney Muldrow. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office, and our law enforcement partners, are committed to aggressively investigate and prosecute these crimes.”
“The Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force mission is to protect our minors, we will remain vigilant and will arrest those who attempt to exploit our children,” said Rebecca C. González Ramos, Acting Special Agent in Charge, HSI. “It is our responsibility as a society to come together and protect our children.”
“The Special Agents of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General are dedicated to maintaining the integrity of the Postal Service and its personnel. Although the majority of postal employees are hardworking individuals, there are some who choose to commit criminal acts. The Special Agents of the Postal Service, Office of Inspector General will work tirelessly to bring them to justice. The USPS OIG is thankful for the great relationships we have developed with our law enforcement partners and with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to combat child pornography and exploitation,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Mitchell Pérez.
On Friday, Rodríguez González had his initial hearing before Honorable Magistrate Judge Camile Vélez-Rivé and he was transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center to await further judicial proceedings.
Assistant United States Attorney Ginette Milanes, from the Child Exploitation and Immigration Unit, is prosecuting this case. If convicted, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, and a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years’ incarceration for the attempted production of child pornography count; and a statutory maximum of twenty (20) years’ imprisonment for the attempted possession of child pornography count.
HSI is the principal investigative arm of DHS and a vital U.S. asset in combatting transnational crimes and threats. One of HSI’s top priorities is to protect the public from crimes of victimization, and HSI’s child exploitation investigations program is a central component of this mission. HSI is recognized as a global leader in this investigative discipline, and is committed to using its vast authorities, international footprint and strong government and non-government partnerships to identify and rescue child victims, identify and apprehend offenders, prevent transnational child sexual abuse, and help make the internet a safer place for children.
For more information about HSI’s efforts to protect children from online sexual abuse, visit https://www.ice.gov/topics/iGuardians.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
# ICE #
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.
ICE is a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit: www.ICE.gov. To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423.
Portsmouth Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Attempted Sex Trafficking of a MinorRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A Portsmouth man was sentenced today to life in prison for attempted sex trafficking of a minor under 14 years old.
According to court documents, in May, Christafer Douglas Friend, 32, attempted to initiate sexual contact online with someone he believed to be a female minor. Friend detailed the sexual acts that he would engage with the minor in and offered to pay $200 an hour for access to her. Just a few hours after initiating the chat, Friend arrived at a pre-determined location with the supposed minor’s favorite candy and paid the $200 to another individual who he believed had access to the girl.
In the same chats he had earlier, Friend also bragged about having sexually abused an eight-year-old child, on several occasions. Federal agents later located images and videos of that abuse in Friend’s online storage account. Friend also possessed thousands of images of other minors being sexually abused.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Gantt prosecuted the case.
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 U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc
In 2021, EDVA launched “UnMasked,” a community-based educational outreach and prevention program in Virginia dedicated to raising awareness and educating the community about the prevalence of online sexual exploitation involving children and young adults. UnMasked is a multi-disciplinary partnership of local, state, federal, and non-profit stakeholders. The core curriculum is provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) NetSmartz program. To report an incident involving online sexual exploitation, call 1-800-843-5678 or submit a report at report.cybertip.org. To request an UnMasked event at your school or organization, please contact EDVA’s Community Outreach Coordinator at [email protected].
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. 2:22-cr-42.
Polk County Doctor Pleads Guilty to Receiving KickbacksRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Dr. Sean Patrick O’Rourke (56, Lakeland) has pleaded guilty to soliciting and receiving remuneration (kickbacks and bribes) in return for ordering medical services and items paid for by a federal health care program. O’Rourke faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The defendant also agreed to forfeit $31,075, traceable to proceeds of the offense. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, O’Rourke, a licensed medical doctor, entered into an illegal agreement in 2018 with Company #1 in which Company #1 would make available to O’Rourke completed doctors’ orders for Medicare and CHAMPVA patient-beneficiaries via an internet-based platform. O’Rourke would then access the platform, open the completed orders, and electronically sign the orders, in exchange for a payment of $25 per patient-beneficiary. Notably, the system platform did not permit O’Rourke to add or modify any information in the already completed orders other than to input his authorizing electronic signature.
As just one example, in or around May 2019, O’Rourke received a payment of $5,500 from an entity associated with Company #1 for electronically signing and ordering cancer genomic tests and durable medical equipment for multiple Medicare beneficiaries. O’Rourke had no interaction with any of the Medicare beneficiaries prior to ordering the tests and equipment. In all, from September 2018 through March 2020, pursuant to the illegal agreement, O’Rourke ordered tests and equipment for approximately 1,243 Medicare and CHAMPVA beneficiaries for which he was paid approximately $31,075. Consequently, the Medicare program paid approximately $2,702,150 to various Medicare providers for the tests and equipment ordered by O’Rourke.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay G. Trezevant. Assistant United States Attorney James A. Muench is handling the asset forfeiture aspect of this case.
Pennsylvania Man Sentenced for Drug Conspiracy and MurderRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Kyle M. Leeper, 38, of Palmyra, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to serve 40 years in federal prison for a murder committed during a drug trafficking conspiracy, conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Sheriff Mark E. Helms, Cortland County (New York) Sheriff’s Office, and Chief Andrew Espinoza Jr., City of Barstow (California) Police Department.
As part of his previous guilty plea, Leeper admitted he was part of a conspiracy that trafficked methamphetamine from Indiana and Southern California to Cortland County, New York, where Leeper distributed it to local residents and drug dealers. In the fall of 2018, co-defendant Crystal Stephens, of Groton, New York, who was incarcerated in Indiana on burglary charges, contacted Leeper by telephone with contact information for co-defendant John Rice, an Indiana-based methamphetamine dealer. Leeper communicated with Rice by telephone and then travelled to and from Indiana twice in late 2018 and early 2019, where he obtained crystal methamphetamine and a .380 caliber pistol from Rice. Leeper distributed this methamphetamine in the Cortland area.
After Rice was arrested in Indiana in early January 2019, Leeper arranged to travel to the Los Angeles area to purchase more methamphetamine. From jail Crystal Stephens provided Leeper with telephone numbers for possible methamphetamine sources in East Los Angeles. In mid-January 2019, Leeper and an associate, co-defendant Ramon Nieves-Cotto, drove from Cortland to Los Angeles, where Leeper contacted one of these sources. The source sought assistance from co-defendant Arlene Rodriguez, who introduced Leeper to a middleman. On January 17, 2019, this middleman arranged for Leeper to buy three pounds of crystal methamphetamine for $5,000 from co-defendant Jose Pimentel. But after the methamphetamine was delivered to a motel in El Monte, California, Leeper realized that he had been shortchanged on the quantity delivered. Leeper abducted the middleman and Arlene Rodriguez at gunpoint. Later that day, Nieves-Cotto purchased zip ties, which Leeper used to bind the middleman. On the night of January 17, 2019, in the desert in Barstow, California, Leeper shot the bound middleman eight times from behind with the .380 caliber pistol, killing him. Leeper and Nieves-Cotto, along with Rodriguez, then drove to Cortland, where Leeper distributed the methamphetamine he obtained on this trip to California.
In early February 2019, Leeper, Nieves-Cotto, and Rodriguez returned to Los Angeles, where Leeper purchased an additional six to eight pounds of methamphetamine and a 9 mm pistol from co-defendant Edgar Arredondo. Upon his return to Cortland, Leeper, assisted by Rodriguez, began to distribute this methamphetamine. On February 19, 2019, officers from the Cortland County Sheriff’s Office stopped Leeper and Rodriguez while they were driving in Leeper’s pickup truck, which had an expired registration and cracked windshield. Inside the truck, the officers found four pounds of high-purity methamphetamine, the loaded .380 caliber pistol Leeper had used to commit the murder, and ammunition. They arrested Leeper, who previously had been convicted of state and federal felony offenses in Pennsylvania, and Rodriguez.
United States Attorney Carla Freedman said, “Kyle Leeper’s sentence today is justice for his cold-blooded killing of a man in the California desert as part of a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy. After kidnapping and binding the victim, Leeper brutally shot him eight times in the back and then left him in Barstow, California. Leeper also brought pounds of methamphetamine to Cortland from Los Angeles and Indiana until state and federal investigators worked together to stop him and his co-conspirators. Leeper will spend the next 40 years in a federal prison to pay for the violence and suffering he inflicted.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Janeen DiGuiseppi said, “Today’s sentence is indicative of the success that can be attained when federal, state, and local agencies combine resources to remove violent offenders from our communities. Mr. Leeper was so committed to trafficking dangerous drugs into Cortland County he was willing to kill anyone who stood in his way. Thanks to the strong collaboration between our law enforcement partners in New York and California, he is now being held accountable for his despicable actions. The FBI is grateful to our law enforcement partners and we remain dedicated to working together to investigate and apprehend violent drug traffickers whose actions threaten the health and safety of our neighborhoods.”
Cortland County Sheriff Mark E. Helms said, “I am extremely proud of both Sgt. Mike Winchell and Officer Peter Wright for turning what some would consider a routine traffic stop into a major multi-agency investigation. Additionally, I would like to thank all the other investigators from my office, as well as all the other officers and agencies that worked together and were able to put together this complex case resulting in the successful prosecution of Kyle Leeper and Arlene Rodriguez. This truly is a great example of local, state, and federal agencies working together.”Barstow, California Chief of Police Andrew Espinoza, Jr. said, “Kyle Leeper committed a heinous crime in our city and today he was held accountable to the victim and his family. This investigation was complex and spanned across the country. I commend the collaborative effort of all the law enforcement agencies involved and for the federal prosecutors who handled this case. It was through their diligence and hard work that Kyle Leeper received justice today.”
Six (6) other co-defendants previously pled guilty to participating in the drug trafficking conspiracy with Kyle Leeper, and/or aiding and abetting the murder.
Ramon Nieves-Cotto, 30, of DeRuyter, New York, pled guilty to aiding and abetting a murder during a drug conspiracy, and conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. He was sentenced on October 7, 2022, to serve 156 months in federal prison, and a four-year term of supervised release.
Crystal J. Stephens, 34, of Groton, New York, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. She was sentenced on November 15, 2022, to serve 100 months in federal prison, and a four-year term of supervised release.
Arlene N. Rodriguez, 38, of Montebello, California, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking crime. She was sentenced on October 6, 2022, to serve 94 months in prison, to be followed by four- year term of supervised release.
Jose Pimentel, Jr., 31, of Los Angeles, California, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and posses with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1, 2022.
Edgar Arredondo, 35, of Los Angeles, California, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. He also pled guilty to charges based on his possession in the Central District of California of a shotgun ammunition, and 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1, 2022.
John Rice, 57, of Crawfordsville, Indiana, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 12, 2023.
A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Cortland County (New York) Sheriff’s Office, the Barstow (California) Police Department, and the San Bernadino (California) County Sheriff’s Department, with assistance from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Cortland County (New York) District Attorney’s Office, the Montgomery County (Indiana) Sheriff’s Department, the Montgomery County (Indiana) District Attorney’s Office, the Pomona (California) Police Department, and the El Monte (California) Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven D. Clymer, Richard R. Southwick, and Thomas R. Sutcliffe.
Pennsylvania Man Sentenced for Drug Conspiracy and MurderRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Kyle M. Leeper, age 38, of Palmyra, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to serve 40 years in federal prison for a murder committed during a drug trafficking conspiracy, conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Sheriff Mark E. Helms, Cortland County (New York) Sheriff’s Office, and Chief Andrew Espinoza Jr., City of Barstow (California) Police Department.
As part of his previous guilty plea, Leeper admitted he was part of a conspiracy that trafficked methamphetamine from Indiana and Southern California to Cortland County, New York, where Leeper distributed it to local residents and drug dealers. In the fall of 2018, co-defendant Crystal Stephens, of Groton, New York, who was incarcerated in Indiana on burglary charges, contacted Leeper by telephone with contact information for co-defendant John Rice, an Indiana-based methamphetamine dealer. Leeper communicated with Rice by telephone and then travelled to and from Indiana twice in late 2018 and early 2019, where he obtained crystal methamphetamine and a .380 caliber pistol from Rice. Leeper distributed this methamphetamine in the Cortland area.
After Rice was arrested in Indiana in early January 2019, Leeper arranged to travel to the Los Angeles area to purchase more methamphetamine. From jail Crystal Stephens provided Leeper with telephone numbers for possible methamphetamine sources in East Los Angeles. In mid-January 2019, Leeper and an associate, co-defendant Ramon Nieves-Cotto, drove from Cortland to Los Angeles, where Leeper contacted one of these sources. The source sought assistance from co-defendant Arlene Rodriguez, who introduced Leeper to a middleman. On January 17, 2019, this middleman arranged for Leeper to buy three pounds of crystal methamphetamine for $5,000 from co-defendant Jose Pimentel. But after the methamphetamine was delivered to a motel in El Monte, California, Leeper realized that he had been shortchanged on the quantity delivered. Leeper abducted the middleman and Arlene Rodriguez at gunpoint. Later that day, Nieves-Cotto purchased zip ties, which Leeper used to bind the middleman. On the night of January 17, 2019, in the desert in Barstow, California, Leeper shot the bound middleman eight times from behind with the .380 caliber pistol, killing him. Leeper and Nieves-Cotto, along with Rodriguez, then drove to Cortland, where Leeper distributed the methamphetamine he obtained on this trip to California.
In early February 2019, Leeper, Nieves-Cotto, and Rodriguez returned to Los Angeles, where Leeper purchased an additional six to eight pounds of methamphetamine and a 9 mm pistol from co-defendant Edgar Arredondo. Upon his return to Cortland, Leeper, assisted by Rodriguez, began to distribute this methamphetamine. On February 19, 2019, officers from the Cortland County Sheriff’s Office stopped Leeper and Rodriguez while they were driving in Leeper’s pickup truck, which had an expired registration and cracked windshield. Inside the truck, the officers found four pounds of high-purity methamphetamine, the loaded .380 caliber pistol Leeper had used to commit the murder, and ammunition. They arrested Leeper, who previously had been convicted of state and federal felony offenses in Pennsylvania, and Rodriguez.
United States Attorney Carla Freedman said, “Kyle Leeper’s sentence today is justice for his cold-blooded killing of a man in the California desert as part of a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy. After kidnapping and binding the victim, Leeper brutally shot him eight times in the back and then left him in Barstow, California. Leeper also brought pounds of methamphetamine to Cortland from Los Angeles and Indiana until state and federal investigators worked together to stop him and his co-conspirators. Leeper will spend the next 40 years in a federal prison to pay for the violence and suffering he inflicted.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Janeen DiGuiseppe said, “Today’s sentence is indicative of the success that can be attained when federal, state, and local agencies combine resources to remove violent offenders from our communities. Mr. Leeper was so committed to trafficking dangerous drugs into Cortland County he was willing to kill anyone who stood in his way. Thanks to the strong collaboration between our law enforcement partners in New York and California, he is now being held accountable for his despicable actions. The FBI is grateful to our law enforcement partners and we remain dedicated to working together to investigate and apprehend violent drug traffickers whose actions threaten the health and safety of our neighborhoods.”
Cortland County Sheriff Mark E. Helms said, “I am extremely proud of both Sgt. Mike Winchell and Officer Peter Wright for turning what some would consider a routine traffic stop into a major multi-agency investigation. Additionally, I would like to thank all the other investigators from my office, as well as all the other officers and agencies that worked together and were able to put together this complex case resulting in the successful prosecution of Kyle Leeper and Arlene Rodriguez. This truly is a great example of local, state, and federal agencies working together.”
Barstow, California Chief of Police Andrew Espinoza, Jr. said, “Kyle Leeper committed a heinous crime in our city and today he was held accountable to the victim and his family. This investigation was complex and spanned across the country. I commend the collaborative effort of all the law enforcement agencies involved and for the federal prosecutors who handled this case. It was through their diligence and hard work that Kyle Leeper received justice today.”
Six (6) other co-defendants previously pled guilty to participating in the drug trafficking conspiracy with Kyle Leeper, and/or aiding and abetting the murder.
Ramon Nieves-Cotto, 30, of DeRuyter, New York, pled guilty to aiding and abetting a murder during a drug conspiracy, and conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. He was sentenced on October 7, 2022, to serve 156 months in federal prison, and a four-year term of supervised release.
Crystal J. Stephens, 34, of Groton, New York, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. She was sentenced on November 15, 2022, to serve 100 months in federal prison, and a four-year term of supervised release.
Arlene N. Rodriguez, 38, of Montebello, California, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking crime. She was sentenced on October 6, 2022, to serve 94 months in prison, to be followed by four- year term of supervised release.
Jose Pimentel, Jr., 31, of Los Angeles, California, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and posses with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1, 2022.
Edgar Arredondo, 35, of Los Angeles, California, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. He also pled guilty to charges based on his possession in the Central District of California of a shotgun ammunition, and 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1, 2022.
John Rice, 57, of Crawfordsville, Indiana, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 12, 2023.
A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Cortland County (New York) Sheriff’s Office, the Barstow (California) Police Department, and the San Bernadino (California) County Sheriff’s Department, with assistance from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Cortland County (New York) District Attorney’s Office, the Montgomery County (Indiana) Sheriff’s Department, the Montgomery County (Indiana) District Attorney’s Office, the Pomona (California) Police Department, and the El Monte (California) Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven D. Clymer, Richard R. Southwick, and Thomas R. Sutcliffe.
Pair Sentenced on Meth ChargesRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va. – A man and woman, who were caught with a large amount of methamphetamine in an outbuilding in Bristol, Virginia by the Virginia State Police and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, were sentenced this week on federal drug charges.
Crystal Younce, 42, was sentenced Tuesday to 130 months in federal prison.
Donald Smith, 51, was sentenced Wednesday to 120 months in federal prison.
Both Younce and Smith pleaded guilty in August 2022 to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
According to court documents, on September 23, 2021, law enforcement officers from the Virginia State Police and Washington County Sheriff’s Office arrived at Smith’s home to execute a state warrant and discovered Smith and Younce in an outdoor shed on the property with various plastic bags containing substances the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) lab later identified as 99–100% pure methamphetamine. Altogether, Smith and Younce had nearly 300 grams of methamphetamine along with packaging materials, a digital scale, and multiple other controlled substances. In addition, law enforcement seized over $8,000 in cash.
Law enforcement also recovered text messages from both Younce and Smith, including one message where Younce referred to herself as a “one-stop shop” for narcotics.
United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia made the announcement.
The Virginia State Police, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Whit D. Pierce and Lena L. Busscher prosecuted the case.
O’fallon, Il, Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Yesterday afternoon, in federal court in East St. Louis, IL, Emmitt T.
Tiner, 55, of O’Fallon, Illinois, was sentenced to ten years in federal prison. On July 7, 2022, Tiner pled guilty to wire fraud, extortion, sending interstate communications with the intent to extort, healthcare fraud, money laundering, and conducting financial transactions with criminally derived proceeds.When he pled guilty, Tiner admitted that he extorted more than $2,000,000 from two local businessmen, one from Belleville, IL, and the other from Florissant, MO. Tiner initially borrowed money from the Florissant businessman. When the Florissant man asked for his money back, Tiner told him that he would conduct a large illegal drug transaction to get the funds to repay the loans. Tiner then asked the Florissant man for more money in order to finance this illegal drug deal. When the Florissant man refused to provide any more money to him, Tiner made several vicious threats. The specific threat that Tiner pled guilty to was a text he sent on October 2, 2017, which read: “If you do not give me my money back I (sic) gave you in my account and we lose all that money . . . . anybody related to you . . . work with you . . . friends with you . . . . lives with you . . . knows you . . . etc will pay the consequences of you f****** me . . . . . . then and only then when they think you have experienced enough loss and pain will they look for you!!!!!”
With regard to the Belleville businessman, Tiner admitted that he began extorting this individual by threatening to expose certain alleged personal matters to the man’s wife and the press. Tiner also threatened to tell law enforcement that the Belleville man was responsible for three murders if the man did not pay him more money. No one was actually murdered, although Tiner staged various fake photos and fabricated other records in an effort to convince the Belleville man that the murders were real.
Tiner’s healthcare fraud conviction arose from his scheme to defraud the Illinois Department of
Health Services (“IDHS”), which operates a program known as the Personal Assistant program. This program pays individuals to work as personal assistants for disabled individuals. The program has certain asset restrictions, and will only pay for work performed while the disabled individuals are present in their homes. When he pleaded guilty, Tiner admitted that he faked being disabled in order get IDHS to pay for him to have a personal assistant. Tiner repeatedly told IDHS Rehabilitation Counsellors that he needed a wheelchair to move around and that he was unable to walk. Evidence presented to the court, however, demonstrated that Tiner’s statements were false, and that he routinely engaged in various physical activities, including driving, dancing, and weightlifting. From 2012 through 2019, IDHS paid Tiner’s personal assistants more than $150,000. One of the individuals who was paid to be Tiner’s personal assistant was his wife, Matissia Holt. Tiner and Holt also submitted false timesheets to IDHS which fraudulently claimed that Holt had provided personal assistant services to Tiner on days that the couple was out of town on gambling trips at various casinos.Tiner also admitted that he laundered the proceeds of his fraud and extortion scheme by running those funds through Holt’s bank accounts. The financial transaction conviction stemmed from
Tiner’s use of those fraudulently obtained funds to make several large purchases, including a residence located on Knollhaven Trail in O’Fallon, a residential lot on Pausch Road in O’Fallon, and a 2019 Cadillac Escalade. As part of his plea agreement, Tiner agreed to forfeit this property to the United States so that it can be sold and used to pay restitution.Tiner’s wife, Matissia Holt, also was charged and pled guilty to healthcare fraud and money laundering charges. On October 31, 2022, Holt was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay restitution.
In addition to the 10 year prison sentence, the court ordered Tiner to serve a 3 year period of supervised release following his prison sentence. The court also ordered Tiner to pay a total of
$2,241,500 in restitution for his extortion offenses, and $158,212.16 in restitution for his healthcare fraud conviction.“Tiner’s extortion and fraud scheme had a severe impact on his victims, both financially and psychologically,” a U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson remarked. “On top of that, he stole money from a taxpayer funded program designed to help disabled persons. His serious crimes warrant the lengthy prison sentence that the court imposed.”
“Tiner prioritized his own greed over decency and respect for the laws of our country,” said FBI
Springfield Field Office Special Agent in Charge David Nanz. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain dedicated to investigating and holding accountable those, like Tiner, who flagrantly disregard our laws by seeking to enrich themselves at the expense of their victims.”“IRS-CI and its law enforcement partners remain committed to investigating and stopping schemers who seek to enrich themselves through extortion,” said IRS-CI Acting Special Agent in Charge Thomas
Murdock, St. Louis Field Office. “The sentence sends a strong message that this behavior will be aggressively investigated, and those responsible brought to justice.”The investigation was conducted by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Springfield
Field Office, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations – St. Louis Field Office, the
United States Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Inspector General, the Social
Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General, and the Illinois State Police Medicaid
Fraud Control Bureau.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott A. Verseman and Luke J. Weissler prosecuted the case.Orlando Man Who Used Internet to Sexually Exploit 12-Year-Old Sentenced to Life in PrisonRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Andre Maurice Lewis (37, Orlando) to life in federal prison for enticement of a minor. The court also ordered Lewis to forfeit the cellphone he used to commit the offense. Lewis had pleaded guilty on August 15, 2022.
According to court documents and information presented in court, in January 2021, Lewis initiated a Snapchat conversation with a 12-year-old child, the daughter of an acquaintance. Lewis did not reveal his true identity to the child and claimed to be 20 years old.
Even though the child told Lewis how old she was, Lewis expressed an interest in meeting with her for sex. The child repeatedly rebuffed Lewis’s sexual advances, telling him that he was making her uncomfortable and that she was “just a little girl.” As Lewis persisted, the child sent Lewis a series of text-based and audio messages that made it clear that she was very scared and distressed. In those messages, the child pleaded with Lewis to leave her alone, because she did not want to do the things he asked her to do. Nevertheless, Lewis continued to press the child and threatened to tell the child’s parent about their Snapchat conversation unless the child did as Lewis said. Lewis provided evidence that he knew the child’s parent, to underscore his ability to carry out his threats. Later in the evening, out of fear, the child livestreamed a sexually explicit video of herself at Lewis’s behest.
The investigation revealed that Lewis had previously communicated about sex with dozens of individuals who told him they were minors – and the investigation confirmed that many of these individuals were indeed minors. With respect to seven individuals who specifically told Lewis to leave them alone, Lewis responded by threatening to kidnap, rape, and kill them if they did not cooperate. In other instances, Lewis accompanied such threats to minors with a picture of a handgun and magazines, and a map of the minors’ location, to prove that he actually knew where they were. Lewis also has a prior conviction for issuing written threats to kill or do bodily injury.
This case was investigated by the Orlando Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Secret Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily C. L. Chang.
This is another case 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.
Old Town Man Sentenced to 2 Years for Unlawfully Possessing FirearmRead the Press Release
BANGOR, Maine: An Old Town man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Bangor for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. sentenced William Abney, 57, to two years in prison and three years of supervised release. Abney pleaded guilty on April 28, 2022.
According to court records, in October 2021, a concerned citizen saw Abney in possession of an AK-47 style rifle in the living room of his Old Town residence and notified the police. Based on this and other information, investigators obtained a search warrant for the residence. During the warrant’s execution, Abney admitted that he possessed an AK‑47 and law enforcement located the weapon and a magazine full of ammunition. Abney has previous convictions which preclude him from possessing a firearm, including a 1999 federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Old Town Police Department, and the Brewer Police Department investigated the case. The Penobscot County District Attorney’s Office also assisted with the case.
Project Safe Neighborhoods: 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. To learn more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, visit www.justice.gov/psn.
###
Ohio Company Settles False Claims Act Allegations of Billing for Non-Existent Construction MaterialsRead the Press Release
Wise Services Inc. (Wise), located in Dayton, Ohio, has agreed to pay $302,500 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by causing the submission of false and fraudulent invoices for non-existent materials to the Department of Energy (DOE) and paying improper kickbacks. The settlement amount was negotiated based on Wise’s lack of ability to pay.
Wise was a subcontractor at the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the DOE Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina. The United States alleged that Wise knowingly submitted to the prime contractor — MOX Services LLC, formerly known as CB&I AREVA MOX Services LLC (MOX) — hundreds of invoices charging millions of dollars for materials that did not exist. MOX presented those false invoices to DOE. The United States also alleged that Wise employees paid kickbacks to MOX employees involved in the scheme.
“The government expects both contractors and subcontractors to adhere to their contractual commitments,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Those who violate their commitments and undermine the integrity of the government’s procurement process will face appropriate consequences.”
“This settlement puts subcontractors on notice that they will be held accountable for submitting false invoices and paying kickbacks to contractors on federal contracts with the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Adair F. Boroughs for the District of South Carolina. “We are grateful to the Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General and the National Nuclear Security Administration for their important work in this case.”
“The lawsuit filed by Justice Department and this settlement will serve as a deterrent to others who seek to defraud the Department of Energy,” said Inspector General Teri L. Donaldson for the Department of Energy. “We are always seeking out those who develop illegal schemes designed to harm the government and the American taxpayers and we will continue to do everything we can to detect and deter these fraudsters.”
The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims against Wise brought under the False Claims Act by the United States in the case captioned United States v. CB&I AREVA MOX Services LLC and Wise Services Inc., No. 19-cv-444 (D.S.C.). MOX paid $10 million in a settlement with the government earlier this year for its participation in the scheme.
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 South Carolina, with assistance from the DOE Office of Inspector General and the National Nuclear Security Administration.
The matter was handled by Fraud Section Attorneys Don Williamson and Rory Skaggs, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Johanna Valenzuela, James Leventis and Sheria Clarke for the District of South Carolina.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
New Mexico Woman Sentenced to more than Four Years in Prison for Conspiracy to Smuggle Firearms into MexicoRead the Press Release
EL PASO – A New Mexico woman was sentenced Wednesday to 50 months in prison for her involvement in a scheme to purchase firearms in West Texas and Southern New Mexico and then export them into Mexico.
According to court documents, Carmen Gallegos, aka Carmen Salazar-Andujo, of Hobbs, New Mexico, participated in a conspiracy to purchase at least 23 firearms in a two-month period, then illegally smuggle them from the U.S. into Mexico. Between September 2, 2021 and October 29, 2021, Gallegos had listed a Texas address on at least three separate Firearm Transaction Records while in the Western District of Texas when she actually resided in New Mexico.
Gallegos was arrested at the Ysleta Port of Entry on October 31, 2021, returning from a visit to Mexico. Investigators were able to determine Gallegos had provided false information to a federal firearms licensee to obtain firearms and further collected evidence that she would frequently purchase firearms with the intention of smuggling them into Mexico. Gallegos admitted during her arrest that she was paid $538 for smuggling three firearms into Mexico the day prior. On June 20, 2022, she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle goods from the United States.
“Falsifying federal documents to purchase firearms is a serious offense,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “Thanks to our agency partners, who continue to stop firearms from crossing the border, we were able to prosecute appropriately and end Gallegos’s short-lived role as a smuggler.”
“Preventing firearms and ammunition from falling into the hands of transnational criminal organizations is one of HSI’s top enforcement priorities,” said HSI El Paso Special Agent in Charge Francisco B. Burrola. “Our border is safer today because one more firearms trafficker is behind bars. HSI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to combat the threat members of these criminal networks pose to public safety.”
“This is case is a clear reminder of ATF’s commitment to collaborate with our law enforcement partners to stop the illicit flow of firearms to Mexico and disrupt the firearm traffickers responsible,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jamey VanVliet, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Dallas Field Division.
Homeland Security Investigations and ATF investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory McDonald, Ellen Denum and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristal Wade prosecuted the case.
###
New Bedford Man Pleads Guilty to Firearm OffenseRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A New Bedford man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition.
David Acosta, 26, pleaded guilty to one count of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ammunition before U.S. District Court Judge Alison D. Burroughs who scheduled sentencing for Feb. 6, 2023. Acosta was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2021.
On Oct. 22, 2020, Acosta was found in possession of a loaded Glock .45 caliber pistol and 10 rounds of assorted .45 caliber ammunition. Co-defendant, Marquise Thompson pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and was sentenced to three years of supervised release on Nov. 15, 2022.
The charge of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; and New Bedford Police Chief Paul Oliveira made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan Gotlob of Rollins’ Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting 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 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.
Mother of Fresno County Jail Inmate Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Smuggle Heroin and Methamphetamine into the JailRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Eva Dolores Romero, 55, of Fresno, was sentenced today to four years and two months in prison for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, between Dec. 1, 2020, and Jan. 26, 2021, Romero’s son was an inmate at the Fresno County Jail. Romero conspired with her son and others outside of jail to smuggle methamphetamine and heroin into the jail for distribution among inmates. The plot was unfoiled when law enforcement agents reviewed recorded jail calls and learned about the attempted smuggling set to occur on January 26. On that date, law enforcement intercepted an individual attempting to deliver athletic shoes to the jail for an inmate. The shoes were searched, and hidden compartments were found inside the shoes containing the illicit narcotics.
This case was the product of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Fresno Police Department, and the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin J. Gilio prosecuted the case.
Modesto Man Indicted for Sexual Exploitation of Numerous Children Using SnapchatRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment yesterday against Jacob Jacobsen, 27, of Modesto, charging him with four counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of receipt of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, Jacobsen came to the attention of law enforcement in Memphis, Tennessee, when the mother of a 13-year-old girl reported that Jacobsen had been communicating with her through Snapchat, requesting sexually explicit content. Investigators with the Memphis Police Department and the Memphis FBI Office executed numerous search warrants and discovered that Jacobsen had been in contact with as many as 175 victims while using the Snapchat screen names “trippinj” and “treydawgg2000.” Jacobsen often purported to be 16 or 17 years old when communicating with victims and requesting that they create and send to him sexually explicit photographs and videos.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Memphis Police Department and the Memphis and Ripon FBI Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Jacobsen faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. The potential punishments for receipt of child pornography include a prison term of 20 years and a fine of $250,000. Any sentence, however, would 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. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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.
Michigan Man Sentenced to 25 Years After Pleading Guilty to Fourteen Counts of Child ExploitationRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Mark Allen Hillis, 58, of Southgate, Michigan, was sentenced to 25 years in prison to be followed by lifetime supervised release by United States District Court Judge Eduardo C. Robreno after being convicted of more than a dozen child exploitation offenses.
On November 17, 2021, one year and one day ago, the defendant pleaded guilty to all charges in a 14-count Indictment, including one count of enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, one count of traveling to engage in illicit sexual conduct, nine counts of manufacturing and attempted manufacturing of child pornography, two counts of transferring obscene material to a minor, and one count of possessing child pornography. The charges arose from the defendant’s sexual exploitation of a 13-year-old child over the internet and by text message over a period of months, his travel from Michigan to Pennsylvania to meet up with her for sex, and his sexual assault of her in a local hotel room when he arrived.
Hillis (also known by his screen name “Denverpolice#666” and the name “Daddy”) met his 13-year-old minor victim in a YouTube chatroom. After obtaining the child’s phone number, Hillis sent hundreds of obscene images and hounded the minor at all times of the day and night, repeatedly requesting her to produce and send him sexually explicit images of herself via text message. After months of online and text communication, Hillis convinced the child to sneak out of her home in the middle of the night. The defendant, having traveled to Pennsylvania to meet the victim for sex, then picked her up and took her to a hotel room, where he sexually assaulted her.
“Mark Hillis not only manipulated a young child into providing him with explicit images of herself, he brazenly traveled across state lines, convinced her to leave her home, and assaulted her – every parent’s worst nightmare,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “This 25-year sentence in prison will ensure that he will remain safely behind bars, unable to prey on other children, for a long time.”
“Thanks to quick and seamless interagency cooperation, we have once again taken a dangerous predator of children off the streets,” said William S. Walker, Special Agent in Charge of HSI’s Philadelphia office. “I want to give special thanks to the Limerick Police Department for initiating this investigation and following it through to the end. Only through cohesive partnerships between federal, state, and local law enforcement can investigations and prosecutions like this one be achieved.”
“This sexual predator is the personification of ‘stranger danger.’ He used the internet to seek out his victim by connecting with and grooming a young girl, before escalating to sexually assaulting her. It’s such an egregious case that illustrates the importance of parents talking to their children about internet safety and sharing information with strangers on the internet,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele. “The entire law enforcement community at the local, state and federal levels are committed to finding and prosecuting this kind of assault on our children, and I thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their successful resolution of this case.”
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The case was investigated by the Limerick Township Police Department, the Montgomery County Detective Bureau of the District Attorney’s Office, the Pennsylvania State Police, and Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rotella.
Miami Man Indicted for Laundering Millions in Health Care Fraud ProceedsRead the Press Release
MIAMI – A federal magistrate judge has unsealed an indictment charging Miami resident Julio Arsenio Rodriguez, 61, with running a money laundering operation involving millions of Medicare and Medicaid health care fraud proceeds.
These proceeds stemmed from multiple clinics located throughout South Florida that allegedly provided durable medical equipment (DME) to eligible Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. Instead, the DME was never requested, needed, or supplied. These clinics received millions from Medicare and Medicaid and Rodriguez used his companies to launder those proceeds.
The indictment charges Rodriguez with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and 14 counts of money laundering.
The conspiracy to commit money laundering and the act of money laundering are punishable by a penalty of 10-20 years in prison for each count. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
An indictment is a charging instrument containing allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar, Health and Human Services–Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Region; acting Special Agent in Charge Robert M. DeWitt, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced the charges.
HHS-OIG, Miami Region, FBI, Miami Field Office, and the Florida Office of the Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Canzio is prosecuting the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon is handling asset forfeiture.
You may find related court documents and information 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.
Mexican Man Guilty of Illegally Using Social Security Number to Obtain EmploymentRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that MARIO MATEO TOMAS JOSE, a native of Mexico, pleaded guilty today to illegally using a social security number to qualify for employment, in violation of Title 42, United States Code, Section 408(a)(7)(B).
MARIO MATEO TOMAS JOSE ( “TOMAS JOSE” ) faces a maximum term of imprisonment of not more than five (5) years followed by up to three (3) years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000.00, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00. Sentencing is set for February 23, 2023.
According to court documents, on March 29, 2022, Homeland Security Investigations received information that certain individuals had used fraudulent Social Security cards in an initial application to obtain employment. Prior to finalizing employment with their prospective company, the individuals had to report to the Gulf Coast Safety Council, which provides safety courses to applicants applying for work with companies servicing petrochemical processing plants. On March 30, 2022, TOMAS JOSE arrived at the Gulf Coast Safety Council office in St. Rose, Louisiana to complete the safety course to finalize his employment with Company “A.” On that day, TOMAS JOSE presented a fraudulent United States Social Security card bearing the name and United States Social Security number of a United States citizen, which he represented to be his own, in order to obtain employment.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of Homeland Security Investigations in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jon M. Maestri is in charge of the prosecution.
Meridian Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – A Meridian, Mississippi man pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Kurt Thielhorn of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
According to court documents, Delontay Preston Scott, 30, was found in possession of a firearm by a Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Deputy on December 30, 2021, during a traffic stop. Scott possessed a .22 caliber pistol. Scott has prior felony convictions for armed robbery and burglary of a dwelling and was under the supervision of the Mississippi Department of Corrections at the time. As a convicted felon, it is contrary to federal law for Scott to possess any firearm.
Scott pleaded guilty to a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2) which criminalize the possession of firearms by convicted felons. He is scheduled to be sentenced on February 22, 2022 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office and the ATF investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam T. Stuart and Charles W. Kirkham are prosecuting the case.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Man Convicted for Striking and Killing a Victim with a Water Meter KeyRead the Press Release
A man who struck and killed another man with a water meter key was found guilty at trial late Thursday, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
A federal jury convicted Kyle Edwin Freeman, 36, of first degree murder in Indian Country. The crime occurred at victim Donald Thomas’ Tulsa residence on the 4500 block of East Admiral Boulevard on July 30, 2020.
Freeman, his girlfriend and others spent the day consuming alcohol then drove to Thomas’ residence that night. During the car ride, Freeman and his girlfriend argued and eventually became involved in a physical altercation.
Freeman had been staying with the victim in the days leading up to the murder. Once they arrived at the home, Freeman’s girlfriend walked to a back room. When Freeman attempted to follow and continue the altercation, the victim attempted to calm him down then eventually pushed him onto a couch. Witnesses present in the living room testified that Freeman appeared to calm down. The two men, who were cousins, hugged, and the victim ensured Freeman had something to eat.
While Freeman was in another room, the two witnesses focused on repairing a speaker, and Thomas sat on the couch. Approximately 20 minutes later, one witness heard Freeman strike the victim, and the other felt the resulting blood splatter. When the two men looked toward the victim, they saw Freeman violently strike the victim in the head with a water meter key a second time, and they screamed for him to stop. Witnesses called 911. Freeman and his girlfriend were chased from the home and drove away. Emergency responders pronounced the victim dead at the scene.
At trial, Freeman’s girlfriend testified that while she was driving away, Freeman began hitting her, blamed her for what happened, and said he wasn’t going to let the victim disrespect him. He also threw their cell phones out the vehicle’s window. The couple then drove to a friend’s house. The friend testified that Freeman told her that he would not be disrespected so he “bashed” in the victim’s head. He further told his girlfriend to say they left the victim’s home to take a friend to work and that the victim had a gun.
Creek County Sheriff’s deputies later located the couple and their friend and took them to the Tulsa Police Department for questioning.
Tulsa Police and Muscogee Nation Lighthorse detectives interviewed the defendant. Freeman claimed that the victim had been upset with him and argued with him in the bedroom. He further claimed that the victim punched him then pulled out a black 9mm handgun. He explained that in an effort to defend himself, he swung an object at the victim’s head, hitting him once or twice. He then left the home to avoid a further confrontation.
When detectives processed the scene, they recovered the water meter key used in the crime in the living room. The key is a metal rod used to access water meters and adjust water flow. They further observed the victim lying on the couch, deceased. The blood splatter evidence in the room indicated that Thomas was seated on the couch when he was struck. There was no evidence that a physical altercation occurred in the bedroom, and no firearms were found.
In closing at trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Brasher emphasized to the jury that while Freeman drank alcohol that day, Freeman, by law, was culpable for the crime. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Elmore further stated that the individual who caused chaos the night of the crime was the defendant, Kyle Freeman. He reminded the jury that the only thing the victim did that night was try to calm Freeman down and then make him a sandwich afterward, and because Freeman somehow felt “disrespected,” he drove the handle of a water key through the skull of the victim, killing him.
Because the incident occurred within the boundaries of the Muscogee Nation reservation and both the victim and defendant were tribal citizens, the case was prosecuted in federal court in the Northern District of Oklahoma. Thomas was a citizen of the Muscogee Nation, and Freeman is a citizen of the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
The FBI, Tulsa Police Department, Muscogee Nation Lighthorse Police Department, and the Creek County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth Elmore and John E. Brasher are prosecuting the case.
Man Charged for Robbing Banks in Arizona and TexasRead the Press Release
EL PASO – A federal criminal complaint was filed Thursday charging a Tucson man with bank robbery.
According to court documents, Sherman Edward Lester Jr., 45, of Tucson, Arizona, robbed an El Paso GECU Credit Union at gun point on September 2, 2022. The robber obtained an undisclosed sum of money and fled the bank.
On September 14, 2022, Lester attempted to rob a US Bank located inside a Safeway Grocery store in Tucson. Forensic analysis of 9mm shell casings left at both crime scenes traced back to Lester.
Lester is charged with bank robbery and incidental crimes. The defendant remains in custody in Tucson and will have his initial appearance in El Paso before a U.S. Magistrate Judge within the next couple weeks and then the case will proceed to grand jury. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff of the Western District of Texas and FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey R. Downey, El Paso Field Office, made the announcement.
The FBI’s El Paso Violent Crimes Task Force and the El Paso Police Department’s Crimes Against Persons Unit investigated the case. The FBI Phoenix Tucson Resident Agency, with the assistance of the Tucson Police Department, investigate the attempted robbery of the US Bank and made the arrest.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Aguayo is prosecuting the case.
A federal complaint is an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
###
Major Lynchburg Drug Dealer Sentenced to 30 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
LYNCHBURG, Va. – A Lynchburg, Virginia man, who a federal jury convicted in March 2022 of distributing large quantities of heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine, was sentenced today to 30 years in federal prison.
Quentin Lowell Horsley, 38, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, and 100 grams or more of heroin. Additionally, the defendant was convicted of four counts of distribution of cocaine.
According to evidence presented at trial, Horsley led a drug trafficking conspiracy where he was responsible for supplying and facilitating the distribution of substantial quantities of methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and marijuana by managing a network of more than 17 drug dealers throughout the Lynchburg regional area.
The investigation culminated when the Lynchburg Police Department executed search warrants at residences used by Horsley and his co-conspirators and found nearly two kilograms of cocaine, nearly a kilogram of heroin, and more than three kilograms of methamphetamine. These narcotics had a street value of more than $1 million.
Horsley’s reach and influence over the Lynchburg region’s drug network was so vast that one co-conspirator wrote in a text, “when you wait, you make the whole city wait.”
United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh for the Western District of Virginia, Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Division, and Chief Ryan M. Zuidema of the Lynchburg Police Department made the announcement.
The Lynchburg Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean M. Welsh prosecuted the case.
Lupton Man Sentenced to over Five Years for RobberyRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Dominic Tyah Watchman, 20, of Lupton, Arizona, and a member of the Navajo Nation, was sentenced on November 2, 2022, by United States District Judge Susan M. Brnovich to 66 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Watchman previously pleaded guilty to robbery.
On November 7, 2021, at a rest stop in Lupton, Arizona, Watchman approached the 82-year-old victim and tried to get him to turn over the keys to his vehicle. When the victim refused, Watchman pepper sprayed him, knocked him to the ground, and fled the rest stop in the victim’s vehicle.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and the Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina J. Reid-Moore, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR-21-08137-PCT-SMB
RELEASE NUMBER: 2022-213_Watchman# # #
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.Locust Grove Man Sentenced to 120 Months in Prison After Robbing Woman at Gunpoint in her HomeRead the Press Release
A man was sentenced in federal court for going to a female acquaintance’s home after she cashed a $2,900 check and robbing her at gunpoint, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
U.S. District Judge Daniel D. Crabtree sentenced William Rhea Wadlow Jr., 23, of Locust Grove, to 120 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. Wadlow was further ordered to pay $2,680 in restitution. He previously pleaded guilty to carrying, using, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
On April 14, 2021, he and two others saw a woman he was acquainted with cash the check at a Locust Grove convenience store. About 20 minutes later, the three went to the woman’s house. Wadlow asked to use her restroom, and they entered the home. At one point, Wadlow asked the victim if she wanted to purchase his .38 caliber revolver. When she declined, Wadlow told the victim he was homeless and hungry. The victim offered him $200. Then as the group was about to exit the home, Wadlow turned with a gun and fired toward the victim. The bullet struck the floor. Wadlow then demanded the woman give him all her money. The victim handed him her wallet. He also grabbed her purse from her hand. As the three fled from the home, Wadlow warned her not to follow him or he would shoot her.
Law enforcement later located Wadlow at a gas station in Rose, Oklahoma. Wadlow barricaded himself in the restroom but after several hours, surrendered to law enforcement. He had $671.25 on him at the time of his arrest.
The FBI, Mayes County Sheriff’s Office, Cherokee Nation Marshal Service, and Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Jiang prosecuted the case.
Kansas Man Indicted for Illegal Firearm Following High-Speed Motorcycle Chase in Newton CountyRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Galena, Kansas, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for illegally possessing a firearm after he led law enforcement officers on a high-speed pursuit on his motorcycle across state lines from Kansas to Newton County, Mo.
Douglas Eugene Alexius, 47, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm in a federal indictment returned on Wednesday, Nov. 16, by a federal grand jury in Springfield. Alexius was charged as an armed career criminal due to his prior felony convictions.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
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.
Alexius was arrested on Oct. 9, 2022, after leading law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase. Alexius was driving a Harley Davidson motorcycle on U.S. Highway 166 in Cherokee County, Kan., when a sheriff’s deputy attempted to stop him for failing to stop at a stop sign. Alexius accelerated his motorcycle and led law enforcement officers in pursuit into Newton County. Alexius lost control of his motorcycle and crashed at the intersection of Greenwood Drive and Birch Drive. He was taken into custody after being tased three times because he refused to follow an officer’s order to lie on the ground and kept reaching into his jacket pocket. Officers searched Alexius and found a loaded Smith & Wesson 9mm pistol in his jacket pocket.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Alexius has four prior felony convictions for resisting arrest and two prior felony convictions for possessing a controlled substance, as well as prior felony convictions for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possessing a firearm in relation to a drug offense, receiving stolen property, and unlawful use of a firearm.
The charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron A. Beaver. It was investigated by the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Newton County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, and the Cherokee County, Kan., Sheriff’s Department.
KC Woman Pleads Guilty to CARES Act Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., woman has pleaded guilty in federal court to fraudulently receiving a $10,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan, a program that was part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Nicole R. Cortez, 41, waived her right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough on Thursday, Nov. 17, to a federal information that charges her with one count of wire fraud.
The purpose of the CARES Act was to provide emergency financial assistance due to the economic impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act authorized the Small Business Administration to provide Economic Injury Disaster Loans to eligible small businesses that experienced substantial financial disruption due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
By pleading guilty today, Cortez admitted that she provided her personal identification information to a co-conspirator (identified in court documents as C1), who then used that information to submit an online loan application. The loan application fraudulently claimed that Cortez was the owner of a business called “Cortez Shoez Inc,” and provided false information regarding gross revenue and the number of employees. In reality, there is no such business associated with Cortez.
Cortez completed and signed a loan authorization and agreement for the Cortez Shoez loan on Aug. 8, 2020, falsely certifying that all of the information was correct and that loan proceeds would be used “solely as working capital to alleviate economic injury caused by disaster occurring in the month of January 31, 2020, and continuing thereafter.”
The Small Business Administration approved the loan and deposited $10,000 into Cortez’s bank account on Aug. 11, 2020. She spent the loan proceeds on personal expenses, such as car payments, restaurant purchases, and cash withdrawals.
Under federal statutes, Cortez is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be held on April 20, 2023.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul S. Becker. It was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General.
Investment Manager Arrested for $10 Million Cryptocurrency Ponzi SchemeRead the Press Release
An Ohio man was arrested today on criminal charges related to his alleged involvement in a cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme that raised at least $10 million from investors.
According to court documents, Rathnakishore Giri, 27, of New Albany, allegedly misled investors by fraudulently promoting himself as an expert cryptocurrency trader, with a specialty in trading Bitcoin derivatives. As alleged in the indictment, Giri falsely promised investors that he would generate lucrative returns with no risk to their principal investment amount, which he guaranteed to return. In reality, Giri often allegedly used money provided by new investors to repay old investors – a hallmark of a Ponzi scheme. In addition, Giri allegedly had a record of investment failures, including a long history of losing investors’ principal investments, and misled investors about reasons for delays when they sought to cash out their investments or otherwise obtain the return of their “guaranteed” principal.
Giri is charged by indictment with five counts of wire fraud. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge J. William Rivers of the FBI Cincinnati Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Lucy B. Jennings and Tamara Livshiz of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
If you believe you are a victim in this case, please contact the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness Unit toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or by email at [email protected].
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Inmate Indicted for Attempting to Murder Correctional OfficersRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A federal grand jury in Kansas City returned an indictment charging a federal inmate with an assaulting two correctional officers.
According to court documents, Warren Richardson, 46, of Leavenworth Penitentiary is charged with two counts of attempted murder of a correctional officer, two counts of assaulting a correctional officer with a deadly weapon and inflicting bodily injury, two counts of assault of a correctional officer, and one count of possession of contraband in prison. On February 6, 2021, Richardson is accused of using a handmade weapon with a 1.5-inch sharpened metal point to stab two prison guards.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Catania is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
###
Informational: Federal Court arraignmentsRead the Press Release
The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the following persons were arraigned or appeared this week before U.S. Magistrate judges on indictments handed down by the Grand Jury or on criminal complaints. The charging documents are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty:
Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston and pleading not guilty on Nov. 15 was:
Jordan Paige Day, 24, of Wolf Point, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. If convicted of the most serious crime, Day faces a mandatory minimum five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and at least four years of supervised release. Day was released pending further proceedings. The FBI, Idaho State Police, Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office and Fort Peck Department of Law and Justice investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-74.
Kevin Clarence Bell, 44, of Great Falls, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. If convicted of the most serious crime, Bell faces a mandatory minimum five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and at least four years of supervised release. Bell was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI, Great Falls Police Department, Cascade County Sheriff’s Office, US. Postal Inspection Service, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-89.
Appearing in Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on Nov. 17 was:
Marcyanna Rose Dimond, 44, of Polson, on charges of possession with intent to distribute meth. If convicted of the most serious crime, Dimond faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Dimond was detained pending further proceedings. The Northwest Drug Task Force, Flathead Tribal Police Department and Montana Probation and Parole investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-48.
Appearing on Nov. 15 was:
Candy Lynn Coleman, aka Candy Lynn Anderson, 47, of Missoula, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and distribution of methamphetamine. If convicted of the most serious crime, Coleman faces a mandatory minimum five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and at least four years of supervised release. Coleman was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI, Great Falls Police Department and Missoula Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-90.
Aaron Lee Grossman, 50, of Washington, Utah, on charges of theft of government money, false claims to government agency and Social Security fraud. If convicted of the most serious crime, Grossman faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Grossman was released pending further proceedings. The Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-49.
Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on Nov. 17 was:
Casey Wallace Leider, 31, of Hardin, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ammunition. If convicted of the most serious crime, Leider faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Leider was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Indian Affairs Investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-105.
Appearing on Nov. 15 was:
James “JC” Luis Costilla, 34, of Lame Deer, and Ivan Eaglefeathers, 19, of Busby, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth, possession with intent to distribute meth and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug offense. If convicted of the most serious crime, Costilla and Eaglefeathers face a mandatory minimum five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and at least four years of supervised release on the drug counts and a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on the firearm count. Costilla and Eaglefeathers were detained pending further proceedings. The FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-89.
Wendell Monroe Lefthand, 53, of Lodge Grass, on charges of assault of spouse resulting in substantial bodily injury and assault with a dangerous weapon. If convicted of the most serious crime, Lefthand faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Lefthand was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Indian Affairs investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-123.
The progress of cases may be monitored through the U.S. District Court Calendar and the PACER system. To establish a PACER account, which provides electronic access to review documents filed in a case, please visit http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the District Court’s calendar, please visit https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.
XXX