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20 October 2022
Athens, Georgia, Grandmother Convicted of Trafficking MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
ATHENS, Ga. –– An Athens resident was convicted by a federal jury of trafficking methamphetamine resulting from an investigation and subsequent arrest during which she and a co-defendant attempted to flee law enforcement with her two-year-old grandchild in the car.
Kimberly Garcia, 52, of Athens, Georgia, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of methamphetamine on Oct. 19, concluding a trial that began on Oct. 17 before U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal. She faces a maximum sentence of 40 years imprisonment and a $5,000,000 fine. A co-defendant, Corey Gresham, 38, of Athens, previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and a $5,000,000 fine. Sentencings for both defendants will be scheduled at a date determined by the Court.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, information provided by a confidential source (CS) sparked a local law enforcement investigation into the drug distribution activities of Garcia in June 2020. The CS told law enforcement that Garcia often sold methamphetamine with her grandchildren in the car at the Airport Mini Mart in Athens. Under surveillance, Garcia and Gresham drove together to a Lawrenceville (Gwinnett County), Georgia, apartment complex on July 6, 2020. Garcia was observed entering the apartment of a known methamphetamine supplier along with a person associated with the Sureños criminal street gang and exiting with a bag. On their return trip to Athens, deputies with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle, driven by Gresham. Gresham evaded law enforcement by speeding and running red lights. Gresham then slowed the car down at Fairfield Circle, Athens, and bolted from the car as it continued to move forward. Garcia moved to the driver’s side and stopped the car before it crashed into a telephone pole. Gresham, who had outstanding arrest warrants at the time, ran inside a family member’s nearby home but was taken into custody. Garcia remained in the car with her two-year-old grandchild in the backseat. Officers recovered 37.94 grams of methamphetamine and drug distribution supplies including baggies and a spoon during a search of the vehicle and the area where Garcia attempted to flee law enforcement. A search of Garcia’s cell phone found many communications about trafficking methamphetamine with Gresham and others.
The case was investigated by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, Oconee County Sheriff’s Office and DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamara Jarrett is prosecuting the case.
Armed Robbery Crew Posing as DEA Agents Charged in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
MEDFORD, Ore.—An indictment was unsealed in federal court today charging six Texas men for conspiring with one another to travel from Texas to Southern Oregon to commit an armed robbery of marijuana while disguised as agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Nevin Cuevas Morales, 21, Michael Ray Acuna, 20, Jose Manuel Lopez, 22, Alan Jaasiel Lopez, 19, Jordan Allen Gammage, 19, and Juan Carlos Conchas, 20, all of San Antonio, Texas, have been charged with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, and using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to court documents, in the afternoon of March 12, 2022, local law enforcement officers were dispatched to a rural address in Josephine County, Oregon after receiving reports of a possible armed robbery in progress. Minutes later, officers arrived on scene to find a residence with a closed driveway gate and two empty vehicles running in the driveway with all their doors open. The officers observed multiple individuals running toward the back of the property. Victims found in the residence told the officers that multiple armed individuals dressed in DEA attire and wearing body armor arrived at the property and restrained several of the victims with zip ties and duct tape.
The officers quickly cleared the residence and outbuildings and proceeded to search the property and idling vehicles. Inside the residence, garage, and outbuildings, they found numerous plastic totes containing packaged marijuana. They found more packaged marijuana in the vehicles and body armor, badges, firearms, ammunition, and shell casings dumped along the path the suspects fled on near the rear of the property. The badges located resembled those carried by DEA agents. Nearly all the outbuildings on the property appeared to be broken into.
Law enforcement conducted an extensive investigation to determine the identity of the robbers. They soon learned that, in late February, the group traveled from San Antonio, Texas to Southern Oregon, staying in multiple hotels. After arriving in Oregon, the group put on their DEA attire and posed, with firearms, for a photo in a hotel room. Investigators located and seized the incriminating photos and multiple text message conversations in which the conspirators discussed their robbery plans.
Local authorities arrested Alan Lopez the same day as the robbery in Josephine County. On October 14, 2022, after being transferred to federal custody, he made his first appearance in federal court in Medford and remains detained pending further court proceedings.
On October 6, 2022, Morales and Acuna were located and arrested in San Antonio. One week later, on October 13, 2022, Conchas and Jose Lopez were also arrested in San Antonio. All four made their first appearances in federal court in the Western District of Texas and were ordered detained pending transfer to the District of Oregon.
Jordan Gammage is currently at large and believed to be in the San Antonio area.
Conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana are punishable by up to 10 and 40 years in prison, respectively. Using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime is punishable by up to life in prison.
This case was investigated by the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) with assistance from the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marco Boccato and Amy Potter are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Armed Drug Dealer Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that NAMIR WALKER, 23, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. Circuit Judge Sarah A. L. Merriam in Bridgeport to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release, for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on October 26, 2021, East Hartford Police arrested Walker after he was found in possession of approximately 170 dose bags of fentanyl, approximately 18 grams of crack cocaine, and a loaded .40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun. Subsequent investigation revealed that Walker had previously possessed a Zigana, Model PX-9G2 pistol, which had been part of a shipment of 50 Zigana PX-9G2 pistols that was stolen from an R&L Carriers warehouse in South Windsor in August 2021. Investigators recovered the stolen Zigana pistol, and reviewed social media posts from mid-September 2021 in which Walker appears to offer to sell two stolen Zigana pistols to another individual in exchange for $1,800.
Walker has been detained since his arrest. On July 29, 2022, he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
To date, 14 of the 50 stolen firearms have been recovered by law enforcement
This investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the South Windsor Police Department and East Hartford Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren C. Clark and A. Reed Durham through 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. In May 2021, the Justice 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.
Alleged Serial Bank Robber Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
An Albuquerque man thought to have committed a string of bank robberies across Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Mississippi, and California was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison for an armed bank robbery in Abilene, Texas, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.
Fernando Enriquez, 35, pleaded guilty in July to one count of aggravated bank robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix.
According to plea papers, Mr. Enriquez admitted that on March 29, 2022, he entered a Chase Bank in Abilene, Texas, brandished a firearm, demanded cash from the teller, and then fled the scene.
Both the teller and another employee activated their silent alarms during the robbery. When law enforcement arrived, a witness turned over cell phone video he’d recorded of the suspect exiting the bank and entering a white Chevrolet suburban bearing Mississippi license plates.
Shortly thereafter, Texas DPS and Abilene Police Department officers pulled over the suburban in Merkel, Texas and detained Mr. Enriquez and his girlfriend. Inside the vehicle, officers found a firearm, a gray hoodie that matched the descriptions of the one worn by the robber, and a significant sum of U.S. currency.
Law enforcement transported Mr. Enriquez and his girlfriend to the Abilene Police Department, where the woman told FBI agents that over the past 14 months, she and Mr. Enriquez have lived in Arizona, Mississippi, New Mexico, and California. She stated that though Mr. Enriquez was not employed most of that time, he always seemed to have cash on hand.
She told officers that prior to the robbery, Mr. Enriquez left her and his children at a motel, stating he had to fill the car with gas. When he returned, she said, he rushed to get the vehicle loaded and leave. She described Mr. Enriquez’s driving during their departure from Abilene as faster and more erratic than usual.
Based on physical description and the modus operandi, investigators believed that the suspect who committed the Abilene robbery may have committed similar robberies in Arizona, Mississippi, New Mexico, and California. They showed the girlfriend two photographs from the other bank robberies, both provided by FBI Phoenix. She identified the man in the photographs as Mr. Enriquez.
On April 19, 2022, Mr. Enriquez was indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Arizona with four counts of bank robbery and four counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. Following today’s sentencing, Mr. Enriquez will be transported to the District of Arizona to face those charges. (An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Like all defendants, Mr. Enriquez is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.)
The Federal Bureau of Investigations’ Phoenix and Dallas Field Offices conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Abilene Police Department, and the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Tusing and Jeff Haag of the Northern District of Texas prosecuted the case with significant support from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Arizona.
Albuquerque man indicted for mail, wire fraudRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Pholopater Faltas was arraigned on an indictment charging him with eight counts of mail fraud and two counts of wire fraud. Faltas, 24, of Albuquerque, will remain on conditions of release pending trial, which has not yet been scheduled.
A federal grand jury indicted Faltas on October 12.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the CARES Act, which was signed into law on March 27, 2020. Among other provisions, the CARES Act bolstered and expanded unemployment insurance. In New Mexico, unemployment insurance is administered by the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, and claimants may apply either over the phone or online, using the New Mexico Workforce Connection Online System. Eligible claimants can receive payments by direct deposit to their bank account or a prepaid debit card.
According to the indictment, Faltas allegedly recruited participants to his scheme by telling them he would submit applications for benefits on their behalf. If the applications were approved, Faltas allegedly would cause the funds to be disbursed to debit cards and bank accounts that he possessed and controlled. Faltas then either provided only a small fraction of the benefits to participants, falsely informing them that they were receiving all the benefits disbursed, or falsely informed participants that their applications had been denied. In either case, Faltas retained all or most of the assistance funds disbursed. The activity alleged in the indictment occurred in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, between April and October of 2020.
Some of the participants in whose names Faltas submitted applications were not eligible for benefits, including because certain applicants were not actually residents of New Mexico. In those cases, Faltas included and aided and abetted the inclusion of materially false pretenses, representations, and promises calculated to make the purported applicant appear eligible, including by claiming non-New Mexico residents lived at addresses in New Mexico.
An indictment is only an allegation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Faltas faces up to 30 years in prison.
The United States Secret Service, Albuquerque Resident Office, and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case with assistance from the Department of Labor – Office of the Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Taylor F. Hartstein is prosecuting the case.
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262 Month Sentence ImposedRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – Nahkomie Taylor, 31 years old, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Jon E. DeGuilio on his plea of guilty to two counts of bank robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Taylor was sentenced to 262 months in prison, 2 years of supervised release and ordered to pay $12,155 in restitution.
According to documents in this case, Nahkomie Taylor was on parole for armed robbery for less than a month when he robbed a bank at gunpoint in South Bend on February 18, 2020. Three days later, Taylor robbed a different bank at gunpoint in South Bend. That same day, he traveled to Oak Park, Illinois, and robbed a third bank at gunpoint.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the South Bend Police Department, the Oak Park Police Department, and the Chicago Police Department. The case was prosecuted in coordination with the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois and handled by Assistant United States Attorney Joel Gabrielse.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
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19 October 2022
Yonkers Doctor Pleads Guilty to Illegal Distribution of More Than 100,000 Oxycodone PillsRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MARC LARUELLE pled guilty to one count of distributing Oxycodone, among other narcotics, without a legitimate medical purpose while acting outside the usual course of professional practice. LARUELLE pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Denis L. Cote.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Marc Laruelle abused his medical license and violated the oath of his profession when he prescribed more than 100,000 doses of a highly potent and addictive opioid without a legitimate medical need. As this case makes clear, we will aggressively prosecute physicians who are contributing to the national opioid crisis. Laruelle now awaits sentencing for his crime.”
According to the Indictment, LARUELLE’s plea agreement, and statements made in Court:
Between in or about September 2016 up to and including in or about October 2021, MARC LARUELLE, a licensed doctor specializing in psychiatry, prescribed more than 100,000 doses of Oxycodone without a legitimate medical purpose outside of the usual course of professional practice. Oxycodone is a highly potent and addictive opioid that commands high prices in the black market because of demand by drug abusers. LARUELLE often prescribed Oxycodone in combination with Xanax (alprazolam) and/or Adderall (amphetamine), controlled substances that are themselves frequently abused and resold illicitly. LARUELLE failed to perform proper physical examinations or medical tests prior to prescribing Oxycodone to his patients. LARUELLE also charged patients as much as $800 per prescription and prescribed large amounts of Oxycodone with the understanding that the quantity would be resold in the black market.
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LARUELLE, 65, of Yonkers, New York, pled guilty to one count of distributing Oxycodone, Amphetamines, and Xanax, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The statutory maximum sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing will be determined by a judge. LARUELLE is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Cote on January 26, 2023.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) New York Strike Force for their support and assistance in this matter. The OCDETF New York Strike Force is a crime-fighting unit comprising federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. The Strike Force is affiliated with the DEA’s New York Division and includes agents and officers of the DEA, New York City Police Department, New York State Police, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Marshals Service, New York National Guard, Clarkstown Police Department, U.S. Coast Guard, Port Washington Police Department, and New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. Mr. Williams also thanked the New York State Department of Health Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement for their assistance in this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mitzi S. Steiner is in charge of the prosecution. The case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit.
Willmar Man Charged with Illegal Possession of Explosive Devices and a FirearmRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Willmar man has been indicted for illegally possessing two explosive devices and a short-barreled shotgun, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on November 20, 2021, Brian Keith Kohls, 39, illegally possessed a short-barreled shotgun and two explosive bombs, none of which were registered to him under the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. Kohls is also charged with being an unlawful user of controlled substances and is therefore prohibited from possessing firearms.
Kohls is charged with one count of possession of unregistered destructive devices, one count of possession of an unregistered short-barreled shotgun, and one count of possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of controlled substances. If convicted, he faces a potential maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Kohls made his initial appearance yesterday in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Becky R. Thorson. Kohls was ordered to remain in custody pending a formal detention hearing on October 20, 2022.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Willmar Police Department, the Minneapolis Police Department, and the St. Cloud Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ruth S. Shnider is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire FraudRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Rishi Budhadev, age 37, of Fredericksburg, Virginia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Budhadev admitted to receiving a series of fraudulent MoneyGram money transfers from several individuals he did not know in October 2015. He also admitted to receiving in October 2015 a fraudulent deposit for $9,000 in his checking account from a person he did not know. He admitted to receiving each of these transfers at the request of a coconspirator located in India.
In each of these transactions, Budhadev admitted believing that the funds being transmitted to him had very likely been obtained through fraud. He admitted consciously using deliberate efforts to avoid confirming the fraudulent nature of these transactions, despite his concerns that they were fraudulent.
Budhadev admitted to using the proceeds of the fraudulent MoneyGram money transfers to purchase iPhones, which he delivered to the same coconspirator located in India in February 2016. He also admitted to personally withdrawing the $9,000 in cash from his bank account the same day that it was deposited and later delivering the cash to the same coconspirator in India around February 2016.
The government’s investigation determined that, Budhadev, working with other unnamed co-conspirators, defrauded victims using common advance-fee mass marketing scams. During a roughly two-month time period from October 2015 to December 2015, the government found that Budhadev received around 500 MoneyGram money orders worth over $500,000, including about 300 MoneyGram money orders worth over $407,000 from more than 250 senders that he picked up from seven different Walmart stores. In addition, Budhadev received a number of large cash deposits in his bank accounts, which he quickly withdrew. The government’s investigation also determined that around 50 people who sent funds to Budhadev subsequently identified themselves as victims of various scams, including investment scams, romance scams, person-in-need scams, internet purchase scams, IRS tax scams, and loan scams.
Budhadev admitted to receiving a subset of these transactions in connection with his guilty plea.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Romel Sharma is prosecuting the case.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
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Virginia Beach Man Pleads Guilty to Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A Virginia Beach man pleaded guilty yesterday to production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
According to court documents, on March 31, the Virginia Beach Police Department (VBPD), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) were jointly conducting online investigations of persons looking to engage in sexual activity with minor children. Dylan Seader, 22, started a sexually explicit chat online with an undercover law enforcement agent (UC) who was posing as a 14-year-old girl. Seader and the UC agreed to meet that night to engage in sex. That night, Seader showed up at the designated meeting spot in Virginia Beach. As discussed in the chat, Seader brought condoms with him. A subsequent forensic review of Seader’s phone by VBPD showed, in addition to the chat with the UC, he possessed images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct in his Google Photos. The analysis also showed Seader produced visual depictions of himself performing a sexual act with a toddler.
Seader is scheduled to be sentenced on March 9, 2023. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; Derek W. Gordon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. HSI Washington, D.C.; Mack Hickman, Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Norfolk Field Office; and Paul Neudigate, Chief of Virginia Beach Police, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller accepted the plea.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Yusi is prosecuting 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-69.
Violent Felon Sentenced to 6 Years in Federal Prison for Illegal Possession of a Fully Automatic AR-15 Style Rifle Following a High-Speed ChaseRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS – Raymond Bowie, 21, of Indianapolis, was sentenced to six years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents, on September 4, 2021, officers recognized an individual in attendance at the funeral of a homicide victim. The individual was a fugitive, was noticeably armed, and had an outstanding warrant. Several other individuals in attendance at the funeral were also armed. Officers were aware of various threats of violence and retaliation that were made by associates and family members of the deceased individual.
Officers saw the fugitive leave the funeral and enter the driver’s side of a vehicle, along with three other individuals, including Bowie. Police attempted to conduct a traffic stop of the fugitive’s vehicle near the 3700 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The fugitive driver did not comply and led police on a high-speed chase exceeding speeds of 100 miles per hour. Due to the excess speeds, police terminated the pursuit. Officers searched the area of the chase and within minutes located the vehicle crashed on I-465 northbound near the I-65 on-ramp.
As officers approached the vehicle, they saw Bowie and another passenger fleeing from the crash on foot. Bowie was recklessly swinging a rifle with an extended magazine around as he fled police, which he later discarded. Bowie eventually dropped to the ground because of his injuries from the accident and was detained by police without incident. Officers located the firearm discarded by Bowie, which was a converted fully automatic AR-15 style rifle loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition.
Bowie has three prior felony convictions for armed robbery and was also convicted of dangerous firearm possession. Bowie was on probation at the time of his September 4, 2021, offense, and violated the terms of his probation by illegally possessing a firearm. Bowie is prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law due to his previous felony convictions.
Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, and Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Columbus Field Division (ATF), made the announcement.
ATF investigated the case in conjunction with the Indiana Crime Gun Task Force. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon. As part of the sentence, Judge Hanlon ordered that Bowie be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for three years following his release from federal prison.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy C. Fugate who prosecuted this case.
This case was brought as part of the Indiana Crime Guns Task Force (ICGTF). ICGTF is a partnership of law enforcement officers and analysts from several central Indiana law enforcement agencies in Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Marion, Morgan, Johnson, and Shelby counties. In cooperation with state, local, and federal partners, ICGTF collaborates to address violent crime through a comprehensive strategy including innovative approaches to locating suspects and evidence related to violent crimes and illegal possession of firearms.
Also, this case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
United States Resolves Construction and Procurement Investigation into Route 6/10 Project; Former Superintendent to Plead Guilty; Massachusetts Construction Company to Pay $1.5 Million in Connection with False StatementsRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha announced today the resolution of federal criminal and civil investigations into Barletta Heavy Division, Inc., the Massachusetts construction firm responsible for construction of the Route 6/10 Interchange Project, and Dennis Ferreira, former Superintendent for the project.
These resolutions involve a criminal plea, a civil resolution that will recover more than twice the amount paid by the government as a result of the conduct, and a non-prosecution agreement with the construction firm.
Federal investigations into contracting and procurement on portions of the federally-funded 6/10 project centered on false statements made by a project superintendent and the company in connection with the project, as well as billing submissions made to the federal government for stone and dirt that was transported from sites in Boston and Pawtucket and used in portions of the 6/10 Project as fill. This fill, which was required to either be used at its original location, or subjected to additional testing and handling, did not meet the requirements of the contract.
Ferreira, the former project superintendent, will plead guilty in federal court to charges of making false statements; under a separate agreement, Barletta will pay a criminal fine of $500,000, return $1,000,000 to the government, make factual admissions, and undertake a series of monitoring, reporting, and compliance measures.
“When federal tax dollars fund work in our communities, we expect that the government will get what it bargains for,” said U.S. Attorney Cunha. “In this case, that didn’t happen. Today’s resolution should serve as a reminder to any company or corporate official that, when the government is footing the bill, false statements have consequences.”
As part of the resolution, as detailed in documents filed in federal court, Ferreira will plead guilty to an Information that charges him with three counts of making a false statement in connection with a federally funded highway project. These charges stem from Ferreira’s decision to import railroad ballast (loose stone) from a Barletta project site in Massachusetts, and soil from the Pawtucket/Central Falls Rail Station and Bus Hub Project, a separate Barletta job site in Rhode Island, to the 6/10 Project to be used as fill. It is alleged in the Information that
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In July of 2020, Ferreira caused an environmental report to be sent to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) that falsely represented the origin and environmental quality of the stone imported from Massachusetts.
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In September of 2020, during meetings with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and RIDOT officials, Ferreira falsely represented the origin and environmental quality of the imported stone and falsely stated that none of the material imported from Pawtucket was used on the Project. and
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Ferreira allegedly caused a letter to be sent to RIDOT officials which falsely stated that the stone imported from Massachusetts had been tested prior to being brought to Rhode Island.
The United States has separately entered into a Non-Prosecution Agreement with Barletta Heavy Division, Inc., in connection with the series of false statements that were made in the summer of 2020 to FHWA and RIDOT Officials. These statements were meant to conceal the fact that Barletta had imported regulated material in violation of a Soil and Materials Management Plan, which was part of the contract governing the 6/10 Project. Under the Agreement, Barletta accepts responsibility for the actions of its employees and admits to the facts that constitute making false statements in connection with a federally funded highway project. In addition to paying a $500,000 criminal fine, the agreement requires Barletta to implement ongoing monitoring, reporting, and compliance measures for a period of three years; failure to comply with these conditions will make the company subject to prosecution for the conduct set forth in an agreed-upon Statement of Facts.
Additionally, Barletta has entered into a False Claims Act settlement that resolves allegations that the company knowingly submitted claims for payment for work on the project in connection with the movement of dirt that did not comply with contract requirements, in violation of the federal and Rhode Island state False Claims Acts. Barletta will pay $1,000,000 to the government, representing more than twice the government funds paid as a result of the relevant claims.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dulce Donovan and Bethany Wong are handling the prosecution and litigation of these matters.
The cases were investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, with the assistance from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Division of Law Enforcement.
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United States Attorney Files Complaint to Ban West Boylston Man from Distributing Unapproved Drug and Adulterated FoodRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The United States Attorney’s Office filed a complaint for a permanent injunction today to stop Daniel R. Marold from distributing a product the government contends to be an unapproved new drug and an adulterated food under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).
The United States contends that Marold sells Chill6, a multi-flavored beverage powder, to consumers across the country through a website that claims that the product cures, treats, mitigates and prevents anxiety, insomnia, stress, alcoholism and post-traumatic stress disorder, among other conditions. The complaint, filed in partnership with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), also alleges that Chill6 contains Phenibut HCL, an unsafe food additive that is not approved for use in the United States. The government further alleges that Marold continued to distribute Chill6 even after FDA sent him a warning letter in July 2021.
The United States’ complaint seeks to permanently enjoin Marold from selling Chill6 in its current form to any consumer and requires him to comply with federal food safety regulations before selling any other food products.
“The FDA is responsible for making sure drugs meet the necessary safety guidelines for human consumption. We allege that Chill6 does not, and even after being warned, Mr. Marold continued distributing this unapproved substance,” said United States Attorney Rachael S Rollins. “Be it by criminal offense or civil violation, we are committed to ending the distribution of unregulated and adulterated supplements.”
“Those who distribute drugs, dietary supplements, or foods must comply with federal law designed to ensure these products are safe,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will continue to work closely with FDA to stop the distribution of unapproved new drugs and adulterated food products.”
“The FDA’s primary responsibility is to protect U.S. patients and consumers from unproven and dangerous products,” said Judith McMeekin, Pharm.D., Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs in the FDA’s Office of Regulatory Affairs. “With our partners at the Department of Justice, we will keep pursuing individuals and firms that distribute products that put the public at risk and violate federal law.”
U.S. Attorney Rollins, AAG Boynton and Associate Commissioner McMeekin made the announcement today. The matter is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Sharobem of Rollins’ Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit and Trial Attorney Manu J. Sebastian of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch, with the assistance of Associate Chief Counsel Leah A. Edelman of the FDA’s Office of the Chief Counsel.
The claims made in the complaint are allegations that, if the case were to proceed to trial, the government must prove by a preponderance of the evidence.
US Attorney Darcie McElwee Appoints District Election Officer to Ensure Voter Access, Poll Worker SafetyRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Maine: U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee announced today that Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) John Osborn will lead the efforts of her office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 8, 2022 general election. AUSA Osborn has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the District of Maine, and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department headquarters in Washington.
U.S. Attorney McElwee said, “Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted in a fair and free election. Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence. The Department of Justice will always work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process.”
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud. The Department will address these violations wherever they occur. The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.
Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).
U.S. Attorney McElwee stated, “The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy. We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise can exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice. In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, AUSA/DEO Osborn will be on duty in this District while the polls are open. Anyone with election day concerns can contact AUSA Osborn at 207-771-3214 or AUSA Andrew McCormack in our Bangor office at 207-262-4615.”
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The local FBI office can be reached by the public at 207-541-0700.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ .
U.S. Attorney McElwee said, “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American electorate. It is important that those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud make that information available to the Department of Justice.”
Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.
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United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming Appoints District Election OfficerRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Nicholas Vassallo announced today that Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Timothy W. Gist will lead the efforts for his office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 8, 2022, general election. AUSA Gist has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming, and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.
“Wyoming has long been successful in holding fair elections; however, we want to ensure that the process is free from interference or discrimination and that election officials and staff do not experience unlawful threats of violence,” said Acting United States Attorney Nicholas Vassallo. “ If you have specific information about voting right concerns or election fraud, please report it immediately to the local FBI office or to our office so we can take appropriate action.”
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud. The Department will address these violations wherever they occur. The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the United States Attorney’s Office and the FBI for the public to report possible federal election law violations.
Federal law protects against crimes such as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).
In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, AUSA/DEO Gist will be on duty in this District while the polls are open. In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at 307-632-6224. AUSA Gist can be reached at the Lander Office: 307-332-8195 or Toll-Free at 1-888-266-1309.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ .
Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.
U.S. Attorneys Announce District Election Officers for Eastern & Western Districts of WisconsinRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Wisconsin’s United States Attorneys, Gregory J. Haanstad and Timothy M. O’Shea, announced today that four Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSAs) will lead their offices’ efforts in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 8, 2022, general election. AUSAs Christopher Ladwig and Philip Kovoor have been appointed to serve as the District Election Officers (DEOs) for the Eastern District, and AUSAs Daniel Graber and Meredith Duchemin have been appointed to serve as the District Election Officers (DEOs) for the Western District. In that capacity, these AUSAs are responsible for overseeing their Districts’ handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.
U.S. Attorney Haanstad said, “Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted in a fair and free election. Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence. The Department of Justice will always work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process.”
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud. The Department will address these violations wherever they occur. The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.
Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).
U.S. Attorney O’Shea stated that, “Voting is the cornerstone of American democracy. We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise can exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice. In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, AUSAs/DEOs Ladwig, Kovoor, Graber, and Duchemin will be on duty while the polls are open.”
The AUSAs/DEOs may be reached by the public at the following numbers:
AUSA/DEO Ladwig at 414-297-4103
AUSA/DEO Kovoor at 414-297-1721
AUSA/DEO Graber at 608-250-5468
AUSA/DEO Duchemin at 608-250-5496
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at 414-276-4684, option 7.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C. by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ .
U.S. Attorneys O’Shea and Haanstad said, “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American electorate. It is important that those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud make that information available to the Department of Justice.”
Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.
U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit Announces Launch of Idaho COVID-19 Fraud Task ForceRead the Press Release
BOISE – U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announces the formation of the District of Idaho’s COVID‑19 Fraud Task Force and highlights the District of Idaho’s ongoing efforts to combat pandemic‑related fraud. Those efforts have included complementary actions by the Criminal, Civil, and Asset Recovery Divisions, along with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
“The Task Force represents a continuation of my office’s commitment to combatting pandemic‑related fraud,” stated U.S. Attorney Hurwit. “It brings together a broad group of law enforcement agencies with prosecutors who will work jointly to hold accountable criminals who unjustly enriched themselves at the expense of taxpayers by defrauding economic aid programs.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is pleased to announce that the following agencies are part of the Task Force:
- U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General
- Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation
- U.S. Department of Treasury, Inspector General for Tax Administration
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General
- Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General
- U.S. Postal Inspection Service
- U.S. Secret Service, Boise Resident Agency and Spokane Resident Office
“Those that commit fraud against SBA’s programs will be brought to justice and held accountable,” said SBA OIG’s Western Region Special Agent in Charge Weston King. “OIG remains committed to rooting out bad actors and protecting the integrity of SBA programs. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and commitment to seeing justice served.”
“Investigating claims of COVID-19 relief fraud remains a top priority for IRS Criminal Investigation,” said Andy Tsui, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge, Denver Field Office. “IRS-CI has investigated over 800 cases of COVID-19 related fraud and we will continue to hold accountable those that steal funds intended to help American workers, families and small businesses.”
“The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration joined the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Idaho to identify and investigate fraud, waste, and abuse of COVID-19 related government assistance programs,” said Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George. “We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate those who endeavor to corrupt these programs through the misuse of IRS systems and fraudulent IRS documents in furtherance of their schemes.”
The Task Force will identify, investigate, and prosecute those whose defrauded economic aid programs intended to help individuals and small businesses negatively impacted by the COVID‑19 pandemic. That includes programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), Coronavirus Farm Assistance Program (CFAP), Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), and Unemployment Insurance (UI). To fraudulently obtain these funds, criminals have created businesses, committed identity theft, and inflated the size and scope of actual businesses.
Case Examples
In conjunction with today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Hurwit also announced that Nicholas Jones, 36, of Boise, was sentenced today to 30 months in federal prison for wire fraud and filing falsified campaign finance disclosures related to his run for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020. Jones was also ordered to pay a $100,000 fine, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office has already received a separate restitution payment of over $90,000 from Jones.
Jones, a small business owner, applied for and received COVID-19 relief funds, including PPP and EIDL funds, totaling $753,600. Despite certifying that these funds would only be used for business-related expenditures, Jones used a significant portion of the funds for personal expenses, including car payments, life insurance policies, and his mortgage. He also purchased a significant amount of stocks and investments with the relief funds.
In addition, Jones ran as a candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in 2020. He used a portion of COVID-19 relief funds he received for campaign purposes. In addition to paying for political advertising, he used PPP funds to pay his restaurant employees not to work for the restaurant, but to work for his congressional campaign, including by making phone calls and hanging campaign flyers.
In imposing his sentence, Chief United States District Judge David C. Nye said that Jones had to bear the consequences of his conduct, which included misusing “money that was significant and no longer available for its intended purpose.”
Other examples of cases that the COVID-19 Fraud Task Force investigated and that led to charges include:
- Douglas Wold, 50, of Meridian, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering in December 2021. During the early months of the pandemic, Wold committed wire fraud by submitting fraudulent payroll requests to his employer. He also committed mail fraud with respect to a COVID-19 testing program by issuing fraudulent invoices to his employer Fry Foods in the name of his business, Hala Lallo Health, when, in fact, the testing was provided by another entity and at a greatly lower cost. Wold deposited the funds he received into a bank account he controlled and did not pay the health provider that actually conducted the testing. Wold committed money laundering by transferring $69,116.48 in proceeds from his frauds for the purchase of a speedboat and trailer, which the Government has since recovered.
- Jeff C. Vogt, of Caldwell, fraudulently obtained $250,000 in CFAP funds based on his false claim that he produced 22,480,000 pounds of dry onions that were shipped but not sold between January 15, 2020 and April 15, 2020. A civil complaint was filed against Vogt alleging violations of the False Claims Act and common law fraud. After Vogt failed to respond, a default judgment for $761,665 was entered against him.
- Lawrence Sikutwa, 43, of Boise, was charged with bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering charges in an indictment filed in October 2022. The charges arise from a scheme to defraud two banks by obtaining $337,976 in PPP loans and then allegedly using the loan proceeds for personal and other non-business related expenses. According to court documents, the loan applications were allegedly fraudulent because, among other things, they contained false representations and certifications about the businesses’ average monthly payroll, the number of employees, and the intended use of the funds for business-related expenses, including payroll.
- Khadijah Chapman, 58, of Atlanta, Georgia; Daniel Labrum, 41, of South Jordan, Utah; and Eric O’Neil, 57, of Bethel, Connecticut, were charged in three separate indictments filed in July 2022 with bank fraud for fraudulently obtaining PPP loans from a financial institution located in Boise. According to court documents, the defendants, along with others, allegedly falsified information and submitted fraudulent documents to collectively obtain over $2.4 million in relief funding guaranteed by the SBA for small businesses struggling with the economic impact of COVID-19.
Citizens and others who suspect fraud or other criminal wrongdoing related to the pandemic should report it to the COVID-19 Pandemic Fraud Hotline at www.pandemicoversight.gov/contact/about-hotline. Idahoans are also encouraged to report COVID-19 fraud directly to the U.S. Attorney’s Office at (208) 334-1211.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich announces election officer for November 2022 General ElectionRead the Press Release
HELENA – United States Attorney Jesse Laslovich announced today that Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) John Newman will lead the efforts of his Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 8, 2022, general election. AUSA Newman has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the District of Montana and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.
U. S. Attorney Laslovich said, “Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted in a fair and free election. Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence. The Department of Justice will always work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process.”
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud. The Department will address these violations wherever they occur. The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.
Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).
U. S. Attorney Laslovich said, “The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy. We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise can exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice. In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, AUSA/DEO John Newman will be on duty in this District while the polls are open. He can be reached by the public at the following telephone number: 406-829-3336.”
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at 801-579-1400.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ .
U. S. Attorney Laslovich said, “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American people. It is important that those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud contact the Department of Justice.”
Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.
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U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino Announces Election Officer for the District of ArizonaRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – United States Attorney Gary Restaino announced today that Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Sean Lokey will lead the efforts of his Office in connection with the upcoming November 8, 2022, general election. AUSA Lokey has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer for the District of Arizona, and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.
United States Attorney Restaino said, “Every citizen must be able to vote without interference, or discrimination and to have that vote counted in a fair and free election. Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence. The Department of Justice will always work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process.”
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud. The Department will address these violations wherever they occur. The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.
United States Attorney Restaino further stated: “Unfortunately, there are election deniers and fear-mongers who seek to undermine our democratic process. I’m proud that my office works to remove barriers to voting, and that we provide accurate and truthful information to the voting public. Working in partnership with our state and local election officials, the Department of Justice will do its very best to ensure that every eligible voter who chooses to vote can do so easily and efficiently, without interference or discrimination.”
Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).
United States Attorney Restaino stated that: “The right to vote is the cornerstone of American democracy. We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise can exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice. In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, AUSA/DEO Lokey will be on duty in this District while the polls are open. He can be reached by the public at the following telephone number: 602-514-7516.”
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public by phone at 623-466-1999 or online at https://tips.fbi.gov/.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C. by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/.
United States Attorney Restaino said, “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American electorate. It is important that those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud make that information available to the Department of Justice.”
Please note, however, that in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, you should call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.
RELEASE NUMBER: 2022-184_Arizona-General-Election
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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.
U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown Announces $152,565 in Justice Department Grants to Support Project Safe NeighborhoodsRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT/LAFAYETTE/ALEXANDRIA/LAKE CHARLES/MONROE, La. – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced today that the Department of Justice has awarded $152,565 to support the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program in the Western District of Louisiana. Funding will support community efforts to address the epidemic of gun crime, violent crime and gang violence in the district. The grant is one of a number of awards being made to state and local agencies across the country. Funds are administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, an arm of the Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP). The OJP provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and enhance the rule of law.
The PSN approach is guided by four key 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 of our efforts. The fundamental goal is to reduce violent crime, not simply to increase the number of arrests or prosecutions. PSN programs are led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in collaboration with local public safety agencies and community organizations. The programs’ emphasis on community engagement, prevention and intervention measures, focused and strategic enforcement, and measurement and accountability has helped achieve overall reductions in violent crime, including gun homicides, in neighborhoods where PSN strategies have been implemented.
“The PSN program has played a vital part in the battle against the problem that we have with gun violence in the Western District of Louisiana,” said U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown. “This grant will help to continue the efforts of officers in Shreveport and other cities in our district to combat this type of violence on our streets. The success of the PSN program is a result of the tireless, and sometimes thankless, efforts of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. We commend these law enforcement officers for the work that they do each and every day to keep our communities safe and look forward to continuing the work before us. However, this grant will also give us an opportunity to focus on crime deterrence, prevention and educational programs through other community partners for the benefit of our district.”
Past recipients of PSN grants have been the Alexandria, Lake Charles, Monroe, Shreveport and Lafayette Police Departments as well as the Caddo Parish and Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Offices and Lafayette City Marshal’s Office. Funds were granted for various programs to include assisting with implementation of a new computer software program, body cameras for law enforcement officers, training for officers on gang prevention and overtime hours for law enforcement officers to increase patrols in areas that saw an increase in violent crime, including narcotics, gang and gun-related violent crimes.
The Shreveport Police Department has been named as the fiscal agent for administering the funds allowed through this PSN grant. A committee comprised of community volunteers from the five major cities in the Western District of Louisiana has been appointed to be responsible for reviewing the applications received from law enforcement and non-governmental agencies who submit their grant proposals.
“Project Safe Neighborhoods has been a successful program for our city,” stated Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith. “We are honored to once again act as the fiscal agent for this grant and look forward to supporting the U.S. Attorney and our federal partners in building mutual trust between law enforcement and the community to help curb the violent crime epidemic in our area.” Shreveport Police Department, on behalf of the DOJ’s OJP, is seeking applications for these grant funds under the PSN Program. At least 30% of the grant funds must be designated for grants under the PSN Program to fund new and/or current gang violence reduction strategies in the Western District. Various types of single or multi-grantee grant proposals are welcome, including those that address the following:
- Gang and gun violence reduction, deterrence, prevention, community outreach and education;
- Enforcement, adjudication and supervision programs;
- Prisoner re-entry programs; or
- Other innovative related projects.
The FY 2022 PSN Grant Announcement can be found on the Western District of Louisiana U.S. Attorney’s Office website at: www.justice.gov/usao-wdla. To be eligible, grant proposals must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, November 11, 2022, to the following e-mail address: [email protected]. Interested applicants may also e-mail questions or contact Lisa Alwert at (337) 262-6618 for additional information.
More information about awards under PSN and other OJP grants can be found on the OJP Grant Awards Page.
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U.S. Attorney Boroughs Announces $1.8 Million in Justice Department Grants to Support Project Safe Neighborhoods in South CarolinaRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA —U.S. Attorney Adair F. Boroughs announced today that the Department of Justice has awarded more than $1.8 million to support the Project Safe Neighborhoods Program in the District of South Carolina. Funding will support community efforts to address the epidemic of gun crime and serious violence in the district. The grants, to Barnwell County, Cheraw, Dillon, North Myrtle Beach, Travelers Rest, and Williamston, are part of a number of awards being made to state and local agencies across the country. Funds are administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, part of the Department’s Office of Justice Programs.
Launched two decades ago as an evidence-based and community-oriented response to serious gun crime, Project Safe Neighborhoods, known as PSN, is a key component of the Department’s Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime, outlined by Deputy Attorney General Monaco in May 2021. The PSN approach is guided by four key 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 of our efforts. The fundamental goal is to reduce violent crime, not simply to increase the number of arrests or prosecutions.
“These funds are essential to allow our local law enforcement entities to build deeper partnerships with their communities,” said U.S. Attorney Boroughs. “When community leaders and law enforcement officials work together, they can focus on shared priorities, identify the most violent offenders, and address the root causes of violence in those communities. These community partnerships are the cornerstone of our violent crime reduction efforts because, quite simply, they work.”
“Reducing violence and sustaining those reductions will require strong partnerships between criminal justice agencies and community stakeholders and a shared commitment to the safety and well-being of every community member,” said OJP Deputy Assistant Attorney General Maureen Henneberg. “The investments we are making through Project Safe Neighborhoods will enable every stakeholder to play a part in building safer and healthier communities.”
PSN programs are led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in collaboration with local public safety agencies and community organizations. The programs’ emphasis on community engagement, prevention and intervention measures, focused and strategic enforcement, and measurement and accountability has helped achieve overall reductions in violent crime, including gun homicides, in neighborhoods where PSN strategies have been implemented.
“Over its two-decade history, Project Safe Neighborhoods has evolved to meet the complex challenges of community violence by enlisting the insights and expertise of local partners and by relying on the latest evidence,” said BJA Director Karhlton F. Moore. “We are proud to support our U.S. Attorneys and their allies in their critical work to curb violent crime and build the mutual trust necessary to ensure lasting success.”
The awards announced above are being made as part of the regular end-of-fiscal year cycle. More information about awards under PSN and other OJP grants can be found on the OJP Grant Awards Page.
The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and enhance the rule of law. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.
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U.S. Attorney Appoints Election Officer for the Eastern District of KentuckyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Carlton S. Shier, IV announced today that Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Andy Boone will lead the efforts of his Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program, for the upcoming November 8, 2022, general election. AUSA Boone has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.
United States Attorney Shier said, “Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted in a fair and free election. Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence. The Department of Justice will work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process.”
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud. The Department addresses these violations wherever they occur. The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.
Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).
The right to vote is the cornerstone of American democracy. We all must ensure that those who are entitled to that right can exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice. In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, AUSA/DEO Boone will be on duty in this District while the polls are open.
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. Any tips or other information regarding election fraud or abuses can be submitted through the FBI’s national tip line at 800-CALL-FBI or via www.tips.fbi.gov. Additionally, the FBI Louisville Division office can be reached at 502-263-6000.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC, by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/.
United States Attorney Shier emphasized, “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American electorate. It is important that those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud make that information available to the Department of Justice.”
Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.
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U.S. Attorney Announces Election Day ProgramRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – United States Attorney Teresa Moore announced today that Assistant United States Attorney Alan Simpson will lead the efforts of her office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming Nov. 8, 2022, general election.
Simpson has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer for the Western District of Missouri, and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the district’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted in a fair and free election, said Moore. Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence. The Department of Justice will always work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process.
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud. The department will address these violations wherever they occur. The department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.
Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).
Moore stated that the franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy. We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise can exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice. In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, the District Election Officer will be on duty in this district while the polls are open. He can be reached by the public at 816-426-4125.
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at 816-512-8200.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C. by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ .
Moore said, ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American electorate. It is important that those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud make that information available to the Department of Justice.
Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.
U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez releases information ahead of November 2022 General ElectionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – United States Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez announced today that Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Jeremy Peña will lead the efforts of his office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 8, 2022, general election. AUSA Peña has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the District of New Mexico, and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.
“Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted in a fair and free election,” said United States Attorney Uballez. “Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence. The Department of Justice will always work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process.”
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud. The Department will address these violations wherever they occur. The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.
Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).
United States Attorney Uballez stated that: “The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy. We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise can exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice. In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, AUSA/DEO Peña will be on duty in this District while the polls are open. He can be reached by the public at the following telephone numbers: (505) 224-1451 and (505) 269-2038.”
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The FBI Albuquerque Field Office can be reached by the public at 1-800-CALL-FBI or (505) 889-1300.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC, by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ .
“Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American electorate,” said United States Attorney Uballez. “It is important that those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud make that information available to the Department of Justice.”
Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.
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U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez announces $175,450 in Justice Department grants to support Project Safe NeighborhoodsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez announced today that the Department of Justice has awarded $175,450 to support the Project Safe Neighborhoods Program in the District of New Mexico. Funding will support community efforts to address the epidemic of gun crime and serious violence in the district. The grant, to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, is one of a number of awards being made to state and local agencies across the country. Funds are administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, part of the Department’s Office of Justice Programs.
Launched two decades ago as an evidence-based and community-oriented response to serious gun crime, Project Safe Neighborhoods, known as PSN, is a key component of the Department’s Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime, outlined by Deputy Attorney General Monaco in May 2021. The PSN approach is guided by four key 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 of our efforts. The fundamental goal is to reduce violent crime, not simply to increase the number of arrests or prosecutions.
“Reducing violence and sustaining those reductions will require strong partnerships between criminal justice agencies and community stakeholders and a shared commitment to the safety and well-being of every community member,” said OJP Deputy Assistant Attorney General Maureen Henneberg. “The investments we are making through Project Safe Neighborhoods will enable every stakeholder to play a part in building safer and healthier communities.”
PSN programs are led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in collaboration with local public safety agencies and community organizations. The programs’ emphasis on community engagement, prevention and intervention measures, focused and strategic enforcement, and measurement and accountability has helped achieve overall reductions in violent crime, including gun homicides, in neighborhoods where PSN strategies have been implemented.
“Over its two-decade history, Project Safe Neighborhoods has evolved to meet the complex challenges of community violence by enlisting the insights and expertise of local partners and by relying on the latest evidence,” said BJA Director Karhlton F. Moore. “We are proud to support our U.S. Attorneys and their allies in their critical work to curb violent crime and build the mutual trust necessary to ensure lasting success.”
The awards announced above are being made as part of the regular end-of-fiscal year cycle. More information about awards under PSN and other OJP grants can be found on the OJP Grant Awards Page.
The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and enhance the rule of law. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.
U.s. Attorneys Announce District Election Officers for Eastern & Western Districts of WisconsinRead the Press Release
Wisconsin’s United States Attorneys, Gregory J. Haanstad of the Eastern District and Timothy M. O’Shea of the Western District, announced today that four Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSAs) will lead their offices’ efforts in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the November 8, 2022, general election. AUSAs Christopher Ladwig and Philip Kovoor have been appointed to serve as District Election Officers (DEOs) for the Eastern District, and AUSAs Daniel Graber and Meredith Duchemin have been appointed to serve as DEOs for the Western District. In that capacity, these AUSAs are responsible for overseeing their Districts’ handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.
U.S. Attorney Haanstad said, “Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted in a fair and free election. Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence. The Department of Justice will always work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process.”
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud. The Department will address these violations wherever they occur. The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.
Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).
U.S. Attorney O’Shea stated that, “Voting is the cornerstone of American democracy. We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise can exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice. In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, AUSAs/DEOs Ladwig, Kovoor, Graber, and Duchemin will be on duty while the polls are open.”
The AUSAs/DEOs may be reached by the public at the following numbers:
AUSA/DEO Ladwig at 414-297- 4103
AUSA/DEO Kovoor at 414-297-1721
AUSA/DEO Graber at 608-250-5468
AUSA/DEO Duchemin at 608-250-5496
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at 414-276-4684, option 7.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C. by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov.
U.S. Attorneys O’Shea and Haanstad said, “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American electorate. It is important that those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud make that information available to the Department of Justice.”
Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.
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For further information contact:
Public Information Officer Kenneth Gales
(414) 297-1700
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Two Men Who Kidnapped Philadelphia Teen to NJ Apartment Complex Both Sentenced to 40 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Eduardo Castelan-Prado, 39, of Leonia, NJ, and Jose Ochoa, 32, of Moreno Valley, CA, were both sentenced to 40 years in prison, and five years of supervised release by United States District Court Judge Harvey Bartle III, for their convictions on kidnapping charges arising from the abduction of a teenage victim from Northeast Philadelphia to New Jersey in June 2021.
In June 2022, the defendants were convicted after trial of charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and kidnapping in connection with their actions to kidnap a 17-year-old in the parking lot of a restaurant in Philadelphia, which was the teen’s place of employment, after his shift ended. Evidence presented at trial showed that on June 14, 2021, Castelan-Prado, Ochoa, and a third co-conspirator transported the victim to a residence in New Jersey, where they held him at gunpoint while making ransom demands of $500,000 to his parents. The FBI and the Philadelphia Police Department were able to determine the victim’s location by tracing the ransom calls, and in the early morning hours of June 16, 2021, an FBI SWAT team executed a search warrant at an apartment complex in Leonia, New Jersey, rescued the victim, and arrested the defendants.
“The events of this case are every parent’s worst nightmare: someone with ill intentions forcefully taking their child. These defendants kidnapped a teenager in an effort to extort money, a crime for which they have now been convicted and each sentenced to spend 40 years in prison,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “As was the case here, our investigators and prosecutors will work quickly and tirelessly to identify, locate and charge anyone who attempts this type of violent crime in our district.”
“Ochoa and Castelan-Prado grabbed a teenage boy off the street to use as a human bargaining chip,” said Jacqueline Maguire, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “They sought to extort his parents, demanding half a million dollars for their child’s survival and safe return. Fortunately, this despicable ploy for money was disrupted and the victim recovered by the FBI and our partners. Today’s sentences ensure the men behind this violent crime will be held accountable for what they’ve done and prevented from so terrorizing anyone else’s family.”
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
The case was investigated by the FBI Philadelphia and FBI Newark, and the Philadelphia Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Justin Oshana and Kate Shulman.
Two Men Sentenced in Nationwide Scheme to Steal Social Media Accounts and CryptocurrencyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Two men were sentenced today in federal court in Boston for their roles a scheme to take over victims’ social media accounts and steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency.
Eric Meiggs, 25, of Brockton, Mass. was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. to two years and one day in prison and two years of supervised release. Declan Harrington, 22, of Rockport, Mass. was sentenced to two years and seven days in prison and two years of supervised release. In August 2021, Harrington and Meiggs each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, four counts of wire fraud, one count of computer fraud and abuse and one count of aggravated identity theft. Harrington also pleaded guilty to an additional count of wire fraud.
Beginning in November 2017, Harrington, Meiggs and co-conspirators targeted victims who were believed to have had significant amounts of cryptocurrency and those who had high value or “OG” (slang for “Original Gangster”) social media account names. Using an illegal practice known as “SIM-swapping,” Harrington, Meiggs and others conspired to hack into and take control of these victims’ online accounts to obtain things of value, including OG social media account names and cryptocurrency.
“SIM swapping” attacks involve convincing a victim’s cell phone carrier to reassign the victim’s cell phone number from the SIM card inside the victim’s cell phone to the SIM card inside a cell phone controlled by the cybercriminals. The cybercriminals can then reset the victim’s account log-in credentials and use those credentials to access the victim’s account without authorization, or “hack into” the account.
To execute the SIM swapping scheme, Harrington purchased or possessed new phones and SIM cards to which the defendants diverted password-reset links or authentication codes they caused to be sent to the victims’ phones, thereby giving Meiggs and others access to the victims’ social media and email accounts without authorization. Harrington, Meiggs and their co-conspirators then looked through the victims’ digital lives to find and take cryptocurrency currency or control of social media account names.
Harrington, Meiggs, and their co-conspirators targeted at least 10 identified victims around the country and stole (or attempted to steal) more than $530,000 in cryptocurrency from these victims. Meiggs also took control of two victims’ “OG” accounts with social media companies.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Joleen S. Simpson, Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Kosto, Deputy Chief of Rollins’ Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit and Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Justice Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section prosecuted the case.
Two Men Sentenced for Nationwide Scheme to Steal Social Media Accounts and CryptocurrencyRead the Press Release
Two Massachusetts men were sentenced today for an extensive scheme to take over victims’ social media accounts and steal their cryptocurrency using techniques such as “SIM swapping,” computer hacking, and other methods.
Eric Meiggs, 24, of Brockton, was sentenced to two years and one day in prison. Declan Harrington, 22, of Beverly, was sentenced to two years and seven days in prison.
According to court documents, Meiggs and Harrington targeted executives of cryptocurrency companies and others who likely had significant amounts of cryptocurrency and those who had high value or “OG” (slang for Original Gangster) social media account names. Meiggs and Harrington conspired to hack into and take control over these victims’ online accounts so they could obtain things of value, such as cryptocurrency. They used an illegal practice known as “SIM-swapping” and other techniques to access, take control of, and in some cases steal cryptocurrency from, the accounts.
In “SIM swapping”, cybercriminals convince a victim’s cell phone carrier to reassign the victim’s cell phone number from the SIM card (Subscriber Identity Module card) inside the victim’s cell phone to the SIM card inside a cell phone controlled by the cybercriminals. Cybercriminals then pose as the victim with an online account provider and request that the provider send account password-reset links or an authentication code to the SIM-swapped device now controlled by the cybercriminals. The cybercriminals can then reset the victim’s account log-in credentials and use the log-in credentials to access the victim’s account without authorization, or “hack into” the account.
Meiggs and Harrington targeted at least 10 identified victims around the country. Members of the conspiracy allegedly stole approximately $330,000 in cryptocurrency from these victims. Meiggs allegedly took control of two victims’ “OG” accounts with social media companies.
Assistant Attorney Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Rachel Rollins for the District of Massachusetts, and Special Agent in Charge Joseph R. Bonavolonta of the FBI Boston Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI’s Boston Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from IRS Criminal Investigations.
Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Kosto for the District of Massachusetts Senior prosecuted the case.
Two Former LMPD Officers Sentenced Today for Conspiracy to Violate Civil Rights and One Also Sentenced for Cyberstalking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Louisville, KY – Two former Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officers charged with conspiring to violate the civil rights of Louisville pedestrians through the arbitrary use of force were sentenced today. One of them was also sentenced for engaging in a cyberstalking conspiracy to hack computer applications for compromising photographs and videos of female victims and then using those photographs to extort additional compromising material from the victims.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky and FBI Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the Louisville Field Office made the announcement.
Bryan Andrew Wilson, 36, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his roles in the civil rights and cyberstalking conspiracies. He was also sentenced to 3 years of supervision after his release from prison and was ordered to complete 120 hours of community service. Wilson was also ordered to pay restitution in an amount to be determined later. Curt Flynn, 41, was sentenced to 3 months in prison for his role in the civil rights conspiracy. He was also sentenced to 3 years of supervision after his release from prison and was ordered to complete 120 hours of community service.
According to court documents and the sentencing hearing today, from at least August 2018 through September 2019, and while working as detectives with the LMPD Ninth Mobile Division, Wilson and Flynn engaged in a conspiracy to violate the civil rights of numerous civilians in Louisville through oppression and intimidation. Wilson, Flynn, and others, while working in the LMPD Ninth Mobile Division, conspired together to assault and attempt to assault civilians by engaging in a conspiracy to throw drinks, including the containers, at unwitting civilians throughout the area in which the Ninth Mobile Division operated. While on duty, dressed in clothing identifying them as LMPD officers, and driving unmarked LMPD vehicles, Wilson, Flynn, and others, would obtain large beverages and drive through the geographic area of the Ninth Mobile Division identifying civilian targets on the sidewalk or near the street. At various points, after identifying a target, Wilson or Flynn would announce on the police radio words to the effect of, “someone was thirsty” or “thirsty fam.” Wilson, Flynn, or another driver of the unmarked vehicle would slow down, drive closer to the curb, and Wilson or Flynn would throw the beverage, including the container and/or its contents, at the civilian target. The driver of the unmarked LMPD vehicle would then accelerate the car and flee the scene.
On many occasions, civilians were hit with beverages thrown by Wilson or Flynn. On at least one occasion, a civilian, John Doe, was knocked to the ground from the impact of being hit with the beverage and its container. At times, Wilson and Flynn recorded and instructed others to record their actions using their cell phones. Wilson and Flynn subsequently displayed these recordings to other members of the Ninth Mobile Division, both by displaying them to other LMPD officers in person and by sending them to others via text message.
Wilson was also sentenced today in a separate case for his criminal conduct in engaging in a conspiracy to commit cyberstalking. According to court documents in Wilson’s second case, between September and October 2020, Wilson conspired with others to use an electronic communication service to stalk and extort young women online. As part of the conspiracy, Wilson, in some instances using his access to law enforcement databases to facilitate the crime, identified computer applications belonging to women, hacked those computer applications, and stole compromising photographs, videos, and other information belonging to the women. Wilson then contacted the women via text messages, threatened to publish the stolen compromising photographs and videos to their family, friends, and co-workers unless they provided him with additional compromising material, and, in some instances, did publish the compromising material. Wilson also posted his victims’ compromising photographs and videos anonymously online and bragged about his exploitation of the victims. Throughout the course of the cyberstalking conspiracy, evidence revealed that Wilson and his co-conspirators hacked over two-dozen victim accounts and that Wilson directly contacted eight of those victims.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Louisville Field Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Weiser and Stephanie Zimdahl prosecuted the cases.
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Two Florida Medical Study Coordinators Sentenced in Connection with Scheme to Falsify Clinical Trial DataRead the Press Release
A federal judge sentenced two Florida women to prison in connection with their participation in a conspiracy to falsify clinical trial data.
Senior U.S. District Judge Donald L. Graham of the Southern District of Florida sentenced Analay Rico, 37, of Fort Lauderdale, to 40 months in prison and Daylen Diaz, 44, of Miami, to 24 months in prison. The court also ordered Rico and Diaz to pay approximately $2.1 million in restitution.
According to court documents, Rico worked as a lead study coordinator for a clinical research firm based in Miami called Tellus Clinical Research (Tellus). Diaz was a research assistant and assistant study coordinator at Tellus. As part of their plea agreements, Rico and Diaz admitted that they agreed with others to defraud clients paying for clinical trial work intended to evaluate treatments for various medical conditions, including opioid dependency, irritable bowel syndrome and diabetic nephropathy. Among other things, Rico and Diaz admitted they falsified data to make it appear as though subjects were participating in the trials when, in truth, they were not.
“Clinical trials are essential in determining the safety and effectiveness of drug treatments,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to prosecute anyone who intentionally falsifies this critical data for personal profit.”
“It’s disgraceful when a criminal preys upon patients in a health care setting,” said U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida. “We will prosecute perpetrators who do to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Reliable and accurate data from clinical trials is the cornerstone of FDA’s evaluation of a new drug,” said FDA Assistant Commissioner for Criminal Investigations Catherine A. Hermsen. “Compromised clinical trial data could impact the agency’s decisions about the safety and effectiveness of the drug under review. We will continue to monitor, investigate and bring to justice those whose actions may subvert the FDA approval process and endanger the public health.”
Three co-conspirators previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced for their roles in the scheme. Eduardo Navarro, 53, of Miami, was sentenced to 46 months imprisonment; Duniel Tejeda, 36, of Clewiston, Florida, was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment; and Nayade Varona, 51, was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment. Trial against three remaining defendants charged by indictment in connection with Tellus, Dr. Martin Valdes, 66, of Coral Gables, Florida, Fidalgis Font, 55, of Miami, and Julio Lopez, 55, of Hialeah, Florida, is currently set for Jan. 10, 2023.
The Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Lauren M. Elfner, Joshua D. Rothman and Wandaly Fernandez Garcia of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida is providing critical assistance.
Two Florida Medical Study Coordinators Sentenced in Connection with Scheme to Falsify Clinical Trial DataRead the Press Release
MIAMI - A federal judge sentenced two Florida women to prison in connection with their participation in a conspiracy to falsify clinical trial data.
Senior U.S. District Judge Donald L. Graham of the Southern District of Florida sentenced Analay Rico, 37, of Fort Lauderdale, to 40 months in prison and Daylen Diaz, 44, of Miami, to 24 months in prison. The court also ordered Rico and Diaz to pay approximately $2.1 million in restitution.
According to court documents, Rico worked as a lead study coordinator for a clinical research firm based in Miami called Tellus Clinical Research (Tellus). Diaz was a research assistant and assistant study coordinator at Tellus. As part of their plea agreements, Rico and Diaz admitted that they agreed with others to defraud clients paying for clinical trial work intended to evaluate treatments for various medical conditions, including opioid dependency, irritable bowel syndrome and diabetic nephropathy. Among other things, Rico and Diaz admitted they falsified data to make it appear as though subjects were participating in the trials when, in truth, they were not.
“It’s disgraceful when a criminal preys upon patients in a health care setting,” said U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida. “We will prosecute perpetrators who do to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Clinical trials are essential in determining the safety and effectiveness of drug treatments,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to prosecute anyone who intentionally falsifies this critical data for personal profit.”
“Reliable and accurate data from clinical trials is the cornerstone of FDA’s evaluation of a new drug,” said FDA Assistant Commissioner for Criminal Investigations Catherine A. Hermsen. “Compromised clinical trial data could impact the agency’s decisions about the safety and effectiveness of the drug under review. We will continue to monitor, investigate and bring to justice those whose actions may subvert the FDA approval process and endanger the public health.”
Three co-conspirators previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced for their roles in the scheme. Eduardo Navarro, 53, of Miami, was sentenced to 46 months imprisonment; Duniel Tejeda, 36, of Clewiston, Florida, was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment; and Nayade Varona, 51, was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment. Trial against three remaining defendants charged by indictment in connection with Tellus, Dr. Martin Valdes, 66, of Coral Gables, Florida, Fidalgis Font, 55, of Miami, and Julio Lopez, 55, of Hialeah, Florida, is currently set for Jan. 10, 2023.
The Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Lauren M. Elfner, Joshua D. Rothman and Wandaly Fernandez Garcia of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the case. Assistant United States Daren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.
An indictment contains mere allegations and defendants are innocent unless and until found guilty in a court of law.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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Traffickers sentenced for smuggling meth in fire extinguishers for cartelRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – Two Texas men have been sent to federal prison following their convictions of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 34.5 kilograms of liquid meth associated with the Cartel Del Noreste (CDN), announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Bonifacio Turrubiates, 48, Laredo, pleaded guilty July 7, while Dionicio Sanchez, 46, Houston, admitted his guilt June 3.
Today, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo imposed a 188-month term of imprisonment for Turrubiates, while Sanchez received 168 months. They must also serve five years of supervised release following their sentences. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence including how both men had a lengthy criminal history of drug trafficking. In handing down the prison terms, Judge Marmolejo noted that they were both “lucky” not to receive life sentences.
On April 28, 2020, authorities conducted a seizure on their vehicle in the parking lot of an HEB grocery store located in Laredo. There, they discovered kilograms of liquid meth hidden inside multiple fire extinguishers. The investigation revealed the meth belonged to an organization affiliated with the CDN.
At the time of their pleas, Turrubiates and Sanchez admitted to conspiring to hide the meth inside fire extinguishers and transporting them outside of Texas by driving the drugs north of Laredo.
Both men have been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Operation Noreste with the assistance of Webb County Sheriff’s Office. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, mutlti-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Francisco J. Rodriguez prosecuted the case.
Three Indicted for $1 Million COVID-19 Relief FraudRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A federal grand jury in Charlotte has indicted three individuals for conspiring to fraudulently obtain more than $1 million in COVID-19 relief funds administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which oversees Charlotte, and Mark H. Morini, Special Agent in Charge of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Southeast Field Division, join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
According to allegations in the federal indictment, between March and November 2021, Tamakia Elizabeth Harris, 43, Shavondra Michelle White, 39, and Cedric Lee Benton, 47, all of Charlotte, conspired with each other to fraudulently obtain more than $1 million in COVID-19 relief funds, by submitting fraudulent PPP loan applications to financial servicing companies outside North Carolina. The indictment alleges that the PPP loan applications contained false and misleading information and fraudulent supporting documentation, including fake federal tax filings and payroll reports.
As alleged in the indictment, Harris, who was employed by a nationally chartered bank in Charlotte, generally charged fees between $2,000 and $5,000 for her assistance in filing false and fraudulent PPP loans. Harris allegedly created counterfeit IRS forms for nonexistent businesses and inflated income to qualify the borrower for the highest amount of PPP loan. Harris then allegedly submitted the fraudulent PPP loan applications and supporting documents to the financial servicing companies. The indictment alleges that, in total, Harris assisted in creating and submitting over 30 fraudulent PPP loan applications totaling more than $900,000.
According to allegations in the indictment, White, who was also employed by a nationally chartered bank in Charlotte, electronically filed two PPP loans in her own name using forged and fictitious federal income tax documents prepared by Harris. arris The indictment alleges that White, Benton, and another individual received more than $100,000 in PPP loans that they were not entitled to receive.
The indictment further alleges that Benton, who is White’s boyfriend and has a prior criminal conviction, also submitted two fraudulent PPP loan applications with fictitious and forged IRS forms, or income he purportedly lost while in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
The defendants are each charged with one count of wire fraud conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. One or more of the defendants are also charged in 16 separate counts of wire fraud – each relating to a specific PPP loan – which also carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison per count.
The charges in the indictment are allegations. The defendants are innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the USPIS and TIGTA for their investigation of this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael E. Savage, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is prosecuting the case.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. Members of the public in the Western District of North Carolina are also encouraged to call 704-344-6222 to reach their local Coronavirus Fraud Coordinator.
Three Defendants Charged in Separate and Unrelated Gun and Drug CasesRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Federal indictments have been unsealed charging three defendants in separate and unrelated gun and drug cases, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Mickey French, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley and FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Felix A. Rivera-Esparra.
Last month a federal grand jury indicted three individuals in Northwest Alabama on gun and drug charges. These indictments are the result of continued collaborative work with our state prosecutors, and federal, state, and local law enforcement partners.
A one-count indictment charges Mario Jerrell Prewitt, 34, of Fayette, with illegally possessing a Taurus 9mm pistol on January 21, 2020, in Fayette County. ATF investigated the case, along with the Alabama Drug Enforcement Task Force (ADETF) Regions C and E, ALEA SWAT, Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, Berry Police Department, and the 24th Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Darius C. Greene is prosecuting the case.
A two-count indictment charges that on December 5, 2019, in Morgan County, Terry Wayne Thomason, 47, of Falkville, possessed with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and possessed a firearm, a Braztech 20-gauge shotgun, in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. DEA investigated the case, along with the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Stuart Burrell is prosecuting the case.
A six-count indictment charges that in October 2021 and March 2022, in Limestone County, Eric Cordelle Bass, 34, of Athens, possessed with the intent to distribute a substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, possessed with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and possessed firearms, that is, a Hi-Point .380 pistol, a Taurus G2C 9mm pistol and a Charter Arms .44 SPL revolver, in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Bass was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. FBI investigated the case, along with the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney John M. Hundscheid is prosecuting the case.
Third Defendant in Double Armed Carjacking Case Arrested and Facing Federal ChargesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Jaheym Newsome, 19, of Philadelphia, PA, was arrested and charged by Superseding Indictment with carjacking, attempted carjacking, and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, all in connection with two carjacking incidents which occurred in Northeast Philadelphia and South Philadelphia on December 22, 2021. After being arrested by the United States Marshals Service, the defendant made his initial appearance on these charges and has been detained pending trial.
As detailed in the Criminal Complaints previously filed in this case, Newsome and two co-defendants, Dayon Hackett, 19, and Taquan Mershon, 19, both also of Philadelphia, PA, allegedly approached a man sitting in his car in Northeast Philadelphia preparing to go to work in the early morning hours on that day in December 2021. The defendants ordered the victim out of his car, carjacked him at gunpoint, and fled the area. Mershon then allegedly drove the carjacked vehicle to South Philadelphia, where Hackett and Newsome both approached a different man who was also sitting in his car waiting for a parking spot to open up after he got home from work. According to the Criminal Complaints, Hackett and Newsome opened the door to that vehicle and attempted to pull the victim out of the car. Upon observing a firearm on the victim’s lap, Hackett and Newsome opened fire on the victim, striking him multiple times. The victim returned fire and Hackett was struck by multiple rounds. Hackett and Newsome then returned to the waiting vehicle that Mershon was driving and got inside. Mershon drove to a nearby hospital, and Mershon and Newsome carried Hackett into the hospital, dropped him on the floor of the emergency room, and fled the area in the vehicle they carjacked in Northeast Philadelphia earlier that morning. Hackett was identified that same morning as a suspect in the South Philadelphia attempted carjacking and taken into custody. After a lengthy investigation, ATF investigators identified Newsome and Mershon as the other two suspects in the incidents.
Hackett was arrested by the Philadelphia Police Department on December 22, 2021, and charged by Criminal Complaint on February 25, 2022, as previously announced in a seperate press release, and Mershon was charged by Criminal Complaint on August 10, 2022, and arrested by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives on August 16, 2022, both with offenses arising from the same two carjacking incidents. All three individuals were charged in a Superseding Indictment that was returned on September 13, 2022. Hackett and Mershon were previously detained pending trial.
“Our Office is committed to supporting the Philadelphia Police Department in its work to investigate and deter violent crime, which includes our partnership on the joint carjacking task force,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “If you commit a violent offense like a gunpoint carjacking, federal authorities will soon be knocking at your door.”
“ATF’s mission is straightforward – fighting violent crime,” said Eric Degree, acting Special Agent in charge of ATF’s Philadelphia Field Division. “As this indictment alleges, it does not get any more violent than these armed carjackings, in which a firearm was discharged. ATF will continue to work with our local, state, and federal partners to aggressively pursue these violent offenders and make our streets safer.”
The swift action to investigate and federally charge these defendants is the result of the Philadelphia Carjacking Task Force, which is comprised of members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Violent Crime Unit; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Philadelphia Police Department. The goal of the Taskforce is to stem the wave of armed carjackings and violent crimes through investigative and enforcement techniques meant to identify and refer for federal prosecution all who terrorize innocent victims through commission of these offenses within Philadelphia and surrounding areas.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Philadelphia Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Eckert.
An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Texas Man Indicted for Hate Crime ShootingRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury returned an indictment yesterday charging Anthony Paz Torres, 37, with federal hate crimes, resulting in the death of one person and including an attempt to kill four others during a shooting at Omar’s Wheels and Tires. Torres is also charged with using a firearm to commit the murder.
The indictment alleges that Torres went to Omar’s Wheels and Tires on December 24, 2015, and shot at employees and customers at the business. Torres had gone to the business a few days earlier, but was told by law enforcement officers to not return. When he returned on Christmas Eve, Torres shot and killed one individual and attempted to kill three other individuals with his firearm. As he was leaving, Torres attempted to kill a fourth individual with his motor vehicle. The indictment further alleges that Torres committed these offenses because of the actual or perceived religion of another person.
Torres faces a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment on the death-resulting hate crime and gun charge counts. For the remaining hate crime charges, he faces a term of years.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham of the Northern District of Texas made the announcement.
The FBI Dallas Field Office and the Dallas Police Department investigated the case with support of the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office.
Trial Attorney Rebekah J. Bailey of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Dana for the Northern District of Texas prosecuted the case.
For more information and resources about the department’s work to combat hate crimes, visit www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.
An indictment is merely an allegation. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Superseding Indictment Adds Obstruction of Justice Charge Against Former Indiana Reserve Sheriff’s DeputyRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury in Indianapolis, Indiana, returned a five-count superseding indictment charging a former New Castle, Indiana, police officer with excessive force and obstruction of justice, and a former Henry County, Indiana, Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy with obstruction of justice.
Former New Castle Police Lieutenant Aaron Strong is charged in the superseding indictment with three civil rights violations for allegedly using unreasonable force against an arrestee and against two other people in custody, and with one count of obstruction of justice. Strong was previously indicted in July on these same charges and the superseding indictment added no new charges against him.
Today’s superseding indictment added a charge against former Henry County, Indiana, Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy Adam Guy, 25, who is now charged with one count of witness tampering. According to the superseding indictment, Guy engaged in misleading conduct toward another person with the intent to interfere with the investigation of one of the incidents for which Strong is charged with using unreasonable force.
Each of the civil rights charges in the superseding indictment carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years of imprisonment, and each obstruction of justice charge carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment. If either defendant is convicted, the actual sentence will be determined by a judge.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers for the Southern District of Indiana and Special Agent in Charge Herbert Stapleton for the FBI Indianapolis Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Indianapolis Field Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Blackett for the Southern District of Indiana and Trial Attorney Alec Ward of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Strongsville Dentist Convicted of Attempted Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
CLEVELAND - A federal jury today convicted Douglas Smith, 68, of Strongsville, Ohio, of four counts of attempting to evade payment of income taxes for the tax years 2004 to 2012 and 2014 to 2017 after a three-day trial before Judge Dan Aaron Polster in Cleveland.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from March 2006 to July 2016, Smith, a licensed dentist in the State of Ohio, attempted to evade paying income taxes for the tax years 2004 to 2012. As part of his efforts, Smith placed his assets, including a home in Columbia Station, into a trust, purchased gold bars and coins and filed for bankruptcy. Additionally, from 2014 to 2017, Smith again attempted to evade paying income taxes by depositing his paychecks in the bank account of a second holding trust.
During the trial, evidence was presented that showed Smith had failed to file an income tax return since 1992 and owed more than $490,000 in back taxes and penalties to the IRS.
Court records state that in April 2008 and March 2009, the IRS notified Smith of its intent to collect taxes owed that Smith had failed to pay. Around 2006, evidence presented in court showed that Smith began to transfer his assets into a trust that he controlled to evade the collection of taxes and payment of his mortgage.
In October of 2010, court records state that the IRS filed with the Lorain County Recorder’s Office a tax lien against Smith, his trust and its trustee. In August of 2011, the IRS again sent Smith a letter notifying him that their next action was to recommend administrative seizure and sale of any of his assets to satisfy the federal tax liens.
In January 2012, federal authorities seized approximately $250,000 in cash, gold bars and gold and silver coins from Smith’s Columbia Station home for non-payment of income taxes to satisfy federal tax liens. After the seizure, Smith purported to transfer all his assets, including his Columbia Station home, to a second trust to defeat collection efforts and avoid foreclosure of his home.
Court documents state that the IRS continued to attempt to collect unpaid income tax from Smith and, around December 2015, served a levy on Smith’s employer. Smith then filed for bankruptcy and made false statements about his assets to shield them from IRS collection actions.
Smith is scheduled to be sentenced on February 7, 2023.
This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigations (CI) and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Patton.
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St. Louis Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Running St. Louis Drug RingRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Wednesday sentenced a man who ran a drug ring in St. Louis to 20 years in prison.
James L. Brownridge, 49, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty July 28 to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and marijuana.
Brownridge admitted that beginning in 2020, he’d arranged to have drugs mailed from Las Vegas to several locations in the St. Louis area. One package found by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department contained about six pounds of methamphetamine. Another, caught at a postal distribution center in Hazelwood and bound for a home in University City, had nearly three kilograms of cocaine and about two pounds of marijuana.
Investigators also caught Brownridge selling 884.9 grams of methamphetamine to a co-defendant on March 19, 2021.
When investigators searched homes linked to Brownridge and his co-conspirators in April of 2021, they found drugs, cash and firearms. At a home in Jennings, they found 1.3 kilos of methamphetamine and caught a woman who had removed 180.9 grams of methamphetamine, 308 grams of cocaine, 102 grams of cocaine base, a drug ledger and $11,560 in drug proceeds from the house.
At Brownridge’s home in the 5300 block of Mimika Avenue, they found $29,683 in cash, 873 grams of methamphetamine, marijuana, 172 grams of cocaine, a Ruger 9mm firearm with an extended magazine and a Smith and Wesson 9mm firearm, according to his plea.
In total, Brownridge admitted being responsible for just under six kilos of methamphetamine, 3.3 kilos of cocaine and 102 grams of cocaine base.
The investigation began with a tip to the Drug Enforcement Administration about a low-level drug dealer.
All 11 defendants in the case have pleaded guilty. Four others have already been sentenced, receiving up to 14 years in prison.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the St. Louis County Police Department investigated the case.
Spencer Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Buying Firearms for FelonsRead the Press Release
A Spencer, Iowa woman who purchased firearms for felons was sentenced September 27, 2022, to more than 1 year in federal prison.
Marissa Anderson, age 25, from Spencer, Iowa, received the prison term after a March 2, 2022, guilty plea to false statement during purchase of a firearm.
Evidence in the case revealed Anderson supplied 12 guns, to five different individuals, each of whom was prohibited from lawfully possessing firearms. These crimes were discovered during multiple criminal investigations within the Northern District of Iowa. On one occasion, Anderson transferred a semiautomatic gun to a felon, then drove him around Spencer, Iowa as he threatened another person while brandishing the gun.
Anderson was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand to 18 months’ imprisonment. She must also serve a 2-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Anderson was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the United States Marshal on a date yet to be set
The case was investigated by Spencer Police Department, Clay County Sheriff’s Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-04070.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
South Florida Armed Bank Robber Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Herve Fils Viaud, 31, was sentenced today by United States District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas to 78 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release for robbing TD Bank in Delray Beach, Florida.
On February 1, 2022, Viaud walked into a TD Bank wielding a machete. Viaud threatened to hurt several bank employees with the machete unless he was given money. Fearing for their lives, the employees gave Viaud approximately $1,234.
A bank customer called 911 and reported the getaway car used by Viaud to leave the bank. Subsequently, the Delray Beach Police Department, Broward County Sheriff’s Office, and Miami Gardens Police Department pursued Viaud. The three-county high-speed chase ended in a standoff in Miami Gardens. Viaud then was arrested and found in possession of ammunition, a federal crime for a convicted felon.
On August 10, 2022, Viaud pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery with the use of a dangerous weapon and one count of felon in possession of ammunition.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and acting Special Agent in Charge Robert M. Dewitt, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announced the sentence.
FBI, West Palm Beach, investigated this case with cooperation and assistance from Delray Beach Police Department; Broward County Sheriff’s Office Burglary Apprehension Team; Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Miami-Dade Police Department; and Miami Gardens Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Shannon O’Shea Darsch prosecuted the case.
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.
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South African gets massive sentence for sexually exploiting young childRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 36-year-old South African citizen illegally residing in La Marque has handed a significant sentence multiple child pornography convictions, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Andrian Page pleaded guilty June 19, 2019.
Today, U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks sentenced him to 336 months for production of child pornography and 60 months each for the distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography convictions, respectively. They will run consecutively for a total 516-month term of imprisonment. The court also heard additional information today including a letter written by the mother of the production victim detailing how profoundly this has changed her life, how she trusts no one with her daughter and does not know if she will ever trust again. In handing down the prison terms, the court noted his role was not only to appropriately punish Page for his conduct but to protect future victims from him.
Restitution will be determined at a later date.
Page was further ordered to serve 10 years on supervised release following completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Page will also be ordered to register as a sex offender. He is also expected to face removal proceedings following his incarceration and will be required to register as a sex offender.
Page came to the attention of law enforcement during an investigation into the distribution of child pornography via peer-to-peer software. Law enforcement was able to download several images of child pornography from a particular IP address. Further investigation led to Page’s home where he lived with his parents.
Law enforcement executed a search warrant and seized various electronic devices such as laptop computers and cell phones. Upon searching those items, they found child pornography images of a then six-year-old minor female victim. The investigation revealed Page produced these images in his home.
In total, Page possessed over 3300 images and over 125 videos of child pornography on numerous devices found at his residence.
The images/videos Page produced are of the minor who was nude in some instances. In one image, his genitalia in in the victim’s hand. Some of the other images and videos Page obtained elsewhere range from a 30-minute video of a six-year-old minor female with an adult male penetrating her orally to videos of anal intercourse between an adult male and a child under the age of 12.
Page has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S Bureau of Prisons facility in the near future.
Homeland Security Investigations – Galveston and members of the Houston Metro Crimes Against Children Task Force conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri L. Zack is prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources link on that page.
Son of Murder Victim and Co-Conspirator Convicted of Murder-for-Hire Committed at McDonald's Drive-ThruRead the Press Release
Following six weeks of trial, a federal jury in Brooklyn today convicted Anthony Zottola, Sr. and Himen Ross of murder-for-hire conspiracy and murder-for-hire in the October 4, 2018 killing of 71-year-old Sylvester Zottola as he waited to pick up a cup of coffee at a McDonald’s drive-thru in the Bronx. The jury also found the defendants guilty of causing Sylvester Zottola’s death through the use of a firearm and unlawful use and possession of firearms. They face mandatory life terms when sentenced by United States District Judge Hector Gonzalez. A third defendant, Alfred Lopez, was acquitted on all counts.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Keechant L. Sewell, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the verdict.
“Over the course of more than a year, the elderly victim, Sylvester Zottola, was stalked, beaten, and stabbed, never knowing who orchestrated the attacks. It was his own son, who was so determined to control the family’s lucrative real estate business that he hired a gang of hit men to murder his father,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “For sentencing his father to a violent death, Anthony Zottola and his co-defendant will spend the rest of their lives in prison where they belong as a result of today’s verdict. I thank our prosecutors, the FBI Special Agents and NYPD detectives for their tremendous investigative work solving this cold-blooded crime and bringing the defendants to justice.”
“Proven by evidence and testimony during trial, Zottola had not one, not two, but multiple chances to rethink his deadly intent to murder his own father. He and the others he recruited chose to continue with their savage plot and succeeded. Now, instead of living off his father's millions, his only payday will be federal prison,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll.
“Today’s convictions underscore the unwavering commitment of the NYPD, and its law enforcement partners, to deliver meaningful consequences for violent crimes – in this case against those who carried out a sustained plot to commit murder,” stated NYPD Commissioner Sewell. “For their effort to build a strong prosecution, I want to thank and commend our NYPD investigators, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District, the New York Field Office of the FBI, and everyone who worked to see this case through to a successful outcome.”
Sylvester Zottola controlled a residential real estate portfolio consisting of multi-family rental properties that was valued at tens of millions of dollars at the time of his death. Defendant Anthony Zottola helped manage his father Sylvester Zottola’s real estate business by maintaining the properties, collecting rent, and helping to run A&S Maintenance, a company that was jointly owned by Anthony and his brother Salvatore Zottola. Anthony Zottola plotted to kill his father and his brother so that he could take control of the family business.As proven at trial, Anthony Zottola hired co-conspirator Bushawn Shelton to kill his father and his brother, Salvatore. Shelton recruited others to commit the murders, and together they engaged in a year-long conspiracy to carry out a series of violent attacks against Sylvester and Salvatore Zottola. Salvatore, who testified at trial, endured several violent attacks on his life. On November 26, 2017, Sylvester Zottola was menaced at gunpoint by a masked individual. On December 27, 2017, three men invaded Sylvester Zottola’s residence, struck him on the head with a gun, stabbed him multiple times, and slashed his throat. Zottola survived the attack. Then on July 11, 2018, a gunman shot Salvatore Zottola in the head, chest, and hand in front of his residence. Zottola survived the shooting.
A tracking device was placed on Sylvester Zottola’s car, allowing Ross to track him to the McDonald’s restaurant on Webster Avenue where Ross fatally shot the victim multiple times. Ross and Shelton exchanged texts immediately after the hit, and then Shelton and Anthony Zottola exchanged texts, in which Anthony was informed that his father had just been murdered. Shelton texted Anthony Zottola: “Can we party today or tomorrow?” Anthony Zottola assured Shelton that he would have Shelton’s payment for carrying out the murder ready soon: “I have the cases of water in a day or so.” A photograph later recovered from one of Shelton’s cellular telephones depicts a cardboard box of bottled water, as well as over $200,000 in banded currency. Shelton pleaded guilty in August 2022 to murder-for-hire conspiracy and murder-for-hire. He is awaiting sentencing.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Kayla Bensing, Emily J. Dean, Devon Lash, and Andrew Roddin are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of paralegal Brittany Wissel.
The Defendants:
HIMEN ROSS (also known as “Ace” and “A Boggie”)
Age: 36
Bronx, New YorkANTHONY ZOTTOLA, SR.
Age: 44
Larchmont, New YorkDefendants Who Previously Pleaded Guilty:
HERMAN BLANCO (also known as “Taliban” and “L”)
Age: 37
Bronx, New YorkARTHUR CODNER (also known as “Feddi,” “Feddi Bossgod,” and “Scary”)
Age: 34
New Hampton, New YorkJASON CUMMINGS (also known as “The Hat” and “Stacks”)
Age: 34
Brooklyn, New YorkBUSHAWN SHELTON (also known as “Shelz”)
Age: 38
Brooklyn, New YorkJULIAN SNIPE (also known as “Biz” and “Bizzzy”)
Age: 36
Bronx, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-609 (S-3)(HG)
Sober Homes A Focus of Federal Health Care Fraud Task ForceRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Will Thompson announced today that sober living residences in the Southern District of West Virginia are a focus of the United States Attorney’s Health Care Fraud Task Force.
Sober homes can provide drug- and alcohol-free living environments crucial to promoting and sustaining long-term recovery from substance use disorder. But the potential for fraud has grown with the rise in treatment and recovery programs and facilities across the district.
“West Virginia needs quality treatment options as it continues to confront the crisis of addiction,” Thompson said. “We cannot tolerate criminal activity that prioritizes profit over the providing of effective treatment, given the deadly consequences that all too easily can result.”
Thompson announced the task force’s focus today during a health care fraud conference held by his office and the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. More than 50 law enforcement officers, public health officials and others received the latest information about fraud that impacts the cost of health care as well as the quality of care received by our most vulnerable citizens.
Nationally recognized experts detailed current trends and developments in such areas as prescription opioid investigations, health care fraud investigations and substance use disorder. These speakers explained how fraud can exploit every level of care for substance use disorder, from detox and residential treatment facilities to outpatient programs and recovery residences.
The United States Attorney’s Health Care Fraud Task Force brings together federal, state, and local law enforcement partners from numerous agencies to coordinate intelligence sharing and prosecution of health care fraud impacting Medicare, Medicaid, and other public health care programs.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.
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Shakopee Couple Indicted for Their Roles in $250 Million Feeding Our Future Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Mekfira Hussein and Abduljabar Hussein have been indicted for their roles in the $250 million fraud scheme that exploited a federally-funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, Mekfira Hussein, 38, was the president and owner of Shamsia Hopes, a nonprofit corporation located in Brooklyn Center that operated Federal Child Nutrition Program sites under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future. Mekfira’s husband, Abduljabar Hussein, 42, created a company, Oromia Feeds LLC, that purported to provide food to children at Shamsia Hopes’ sites in Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis, and Fridley.
According to court documents, from October 2020 through 2022, Mekfira Hussein claimed that Shamsia Hopes was serving as many as 5,000 children a day, seven days a week. In support of these fraudulent claims, Mekfira Hussein submitted fake meal counts and fake invoices purporting to document the purchase of food. Abduljabar Hussein submitted invoices fraudulently claiming that Oromia Feeds LLC was entitled to hundreds of thousands of dollars in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds for providing meals to be served at the Shamsia Hopes sites. Mekfira Hussein diverted at least $5.4 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds to Abduljabar Hussein’s Oromia Feeds LLC, which actually spent only a small fraction of that money on food. Between 2020 and 2021, Shamsia Hopes claimed to have served more than 3.4 million meals to children but, in reality, served only a fraction of the meal amounts claimed. In total, the defendants claimed that Shamsia Hopes was entitled to more than $10.4 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds from Feeding Our Future. Ultimately, Shamsia Hopes received approximately $7.8 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds and Oromia Feeds LLC received nearly $1 million. Together, Mekfira and Abduljabar Hussein used the funds for their own personal benefit, including purchasing luxury vehicles and paying off the mortgage on their Shakopee residence.
According to court documents, Mekfira Hussein and Abduljabar Hussein also paid thousands of dollars in kickbacks to Abdikerm Eidleh, a Feeding Our Future employee, in exchange for Feeding Our Future’s sponsorship of the Husseins companies’ fraudulent participation in the Federal Child Nutrition Program.
Mekfira Hussein, who was initially arrested and charged by criminal complaint on September 19, 2022, and Abduljabar Hussein are charged in a 20-count indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, and money laundering. Abduljabar Hussein made his initial appearance today in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Becky R. Thorson. Mekfira Hussein will make her initial appearance at a later date.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, IRS – Criminal Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew S. Ebert, Joseph H. Thompson, Harry M. Jacobs, Chelsea A. Walcker, and Joseph S. Teirab. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Baune is handling the seizure and forfeiture of assets.
An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Second meth-trafficking gang member sentenced to federal prisonRead the Press Release
AUGUSTA, GA: A member of a violent motorcycle gang has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison after pleading guilty to trafficking methamphetamine.
Robert Lewis Coney Jr., 50, of North Augusta, S.C., was sentenced to 108 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute, and To Distribute, 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge Dudley H. Bowen Jr. also ordered Coney to pay a fine of $2,000 and to serve five years of supervised release after completion of his prison term.
There is no parole in the federal system.
Coney’s co-defendant, Donnie Lee Curtis Jr., 37, of Tunnel Hill, Ga., was sentenced in September to 144 months in prison after also pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute, and To Distribute, 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine.
“Violent crime in our communities all too often is fueled by drug traffickers, particularly those affiliated with criminal street gangs,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “Our streets are safer with felons like Coney and Curtis behind bars.”
As described in court documents and testimony, Coney and Curtis were identified as methamphetamine traffickers during an investigation in 2021 initiated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. With assistance from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, the two were arrested during a drug deal in the parking lot of a motel in Grovetown, Ga., on May 19, 2021.
In subsequent searches of their vehicle and hotel rooms in Grovetown and in Trenton, S.C., authorities seized large amounts of high-grade methamphetamine and multiple firearms. Curtis, a member of the white supremacist Aryan Brotherhood criminal street gang, was identified as Coney’s source of supply for the illegal drugs. Coney is affiliated with the Red Devils Motorcycle Gang, a support club of the Hell’s Angels.
“These notorious gang-related drug dealers distributed poison to the community and caused fear through means of violence and intimidation,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “DEA and its law enforcement partners disrupted and dismantled this once-thriving criminal network which ultimately led to lengthy prison sentencings.”
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremiah L. Johnson.
Saint Paul Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for KidnappingRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Saint Paul man was sentenced to 14 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for kidnapping a victim at gunpoint and bringing her across state lines, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on February 10, 2022, Derrick Johnathan Fasig, 28, kicked in the window of the residence where the victim was living, kidnapped her at gunpoint, and forced her into his vehicle. Fasig drove the victim to Wisconsin, repeatedly threatened her with a rifle and a hammer he kept on his lap, and, to avoid capture, forced the victim to throw her phone out the window. Fasig drove the victim to his father’s house and barricaded his bedroom door with the bed so she could not leave. The next day, after realizing law enforcement was surveilling his home, Fasig left with the victim in his vehicle. Law enforcement eventually stopped the vehicle after high-speed pursuit, and Fasig fled on foot but was later caught and arrested.
Fasig was sentenced today in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge David S. Doty. On July 5, 2022, Fasig pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and Minneapolis Police Department, with assistance from the Burnsville Police Department and the Minnesota State Patrol.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Hudleston.
Saint Paul Felon Pleads Guilty to Illegal Possession of a Firearm after Drive-By ShootoutRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Saint Paul man has pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a firearm as a felon in connection to a November 2021 shootout, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on November 18, 2021, at approx. 1:30 p.m., Laquell Montreal Kilgore-Hodges, 25, was driving a rental vehicle with other passengers in a St. Paul residential neighborhood, when a rolling shootout occurred between the rental vehicle and another vehicle. Kilgore-Hodges sped away from the area, ran a red light, and struck another vehicle. Kilgore-Hodges and the other passengers fled the scene of the crash on foot to a nearby apartment building. A witness reported to law enforcement that they saw an individual with a firearm flee the scene of the crash. State Patrol and St. Paul Police Department Officers responded to the apartment building and detained Kilgore-Hodges and the other passengers. Officers obtained a search warrant and recovered multiple magazines and four firearms, including a Glock, model 19, 9mm pistol. Forensic DNA analysis determined that the defendant’s DNA profile matched the DNA profile on the Glock 19 and excluded others. Additionally, ballistics analysis determined that the discharged cartridge casings recovered from the rental vehicle and from the scene of the shootout were fired from the Glock 19 firearm. Because Kilgore-Hodges has prior felony convictions in Ramsey and Wright Counties, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
Kilgore-Hodges pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge Michael J. Davis to one count of possessing a firearm as a felon. A sentencing date will be scheduled at a later time.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Saint Paul Police Department, and the Minnesota State Patrol.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Bejar is prosecuting the case.
Rock Island Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, Iowa – A Rock Island man, Andrew Ryan Demont, age 34, was sentenced today to 72 months in prison for Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Following his imprisonment, Demont was ordered to serve three years of supervised release.
In June 2021, Davenport police officers were dispatched to downtown Davenport on a weapons call. Investigation revealed that a male, later identified as Demont, had threatened victims at a convenience store in Rock Island. When they exited the store, Demont removed a shotgun from his trunk, placed it in his vehicle, and threatened to “bust at” them, placing the victims in fear. The victims fled at a high rate of speed from Rock Island to Davenport while Demont chased them. When confronted by law enforcement, Demont admitted possessing the firearm and being a convicted felon. Demont also possessed shotgun shells in his sweatshirt pocket. As a convicted felon, Demont is prohibited from possessing firearms. Demont pleaded guilty on May 2, 2022.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Davenport Police Department investigated the case.