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27 September 2022
Belmont County man sentenced for drug chargeRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – William Tyrone Stovall, of Bridgeport, Ohio, was sentenced today to 100 months of incarceration for a drug charge, United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced.
Stovall, 37, pleaded guilty in January 2022 to one count of “Distribution of Cocaine Base within 1000 feet of a Protected Location.” Stovall admitted to selling cocaine base, also known as “crack,” near Wheeling Central Catholic High School in Ohio County in August 2020.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn M. Adkins prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Ohio Valley Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.
Augusta Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Federal Officer at Edmund S. Muskie Federal BuildingRead the Press Release
BANGOR, Maine: An Augusta man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Bangor today to assaulting a federal officer, U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee announced. The charge stems from an April incident at the Edmund S. Muskie Federal Building in Augusta.
According to court records, on April 20, 2022, Derik Broox Wight, 41, entered the Muskie Federal Building and approached the security screening station, which was staffed by personnel contracted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Protective Service. Wight pressed a security officer against a wall and put a knife to the area of his throat. A second security officer drew his service weapon and ordered Wight to drop the knife. When Wight refused to comply, the officer fired a single shot, striking him. Wight was transported to an area hospital where he was subsequently charged.
Wight faces up to 20 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
“The Muskie Building houses multiple federal agencies, and the actions of these two security officers protected the lives of the many federal employees who work there,” said U.S. Attorney Darcie McElwee. “They should be commended for their brave actions which ensured that Mr. Wight was stopped at the security screening station, and no one else could be harmed.”
“Anyone who assaults a law enforcement officer is dangerous and an extreme threat to public safety. Derik Wight is no exception, having admitted to pinning a protective security officer up against the wall with a knife at his throat, prompting another officer to take immediate action to prevent his colleague and innocent bystanders from being seriously hurt or killed,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “We are incredibly thankful for that officer’s bravery, service, and dedication. Assaults on law enforcement officers undermine the rule of law, and those behind them will face significant consequences.”
The FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Protective Service investigated the case, with assistance provided by the Augusta Police Department.
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Armed Norwich Fentanyl Dealer Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JAMES BAKER, 37, of Norwich, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by four 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 February 3, 2021, Norwich Police stopped Baker for a motor vehicle violation and found a loaded, .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol under the driver’s seat of the vehicle, and more than 600 bags of fentanyl on his person.
Baker’s criminal history includes state felony convictions for assault, burglary, weapon and drug offenses. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
Baker has been detained since February 3, 2021. On June 27, 2022, he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Norwich Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natasha M. Freismuth through the Justice’s Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Armed Fayetteville Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 90 MonthsRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – Lamarious Brown, 25, of Fayetteville was sentenced today to 90 months imprisonment followed by 60 months of supervised release for armed drug trafficking after a security check at a Fayetteville club uncovered multiple loaded firearms, ammunition, and quantities of narcotics in Brown’s car.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, the Fayetteville Police Department was conducting a security check in a parking lot outside a club in Fayetteville after receiving complaints of drug activity and shootings. As they walked past a Chevrolet Tahoe, an officer saw an AR style rifle on the rear floorboard of the vehicle. The officers waited to see who came out to the car. Sometime later, Brown came out of the club and unlocked the car with a key fob. When officers approached Brown to talk to him, he ran away from the officers but was apprehended shortly thereafter.
A K9 was called to the parking lot and alerted to the odor of narcotics on the car. A search of the car ensued, and officers found a loaded AR-15 rifle with a 30-round magazine, a loaded .40 caliber firearm with 20 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition, 46 rounds of .223 ammunition, 5.77 grams of heroin and 1.93 grams of cocaine. After his arrest, law enforcement heard Brown talking on jail calls where he admitted to selling drugs to someone right before he went to the club and tried to convince another person to say the firearms belonged to them so that he could avoid further charges since he was a felon. Brown pleaded guilty on June 24, 2022, to Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin and Cocaine and for Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Michael F. Easley, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after the sentencing was concluded. U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III presided over the sentencing. The Fayetteville Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charity Wilson prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:18-cr-00259-D-1.
AARP discusses elder fraud with U.S. Attorneys Thompson and IhlenfeldRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA - The AARP of West Virginia hosted a town hall today so that its members could learn more about trends in elder fraud from the state's top federal law enforcement officials.
United States Attorneys Will Thompson and William Ihlenfeld shared their insight on the latest scams with hundreds of citizens during a conference call this morning. Each explained the efforts that they are undertaking to protect seniors and discussed notable cases they have prosecuted.
“This is a subject where the more education we can provide to our citizens, the better,” said U.S. Attorney Thompson. “These criminals are very, very good at what they do. They have the social engineering skills and know how to wreak havoc with people. There should be no embarrassment when you need to report these crimes and time is of the essence, particularly when you’re dealing with internet-based fraud. If you do feel that you are a victim, reach out to someone in law enforcement quickly so we can possibly get your money back.”
"Con artists continue to prey upon older West Virginians but the good news is that these crimes are preventable," said U.S. Attorney Ihlenfeld. "Seniors can protect themselves and their savings by being careful with whom they interact on the Internet, being skeptical of strangers who ask for money, and being cautious when providing a power of attorney.”Victims over the age of 60 lost $1.7 billion to fraud in 2021, according to the FBI. Romance scams topped the list of crimes causing the greatest loss, followed by email compromise, investment schemes, and fake tech support calls.
For more information about how to protect yourself and your loved ones from elder fraud, go to justice.gov/elderjustice.
AARP discusses elder fraud with United States Attorneys Thompson and IhlenfeldRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The AARP of West Virginia hosted a town hall today so that its members could learn more about trends in elder fraud from the state's top federal law enforcement officials.
United States Attorneys Will Thompson and William Ihlenfeld shared their insight on the latest scams with hundreds of citizens during a conference call this morning. Each explained the efforts that they are undertaking to protect seniors and discussed notable cases they have prosecuted.
“This is a subject where the more education we can provide to our citizens, the better,” said U.S. Attorney Thompson. “These criminals are very, very good at what they do. They have the social engineering skills and know how to wreak havoc with people. There should be no embarrassment when you need to report these crimes and time is of the essence, particularly when you’re dealing with internet-based fraud. If you do feel that you are a victim, reach out to someone in law enforcement quickly so we can possibly get your money back.”
“Con artists continue to prey upon older West Virginians but the good news is that these crimes are preventable,” said U.S. Attorney Ihlenfeld. “Seniors can protect themselves and their savings by being careful with whom they interact on the Internet, being skeptical of strangers who ask for money, and being cautious when providing a power of attorney.”
Victims over the age of 60 lost $1.7 billion to fraud in 2021, according to the FBI. Romance scams topped the list of crimes causing the greatest loss, followed by email compromise, investment schemes, and fake tech support calls.
For more information about how to protect yourself and your loved ones from elder fraud, go to https://justice.gov/elderjustice.
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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23-Year-Old with 3 Prior Felonies and an Outstanding Warrant Sentenced to 51 Months in Federal Prison for Illegal Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS – Troy Harris, 23, of Indianapolis, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents, on September 14, 2021, deputies with the U.S. Marshals Service were assisting the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) with executing an arrest warrant for Harris, who had been charged with burglary in Marion County, Indiana. Officers saw Harris exit an apartment near east 16th Street in Indianapolis and leave in a vehicle. Officers stopped the vehicle to arrest Harris. When Harris exited the vehicle, officers saw that he had a firearm sticking out of his waistband. Officers seized the loaded handgun and arrested Harris.
At the time of his arrest, Harris was legally prohibited from possessing firearms due to his prior convictions for auto theft and escape. Following his September 14, 2021, arrest, Harris was convicted of burglary. During the burglary, Harris broke into a victim’s home and threatened to kill the victim and her friend with a gun if they did not perform sexual acts for him.
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 (ATF), Columbus Field Division, made the announcement.
ATF investigated the case in conjunction with the IMPD. The U.S. Marshals Service provided valuable assistance. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson. As part of the sentence, Judge Stinson ordered that Harris 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 Abhishek S. Kambli who prosecuted this case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
26 September 2022
U.S. Attorney's Office Warns Skilled Nursing Facilities Not to Refuse Treatment to People with Opioid Use DisorderRead the Press Release
BOSTON – As part of its response to the opioid crisis, United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins sent a letter to all skilled nursing facilities in Massachusetts warning that refusing to provide care for persons with opioid use disorder (OUD) violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and that the U.S. Attorney’s Office will aggressively enforce these protections.
The ADA, which prohibits discrimination based on disability, protects individuals with OUD. Since 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has entered into 10 settlement agreements with entities owning a total of 51 skilled nursing facilities for refusing to admit individuals prescribed medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), including buprenorphine (Suboxone), vivitrol and methadone. To ensure compliance with the nondiscrimination provisions of the ADA, skilled nursing facilities must evaluate each applicant individually to determine suitability for admission, rather than enacting a blanket policy denying admissions to all persons treated with MOUD.
“Medications can be a crucial tool in battling the opioid crisis. In many instances, these prescription treatments save lives,” said U.S. Attorney Rollins. “Yet each year, countless people are turned away from skilled nursing facilities solely because they are on prescribed MOUD. This puts vulnerable people in the awful position of either risking their life by not taking their MOUD or risking their life by continuing their opioid use. Denying access to necessary healthcare, based solely on someone’s substance use disorder exacerbates the tremendous damage opioids already cause residents of our Commonwealth and their loved ones.”
Courts may impose civil penalties for ADA violations, which could be as high as $92,383 for a first violation, and potentially double that amount for subsequent violations. These ADA enforcement actions are part of a larger effort by the United States Attorney’s Office to eliminate discriminatory barriers to treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in the medical community, in the criminal justice system, and in housing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Dorchak of Rollins’ Civil Rights Unit handled this matter.
The Civil Rights Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office was established in 2015 with the mission of enhancing federal civil rights enforcement. For more information on the Office’s civil rights efforts, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-ma/civil-rights.
Two Iowa Companies Sentenced in Wire Fraud Scheme Involving Ethanol PlantRead the Press Release
Two Iowa companies were sentenced in federal court on September 21, 2022. Energae, LP, and I-Lenders, LLC, received the sentences after they each pled guilty to one count of wire fraud on December 1, 2020.
The companies’ admissions at the plea hearing, as well as evidence presented in other court proceedings, established that Darrell Smith was a broker and adviser for several investment firms. He was also a responsible corporate officer of both companies. From 2010 to 2015, Smith perpetuated a fraud scheme in which he made withdrawals of over $2.4 million in funds from ten of his investment clients’ accounts without those clients’ knowledge or authorization. In some instances the clients discovered the fraud, but in other instances they did not learn of the theft because Smith would periodically send the clients checks from an account held in the name of the companies and on which Smith falsely represented was principal or interest on an investment. Smith used the stolen funds to pay expenses related to the operation of Permeate Refining, LLC, which operated a now-defunct ethanol plant in Hopkinton, Iowa. In order to transfer funds from client accounts, Smith used authorizations purportedly signed by the client authorizing the withdrawal of funds from the investment account. He either forged his clients’ signatures on the authorizations or used pre-signed, blank authorization forms without the clients’ approval.
The companies were sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Each company was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to make $1,056,909.68 in restitution to ten victims. The Court also imposed a $2,405,409.68 forfeiture money judgment upon each corporation. The corporations surrendered over 57 million shares of stock in another company and abandoned certain tax credits the companies claimed to possess.
The sentencing of the companies follows the sentencing of Darrell Smith and his brother, David Smith, in recent years. In 2018, Darrell Smith, of Forest City, Iowa, was sentenced to more than 14 years in federal prison upon his conviction of one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. In 2019, David Smith, of Pocatello, Idaho, was sentenced to two months in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to obstruct, influence, and impede an official proceeding.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tim Vavricek and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Service Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 20-CR-2007.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Twin Brothers from Miami Sentenced to 52 Months in Prison for Fraudulently Obtaining Millions Worth of Apple Products through Identity Theft SchemeRead the Press Release
CLEVELAND - Twin brothers from Miami, Florida, who participated in a nationwide scheme in which they fraudulently gained access to approximately 2,366 AT&T mobile accounts, were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Pamela A. Barker to 52 months in prison and ordered to pay $360,937 in restitution after they both pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme.
According to court documents, from March 2019 to January 2020, Luis Hernandez Socarras and Jorge Hernandez Socarras, both age 27, were part of a nationwide scheme in which they fraudulently gained access to approximately 2,366 AT&T mobile accounts and proceeded to charge millions of dollars' worth of electronic devices through the victim’s accounts for products such as iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches.
After gaining access to victim accounts, court documents state that the brothers later re-sold the electronic devices in their hometown of Miami, Florida. As part of the scheme and in an effort to evade police detection, court records show that the brothers rented trucks and made trips across the country, stopping at various electronics retailers in 26 states to pick up the devices they fraudulently ordered.
Court documents state that in January 2020, law enforcement authorities identified the two brothers as they were making fraudulent purchases of iPhones and iPads charged to numerous AT&T accounts at various electronics retailers in the Northern District of Ohio. Authorities later obtained a warrant and searched a vehicle belonging to Luis Socarras that was left behind in the parking lot of a retailer. Inside the vehicle, authorities located 29 Apple iPhones, 11 Pro Max cell phones, six Apple iPad Pro tablets, three Apple Watches, a firearm, other electronic devices and a passport.
The brothers were subsequently arrested in March 2021.
In total, court records show that the overall scheme caused a total loss of $2,155,483.78 to all victims.
Louis and Jorge Socarras both pleaded guilty to two counts of access device fraud, interstate transfer of stolen property and aggravated identity theft in April 2022.
This case was investigated by the Cleveland FBI and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Payum Doroodian.
Turtle Creek Man Sentenced to 5 Years for Using Stolen Credit Cards at Area Retail StoresRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A former resident of Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to five years of imprisonment on his conviction of identity theft offenses, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan imposed the sentence on Iklas Reginald Davis, age 41. Davis is currently incarcerated.
According to information presented to the court, the evidence at trial established that in the summer of 2017, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and the Allegheny County Police investigated a series of vehicles that had been broken into while parked at various entertainment venues, including the Boyce Wave Pool, the Pittsburgh Zoo and similar venues. The victims reported the theft of their credit cards and means of identification and the use of the credit cards, typically on the same day as the break-ins. Investigators secured video of Davis using and attempting to use some of the stolen credit cards at various retail establishments. The later investigation revealed that an individual named Terry Porterfield broke into the vehicles and then transferred the credit cards to Davis and others, who then used the credit cards to purchase primarily gift cards and electronic equipment.
Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Chung commended the United States Secret Service, along with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and the Allegheny County Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Davis.
Three Men Charged with International Market Manipulation SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An indictment unsealed today charges three men with orchestrating a large-scale market manipulation scheme related to two publicly traded companies, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
James Patten, 63, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Peter Coker Sr., 80, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and Peter Coker Jr., 53, of Hong Kong, China, are each charged in a 12-count indictment with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy to manipulate securities prices. Patten is also charged with four counts of manipulation of securities, four counts of wire fraud, and one count of money laundering.
Patten and Coker Sr. were arrested today and are scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge L. Patrick Auld in federal court in the Middle District of North Carolina. They will appear in court in the District of New Jersey at a date to be determined. Coker Jr. remains at large.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2014 through September 2022, Patten, Coker Sr., and Coker Jr. conspired to enrich themselves through a scheme to manipulate securities prices via a pattern of coordinated trading, which injected inaccurate information into the marketplace, creating false impressions of supply and demand for these securities.
As part of the securities fraud scheme, the defendants targeted two publicly traded companies – Hometown International Inc. and E-Waste Corp. – which were both traded on the OTC Link Alternative Trading System, also known as the OTC Marketplace. The OTC Marketplace is an alternative trading system that contains three tiers of markets, which are largely based on the quality and quantity of the listed companies’ information and disclosures.
Patten, Coker Sr., and Coker Jr. took steps to gain control of both entities’ management and stock with the ultimate intention of entering reverse mergers, a transaction through which an existing public company merges with a private operating company. A successful reverse merger would allow the defendants to sell shares of each entity at a significant profit.
In or around 2014, two New Jersey residents began the process of opening a local deli in Paulsboro, New Jersey. One of the individuals discussed his interest in opening the deli with Patten, a long-time friend, who suggested the creation of Hometown International, an umbrella corporation, under which the deli would operate as a wholly owned subsidiary. Unbeknownst to the deli owners, almost immediately after Hometown International was formed, Patten and his associates began positioning Hometown International as a vehicle for a reverse merger that would yield substantial profit to them.
Around October 2019, Hometown International began selling shares on the OTC Marketplace. Shortly thereafter, Patten, Coker Sr., And Coker Jr. undertook a calculated scheme to gain control of Hometown International’s management and its shares from the deli owners. Patten, Coker Sr., and Coker Jr. took similar actions to gain control of E-Waste Corporation’s stock and management.
Once the defendants gained control of Hometown International and E-Waste’s shares, they arranged for the transfer of millions of shares of stock to a number of nominee entities, including entities controlled by Coker Jr., in an effort to mask their control of the shares.
In addition, the defendants transferred shares to family members, friends, and associates and gained control over their trading accounts by obtaining their log-in information in order to conceal the defendants’ involvement. The defendants then used those accounts to commit a number of coordinated trading events, often referred to as match and wash trades, to trade in Hometown International and E-Waste Corp.’s stock on both sides of the transaction.
These tactics artificially inflated the price of Hometown International and E-Waste’s stock by giving the false impression that there was a genuine market interest in the stock. Their scheme had the ultimate impact of artificially inflating Hometown International’s stock by approximately 939 percent and E-Waste’s stock by approximately 19,900 percent.
The securities fraud and manipulation of securities prices counts each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine. The wire fraud and money laundering counts are punishable by a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. The counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to manipulate securities prices both carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense whichever is greatest.
In a separate civil action, the Securities and Exchange Commission today filed a complaint in the District of New Jersey charging Patten, Coker Sr., and Coker Jr. based on the allegations underlying the market manipulation scheme.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline Maguire, and special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Tammy Tomlins in Newark, with the investigation. He also thanked special agents from FBI Charlotte, FBI Los Angeles, FBI San Francisco, FBI Denver, and FBI Knoxville, for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren E. Repole, Chief of the General Crimes Unit, and Shawn P. Barnes, of the Economic Crimes Unit.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Tennessee Woman Sentenced to More Than Four Years in Prison for Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
MOBILE, AL – A Knoxville, Tennessee woman was sentenced to 54 months in prison for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft after pleading guilty to those offenses in April 2022.
According to court documents, Ramie Renee Marston, 53, was previously convicted and served prison time for various federal felony fraud convictions in the District of New Hampshire. Those crimes included access device fraud, fraud in connection with identification documents, false representation of a social security number, and bankruptcy fraud. Marston was released from federal prison on August 10, 2018, and married her codefendant, Robert Alan Peters, shortly thereafter. Peters was also a convicted felon, having previously been convicted of armed bank robbery and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime in the District of Oregon. Marston and Peters relocated to the Southern District of Alabama, where Peters was being supervised by the U.S. Probation Office.
On August 13, 2018, three days after Marston was released from federal custody, she and Peters visited a branch of Regions Bank in Tillman’s Corner. As captured on bank surveillance video, Marston and Peters opened two new Regions accounts and used fraudulent checks to fund them. Marston admitted that she knew the checks used to open the accounts were fraudulent and contained inaccurate and invalid account numbers. Marston and Peters later withdrew money from the accounts, generating a loss to the bank.
On December 7, 2018, Marston submitted an application containing false information to Sallie Mae for a student loan to attend Remington College in Mobile. In the loan application, Marston fraudulently represented that an individual was a cosigner on the loan when she knew he was not. Marston used the victim’s name, social security number, and date of birth in the application without the victim’s knowledge and authorization.
Senior United States District Judge Callie V.S. Granade ordered Marston to serve a five-year term of supervised release upon her release from prison, during which time she will undergo testing and treatment for substance abuse, will receive mental health evaluation and treatment, and will be subject to credit restrictions. The court did not impose a fine, but Judge Granade ordered Marston to pay $12,858.35 in victim restitution and $200 in special assessments.Marston’s codefendant, Peters, died in May 2022 while awaiting trial in this case.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.
The United States Secret Service investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sinan Kalayoglu and Justin Roller prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
St. Louis County Sex Offender Admits Second Child Pornography OffenseRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Manchester, Missouri who had previously been convicted of a charge of possession of child pornography admitted on Monday being caught again with child sexual abuse material.
Eric D. Goodwin, now 41, was sentenced in 2020 to two years in prison and a life term of supervised release. In June of 2022, while Goodwin was on house arrest after his release from prison, a U.S. probation officer doing a home visit discovered that Goodwin had access to a room with computers and electronic devices. Goodwin then admitted possessing an iPhone, a tablet computer and a USB drive containing at least 882 images and 624 videos of child sexual abuse that he found using the Telegram app and on the dark web.
Goodwin was also sharing child pornography with someone via SnapChat, his plea agreement says.
Goodwin, by pleading guilty to a charge of possession of child pornography as a prior offender, now faces 10 to 20 years in prison when sentenced Jan. 4, 2023. Both prosecutors and Goodwin's attorney agreed as part of the plea to recommend a ten-year term. He was taken into custody at the end of Monday’s plea hearing.
The U.S. Probation Office and the FBI investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Somerset County Woman Admits $1 Million Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Somerset County, New Jersey, woman today admitted fraudulently obtaining over $1 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Nivah Garcis, 51, of North Plainfield, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging her with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and one count of money laundering.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Garcis conspired with at least one individual to submit two fraudulent PPP loan applications to a lender on behalf of two purported businesses that she controlled, and further submitted three fraudulent EIDL loan applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) on behalf of these businesses and another business that she owned. She then engaged in financial transactions with the loan proceeds, including for the purchase of property.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through the PPP. In April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding.
The applications Garcis submitted each contained fraudulent representations to the lender, a Federal Home Loan Bank member, and the SBA, including bogus federal tax documents purportedly from the IRS. Garcis also fabricated the existence of employees and wages paid through the purported businesses. According to IRS records, however, none of the purported tax documents that Garcis submitted in support of her loan applications were ever in fact filed with the IRS. Based on Garcis’ misrepresentations, her loan applications for her purported businesses were approved for approximately $1.05 million in federal COVID-19 emergency relief funds meant for distressed small businesses. Garcis then used the proceeds to purchase property and for various personal expenses.
The count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The counts of wire fraud each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. The count of money laundering carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 31, 2023.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Tammy L Tomlins; special agents of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Sharon MacDermott; special agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas Mahoney; postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Raimundo Marrero, Philadelphia Division; special agents of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Robert Manchak; special agents of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Stephen Donnelly; special agents of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Patricia Tarasca in New York; and special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard. W. Reinhold, in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine M. Romano and David E. Dauenheimer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark.
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.
Sioux City Man Who Photographed His Sexual Abuse of a Minor Pleads Guilty in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
A Sioux City man who took photographs while sexually abusing a minor pled guilty on September 22, 2022, in federal court in Sioux City. Kenneth Miller, age 29, from Sioux City, Iowa was convicted of sexual exploitation of a minor.
In a plea agreement, Miller admitted that he sexually abused a seven-year-old child in their bedroom. A search of Miller’s email address revealed 6 photographs of the minor child, taken by the defendant, while he was sexually abusing the child. The defendant had previously been convicted of criminal attempt-visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct in Nebraska.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Miller remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Miller faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 50 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 5 years up to life of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ron Timmons and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Sioux City Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 22-4052.
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Sacramento Man Pleads Guilty to Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. – A Sacramento, California man pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Brad Byerley of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Alvin Lucas, 41, pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.
According to court documents and information presented to the Court, in the summer of 2019, an undercover agent ordered methamphetamine from Lucas, who instructed the undercover agent to send money for the purchase of the methamphetamine to Lucas’s girlfriend. Ultimately, Lucas’s girlfriend sent a package containing the methamphetamine to the undercover agent in Gulfport.
Lucas is scheduled to be sentenced on December 20, 2022. He faces a minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a maximum sentence of life. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The DEA investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Buckner is prosecuting the case.
Riverside Man Ordered to Spend 46 Months in Federal Prison in His Second Federal Case Stemming from Sale of Bogus Aircraft PartsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Riverside man who previously served a lengthy prison sentence in two aircraft-related cases was sentenced today to nearly four years in federal prison for selling bogus aircraft parts and for falsifying related documents.
Aman Khan, who is also known as Amanullah Khan, 73, of Riverside, was ordered to serve 46 months in prison by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner. In addition to the prison term, Judge Klausner ordered Khan to pay $1,538,054 in restitution and further ordered the forfeiture of all aircraft components seized from Khan’s former business.
Khan pleaded guilty on June 6 to two counts of fraud involving aircraft parts in interstate and foreign commerce, admitting that he sold fraudulent, counterfeit and unapproved aircraft parts from his Riverside-based company, California Aircraft and Avionics Corporation.
Court documents outline how Khan manufactured various parts – including wheel assemblies and aircraft turbine gas nozzles that had been ordered for NATO jets – and submitted documents that falsely certified the provenance of the equipment and conformity to approved design data.
“By selling fraudulent and unapproved parts to companies in the aircraft industry, [Khan] caused the risk that his parts would be installed on commercial and military aircraft instead of genuine aircraft parts,” Khan admitted in his plea agreement. “In so doing, [Khan] consciously and recklessly caused a risk of death or serious bodily injury to aircraft passengers and to the general public.”
Khan previously was convicted in this district of aircraft parts fraud and export violations. In 2005, Khan was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison for both falsely certifying flight-critical aircraft parts sold by his company and, in a separate case brought in the District of Columbia, for selling parts for military jet fighters to China.
The United States Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General; the United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the FBI, and NASA’s Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation that resulted in today’s sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin D. Lichtman of the Santa Ana Branch Office prosecuted this case.
Repeat Lebanon Felon Sentenced to over 6 Years in Federal Prison for Illegal Possession of a Firearm While Resisting ArrestRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS –Justin Cain, 33, of Lebanon, Indiana, was sentenced to 77 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents, on November 16, 2019, Lebanon Police Department officers responded to a caller who indicated that a suspicious man in a grey sweatshirt was walking around their house in Lebanon. When officers arrived at the scene, they saw a man wearing a grey sweatshirt in the area, who was later identified as Cain.
Upon seeing the officers, Cain ran to a nearby truck and attempted to drive away. Officers ordered Cain to stop and exit the truck. As Cain exited the truck, he reached for a gun in his waistband. As officers attempted to arrest him, Cain grabbed his gun and threw it on top the truck. Officers ordered Cain to place his hands behind his back, but he refused. Cain continued to resist until officers were able to place him under arrest. Police recovered a .380 caliber semiautomatic handgun from the scene.
Cain has accumulated seven felony convictions over two decades for offenses including dealing marijuana, fraud, counterfeiting, and failure to return to a detention facility. Cain is prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law due to these prior felony convictions. Cain was on probation at the time of the current offense.
Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana; Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Columbus Field Division; and Lebanon Police Department Chief Chad Morgan; made the announcement.
ATF investigated the case in conjunction with the Lebanon Police Department. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson. As part of the sentence, Judge Stinson ordered that Cain 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 Abhishek S. Kambli who prosecuted this case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Pierson Man Sentenced to over 11 Years in Federal Prison for Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced on September 23, 2022, in federal court in Sioux City.
Zackary Smith 35, from Pierson, Iowa, pled guilty on April 8, 2022, to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
At the plea and sentencing hearings, the evidence showed that from August 2018 through April 18, 2019, Smith and others conspired to distribute more than 11 pounds of methamphetamine in the Cherokee County area. In April 2019, law enforcement executed a search of a rural Cherokee County residence and seized about 1.5 pounds of pure methamphetamine at locations throughout the property. Also, at the time of the search, Smith was found flushing about 10 ounces of methamphetamine down a toilet before officers could seize it. Smith further admitted to traveling with other co-conspirators to Omaha, Nebraska to obtain pounds of methamphetamine to distribute in Northwest Iowa.
Sentencing was held before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Smith was sentenced to 140 months’ imprisonment and must serve a five-year of supervised release following imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. Smith remains in the custody of the United States Marshal Service until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office as well as the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department and the Iowa State Patrol.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-4048.
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Nigerian state official sentenced to 5 years in prison for stealing U.S. disaster aid and taxpayer refundsRead the Press Release
Tacoma – A 45-year-old resident of Lekki, Nigeria, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 5 years in prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for his attempt to steal nearly $2.4 million from the United States government, including approximately $500,000 in pandemic-related unemployment benefits, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. At the time of his arrest, Abidermi Rufai was the Special Assistant to the Governor of Nigeria’s Ogun State. He admitted a long history of using stolen identities to defraud U.S. disaster programs, including aid for Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and file fraudulent U.S. tax returns. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle said, “The motivation was greed, unrestrained greed, and a callousness towards those who have suffered.”
“Mr. Rufai was relentless in his scheme to use the stolen identities of Americans for fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “He orchestrated ‘mystery shopper’ scams, business email compromise attempts, and filed fake tax returns to financially harm individuals and businesses. But when disaster struck, so did Mr. Rufai. Whether it was hurricane disaster relief, small business loans, or COVID unemployment benefits, he stole aid that should have gone to disaster victims in the United States.”
”Abdemi Rufai chose to exploit the pandemic for personal gain, using stolen identities of Americans to support his lavish lifestyle overseas,” said Associate Deputy Attorney General Kevin Chambers, the Justice Department‘s Director of COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and their law enforcement partners did exceptional work bringing this defendant to justice. The Department will continue to pursue fraudsters who abused these programs and seek to recover their ill-gotten gains, whether they are in the United States or overseas.”
According to records filed in the case, since 2017, Rufai stole the personal identifying information of more than 20,000 Americans to submit more than $2 million in claims for federally funded disaster relief benefits and fraudulent tax returns. The various agencies involved paid out more than $600,000.
The largest amount of fraud was committed against the Washington State Employment Security Department, which paid out $350,763 in fraudulent pandemic unemployment claims to accounts controlled by Rufai. Rufai also submitted fraudulent pandemic unemployment claims in at least 17 other states.
“The Employment Security Department deeply appreciates the tireless efforts of the Department of Justice, federal agencies and law enforcement in this matter,” said Cami Feek, Commissioner for the Employment Security Department. “We always stand ready to hold those accountable who steal public funds and we appreciate the partnership in catching and prosecuting this individual.”
Rufai also defrauded the Small Business Administration (SBA) by attempting to obtain Economic Injury Disaster loans (EIDL) tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. Between April 8, 2020, and June 26, 2020, he submitted 19 fraudulent EIDL applications. SBA paid out $10,000 based on the applications.
Between 2017 and 2020, Rufai attempted to obtain more than $1.7 million in IRS tax refunds by submitting 675 false claims. The IRS paid out $90,877 on these claims.
Rufai’s efforts to exploit disaster in the United States did not start with COVID-19. In September and October 2017, he submitted 49 disaster relief claims connected to Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma. He filed $24,500 in false claims and was paid on 13 claims totaling $6,500.
In asking for a nearly six-year prison sentence Assistant United States Attorney Cindy Chang noted that Rufai’s scheme damaged real people who needed help. “In this case, Rufai successfully used the stolen identities of at least 238 real individuals who qualified for disaster aid and may have needed it urgently. This number does not account for the number of stolen identities Rufai attempted to use but failed.”
Rufai has agreed to pay full restitution of $604,260 to the defrauded agencies, however he has not fully cooperated with efforts to identify and forfeit assets that could be used for restitution.
"Mr. Rufai did not care if the disaster was the pandemic or a hurricane, or if the victim was a hard-working American taxpayer, a small business, or the U.S. government," said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle Field Office. "He could have used his influence to be a role model in his community. Instead, he stole the identities of Washington state residents and money meant for those in need.”
“Mr. Rufai said, ‘The choices we make are ultimately our responsibility,’ and he is correct. This sentence is a result of the culmination of choices he made funding his luxurious lifestyle. His fraud schemes began with filing fraudulent tax returns from stolen identities to pilfering economic aid designed to help disadvantaged workers and families suffering through the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Seattle Field Office Special Agent in Charge Bret Kressin. “IRS-CI continues to provide our financial expertise to investigate large-scale fraud with our law enforcement partners.”
“Rufai used stolen personal identifying information of thousands of Americans in order to defraud more than $600,000 in government benefits, including approximately $350,000 from the Washington Employment Security Department. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who defrauded unemployment insurance programs during the global health crisis,” said Quentin Heiden, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Los Angeles Region.
Abidemi Rufai has been in custody since his arrest at New York’s JFK airport in May 2021. The Eastern District of New York U.S. Attorney’s Office assisted with detention hearings following Rufai’s arrest.
This case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, and the United States Small Business Administration Office of the Inspector General, and the Washington Employment Security Department (ESD).
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Cindy Chang and Seth Wilkinson of the Western District of Washington.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Malden Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Malden man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston in connection with distributing methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement officer.
David Desousa, 32, pleaded guilty on Sept. 22, 2022 to one count of distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, one count of distributing five grams or more of methamphetamine, one count of distributing a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine and three counts of possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for Jan. 25, 2023. Desousa was arrested in August 2020 and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2020.
In February 2020, federal agents began an undercover investigation into DeSousa’s methamphetamine distribution activities. On three separate occasions in February, March and July 2020, Desousa met with and sold various quantities of methamphetamine to an undercover agent. Desousa was arrested on Aug. 6, 2020 in Medford while he was travelling to deliver two ounces of methamphetamine to the undercover agent. More than 55 grams of 99% pure methamphetamine and 10.814 grams of cocaine base were seized from Desousa’s vehicle. During a subsequent search of Desousa’s residence, agents seized more than 75 grams of methamphetamine and a loaded Remington .380 caliber pistol. An additional 83 grams of 99% pure methamphetamine and $90,000 in cash were also seized from Desousa’s storage unit.
The charges of distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with intent to distribute each provide for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, a fine of up to $10 million and forfeiture. The charge of distributing five grams or more of methamphetamine provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 40 years in prison, at least four years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, a fine of up to $5 million and forfeiture. The charge of distributing a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, a fine of $1 million and forfeiture. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New England Field Division; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division; Arlington Police Chief Juliann Flaherty; Medford Police Chief Jack Buckley; and Malden Police Chief Glenn Cronin made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip C. Cheng and James E. Arnold of Rollins’s Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Licking County man pleads guilty to committing $1.5 million in fraudRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Jeremie Adam Elkins, 45, of Newark, Ohio, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to causing more than $1.5 million in fraud in connection with access devices. Elkins committed wire fraud and illegally possessed a firearm after previously being convicted of a felony crime.
According to court documents, from July to October 2020, Elkins used his company-issued credit card to pay for personal expenses like hotels/resorts, restaurants, bars, pawn shops and auction houses. Elkins had been employed as a Network Engineer at Verizon, Inc.
Elkins also used an old Verizon work order number to place multiple fraudulent orders with vendor W.W. Grainger, Inc. Grainger provides tools and equipment for Verizon service vans.
Elkins placed 46 unauthorized orders to Grainger and personally picked up the majority of the equipment, which totaled approximately $936,000. He used the illicit proceeds to purchase two boats and a motorcycle.
The defendant placed an additional 20 unauthorized orders to Grainger, for items totaling nearly $954,000, but never obtained the equipment.
As part of his plea, Elkins agrees to pay nearly $24,000 in restitution to Verizon and more than $936,000 in restitution to W.W. Grainger.
When he was arrested in August 2021, Elkins illegally possessed a pistol. Elkins was previously convicted of a felony crime in Licking County. Elkins also admitted to investigators that he has sold 15 to 20 firearms.
Wire fraud is a federal crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Fraud in connection with access devices is a federal crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony carries a potential maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Congress sets the maximum statutory sentence. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced the plea entered Sept. 22 before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. and commended the investigation by the United States Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Brenda S. Shoemaker is representing the United States in this case.
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Level 2 Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography OffenseRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Taunton man pleaded guilty on Sept. 23, 2022 in federal court in Boston to possessing hundreds of images and videos depicting child pornography.
Rudy Frabizio, 60, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for Dec. 9, 2022. Frabizio was arrested and charged by criminal complaint in May 2021 and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2021.
During a search of Frabizio’s residence on May 19, 2021, agents found a “microSD” memory card that contained at least hundreds of images and videos depicting child pornography. The image and video files included material involving prepubescent minors, as well as the abuse of infants or toddlers. In addition, Frabizio uploaded images depicting child pornography via his Google account. Frabizio is a registered Level 2 sex offender due to an April 2009 conviction for possession of child pornography.
The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Due to his prior conviction, Frabizio faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement. The Taunton Police Department provided valuable assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam W. Deitch of Rollins’ Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
La Crosse Man Sentenced to 24 Months for Illegal Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Shoua Lee, 41, La Crosse, Wisconsin, was sentenced on Thursday, September 22, by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 24 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm by a felon. The prison term will be followed by 36 months of supervised release. Lee pleaded guilty to this charge on July 5, 2022.
On July 15, 2020, La Crosse Police Department (LCPD) officers were investigating the drug trafficking activity of Kong Vang and Pader Yang in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Shoua Lee was observed with others at their residence that day. LCPD officers searched the residence and found multiple firearms, including a Hi-Point .40 caliber handgun, and a large quantity of methamphetamine. LCPD discovered a surveillance video from the same residence from two weeks earlier which shows Vang and Lee possessing the same Hi-Point .40 caliber handgun that was seized by LCPD officers.
Lee was prohibited from legally possessing a firearm due to multiple prior felony convictions. He was on state supervision at the time of this offense for, among other things, possession of a firearm by a felon and marijuana trafficking. Lee’s state supervision has since been revoked and he is currently serving three years in state prison with an anticipated release date of August 13, 2023.
At sentencing, Judge Conley highlighted several aggravating factors including Lee’s possession of a firearm while using methamphetamine, that he possessed a gun less than six months after being sentenced for a similar charge, and a prior criminal history that included prison time for drug trafficking.
Co-defendant, Kong Vang, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison by Judge Conley on April 29, 2021. Co-defendant, Pader Yang, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 6 years in federal prison by Judge Conley on May 14, 2021.
The charge against Lee was the result of an investigation conducted by the La Crosse Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven P. Anderson prosecuted this case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Justice Department Awards over $250,000 in Grants to State of LouisianaRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced that the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance has awarded $253,191 collectively to the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office, the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, and the Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office was awarded $28,412, the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office was awarded $210,193, and the Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office was awarded $14,586. These awards will be used to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime based on each agency’s state and local needs and conditions.
Joint Operation Targets Massive Dogfighting ConspiracyRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA — Over the weekend, a joint team of more than 60 federal and state law enforcement officers executed nearly two dozen warrants for various properties in the Midlands area in what is believed to be the biggest takedown of a dogfighting operation in South Carolina history.
On Saturday, officers with the operation interrupted a scheduled dogfighting match in Richland County. The following morning, the officers executed 23 search warrants at various residences and properties in Richland, York, Orangeburg, Clarendon, Lee, and Sumter Counties that were known dogfighting kennels or associated with dogfighting. In total 305 dogs were rescued this weekend, with 275 believed to be associated with dogfighting. The Humane Society of the United States and Bark Nation supported the operation by assisting with animal handling and are currently assisting with the care of the animals. During the weekend operation, officers seized approximately 30 firearms, $40,000 in cash, and various evidence related to dogfighting. More than 20 individuals were arrested for state charges relating to animal cruelty and dogfighting.
“To force dogs to fight, often to the death, for the enjoyment of others is not only a federal crime, it is also cruel, sadistic, and can create a haven for other illicit activities involving drugs and firearms,” said U.S. Attorney Adair F. Boroughs. “This joint operation, which has been months in the making, makes clear that dogfighting operations will find no refuge here in South Carolina. I especially want to thank our state and federal partners, the Governor’s Office, and our community partners for their leadership and work on this issue.”
“The depravity involved in carrying out a dogfighting conspiracy is unimaginable to most people, and those involved in such a crime must be rooted out and punished,” said Governor Henry McMaster, who started a dogfighting task force as Attorney General. “On behalf of all South Carolinians, I would like to thank the dedicated state and federal law enforcement officers who uncovered and disrupted this unspeakable cruelty. Our state is safer because of their hard work on this investigation.”
“SLED continues to see the devastating impacts of dog fighting across South Carolina. Law enforcement often finds that guns, illicit drugs, human trafficking, and child abuse are involved with instances of animal abuse,” said South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) Chief Mark Keel. “This operation was only a success because multiple agencies made up of dedicated professionals worked tirelessly for justice. Dog fighting is both inhumane and illegal - it will not be tolerated.”
“Even after the many years we have worked to protect dogs from the calculated brutality that dogfighting perpetuates, our responders are still struck by the resilience of these dogs who have suffered unthinkable cruelty,” said Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. “We are grateful to the federal and state officials for intervening on behalf of these dogs and for the opportunity to work together to get them the care they deserve.”
The Animal Welfare Act makes it a felony punishable by up to five years in federal prison to fight dogs or to possess, train, sell, buy, deliver, receive, or transport dogs intended for use in dogfighting.
This is the first step in a continuing investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General and SLED. The U.S. Marshals Service, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Richland County Sheriff’s Department, York County Sheriff’s Office, Rock Hill Police Department, Indiana Gaming Commission, and Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office Criminal Investigations Division are also assisting in the investigation. U.S. Attorneys Jane B. Taylor, Elle E. Klein, Elizabeth Major, and Carrie Fisher Sherard are prosecuting the case.
If you have any information on dogfighting operations here in South Carolina, please call 1-800-424-9121.
Images and media from the operation are available here.
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Jacksonville Man Pleads Guilty to Escaping from Halfway HouseRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Daryl D. Shack (32, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to escaping from federal custody. Shack faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, in 2018, Shack was convicted in federal court of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and sentenced to 51 months’ imprisonment. While completing his sentence, the Bureau of Prisons transferred Shack into the custody of Keeton Corrections, Inc. Jacksonville Residential Reentry Center. When he arrived at that halfway house, a Keeton official advised Shack that his failure to remain at Keeton would be deemed an escape from the custody of the Attorney General, which could subject him to prosecution and further punishment.
In the evening of March 3, 2021, an alarm sounded at Keeton’s men’s dormitory, indicating that someone had exited the dorm without authorization. In response, an official conducted a count of all residents. Shack was not present. After searching the facility, Keeton officials could not locate him.
On July 26, 2022, Deputy U.S. Marshals and Task Force Officers arrested Shack in Jacksonville. In the intervening period (more than 16 months), Shack never returned to Keeton or Bureau of Prisons custody.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Florida-Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican.
Irvine Man Sentenced to 4 Years in Federal Prison for Obtaining More Than $5 Million in COVID-Relief Loans for Sham BusinessesRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – An Orange County man was sentenced today to 48 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining more than $5 million in COVID-relief loans for three shell companies.
Raghavender Reddy Budamala, 36, of Irvine, was sentenced by United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II, who also ordered Budamala to pay $5,151,497 in restitution.
Budamala pleaded guilty on June 21 to one count of bank fraud and one count of money laundering. As part of his plea agreement, Budamala agreed to forfeit real estate in Orange County, Malibu and Los Angeles, as well as approximately $4,119,662 in funds from bank and investment accounts and cryptocurrency.
From January 2019 to August 2019, Budamala formed or acquired three shell companies with no operations – Hayventure LLC, Pioneer LLC, and XC International LLC. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the enactment of federal programs designed to address the resulting economic fallout, Budamala submitted to the Small Business Administration seven applications for pandemic-relief loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.
As part of the applications filed from April 2020 through March 2021, Budamala falsely represented to the banks administering the COVID-relief business loan programs that his companies employed dozens of individuals and earned millions of dollars in revenue, and that he needed the money for payroll and business expenses.
The addresses listed for the companies were bogus, nonexistent or residential. The states where Budamala’s companies purportedly operated have no records of those companies paying wages to any employees, and bank records for the companies reflect no significant business income or operating expenses.
The SBA and the banks funded six of the loans and disbursed a total of $5,151,497. Budamala applied to have several of the loans forgiven and falsely represented that he had used the SBA money entirely for payroll.
Once the loans were funded, Budamala used the money to pay for personal expenses, including the purchase of a $1.2 million investment property in Eagle Rock, the purchase of a $597,585 property in Malibu, the purchase of a personal residence in Irvine, a $970,000 investment in an EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program and a nearly $3 million deposit into Budamala’s personal TD Ameritrade account.
Budamala has been in federal custody since his arrest on February 23, when he attempted to abscond from the United States to Mexico via the San Ysidro border crossing. A criminal complaint was filed against him on February 24.
IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI, and the Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Gregory D. Bernstein of the Major Frauds Section and Assistant United States Attorney Maxwell K. Coll of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section prosecuted this case.
In May 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Indictment Charges New Haven Teen with Carjacking, Firearm and Conspiracy OffensesRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and David Sundberg, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that, on September 22, a federal grand jury in Hartford returned a superseding indictment charging TIHAJA ORTIZ-TUCKER, also known as “TJ,” 19, of New Haven, with carjacking, firearm and conspiracy offenses.
As alleged in court documents, on at least three occasions between March 2022 and July 2022, Ortiz-Tucker and others posed as interested buyers of motor vehicles advertised by Connecticut residents (the “victim-sellers”) on Facebook Marketplace. Ortiz-Tucker and his co-conspirators then arranged to meet in person with the victim-sellers for the purported purpose of test driving and purchasing the motor vehicles. At the conclusion of the purported test drives, Ortiz-Tucker and his co-conspirators stole, at gunpoint, the vehicles, as well as certificates of title, bills of sale, and other ownership documents. Ortiz-Tucker and his co-conspirators then posed as the legitimate owners of the stolen motor vehicles and advertised them for sale on the OfferUp online platform.
It is further alleged that Ortiz-Tucker was involved in two carjackings of Uber drivers in May 2022. In both instances, an Uber driver picked up the carjacker in New Haven and drove to Wallingford where the cars were taken from the Uber drivers at gunpoint. Both cars were later recovered in the same area of Hamden.
Ortiz-Tucker was arrested on a criminal complaint on July 22, 2022.
The indictment charges Ortiz-Tucker with one count of conspiracy, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years; three counts of taking a motor vehicle from a person by force, violence and intimidation (“carjacking”), an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years on each count; and one count of carrying, using and brandishing a firearm in connection with a crime of violence, an offense that carries a mandatory consecutive sentence of at least seven years.
Ortiz-Tucker has been detained since September 2, 2022, when his bond was revoked.
U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Violent Crime Task Force, the Connecticut State Police and the Wallingford, New Haven, Hamden, Waterbury, and Bridgeport Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah P. Karwan and Tara E. Levens.
U.S. Attorney Avery encouraged those who sell and purchase items online, and need to meet an individual in person to complete the sale, to use a visible, monitored location. Contact your local police department to see if it offers a monitored meeting location, or search online for a nearby monitored location.
Hardy County man sentenced for drug chargeRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – David Abreu, of Fisher, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 51 months of incarceration for a drug charge, United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced.
Abreu, 42, pleaded guilty in April 2022 to one count of “Distribution of Methamphetamine – Aiding and Abetting.” Abreu admitted to selling methamphetamine, also known as “crystal meth” and “ice,” in Hardy County in February 2021.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Potomac Highlands Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
Georgia Resident Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for International Lottery Fraud Scheme that Victimized Elderly People in California and ElsewhereRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Adedayo Akinwunmi Agbayewa, 45, of College Park, Georgia, was sentenced today to five years in prison and ordered to pay $7,784,415 in restitution for a mail fraud and money laundering conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, Agbayewa and his co‑conspirators were involved in a lottery or sweepstakes telemarketing scheme that targeted elderly victims. The conspirators used false names and falsely notified the victims by mail or telephone that they had won a sweepstakes or lottery. The victims were told that they had to pay taxes or fees before they could receive their winnings. The victims mailed checks or deposited money into bank accounts as directed by the individuals involved in the scheme. However, the victims never received any prize money; in fact, no lottery or sweepstakes ever existed.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS‑Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina McCall prosecuted the case.
The U.S. Department of Justice, through the Elder Justice Initiative, works to combat elder abuse, neglect and financial fraud and scams that target our nation’s older adults. Through the Elder Justice Initiative, the department provides community presentations, educational webinars, summits, and resources to help older victims and their families. The Elder Justice Initiative’s website is: https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice. The National Elder Fraud Hotline number is: 1-833–FRAUD–11 (or 833–372–8311).
Former Washington County Jail Sergeant Pleads Guilty to Role in Cocaine Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Washington, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on Friday in federal court to violating federal law, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
Andrew Molinaro, 45, pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine on or about July 15, 2020, before United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan. Mr. Molinaro is one of 20 defendants charged in the Superseding Indictment returned in this case.
In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that in 2020 the Federal Bureau of Investigation began investigating a drug trafficking organization that operated throughout the greater Washington County area. Beginning in April of 2020 and continuing through October of 2020, the FBI received authorization to conduct a Title III wiretap investigation into the organization. The organization was responsible for orchestrating and directing the movement of drugs from New Jersey to the Western District of Pennsylvania for distribution throughout Washington County. Mr. Molinaro, who was a sergeant in the intake department of the Washington County Jail during this investigation, utilized his law enforcement position to provide a member of the drug trafficking organization with law enforcement sensitive information to aid that individual in evading law enforcement detection.
Judge Ranjan scheduled sentencing for Jan. 19, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of not more than 10 years of imprisonment, a fine of up to $500,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorneys Mark V. Gurzo and Jerome A. Moschetta are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police Drug Law Enforcement Division conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Mr. Molinaro. This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Former Methuen Resident Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl and Cocaine Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former Methuen man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to his role in a Lawrence-based drug trafficking conspiracy involving fentanyl and cocaine.
Pablo Rosario Pablo a/k/a “Angel Ayala Roque” a/k/a “Cuco,” 57, formerly of Methuen, pleaded guilty on Sept. 21, 2022 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, and other controlled substances and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and other controlled substances. U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley scheduled sentencing for Feb. 8, 2023.
According to court documents and information presented in court, in May 2020, law enforcement agents began investigating a Lawrence-based drug trafficking organization (DTO). Between December 2020 and December 2021, intercepted communications between members of the DTO and their associates revealed that the defendants allegedly distributed fentanyl and cocaine in and around the Merrimack Valley. Rosario Pablo was intercepted communicating in furtherance of drug trafficking. During a search of Rosario Pablo’s residence on Dec. 15, 2021, agents seized fentanyl, powder cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana and steroids, as well as drug paraphernalia.
The charges of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, and other controlled substances, and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and other controlled substances carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes that govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. More information on the OCDETF program is available here: https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf/about-ocdetf.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Office, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Ferguson, Deputy Chief of Rollins’ Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit, is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Former High School Assistant Coach Sentenced to 15 Years for Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Steve Russell announced that Nathan R. Rogers, 27, formerly of South Sioux City, Nebraska, was sentenced today in Lincoln, Nebraska, by United States District Judge John M. Gerrard for production of child pornography. Rogers was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 5 years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Rogers was additionally ordered to pay $3,000 which will contribute to funds established for victims of these types of cases.
On or about March 3, 2021, the Nebraska State Patrol began investigating a complaint of a sexual assault allegedly committed by Rogers. The minor complainant alleged that Rogers, who was an assistant coach at the high school she attended, had forcibly sexually assaulted her in December of 2020. On March 26, 2021, investigators interviewed Rogers regarding the alleged sexual assault. During the interview, Rogers admitted to investigators that he had sexual intercourse with her. Also, during the interview, Rogers admitted that he and the minor had communicated through text messages from his cellphone. Rogers was arrested for First Degree Sexual Assault of a Child and Child Abuse. During the arrest, investigators seized Rogers’ cellphone and a search warrant was obtained on March 30, 2021.
During the investigation, investigators interviewed another minor female (“Victim 1” as listed in the Indictment). Investigators reviewed the downloaded information from Rogers’ cellphone and observed numerous video clips of Rogers engaged in sexual intercourse with Victim 1. Investigators observed the date stamp of the video clips to be between October 11, 2020 through February 20, 2021. Victim 1 would have been 15-16 years old at the time of the videos. In total there were around 23 videos which contained some type of sexually explicit conduct involving Victim 1 located on Rogers’ cellphone. Similar to Minor 1, Victim 1 attended the high school where Rogers was employed as an assistant coach.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Nebraska State Patrol.
Former Fort Hood Army Sergeant Sentenced for Fentanyl DistributionRead the Press Release
AUSTIN – Last week, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel sentenced Eri Gutberto Parra-Lopez, 25, of Phoenix, AZ, to 72 months in prison for distributing fentanyl.
According to court documents, between May 2021 and July 2021, Parra, a then active-duty Army Sergeant stationed at Fort Hood, sold approximately 3,150 tablets of fentanyl, weighing about 3,349 kgs., to undercover officers in and around the Austin area.
On April 20, 2022, Parra pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of fentanyl.
“Fentanyl is flooding the United States at an alarming rate and our communities in Central Texas are not immune from its devastation,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “This case underscores our resolve to address the dangerous trafficking of fentanyl with all available resources. We will continue to prioritize and prosecute crimes involving this deadly poison and we are thankful for the outstanding work of our local, state, and federal partners.”
“This case demonstrates the lengths Mexican cartels are willing to go to infiltrate our communities with deadly fentanyl for their own selfish gains,” said Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux of the Houston Division. “We remain committed to our collaborative efforts with our local partners to reverse the overdose and poisoning epidemic and bring to justice those fueling it.”
“This sentencing is the result of the great teamwork we have with our local, federal and state law enforcement partners,” said Special Agent in Charge Maria Thomas of the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID). “Army CID and our partner agencies take the threat of fentanyl to the public, and the Army, very seriously. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to interdict the distribution of fentanyl wherever it may occur.”
The DEA, Pflugerville and Austin Police Departments, and Army CID investigated the case with assistance from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.
For more information on the dangers of fentanyl and DEA’s One Pill Can Kill campaign, please visit https://www.dea.gov/onepill.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark H. Marshall prosecuted the case.
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Former CEO of Health Clinic Convicted of Medicaid FraudRead the Press Release
A federal jury convicted a former CEO of a health clinic for defrauding the Louisiana Medicaid Program over several years.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Victor Clark Kirk, 73, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was the CEO of St. Gabriel Health Clinic Inc. (St. Gabriel), a Louisiana nonprofit corporation that provided health care services to Medicaid recipients and others. St. Gabriel was a federally qualified health center (FQHC) that contracted with the Iberville Parish School Board to provide medical services within the school district. As a FQHC, St. Gabriel could provide primary care services to students as well as services related to the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses – provided that such services were medically necessary – among other requirements.
Evidence at trial showed that St. Gabriel practitioners, at Kirk’s direction, provided character development and other educational programs to entire classrooms of students during regular class periods. Kirk then caused the fraudulent billing of these programs to Medicaid as group psychotherapy. To facilitate the fraudulent scheme, Kirk directed that St. Gabriel practitioners falsely diagnose students with mental health disorders. From 2011 through 2015, Kirk caused over $1.8 million in fraudulent claims for purported group psychotherapy services.
Kirk was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and five counts of health care fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 12, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison per count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. for the Middle District of Louisiana; Special Agent in Charge Douglas A. Williams, Jr. of the FBI New Orleans Field Office; Director Jodi Edmonds LeJeune of the Louisiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU); and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jason Meadows of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.
The FBI, MFCU, and HHS-OIG investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Gulf Coast Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana.
Assistant Chief Justin M. Woodard and Trial Attorney Kelly Z. Walters of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen L. Craig for the Middle District of Louisiana are prosecuting the case.
The Health Care Fraud Strike Force is part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country. Since its inception in March 2007, the Health Care Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 16 strike forces operating in 27 districts, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
Federal Indictment Charges Man with Murdering Chicago Teenager During RobberyRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A man has been charged in federal court with murdering a Chicago teenager during a robbery last fall.
DEANDRE NORELS JR., 20, of Chicago, is charged with one count of using a firearm to cause a murder, one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence, one count of conspiracy to commit robbery, and one count of robbery, according to an indictment returned Sept. 13, 2022, in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Norels and a co-conspirator allegedly murdered William McGee on the afternoon of Nov. 11, 2021, while carrying out a planned robbery of McGee on the South Side of Chicago. McGee, 18, was fatally shot near the 900 block of East 98th Street in Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood.
The charges in the indictment are punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in federal prison and a maximum of death. Norels is currently detained in federal custody while awaiting trial. He has pleaded not guilty. A status hearing is set for Oct. 28, 2022, at 9:30 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin.
The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen de Tineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Kramer and Margaret Steindorf.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Ex-Labor Leader Charged with Embezzling Tens of Thousands of Dollars from Local UnionRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Rebecca S. Kanter (619) 546-7304
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – September 23, 2022
SAN DIEGO – A former Department of Homeland Security officer and President of American Federation of Government Employees Local 2805 has been indicted by a federal grand jury for wire fraud and making false statements stemming from his alleged embezzlement of tens of thousands of dollars of union funds from Local 2805.
Felix Luciano was an Enforcement Removal Officer for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. From approximately 2011 through December 2018, Luciano served as the President of Local 2805, a labor union which represents DHS-ICE employees in San Diego and Imperial Counties. Among his legal duties were maintaining the fiscal integrity of the organization, which prohibited him from engaging in business or financial interest that conflicted with his duty to Local 2805 and its members.
The indictment alleges that Luciano embezzled union funds for his own benefit between December 2013 and continuing into January 7, 2019. Luciano retired in December 2018 in the course of an audit of Local 2805 by the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS). Luciano is alleged to have used Local 2805’s union dues to enrich himself and pay for personal expenses for himself and his spouse. Some of those expenses included luxury travel, payments to his personal credit card, payments to support his wife’s business (such as paying for the business’ website design), purchase of a custom gun safe storage, retail purchases, dining, and groceries.
The indictment alleges that Luciano carried out this scheme to defraud Local 2805 by using its debit and credit card to pay his personal expenses and by writing checks to himself from the Local’s checking account with false descriptions such as “per diem” in the memo line.
In order to conceal and obscure his embezzlement, Luciano fraudulently reported false information on Local 2805’s annual financial reports. Labor organizations are required to file financial reports with the OLMS annually. On behalf of Local 2805, Luciano prepared, signed - under penalty of perjury - and filed the financial reports (known as Form LM-3s) with false information that disguised the nature, volume, frequency and purpose of the unauthorized checks and other personal transactions. For example, on the 2017 financial report, he falsely reported that Local 2805 only disbursed $3,068 to him (directly or indirectly), when in fact the correct figure was over $20,000.
In doing so, Luciano hid the embezzlement from the Department of Labor, his fellow union officers, as well as the union membership whose dues were the source of the embezzled funds.
“When employees pay their hard-earned money into labor unions, they reasonably expect the officers of those organizations to be honest stewards of their dues,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman “Our office will work diligently to pursue justice against offenders who have allegedly stolen from their own unions at the expense of members.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and investigating agencies for their excellent work.
“The Office of Labor-Management Standards will always work hard to expose and bring to justice any official who chooses to break the law and the faith of their union members by stealing,” said Ed Oquendo, District Director, Los Angeles District Office, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards.
Postal Inspector in Charge of the Los Angeles Division Carroll N. Harris said, “When a public official misuses the U.S. Mail for personal gain, Postal Inspectors will aggressively pursue that official to restore the public’s confidence in the mail.”
An important mission of the Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations of fraud related to union corruption. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate these types of allegations,” said Quentin Heiden, Special Agent-in-Charge, Los Angeles Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.
Luciano was arraigned on the indictment by U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Berg and entered a plea of not guilty. Judge Berg set Luciano’s bond at $30,000 and ordered him to appear before U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Whelan on October 3, 2022, at 9 a.m. for a motion hearing.
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 22CR2201-W
Felix Luciano Age: 60 San Diego, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
False Statements – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1001
Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and $250,000 fine
Wire Fraud – Title 18, U.S.C. Section 1343
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $500,000 fine
AGENCY
Department of Labor – Office of Labor-Management Standards
Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General
Homeland Security Investigations – Office of Inspector General
United States Postal Inspector
EDVA Honors Law Enforcement for Exceptional ServiceRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Today U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber recognized over 300 officers and agents from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies with Public Service Awards.
The Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) typically holds an annual awards ceremony to recognize the law enforcement officials for their service and contribution to various criminal and civil cases investigated and prosecuted here in EDVA. For the first time since 2019, this ceremony was held in person at venues near each of the four EDVA offices.
“The awardees went above and beyond to investigate these cases and are emblematic of the good that law enforcement can do for our local, state, and national communities,” said Jessica D. Aber, U.S Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “However, they also represent a fraction of the incredible work that goes on every day with state and federal law enforcement. Both them and their agencies at large should be commended for their sustained efforts.”
The awards highlighted federal cases, operations, and initiatives from 2021. The federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies listed below had officers and/or agents who were recognized for their bravery, outstanding collaboration, investigative achievement, investigative excellence, and victim assistance.
Alexandria
Newport News
Norfolk
Richmond
Virginia State Police
ATF Washington Field Division
ATF Washington Field Division
ATF Washington Field Division
Dept. of State, Diplomatic Security Service
United States Postal Inspection Service
Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit
Dept. Health & Human Services, OIG
Transportation Security Administration OGC
DHS Homeland Security Investigations
North Carolina State Police
DHS Homeland Security Investigations
Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office
DEA Washington
Northampton County Sheriff’s Office
Department of Justice, OIG
Dept. Health & Human Services, OIG
FBI-Norfolk Field Office
Dept. Health & Human Services, OIG
DEA Washington
DHS Homeland Security Investigations
Mathews County Sheriff’s Office
DHS Homeland Security Investigations
FBI-Richmond Field Office
Stafford County Fire Marshal
Hampton Police
DEA
Virginia State Corporation Commission
Army Criminal Investigation Division
IRS-Criminal Investigations
FBI-Norfolk Field Office
Henrico Police
Dept. of Transportation, OIG
Virginia Department of Forensic Science
Suffolk Police Department
U.S. Army – Criminal Investigations
DEA Washington
York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office
IRS-Criminal Investigations
Eden Prairie (Minnesota) Police Department
Department of State OIG
Newport News Police
Bureau of Prisons
Colonial Heights Police Department
Fairfax County Police
U.S. Secret Service
Norfolk Police
U.S. Postal Inspection Service
FBI Washington Field Office
Virginia State Police
Defense Criminal Investigative Service
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Coast Guard Investigative Service
Housing and Urban Development OIG
U.S. Marshals Service
Virginia State Police
IRS-Criminal Investigations
Defense Criminal Investigative Service
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Virginia Office of Attorney General
U.S. Postal Inspection Service
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
U.S. Postal Inspection Service
Export-Import Bank OIG
General Services Administration OIG
Virginia Dept. of Forensic Science
Southside Drug and Gang Task Force
Prince George’s County Police
Virginia Beach Police
Caroline County Sheriff’s Office
Prince William County Police
Chesapeake Police Department
Chesterfield County Police Department
Defense Criminal Investigative Services
U.S. Attorney’s Office
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (OIG)
Portsmouth Police Department
Defense Criminal Investigative Service
Food and Drug Administration
Dept. of Labor OIG
Arlington County Police
Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office
U.S. Secret Service
United States Army
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Daphne Methamphetamine Dealer Sentenced to 12 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
MOBILE, AL – A Daphne man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute it.
According to court documents, Tony David Bass, Jr., 41, of Daphne was arrested by deputies with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office on October 8, 2021, in possession of more than half a pound of pure methamphetamine. Deputies found the drugs stuffed inside a pillowcase on a bed where Bass had been sleeping. The drugs were packaged in eight separate baggies near Bass’s cell phone and clothing. During an interview with deputies, Bass admitted that he was on federal probation and had just been released from custody two weeks earlier. Bass had been convicted of being a felon in possession of a gun in federal court in April 2016.
United States District Judge Terry F. Moorer imposed a sentence of 120 months in prison, to run consecutively to a 24-month custody sentence for Bass’s supervised-release violation, for a total sentence of 144 months. The court ordered Bass to serve a five-year term of supervised release upon his release from prison, during which time he will undergo drug testing and treatment. The court did not impose a fine, but Judge Moorer ordered Bass to pay $100 in special assessments.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.
The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Roller prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
Dallas Man Charged in $26 Million Real Estate ScamRead the Press Release
A Dallas man who allegedly scammed Chinese investors out of more than $26 million has been federally charged, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.
Timothy Lynch Barton, the 59-year-old president of real estate development firm JMJ and CEO of real estate investment firm Carnegie Development, was indicted Tuesday on seven counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud. He made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge David L. Horan today.
According to the indictment, Mr. Barton allegedly traveled to Hangzhou, China to market real estate investment opportunities in Texas to Chinese investors.
During his presentations – which highlighted his supposed ties to U.S. politicians – Mr. Barton allegedly claimed that the properties in question were located in sought-after neighborhoods in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. He introduced a builder, identified in court documents as S.W., who he claimed would purchase lots to build on to sell to future home buyers.
Mr. Barton allegedly promised investors annual interest payments for two years, followed by the return of their initial investment at the end of the second year. He allegedly claimed that the investors would contribute 80 percent of the funds necessary for the project, and he and others would contribute the remaining 20 percent. Mr. Barton also allegedly represented that no commissions would be paid out of investor funds.
In loan agreements signed by the investors, Mr. Barton allegedly inflated the cost of each property by as much as 195 percent, and in some instances, never actually purchased the property. Mr. Barton also allegedly paid interest payments to early investors with investor funds from later projects.
Contrary to his loan agreements, Mr. Barton allegedly paid commissions out of investors’ funds, and even funneled investors’ money into unrelated projects. Still other funds were used to pay consultants or even to pay an unrelated company’s AmEx bill. According to the indictment, investors lost more than $26,000,000 to the scheme.
An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Mr. Barton is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each count of wire fraud, up to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and up to 20 years in federal prison for securities fraud.
He is also the subject of a parallel civil action filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Renee Hunter is prosecuting the case.
Corrections Officer, Inmate, and Alleged Supplier Charged with Bribery and Other OffensesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON—A District of Columbia Department of Corrections (DOC) Officer, an inmate at the facility, and an alleged supplier have been charged with facilitating bribes to bring prohibited items, including drugs, into the District’s Central Detention Facility (CDF).
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office Criminal Division, and Tom Faust, Director of the District of Columbia Department of Corrections.
The correctional officer, Beverly Williams, 52, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was arrested today and is charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy, bribery, and smuggling. Also charged by criminal complaint with the same offenses is Andre Gregory, 31, who is currently an incarcerated inmate at CDF awaiting trial. A third individual, Keywaune McLeod, 27, of Washington, D.C., was arrested on Sept. 23, 2022. Both Williams and McLeod made their initial court appearance today before Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya. Gregory’s initial appearance is expected in the coming days.
The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The charging documents allege that Williams was involved in a months-long smuggling operation with Gregory and McLeod in which she accepted money from Gregory’s family member, McLeod, to bring prohibited items—including drugs—into the D.C. jail for Gregory to use and distribute among inmates. As alleged in the charging documents, before Williams was caught with drugs when entering CDF on Sept. 6, 2022, Gregory’s “short-term goal” was to make $100,000 in proceeds from distributing smuggled contraband in DOC.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the D.C. Department of Corrections’ Investigative Services Branch. This case is being prosecuted by the Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to More than 11 Years in Prison for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – James Gipson, 59, was sentenced today to 11 years and two months in prison, to be followed by a lifetime on supervised release, for possession of child pornography and a violation of supervised release.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 25, 2020, Gipson was living in a Charleston homeless facility when facility staff observed him in a common area looking at child pornography on his laptop. The staff summoned police, who recovered the laptop. A forensic analysis found more than 300 images depicting child pornography on the laptop. Gipson admitted that the laptop was his and that he knew he should not have possessed it.
Gipson was previously convicted of possession of child pornography in United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. On March 5, 2012, he was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison and placed on lifetime supervised release. Today’s sentence of 11 years and two months incudes one year and two months for violating his lifetime supervised release.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Charleston Police Department and the South Charleston Police Department. Thompson also credited the shelter staff for their vigilance in protecting their facility and its residents.
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Kristin F. Scott prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-92.
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Convicted Bank Robber Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Bribing a Corrections OfficerRead the Press Release
MOBILE, AL – A Selma man was sentenced to 30 months in prison for bribing a corrections officer while awaiting a federal trial for armed bank robbery.
According to court documents, Stanley Young, 34, was an inmate at the Escambia County Detention Center (“ECDC”) in Brewton from January to October 2020. Young was being held at ECDC pending his federal trial for armed bank robbery in the Southern District of Alabama in October 2020. Young was convicted of armed bank robbery and later sentenced to a 17-year prison term for that offense.
While incarcerated at ECDC, Young admitted that he bribed a corrections officer at the jail. In exchange for the officer engaging in corrupt actions on his behalf, Young paid the officer more than $5,000 from his CashApp account, including payment of a $4,000 down payment toward the purchase of an Infiniti vehicle at a car dealership in Mobile. At various times, the officer provided Young with prohibited objects while on duty at ECDC, including money, cell phones, and K2 spice paper. In August 2020, the officer admitted to federal agents that she had a personal relationship with Young and had smuggled cell phones and K2 spice paper into ECDC for him.
Agents obtained records from Young’s Facebook account, which he accessed using the contraband phones that the officer smuggled into the jail and gave to him. The records included messages detailing Young’s relationship with the officer; photographs of Young in his ECDC inmate uniform holding K2 spice paper; text and voice messages between Young and third parties discussing methods of smuggling K2 spice paper into jails and the prices at which it could be sold to inmates; videos that Young took of other ECDC inmates whom Young described as being “high” on K2 spice paper; and messages between Young and the corrections officer regarding the officer selling marijuana to individuals outside of ECDC on Young’s behalf.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Roller and Sinan Kalayoglu prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
Construction Firm Owner Admits Failing to Report $4.8 Million to IRSRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – The owner of an Inland Empire business pleaded guilty today to filing false tax returns that failed to report more than $4.8 million over a five-year period, resulting in his failure to pay $1.6 million in taxes due to the IRS.
Liang “Paul” Chen, 63, the owner of the Chino-based construction company Mass Development Inc. (MDI), who is identified in court documents as a resident of Los Angeles County, admitted in court today that he filed false corporate tax returns for the years 2013 through 2016.
Chen pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false income tax return. In a plea agreement filed in federal court, Chen agreed to pay the IRS restitution of $1,642,935.
According to his plea agreement, from January 2013 through October 2017, Chen was in charge of MDI’s daily business activities and was listed as the owner of MDI on its financial documents. To conceal income, Chen deposited only a portion of the checks made payable to MDI into the company’s bank account and then cashed nearly $5 million of additional checks made payable to MDI at a bank and a local liquor store that offered check-cashing services.
In relation to MDI’s federal tax returns, Chen provided the tax return preparer with statements from MDI’s business bank account as and falsely advised the tax return preparer that all of MDI’s income had been deposited into the business bank account.
By failing to tell MDI’s return preparer that he had cashed a substantial portion of business checks made payable to MDI, Chen caused MDI to falsely report its gross receipts to the IRS. This underreporting resulted in an underpayment of federal taxes totaling $1,642,935.
Chen is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Mark C. Scarsi on December 12, at which time Chen will face a statutory maximum sentence of three years in federal prison.
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Steven M. Arkow of the Major Frauds Section is prosecuting this case.
Chinese National Convicted of Acting Within the United States as an Unregistered Agent of the People’s Republic of ChinaRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A federal jury in Chicago today convicted a Chinese national of acting illegally within the United States as an agent of the People’s Republic of China.
JI CHAOQUN, 31, was found guilty on one count of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government, specifically the People’s Republic of China, without first notifying the Attorney General; one count of acting as an agent of the People’s Republic of China without first notifying the Attorney General; and one count of making a material false statement to the U.S. Army. The jury acquitted Ji on two counts of wire fraud.
The conviction for acting as an unregistered Chinese agent is punishable by up to ten years in federal prison, while the conspiracy and false statement convictions are each punishable by up to five years. U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman did not immediately set a sentencing date.
The verdicts were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the U.S. Department of Justice; and Ashley T. Johnson, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The U.S. Army 902nd Military Intelligence Group provided valuable assistance. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vikas Didwania and Barry Jonas of the Northern District of Illinois, and Senior Trial Attorney Heather Schmidt of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
Evidence presented at the two-week trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago revealed that Ji worked at the direction of high-level intelligence officers in the Jiangsu Province Ministry of State Security, a provincial department of the Ministry of State Security for the People’s Republic of China. Ji, a Chinese citizen residing in Chicago, was tasked by Xu Yanjun, a Deputy Division Director within the Ministry of State Security, with providing an intelligence officer with biographical information on certain individuals for possible recruitment by the JSSD. The individuals included Chinese nationals who were working as engineers and scientists in the United States, some of whom worked for U.S. defense contractors. This tasking was part of an effort by the Jiangsu provincial department to obtain access to advanced aerospace and satellite technologies being developed by companies within the U.S. Xu was convicted last year in the Southern District of Ohio of conspiracy and attempting to commit economic espionage and theft of trade secrets.
In 2016, Ji enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves under the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest program, which authorized the U.S. Armed Forces to recruit certain legal aliens whose skills are considered vital to the national interest. In his application to participate in the MAVNI program, Ji falsely stated that he had not had contact with a foreign government within the past seven years. In a subsequent interview with a U.S. Army officer, Ji again failed to disclose his relationship and contacts with a foreign intelligence officer.
California Woman Indicted for Embezzling More Than $1 Million from EmployerRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A federal grand jury returned an indictment against a California woman for wire fraud, identity theft, and filing false tax returns after embezzling more than $1 million from her employer, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, Mai Houa Xiong, 47, of Fresno, California, was employed as a financial manager for a Minneapolis-based property management company that provided financial services to homeowners’ associations throughout the Twin Cities metro area. Xiong’s duties included bookkeeping, and as manager she had nearly unfettered access to the victim homeowner’s associations’ financials, bank accounts, vendor and contractor payments, and bookkeeping systems. Between February 2015 and February 2022, Xiong devised and executed a fraud scheme to embezzle funds directly from the accounts to which she had access. These funds were HOA fees collected from residents, intended to pay for maintenance, construction, and other costs incurred by the victim associations.
As part of the scheme, Xiong repeatedly accessed the HOAs’ bank accounts and conducted electronic transfers of funds directly into her personal bank accounts. Xiong disguised these transfers by mis-labeling them to make it appear as if they were legitimate HOA expenses. Xiong also used her authority as a signatory to make cash withdrawals directly from the HOAs’ accounts, including making withdrawals after she was fired from her position in July 2021. After her termination, Xiong began collecting Unemployment Insurance (UI) funds. However, even after Xiong found new employment, she continued to wrongfully obtain public UI benefits.
Xiong is charged with five counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, four counts of making and subscribing a false return, and one count of failure to file an individual return. She was arrested on September 22, 2022, and made her initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of California.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the IRS – Criminal Investigations, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the Minneapolis Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison K. Ethen 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.
Brooklyn Man Sentenced for Distributing Cocaine BaseRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that on September 23, 2022, Tyrish Stevenson, 48, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss to 37 months’ imprisonment and a 3-year term of supervised release for distributing cocaine base on September 9, 2021.
According to court records, throughout August and September 2021, investigators with the Burlington Police Department, with the assistance of members of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Burlington Resident Office, conducted multiple controlled purchases of narcotics from traffickers who were working together in Burlington, Vermont.
As part of this investigation, on September 9, 2021, a confidential informant purchased cocaine base from Stevenson in downtown Burlington. On September 23, 2021, investigators apprehended multiple traffickers involved in drug distribution, including Stevenson, who admitted to possessing with intent to distribute over 16 grams of cocaine base found nearby at the time of Stevenson’s arrest. That day, investigators also executed a search warrant at a Church Street residence in downtown Burlington. Within the Church Street residence, investigators recovered over 40 grams of cocaine base and over 18 grams of fentanyl, which Stevenson, with others, admitted to possessing with intent to distribute. Investigators also recovered a Mossberg .410 pump shotgun and a Savage Arms .22 Long Rifle from the Church Street residence.
United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the efforts of the Burlington Police Department as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration, Burlington Resident Office, in the investigation and prosecution of Stevenson.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Gilman. Stevenson was represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Steven Barth, Esq.
Biogen Inc. Agrees to Pay $900 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations Related to Improper Physician PaymentsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Pharmaceutical company Biogen Inc. (Biogen), based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has agreed to pay $900 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by causing the submission of false claims to Medicare and Medicaid by paying kickbacks to physicians to induce them to prescribe Biogen drugs.
The settlement announced today resolves a lawsuit filed and litigated by former Biogen employee Michael Bawduniak against Biogen under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit a private party (known as a relator) to file a lawsuit on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The United States may intervene in the action or, as in this case, the relator may proceed with the lawsuit.
In his lawsuit filed in the District of Massachusetts, Bawduniak alleged that Biogen paid kickbacks to physicians to induce them to prescribe the company’s multiple sclerosis drugs. According to the relator’s complaint, from Jan. 1, 2009, through March 18, 2014, Biogen held programs through which it offered and paid remuneration, including speaker honoraria, speaker training fees, consulting fees and meals, to health care professionals who spoke at or attended Biogen’s speaker programs, speaker training meetings or consultant programs to induce them to prescribe the drugs Avonex, Tysabri and Tecfidera in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute.
“We thank Mr. Bawduniak for uncovering this behavior and bringing it to light,” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins. “This matter is an important example of the vital role that whistleblowers and their attorneys can play in protecting our nation’s public healthcare programs.”
“Bawduniak doggedly pursued this matter on behalf of the United States for over seven years,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “The settlement announced today underscores the critical role that whistleblowers and their attorneys play in utilizing the False Claims Act to combat fraud affecting federal healthcare programs.”
Under the terms of the settlement, Biogen will pay $843,805,187 to the United States and $56,194,813 to 15 states. The United States will pay Bawduniak a share of the federal recovery.
The case was monitored by the Department of Justice’s Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.