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Thursday 14 July 2022
Nicaraguan Man Sentenced to More Than 11 Years in Prison for 2-Week Robbery Spree of U.S. Postal Service Mail CarriersRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Nicaraguan national illegally residing in the United States has been sentenced to 135 months in federal prison for a two-week crime spree in which he robbed five United States Postal Service (USPS) employees – and fired a handgun so close to one victim that it caused him to suffer a ruptured eardrum, the Justice Department announced today.
Elvyn Antonio Rodriguez, 22, a.k.a. Elvyn Meneses Rodriguez, a transient who has lived in various locations in the San Fernando Valley, was sentenced late Wednesday afternoon by United States District Judge Dolly M. Gee, who also ordered him to pay $2,825 in restitution to the USPS and two mail carriers.
Rodriguez pleaded guilty on March 15 to three counts of robbery of mail and property of the United States and one count of aggravated identity theft.
From April 30 until May 14, 2021, Rodriguez robbed five USPS employees in Encino, North Hills, Van Nuys and West Los Angeles, pointing a firearm at them and stealing their personal belongings, including their cell phones, credit cards and the keys to their USPS trucks. Rodriguez then used the victims’ credit cards at retailers, where he purchased various items including clothing, BB guns, a watch, a glass pipe, and gasoline.
In the fifth robbery on May 14, 2021, Rodriguez, carrying a semi-automatic firearm, approached a USPS mail carrier in West Los Angeles and demanded his wallet. When the victim refused, Rodriguez cocked his firearm. Rodriguez and the victim then struggled over the firearm. During the struggle, Rodriguez fired the weapon in close proximity to the victim’s head, leaving gunshot residue on the victim’s shoulder. Rodriguez then stole mail from the victim and fled in a stolen Chevrolet Malibu along with an accomplice. A .40-caliber casing was recovered at the robbery’s location.
As a result of the gun discharge, the victim was transported to a hospital and was treated for a ruptured ear drum.
Rodriguez, who has been in federal custody since May 2021, caused USPS a loss of at least $1,805, one victim a loss of $60 and another victim a loss of $960.
“While [Rodriguez] enriched himself at the expense of his victims, they remained traumatized and forever impacted by [his] actions,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum.
The United States Postal Inspection Service and the Los Angeles Police Department investigated this matter.
Special Assistant United States Attorney Kyle W. Kahan of the General Crimes Section prosecuted this case.
New York Man Sentenced to 22 Months in Prison for Defrauding Customers of New Jersey Moving CompanyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Hewlett, New York man was sentenced today to 22 months in prison for his role in a scheme through which he defrauded over 260 customers of his moving company causing losses in excess of $540,000, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Lior Atiyas (a/k/a “David Cohen”), 44, previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court. His co-conspirator, Lola Larios, is scheduled for sentencing on August 9, 2022, before Judge Cecchi.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From as early as January 2016 through January 2019, Atiyas devised a scheme to enrich himself and his moving company, which used several names to conceal its true identity, including Premier Relocations LLC, Metro Van Lines Inc., Astoria Motor Van Company, Lyon Moving, and Empire Move. Atiyas, along with Larios, regularly extorted customers by quoting them “low-ball” price estimates for moving household goods. Once the customers’ goods were loaded onto the moving trucks, Premier’s employees, at the direction of Atiyas or Larios, or Atiyas himself, would drastically raise the price of the move (often two or three times that of the quoted estimate), and then refuse to deliver the goods until the customers paid the increased price. The aggregate difference between the initial low-ball estimates and the revised inflated amounts charged to victims was approximately $547,525.
Atiyas was also convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, for his participation in a scheme whereby he generated fake paystubs and a fake employment confirmation letter in order for an uncharged co-conspirator to obtain Medicaid benefits. As a result of his role in the health care fraud conspiracy, Atiyas caused the submission of over $40,000 in fraudulent medical claims.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Cecchi sentenced Atiyas to three years of supervised release.
If you believe you are a victim of this crime, please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office Victim-Witness Office at [email protected].
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited Special Agents with the Department of Transportation, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher Scharf, Northeast Region, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert, with the investigation leading to these charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Amore of the U.S. Attorney’s Office National Security Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel for Lior Atiyas: Saul Bienenfeld, Esq.
New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Being a Felon in Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that RENALDO RUFFIN, age 29, of New Orleans, pled guilty on July 12, 2022 to violations of the Federal Gun Control Act.
Specifically, on July 12, 2022, RUFFIN pled guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).
Based on court records, RUFFIN possessed a GlockModel 23 .40 caliber S&W semiautomatic handgun on or about August 30, 2020. Additionally, RUFFIN possessed 5.56 caliber ammunition on January 24, 2022.
On each count, RUFFIN faces a maximum sentence of up to 10 years of imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to 3 years of supervised release, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Louisiana State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan L. Shih is in charge of the prosecution.
New Leadership Team Announced for the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of GeorgiaRead the Press Release
MACON, Ga. – U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary has elevated three Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSAs) to leadership roles within the 70-county U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah McEwen has been named the Deputy Criminal Chief; Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Helmick will become the Branch Chief for the Columbus, Georgia, Division; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Simon will serve as the Senior Litigation Counsel (SLC) for the Civil Division. These three attorneys join recently promoted First Assistant U.S. Attorney and Criminal Chief Shanelle Booker, Civil Chief Kevin Abernethy and Senior Litigation Counsel (SLC) for the Criminal Division Robert McCullers to comprise the legal leadership in the office.
“These individuals are highly qualified and have displayed both wisdom and passion in their pursuit of justice on behalf of the people they serve,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “It’s critically important to the larger mission that our Office continues to develop a cutting-edge team dedicated to making our communities safer and upholding justice for all.”
Deputy Criminal Chief Leah McEwen will supervise the Albany and Valdosta Divisions in her new role, overseeing criminal cases involving hundreds of defendants annually. Deputy Criminal Chief McEwen has served as both Senior Litigation Counsel (SLC) and Director of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program. A career prosecutor, she worked as a Dougherty County Assistant District Attorney before turning to federal prosecution, joining the Albany Criminal Division in 2005. Deputy Criminal Chief McEwen’s expertise includes leading large multi-agency drug and criminal gang prosecutions. She successfully prosecuted the nation’s first criminal case involving an unlicensed drone operator who attempted to drop drugs into a Georgia prison and was invited to share her knowledge with national OCDETF leadership. Deputy Criminal Chief McEwen frequently provides training to prosecutors and law enforcement on criminal legal issues and was named Georgia’s Arson Prosecutor of the Year. A native of the Middle District of Georgia, she earned both her undergraduate and law degrees from Mercer University, with high honors.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Helmick will become the new Branch Chief for the Columbus, Georgia, Division, effective July 17. Assistant U.S. Attorney Helmick joined the office in 2018, serving in both the Civil and Criminal Divisions. Before becoming a federal prosecutor, AUSA Helmick clerked for several years for U.S. District Judge Clay Land and U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Hyles, both of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, and she also worked for a Columbus-based law firm. AUSA Helmick’s experience ranges from violent crime prosecutions to large-scale fraud cases. She has worked on high-profile civil cases defending the United States and is the Border Security Coordinator for the Office. AUSA Helmick will manage the second-largest staffed Division within the District. A graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law and Furman University, AUSA Helmick was admitted to multiple honor societies and academic groups. Born in Georgia, she is active in the Columbus community, volunteering with both civic and religious organizations, and is currently on the executive committee for the Columbus Inn of Court.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Simon will serve as the new Senior Litigation Counsel (SLC) for the Civil Division. Before joining the Middle District in 2018, AUSA Simon served in two components of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.: first as an attorney with the Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section, then as a Senior Attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Previously, AUSA Simon clerked for Justice Ayala Procaccia of the Supreme Court of Israel and worked with a private law firm in Atlanta. Since 2020, he has served on the adjunct faculty of Mercer University School of Law. As the Civil Division’s SLC, AUSA Simon will focus on high-profile civil cases at the district court and appellate levels and develop training opportunities for attorneys and community stakeholders. AUSA Simon is the first openly LGBTQ person to serve in a leadership role within the Office. He received his law degree from Tulane University Law School and his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia, graduating with high honors. A first generation American, AUSA Simon grew up in Marietta, Georgia.
The Middle District of Georgia encompasses 70 of Georgia’s 159 counties, and includes Albany, Athens, Columbus, Macon and Valdosta with a population of approximately 2,045,000 people. The office is responsible for prosecuting federal crimes in the District, including crimes related to terrorism, public corruption, child exploitation, fraud, firearms, illegal gangs and narcotics. The office also defends the United States in civil cases and collects debts owed to the United States.
Montezuma Man Sentenced to 92 Months in Prison for Assaulting Officers During Arrest for Child Pornography CrimesRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, IA – On July 13, 2022, Nathan Mason Nosley, age 31, of Montezuma, Iowa, was sentenced to 92 months in prison for assaulting law enforcement officers with a firearm. Nosley’s sentencing followed his earlier guilty plea to that offense.
The assault occurred on November 20, 2020, when officers attempted to arrest Nosley for unrelated child pornography crimes. As the officers tried to take Nosley into custody, he pulled a loaded handgun from his waistband and fought with officers as they tried to get control of the firearm. During the struggle, Nosley bit an officer’s hand, causing the officer to bleed. The officers ultimately were able to secure the gun and take Nosley into custody. Nosley’s gun contained a loaded magazine and a live round in the chamber. A search of Nosley’s person revealed additional ammunition in his pocket.
Nosley was later convicted at trial of the child pornography offenses and was sentenced to 140 years in prison in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. The 92-month sentence for assaulting the officers was imposed consecutively to Nosley’s sentence in the child pornography case.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This matter was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Iowa State Patrol, and the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
Monte Vista Man Pleads Guilty to Burglary of a United States Post OfficeRead the Press Release
DENVER – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Edward Anthony Medina, age 60, of Monte Vista, CO, pleaded guilty to burglary of a United States Post Office.
According to the plea agreement, on December 19, 2021, the defendant knowingly broke into the Monte Vista Post Office, located at 150 Washington Street, Monte Vista City, Colorado, with the intent to commit larceny. Once inside, Medina accessed multiple safes and stole $702.91 in cash belonging to the United States Postal Service.
United States District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore presided over the change of plea hearing on July 12, 2022. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for September 23, 2022.
The United States Postal Inspection Service in Denver, CO, and the Monte Vista Police Department conducted a joint investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Albert Buchman handled the prosecution of the case.
Case Number: 22-cr-00060
Military Contractor Pleads Guilty to Rigging Bids for Public Contracts in Texas and MichiganRead the Press Release
A Texas military contractor pleaded guilty yesterday to rigging bids on public military contracts in Texas and Michigan.
Yesterday, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Texarkana Division, John “Mark” Leveritt, 62, pleaded guilty to rigging bids on government contracts from at least May 2013 through April 2018.
According to court documents, Leveritt conspired with others to rig bids on certain government contracts in order to give the false impression of competition and to secure government payments in excess of $17.5 million. The plea agreement detailed seven contracting bids that Leveritt and his co-conspirator rigged, which included work performed for the Red River Army Depot in Texarkana and the U.S. Contracting Command in Warren, Michigan.
Leveritt also admitted to falsely representing himself to be an employee of one business so that he could obtain government contracts that were set aside for qualifying businesses that were required to be owned and operated by certain categories of minority, disadvantaged or disabled persons. In fact, the work for some of the contracts was performed by businesses that had not placed any bids. Leveritt also admitted to providing a government employee with: tickets to a 2011 World Series game, tickets to two college football games, two expense-paid family vacations to Las Vegas, donations to youth sports teams coached by the government employee and approximately 100 meals at restaurants.
“U.S. taxpayers deserve to know that the government contracting process is not subverted through collusion,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Bid rigging undermines the competitive process, wastes taxpayer dollars and deprives businesses that follow the rules of the right to fair competition. Investigating and prosecuting this case and others involving government contracting is a top priority for the Department of Justice and all members of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force.”
“The United States government offers many economic opportunities to the free market for fair contracts and the welcomed employment of many people,” said U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston for the Eastern District of Texas. “When thieves take advantage of the taxpayer and of those persons trying to compete fairly for contracts, their felonious acts undermine the confidence built into the contracting process.”
“Rigging bids undermines the benefits of competition and takes money out of the pockets of taxpayers,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The public deserves a level playing field when doing business with the government. The FBI, hand in hand with our law enforcement partners, will continue to investigate those who corrupt the systems established to protect American citizens from this type of fraud.”
“Bid rigging disrupts the government contracting process and leads to waste and unfair bid competition,” said Special Agent-in-Charge L. Scott Moreland of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Major Procurement Fraud Field Office. “This guilty plea demonstrates how CID’s highly-trained special agents in our fraud unit, matched with other federal partnerships, aids in combating and uncovering fraud, deception, bribery and other criminal acts.”
Leveritt pleaded guilty to a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other relevant factors.
The Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal II Section is prosecuting the case, which was investigated with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Dallas Fraud Resident Agency and the FBI’s Dallas Field Office.
Anyone with information in connection with this investigation should contact the Antitrust Division’s Complaint Center at 888-647-3258, or visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.
In November 2019, the Department of Justice created the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF), a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant and program funding at all levels of government – federal, state and local. To learn more about the PCSF, or to report information on market allocation, price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct related to defense-related spending, go to https://www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force.
Middlesex County Man Admits Embezzling $2.37 Million from His Employer While the Controller of CompanyRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J.– A Middlesex County, New Jersey, man today admitted his role in a scheme to embezzle $2.37 million from his employer while his was the company’s controller, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Gerard Beauzile, 60, South Plainfield, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson in Trenton federal court, an indictment charging him with one count of wire fraud.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:
From 2014 through December 2020, Beauzile abused his position as controller of a New York-based company to embezzle funds by issuing fraudulent company checks to himself and then depositing those checks into his bank account for his own personal benefit. Beauzile issued approximately 140 company checks to himself with a total value of $2.37 million. Beauzile concealed the theft from the company by falsely entering the fraudulent checks into the company’s accounting system under various company vendor names as the payees, causing the accounting system to falsely reflect that the checks were made payable to company vendors instead of to Beauzile. He also falsified vendor invoices to correspond to the entries made in the accounting system, and company bank statements by removing and altering opening, running, and closing balances, check payment entries, summary check listings, and inter-account transfers.
The mail fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov.15, 2022.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jesse Levine in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Blake Coppotelli of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit.
Defense counsel: Laura Sayler Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender
Maryland Man Indicted for Bias-Motivated Assaults of Men in Washington, D.C. ParkRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Michael Thomas Pruden, 48, with five counts of assault on federal land, one count of impersonating a federal officer, and a hate crimes sentencing enhancement alleging that Pruden assaulted four of the victims because of their perceived sexual orientation. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia and Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D’Antuono for the FBI Washington Field Office made the announcement.
The indictment alleges that on five separate dates from 2018 to 2021, Pruden went after dark to Meridian Hill Park, aka Malcolm X Park, which is informally known in the Washington, D.C. community as a meeting place for men seeking consensual sex with other men, and assaulted five men with a chemical irritant. Before spraying the men, Pruden pretended to be a Park Police officer, shined a flashlight in the victims’ faces and gave the victims police-style directives. The indictment alleges that Pruden assaulted four of the victims because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation.
Pruden was arrested today in Norfolk, Virginia. Pruden faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years for each assault count and a three-year statutory maximum sentence for impersonating a federal officer. The hate crimes sentencing enhancement increases the range of the potential sentence for the assault counts.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Park Police and the FBI Washington Field Office, and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Rebekah J. Bailey of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Risa Berkower for the District of Columbia.
If you believe that you were a victim of, or witnessed, a similar assault in Meridian Hill Park, please call the FBI tip line, 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).
For more information and resources about the department’s work to combat hate crimes, visit www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Maryland Man Indicted for Bias-Motivated Assaults of Men in Northwest Washington ParkRead the Press Release
Update: On September 27, 2024, Mr. Pruden was acquitted on all charges at trial.
WASHINGTON — A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Michael Thomas Pruden, 48, formerly of Maryland, with five counts of assault on federal land, one count of impersonating a federal officer, and a hate crimes sentencing enhancement alleging that Pruden assaulted four of the victims because of their perceived sexual orientation.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia and Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D’Antuono for the FBI Washington Field Office made the announcement.
The indictment alleges that on five separate dates from 2018 to 2021, Pruden went after dark to Meridian Hill Park, a.k.a. Malcolm X Park, informally known in the Washington, D.C. community as a meeting place for men seeking consensual sex with other men, and assaulted five men with a chemical irritant. Before spraying the men, Pruden pretended to be a Park Police officer, shined a flashlight in the victims’ faces, and gave the victims police-style directives. The indictment alleges that Pruden assaulted four of the victims because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation.
Pruden was arrested today in Norfolk, Virginia. He faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years for each assault count and a three-year statutory maximum sentence for impersonating a federal officer. The hate crimes sentencing enhancement increases the range of the potential sentence for the assault counts.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Park Police and the FBI Washington Field Office and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Rebekah J. Bailey of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Risa Berkower for the District of Columbia.
If you believe that you were a victim of, or witnessed, a similar assault in Meridian Hill Park, please call the FBI tip line, 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).
For more information and resources about the Justice Department’s work to combat hate crimes, visit www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Prosecuting bias-related crimes is critical to keeping our community safe. When one member of a group in the community is the victim of a bias-related crime, all members carry with them a fear that they, too, may be targeted because of who they are. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia (USAO-DC) is committed to enforcing both federal and local hate and bias-related crime laws.
For more information:https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/hatebias-related-crimes
Louisiana Woman Sentenced to Prison in False Tax Return SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Louisiana woman was sentenced on July 12, 2022 to 40 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States.
According to court documents, Carlanda Isaac, of New Orleans, worked for Pelican Income Tax and Bookkeeping Services LLC, and later for Taxes by J.A.D.A., another tax preparation business. Isaac, together with others, sought inflated tax refunds for clients by claiming on their return’s false income, withholding and education credits. Isaac charged her clients a fee for preparing false tax returns.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Greg G. Guidry ordered Isaac to serve three years of supervised release and to pay approximately $283,378 in restitution to the United States.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans for the Eastern District of Louisiana made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Jessica Kraft of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carter Guice of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana prosecuted the case.
Los Angeles Area Man Charged with Assaulting Rangers in Yosemite National ParkRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Robert Anthony Mendoza Jr., 23, of Pico Rivera, charging him with assaulting a federal officer resulting in bodily injury and assaulting a federal officer with physical contact, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, on July 3, 2022, during the busy Fourth of July holiday weekend in Yosemite National Park, law enforcement rangers responded to a report of a fight in the campground known as Housekeeping Camp. The rangers saw Robert Mendoza Jr. and his father, Robert Mendoza Sr., fighting. As the rangers tried to arrest him, Mendoza Jr. refused to comply, and a violent confrontation ensued. Mendoza Jr. struck one ranger numerous times, resulting in pain, swelling, and bruising to the ranger’s head, jaw and neck. After Mendoza Jr. was finally subdued and placed in a patrol car for transport, he became violent again and slipped out of his restraints. When the rangers stopped to secure him, he began fighting with them and headbutted a second ranger.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Yosemite National Park Service law enforcement officers. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laurel J. Montoya is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Mendoza Jr. faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for assault on a federal officer resulting in bodily injury and up to eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine for assault on a federal officer with physical contact. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Licensed Attorney Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding Medicaid in Scheme Involving Personal Care ServicesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Susan Engonwei Tingwei, 44, of Silver Spring, Md., a licensed attorney, was sentenced today to 10 months in prison for defrauding the D.C. Medicaid program out of more than $100,000 in a scheme involving false claims about personal care services.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division, Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General for the region that includes Washington, D.C., and Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia.
Tingwei pleaded guilty in November 2021, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to health care fraud. She was sentenced by the Honorable Carl J. Nichols. Following her prison term, she will be placed on two years of supervised release. She also must pay $131,656 in restitution and an identical amount in a forfeiture money judgment.
In court documents, Tingwei admitted that at various times between 2016 and 2018, she was employed by two different home health agencies in the District of Columbia. The home health agencies employed her to assist D.C. Medicaid beneficiaries in performing activities of daily living, such as getting in and out of bed, bathing, dressing, and eating.
Tingwei was supposed to document the care that she provided to Medicaid beneficiaries on timesheets and then submit the timesheets to the home health agencies, which would in turn bill Medicaid for the services that she rendered. As part of her guilty plea, Tingwei admitted that she submitted false timesheets claiming to provide services that she did not actually render.
Tingwei earned her Master of Laws degree from the University of Maryland in May 2017. She was admitted to the New York state bar in February 2018 and the Maryland state bar in January 2020.
On 118 occasions between August 2016 and May 2017, Tingwei submitted timesheets claiming that she worked as a personal care aide in Washington, D.C., during the same hours when she either was scheduled to attend law school classes in Baltimore, or when she should have been traveling to or from Baltimore related to her law school program. For example, Tingwei submitted timesheets claiming that she provided services to two beneficiaries on April 13, 2017, one from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the other from 3:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Records show Tingwei’s key card swiping in at the University of Maryland’s law school campus at 5:30 p.m. and swiping out at 9:29 p.m. Cell phone records also showed her cell phone being in Baltimore between 8:03 a.m. and 9:31 p.m. that day.
Tingwei admitted that her fraud scheme began no later than August 2016 and continued through September 2018. She acknowledged successfully defrauding the D.C. Medicaid program out of $131,656.
The FBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, the District of Columbia’s Office of the Inspector General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals who defraud the D.C. Medicaid program.
Since August 2018, 11 former personal care aides have pleaded guilty to defrauding Medicaid in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Six of those aides were sentenced to 13 months in prison; a seventh was sentenced to serve 15 months.
The government urges the public to provide tips and assistance to stop health care fraud.
If you have information about individuals committing health care fraud, please call the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General hotline at (800) HHS‑TIPS [(800) 447-8477] or the D.C. Office of the Inspector General at (800) 724-TIPS [(800) 274-8477].
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kondi Kleinman and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise Simmonds, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Michon Tart and former Paralegal Specialists Angeline Thekkumthala and Brittany Phillips.
Leupp Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Sexual Abuse of a MinorRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – On Monday, Rom Lee Bennett, 33, of Leupp, Arizona, was sentenced by United States District Judge Susan M. Brnovich to 120 months in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release. Bennett previously pleaded guilty to Sexual Abuse of a Minor.
In 2018, Bennett sexually abused the minor at his home on the Navajo Nation, where Bennett and the minor victim are enrolled members.
The FBI and the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Crowley and Sharon Sexton, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR 20-08109-SMB
RELEASE NUMBER: 2022-116_Bennett# # #
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.
Lehigh Acres Couple Sentenced to Prison for COVID Relief FraudRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Amber Rewis Bruey (35, Lehigh Acres) to four years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and illegal monetary transactions. Her husband and co-conspirator, Anthony James Bruey, was sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison for the same offenses. Mr. and Ms. Bruey had pleaded guilty on February 4, 2022, and March 16, 2022, respectively.
According to court documents, between April and June 2020, the Brueys conspired to submit a total of 26 fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications to Small Business Administration (SBA) approved lenders, loan processing companies, and the SBA. The applications contained numerous false and fraudulent representations, including the applicant’s dates of operation, payroll, gross revenues, total number of employees, and the criminal histories of the applicants or business owners. The Brueys also submitted false and fraudulent tax documents to qualify for the loans.
The Brueys’ false and fraudulent representations caused PPP lenders and the SBA to approve 12 of the loans and issue a total of $881,058.35 in PPP and EIDL funds. The Brueys then unlawfully used the funds to purchase a $211,457 residence in North Carolina, a 2019 GMC Yukon SUV, a 2020 Honda Talon, and to make a $23,566 restitution payment as a condition of probation in a criminal court case for Amber Bruey. The Brueys were ordered to forfeit all of these items and property, as well as to pay restitution in the amount of $881,659.35.
“The Brueys used CARES Act funds as their personal ATM. They bought cars and a residence, and used the funds to make a restitution payment in another criminal case,” said Brian Payne, special agent in charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Tampa Field Office. “IRS-CI special agents are committed to stamping out fraud and ensuring that CARES Act funds are used for their intended purpose.”
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted March 2020. It is designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act is 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 PPP allows qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of one percent. Businesses must use PPP loan proceeds for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal to be forgiven if the business spends the proceeds on these expenses within a set time period and uses at least a certain percentage of the loan toward payroll expenses.
The EIDL program is designed to provide economic relied to small businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue. EIDL proceeds can be used to cover a wide array of working capital and normal operating expenses, such as continuation of health care benefits, rent, utilities, and fixed debt payments. If an applicant also obtains a loan under the PPP, the EIDL funds cannot be used for the same purpose as the PPP funds.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Trent Reichling. The forfeiture was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne Nebesky.
Leader of Meth Trafficking Conspiracy Sentenced to 17 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that JEREMY ORTIZ-MOLINA was sentenced to 204 months in prison today for leading a conspiracy to traffic eight kilograms of methamphetamine to New York City. U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman imposed today’s sentence.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “The sentence today reaffirms our judicial system’s unflinching commitment to hold narcotics traffickers accountable. Methamphetamine promotes violence, ruins lives, and destroys families. The defendant sought to profit from trafficking significant quantities of this horrific drug and will be justly punished.”
According to court filings and statements made in court proceedings:
In or about February 2021, ORTIZ-MOLINA led a conspiracy to traffic wholesale quantities of methamphetamine from Florida to New York City. ORTIZ-MOLINA supervised his codefendants DEREK ORTIZ SOCIAS (who is ORTIZ-MOLINA’s son) and PEDRO ROSARIO CARRASQUILLO.
ORTIZ-MOLINA personally negotiated the sale of eight kilograms of methamphetamine for $8,500 per kilogram to a confidential source and then directed ORTIZ SOCIAS and ROSARIO CARRASQUILLO to deliver those drugs to Manhattan inside a trailer. To conceal their crime, the defendants also loaded motorcycles into the trailer, as part of a cover story that they were making the trip to sell motorcycles. The bricks of methamphetamine, which laboratory tests determined to be approximately 99 percent pure, were hidden inside a trap in the trailer.
After his codefendants were arrested, ORTIZ-MOLINA continued trying to sell kilogram quantities of methamphetamine to the confidential source and also offered to sell heroin. A search of ORTIZ-MOLINA’s phones revealed additional evidence of narcotics trafficking.
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Codefendant ROSARIO CARRASQUILLO was previously sentenced to 96 months in prison and codefendant ORTIZ SOCIAS’s case is pending.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA, New York State Police, and NYPD. The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Jun Xiang is in charge of the prosecution.
KC Man Sentenced for Carjacking, Illegal FirearmRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Missouri, man has been sentenced in federal court for carjacking and using the victim’s debit card to withdraw $500 from his bank account.
Regginald Dace Jr., 20, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark on Wednesday, July 13, to 10 years in federal prison without parole.
On Oct. 21, 2021, Dace pleaded guilty to one count of robbery and one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence.
Co-defendant Abdul M. Williams, 21, was sentenced to 15 years and 11 months in federal prison without parole on Nov. 29, 2021, after pleading guilty to his involvement in the same carjacking as well as pleading guilty, in a separate and unrelated case, to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. The court also ordered Dace and Williams to pay $1,500 in restitution to their victim.
Dace, Williams and an unidentified juvenile were given a ride by the victim, identified in court documents as “J.D.”, on Sept. 9, 2020. When they stopped at a gas station on Prospect Avenue in Kansas City, Mo., Dace put a gun to the victim’s head and threatened to “blow his brains out.” According to the victim, Dace and the juvenile each held the gun to his head at different times. They took the victim’s credit and bank debit card from his pocket and demanded the personal identification number (PIN) associated with the debit card. Williams withdrew $500 from the victim’s bank account, using an ATM inside the gas station.
The victim was forced at gunpoint to move from the driver’s seat to the back seat of his vehicle, a black 2015 GMC Sierra, and the juvenile got into the driver’s seat. They drove to a bank at 4920 Main Street and attempted to withdraw more money from an ATM with the victim’s debit card. However, the bank’s daily limit for ATM withdrawals had already been met with the original $500 withdrawal, so they were unsuccessful. They damaged the victim’s vehicle by side-swiping a pylon while attempting to use the ATM.
They demanded the victim’s home address. When he didn’t give them the address, they used his GPS to obtain his home address and the victim was driven to his home. When they arrived at his home, the victim was able to get out of the vehicle and escape. Dace, Williams and the juvenile drove away in the victim’s vehicle.
At approximately 5 p.m. the same day, law enforcement officers located the victim’s unoccupied parked vehicle. When Dace, Williams and the juvenile got into the vehicle and Dace began driving, officers attempted a car check. The vehicle initially stopped, but then fled eastbound on East 39th Street. After a brief pursuit, all three fled from the vehicle on foot. Dace was found hiding on the roof of a structure at 3922 Troost Avenue and taken into custody.
The victim stated he has received threats of violence for cooperating with the police on his case. The victim said in response, he has rarely been able to leave his residence and has taken precautions to fortify his household against the threats.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashleigh A. Ragner. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
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.
Jury Finds Defendant Guilty in Interstate Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
FLORENCE, SOUTH CAROLINA —Brodus Bernard Gregg, 68, of Conway, South Carolina, was convicted following a two-day jury trial in federal court for participating in an interstate cocaine trafficking conspiracy that operated for several years in the Pee Dee.
“Brodus Gregg and his co-conspirators brought large quantities of cocaine from other states into South Carolina, and a jury has now held him accountable for his conduct,” said U.S. Attorney Corey F. Ellis. “We are grateful to the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office for their work in disrupting and dismantling this criminal enterprise. Alongside our federal, state, and local partners, we will continue to prioritize the prosecution of those who profit off the lethal drugs they pedal into our communities.”
“The mission of DEA is unwavering--we relentlessly pursue drug traffickers who distribute dangerous drugs like cocaine in our communities,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “These drugs cause immeasurable damage. DEA and its law enforcement partners are committed to protecting and serving these communities.”
“We are so appreciative of the partnerships that we have with State and Federal agencies which resulted in a conviction for this case. We are grateful to the deputies who initiated this investigation and for their exceptional work,” said Aiken County Sheriff Michael Hunt. “We will continue to do what we can to stop the distribution of illegal narcotics by working with our law enforcement partners and our community.”
Evidence presented by the Government at trial established that beginning around 2015, several drug dealers in the Conway and Myrtle Beach area began paying Gregg between $1,000 and $1,500 to pick up kilogram-quantities of cocaine and heroin from sources of supply in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Atlanta, Georgia, and drive the drugs back to South Carolina, where they were broken down for further distribution.
The existence of the conspiracy came to light during a court-authorized wiretap conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration during the summer of 2020, which intercepted communications from three target telephones that were in contact with dozens of drug dealers in the Pee Dee. Further investigation into the inner workings of the criminal enterprise led agents to piece together that Gregg had previously been caught during a traffic stop carrying ½ kilogram of cocaine from Atlanta to Conway while on a drug resupply run for the organization.
The evidence showed that on October 9, 2019, at 8:19 p.m., two deputies from the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office Interdiction Unit stopped Gregg on the shoulder of Interstate 20 near Aiken based on a window tint violation. The dash and body cameras from the stop showed that upon entering the Gregg’s identifying information into a car-mounted computer, deputies learned that he had an outstanding warrant for an unrelated crime from Georgetown County. Deputies also walked a drug detection canine around Gregg’s vehicle during the stop, and the canine indicated a positive alert for narcotics.
When deputies attempted to detain Gregg to search his vehicle, he ran and tried to reenter his vehicle to flee. A roadside struggle ensued for more than five minutes as dozens of passenger vehicles and commercial trucks zoomed past them at highway speeds less than five feet away. During this scuffle, the video captured Gregg telling the deputies that they will “have to kill him” to detain him.
After Gregg was detained, the deputies searched his vehicle and located 500.9 grams of cocaine. After being checked out by EMS roadside, Gregg admitted that he was delivering the cocaine from an individual in Atlanta to another individual in Conway. In the months that followed, he also admitted his role in the drug trafficking conspiracy to DEA agents.
At trial, Gregg testified that he did not know what he was transporting, and that he thought on an earlier occasion he had transported beauty supplies for a co-conspirator’s wife’s beauty salon. He stated that he fought the deputies because he felt intimidated during the traffic stop and accused agents of lying about the statements he gave during his interviews. Several other members of the conspiracy who had previously pled guilty testified as witnesses. They each said that Gregg knew that he was transporting cocaine, and that he had been doing so for them for several years. They said the ½ kilogram of cocaine Gregg was transporting was worth approximately $25,000.
The jury quickly returned a verdict of guilty.
United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon presided over the trial and will sentence Gregg after receiving and reviewing a pre-sentence report that will be prepared by the United States Probation Office. Gregg faces a penalty of 5 to 40 years in federal prison and a fine of $1,000,000. He also faces at least four years of court-ordered supervision after prison.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Everett McMillian, Lead Task Force Attorney for the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), and Katie Stoughton, who serves as the Chief of the Office’s Appellate Division, prosecuted the case. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
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John O’Hara, Jr. Pleads Guilty to Stealing Social Security Benefit PaymentsRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that John O’Hara, Jr., 43, of White River Junction, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court in Burlington to a charge that he fraudulently converted tens of thousands of dollars in Social Security benefit payments. U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss released O’Hara on conditions pending sentencing, which is scheduled for November 3.
On June 10, 2022, the U.S. Attorney filed a one-count information charging O’Hara with receiving stolen Government money. O’Hara pleaded guilty to that charge today. According to court records, O’Hara’s father, John O’Hara, Sr., received monthly Social Security benefit payments that were deposited into O’Hara Sr.’s bank account in Florida. O’Hara Sr. died in February 2018, at which time his SSA benefits should have terminated. O’Hara Jr. never notified SSA of his father’s death and SSA continued to make benefit payments to O’Hara Sr.’s account until October 2020. O’Hara Jr. fraudulently converted those unauthorized payments to his own use by transferring the funds to an account he controlled in North Carolina, and then accessing those funds from Vermont for personal purposes. The total loss to the Social Security Administration is about $51,000.
O’Hara faces up to ten years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000. The actual sentence will be determined with reference to federal sentencing guidelines.
This case was investigated by the SSA’s Office of Inspector General.
O’Hara Jr. is represented by David Silver, Esq. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.
Jail Corrections Officer, Wife Charged with Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A corrections officer at the Jefferson City Correctional Center and his wife were charged in federal court today with video recording their sexual assault of a 4-year-old victim.
Paul Emerson Schofield, 33, and his wife, Sara Ellen Schofield, 29, of Jefferson City, each were charged in separate criminal complaints filed in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City. The federal criminal complaints charge the Schofields with using a minor to produce child pornography.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaints, the investigation began when law enforcement received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on April 25, 2022. Kik, a free online social media platform, reported that a user later identified as Paul Schofield had uploaded multiple videos of child sexual exploitation material.
Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the Schofield’s residence on June 7, 2022. A forensic examiner conducted a preview of Paul Schofield’s cell phone and located several videos of child pornography, including infants engaged in sexual contact with adults. Examiners later found videos on the phone of both Paul and Sara Schofield sexually assaulting an unconscious 4-year-old victim.
On June 9, 2022, law enforcement officers executed another search warrant at the Schofield’s residence. Officers seized Sara Schofield’s cell phone, which contained another sexually explicit video of the same 4-year-old victim in which the voices of Paul and Sara Schofield can be heard.
The charges contained in these complaints are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Turner. It was investigated by the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office, the Cyber Crimes Task Force.
Project Safe Childhood
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."
Jackson Attorney Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud InvestorsRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – A Jackson attorney pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud investors in a timber deed investment scheme, announced United States Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Jackson Field Office.
Jon Darrell Seawright, 50, of Jackson, pled guilty to a Criminal Information charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Seawright admitted that between 2011 and 2018, he and a co-conspirator participated in a scheme to defraud investors by soliciting millions of dollars under false pretenses and failing to use investor funds as promised. Seawright and his co-conspirator represented to investors that they were in the business of loaning funds to a “timber broker” to buy timber rights from landowners and then to sell the timber rights to lumber mills at a higher price. Seawright and his co-conspirator promised investors a return of 10% or more over twelve or thirteen months on each unit of invested capital. Seawright and his co-conspirator represented to their investors, and led their investors to believe, that Seawright and his co-conspirator were inspecting each tract of land and were vetting each document, deed, and contract in support of their investments. These promises and representations were material in that they were intended to cause investors to believe that their investments were secured by valid assets and to believe that the financial incentives and interests of Seawright and his co-conspirator aligned with those of the investors. In fact, Seawright and his co-conspirator failed to inspect each property related to the timber rights underlying each investment, and they failed to verify each executed lumber mill agreement related to each investment. Seawright and his co-conspirator made few or no such inquiries, and if Seawright and his co-conspirator had made such inquiries, they would have discovered that the timber deeds, lumber mill agreements, and related documents were not valid.
Seawright and his co-conspirator also represented to their investors that Seawright and his co-conspirator would only profit from each series of the investment if it performed as promised to the investors. This gave the investors the misleading impression that their interests were fully aligned with those of Seawright and his co-conspirator. In fact, in addition to receiving a predetermined percentage of return on the investors’ funds, Seawright and his co-conspirator also received undisclosed payments of approximately 3% for recruiting investments to the timber investment scheme immediately upon transferring the investment funds to the purported timber broker. Seawright and his co-conspirator did not disclose to the investors: (a) the fact of these payments, or (b) the amount of the payments in relation to the investments made, or (c) the timing of the undisclosed payments to Seawright and his co-conspirator before any repayment was made to the investors.
Seawright will be sentenced on November 16, 2022, and faces a maximum sentence of up to 5 years imprisonment, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Restitution is mandatory under federal law.
This case resulted from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew W. Eichner.
Hyattsville Man Pleads Guilty to His Role in a Cares-Act and Unemployment Insurance Fraud Scheme Involving over 600 Victims and Caused a Loss of at Least $2.7 MillionRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Sylvester Atekwane, age 32, of Hyattsville, Maryland, pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in relation to a CARES-Act unemployment insurance fraud scheme. As part of his guilty plea, Atekwane will be required to pay at least $250,000 in restitution.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Acting Postal Inspector in Charge Tira Hayward of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Acting Special Agent in Charge Troy W. Springer, of the Washington Regional Office, U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General; Special Agent in Charge Andrea Peacock, U.S. Department of the Treasury - Office of Inspector General.
“Some of the most vulnerable in our community trusted and relied on Atekwane and he abused them as they suffered through the pandemic – he will now be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Erek L. Barron.
“Mr. Atekwane abused his position of trust as a caregiver for elderly people during a national health emergency,” said Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of HSI Baltimore. “HSI is proud to have worked with our law enforcement partners to put an end to Mr. Atekwane’s exploitation of hundreds of victims. We will continue to work tirelessly to protect the residents of Maryland from schemes directed at some of our most vulnerable population.”
“Sylvester Atekwane illegally enriched himself as part of a fraud scheme that diverted vital taxpayer resources away from those in need of unemployment insurance benefits during the pandemic. Atekwane and his coconspirators victimized over 600 individuals,” stated Troy W. Springer, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Regional Office, U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General. “Protecting the integrity of the unemployment insurance program remains one of our highest priorities, and we will continue to work closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our other law enforcement partners to safeguard unemployment benefits for those in need of assistance during the unprecedented challenges brought about by the pandemic.”
According to his guilty plea, from February 2020 to February 2021, Atekwane and others agreed to collect the names, dates of birth, and social security numbers of victims to impersonate victims and submit fraudulent unemployment claims in those victims’ names. In at least one instance, Atekwane used his position as a caregiver to unlawfully access victims’ personally identifiable information to obtain unemployment insurance benefits.
As part of the scheme to defraud, conspiracy members received the unemployment benefits by directing the benefits to addresses that conspiracy members could access. Specifically, Atekwane notified co-conspirators once unemployment benefits were received at his address or at nearby apartments. Atekwane and others then collected the unemployment insurance prepaid debit cards, activated the debit cards, and withdrew cash from ATMs using the fraudulently obtained debit cards.
For example, in July 2020, Atekwane used an ATM in Seat Pleasant, Maryland to withdraw $1,000 in Maryland unemployment insurance benefits issued in the name of Victim 1. Victim 1 is a Washington, D.C. resident who is unable to handle their finances and lives in a group home. Atekwane used his position as a caregiver to unlawfully access and use Victim 1’s personally identifiable information to file for unemployment insurance benefits. Additionally, in October 2020, Atekwane sent the personally identifiable information of another victim (Victim 2). The information sent by Atekwane was later used to fraudulently apply for unemployment insurance benefits in Victim 2’s name.
Throughout the scheme, at least $150,000 in fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits from 61 victims were sent directly to Atekwane’s address or to nearby apartments. As a result of the scheme, Atekwane personally obtained at least $6,000 in fraud proceeds. In total, the entire scheme involved at least $2.7 million and over 600 individual victims.
Atekwane faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for January 6, 2023 at 2:30 p.m.
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, 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. An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, HSI, DOL-OIG, and the U.S. Department of Treasury for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary H. Ray and Sean R. Delaney, who are prosecuting the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach. To report fraud, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.
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Houma Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Drugs and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that MORGAN BURL III, age 42, of Houma, Louisiana, pled guilty on July 13, 2022 to conspiracy to distribute cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine.
Specifically, on July 13, 2022, BURL pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, 100 grams or more of heroin, 40 grams or more of fentanyl and 5 grams or more of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(B), 841(b)(1)(C), and 846. BURL also pled guilty to one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i).
According to court documents, BURL conspired with others to sell over 500 grams of cocaine, over 100 grams of heroin, over 40 grams of fentanyl, and over 5 grams of methamphetamine in the Eastern District of Louisiana. In addition, on May 30, 2019, BURL possessed nine firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, specifically, (1) a Kel Tec semiautomatic pistol; (2) a AR-15 .22 caliber rifle; (3) a Taurus .45 caliber pistol; (4) a .38 caliber Smith and Wesson firearm; (5) a Jimenez 9mm semiautomatic firearm; (6) a Titan .25 caliber firearm; (7) a Norinco assault rifle; (8) a Sears & Roebuck 12 gauge shotgun; and (9) a 410 pump shotgun.
On the drug conspiracy count, BURL faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years imprisonment up to 40 years of imprisonment, a fine of up to $5,000,000, at least 4 years of supervised release and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee. On the firearms offense, BURL faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years imprisonment up to life imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, up to 5 years of supervised release and a mandatory $100 special assessment.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”). OCDETF is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan L. Shih is in charge of the prosecution.
Hotel Manager Sentenced to Prison for Filing False Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
A former Clare, Michigan, hotel manager was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison for filing a false tax return. His father, the owner of the hotel, previously pleaded guilty to obstructing the grand jury’s investigation of his son.
According to court documents, Harold Walls, 58, managed the day-to-day operations of a Clare hotel, which his father, Karl Walls, 86, owned. Harold Walls did not report to the IRS any of the income he received working at the hotel from 2013 through 2017. Rather than pay himself wages directly through the hotel’s payroll system, Harold Walls paid himself by other means, including by writing checks to himself from the hotel operating account and using a hotel bank account to pay for personal expenses.
Harold Walls also provided false and incomplete information to the hotel’s tax return preparer for 2012 through 2017, resulting in the hotel’s business income being understated. Specifically, Harold Walls did not disclose to the tax return preparer that the hotel had 11 “off-book” rooms that were not tracked in the hotel’s reservation system. Harold Walls also provided the return preparer documents that overstated the amount of property taxes the hotel had paid to the City of Clare.
After the IRS began investigating, Harold Walls obstructed the investigation by instructing a hotel employee to make false statements to the IRS about the nature and extent of his work at the hotel. He also denied to IRS special agents that he was employed at the hotel.
Karl Walls obstructed the investigation into his son by directing two witnesses to lie to the grand jury. In October 2018, two days before a former hotel employee was scheduled to provide grand jury testimony, Karl Walls instructed the employee to testify that Harold Walls did not work at the hotel. Karl Walls also attempted to convince his tax return preparer to make a similar false statement to the grand jury about his son’s employment status.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington ordered Harold Walls to serve one year of supervised release and pay $254,562 in restitution to the United States.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement and thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan for providing substantial assistance in this matter.
IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Melissa S. Siskind and Sam Bean of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
Home Health Care Business Owner Sentenced to Prison for Employment Tax CrimesRead the Press Release
A former Kansas businessman was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison for willfully failing to pay over employment taxes to the IRS.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Lance Ashley was the sole owner and operator of Ashley Home Care Services (AHCS), an Overland Park home health care business that provided daily living services to individuals. Ashley was responsible for all financial matters relating to AHCS, including handling payroll and paying expenses. From 2013 through 2016, Ashley did not pay over to the IRS all the federal tax withholdings collected from the wages of AHCS’s employees. Instead, he used some of the funds to pay corporate and personal expenses. After the IRS initiated enforcement efforts in 2016 to collect AHCS’s unpaid employment taxes, Ashley provided fraudulent bank records to the IRS, did not fully disclose all of the company’s bank accounts, filed false IRS forms and attempted to use a recently formed corporation to conceal AHCS’s operations. In total, Ashley’s conduct caused a tax loss to the IRS exceeding $321,000.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Julie A. Robinson ordered Ashley to serve two years of supervised release and to pay approximately $321,000 in restitution to the United States.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Duston J. Slinkard for the District of Kansas made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Julia Rugg of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Huschka for the District of Kansas prosecuted the case.
Holyoke, Massachusetts Man Sentenced for Armed Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Daeshawn Jones, 21, of Holyoke, Massachusetts was sentenced on July 12 in United States District Court to 47 months’ imprisonment. Jones had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute heroin, cocaine base, and cocaine. United States District Judge Christina Reiss also ordered Jones to serve a three-year term of supervised release.
According to court records and proceedings, Jones repeatedly traveled from Holyoke to Bennington County, Vermont in mid-2020 to sell drugs for personal financial gain. Jones stayed at a residence in Manchester, Vermont and stored and distributed narcotics from there.
Throughout this period, Jones also obtained and possessed firearms in connection with his drug trafficking activity. To acquire firearms, he asked others to purchase firearms for him. At Jones’s request, in May 2020, another man purchased two Glock handguns from a federally licensed firearms dealer in Belmont, Vermont and provided the guns to Jones. Two days later, one of the firearms was recovered in Holyoke. In June 2020, Jones asked the same man to purchase two additional handguns for him, but the purchase was denied by the firearms dealer. When Jones was arrested on a federal warrant in January 2021, he possessed a rifle and heroin in his residence.
Several others connected to Jones’s criminal conduct have previously been convicted and sentenced. On October 4, 2021, Caitlin Williams, 27, of Wallingford, Vermont, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute heroin, cocaine base, and cocaine, was sentenced to time served, which was approximately ten months, by Judge William K. Sessions III. On December 22, 2021, Leland Martin, 35, of Shrewsbury, Vermont, who had pleaded guilty to straw purchasing firearms, was sentenced to twelve months and one day of imprisonment by Chief United States District Judge Geoffrey Crawford. On March 3, 2022, Alexander Johnson, 25, of Manchester, Vermont, who had pleaded guilty to distribution of cocaine base, was sentenced to 27 months’ imprisonment by Judge Reiss. Jones’s co-defendant, Thomas Rougier, Jr., has pleaded guilty before Judge Reiss to conspiring to distribute heroin, cocaine, and cocaine base and is detained pending sentencing.
U.S. Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the collaborative investigative efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Vermont State Police, and appreciates the assistance of the Manchester Police Department, the Rutland Police Department, the Holyoke, Massachusetts Police Department, the Easthampton, Massachusetts Police Department, the Springfield, Massachusetts Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“We are working with law enforcement at all levels to remove dangerous, illegal guns and drugs from the street,” said U.S. Attorney Nikolas Kerest. “We will use every tool available to eradicate the drug-fueled violence affecting our community.”
“Combatting firearms trafficking is at the forefront of ATF’s mission,” said James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in charge of ATF’s Boston Field Division. “These sentencings should send the message to criminals that a blatant disregard of federal firearms laws will be investigated by ATF and our local, state, and federal partners. Those who have willfully violated federal firearm laws will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.”
Jones was represented by Lisa Shelkrot, Esq. and William Vasiliou, Esq. Martin was represented by Robert Katims, Esq. Johnson was represented by Kevin Henry, Esq. Williams was represented by Robert Behrens, Esq. Rougier is represented by Stephanie Greenlees, Esq. The prosecutors were Assistant United States Attorneys John J. Boscia and Nicole P. Cate.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. Please visit https://www.justice.gov/psn for more information.
Glendale Man Charged with Transporting 14 Illegal AliensRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. – On Tuesday, Saif Ali Al Najafi, 25, of Glendale, Arizona, was charged by criminal complaint with Transporting Illegal Aliens while Placing in Jeopardy the Life of Another.
According to the complaint, on July 8, 2022, Border Patrol Agents stopped a U-Haul box truck that Al Najafi was driving near Naco, Arizona. An undocumented non-citizen sat in the front passenger seat. Inside the box of the U-Haul truck, agents discovered 13 more undocumented non-citizens, including two minor children.
One witness inside the U-Haul stated the driver opened the cargo door for the group to enter and closed it behind them. The witness said he could hear the driver place a lock on the door, at which point the witness became frightened.
A conviction for Transporting Illegal Aliens while Placing in Jeopardy the Life of Another carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine, or both.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Customs and Border Protection’s U.S. Border Patrol is conducting the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, is handling the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: MJ-22-4680-LCK
RELEASE NUMBER: 2022-117_Al Najafi# # #
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.
Georgia woman indicted for COVID-19 scheme that fraudulently netted more than $2 millionRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA: A Gwinnett County woman has been charged in a federal indictment with leading a scheme to submit dozens of fraudulent applications for COVID-19 small business relief funding.
Ashlee Parker, 39, of Dacula, Ga., is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Bank Fraud; seven counts of Wire Fraud; False Document; Money Laundering Conspiracy; and False Statement, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The primary charge carries a statutory penalty upon conviction of up to 30 years in federal prison followed by up to five years of supervised release, along with substantial financial penalties and restitution to the U.S. government. There is no parole in the federal system.
“The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act was funded to help small businesses struggling from the effects of a global pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “In far too many cases, however, it has been exploited by those seeking to milk these relief programs for their personal profit. With our diligent law enforcement partners, we will continue to identify and hold accountable anyone who violates the law to siphon money from these programs.”
As described in the indictment, Parker is owner of Proficient Tax LLC, The Harris Parker Group LLC, and AMP Credit Solutions LLC. The indictment alleges that from about May 2020 to April 2021, Parker submitted more than two dozen fraudulent applications for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) to the U.S. Small Business Administration in her name on behalf of The Harris Parker Group LLC, AMP Credit Solutions LLC, and other companies. Co-conspirators also allegedly paid Proficient Tax LLC in exchange for Parker submitting fraudulent applications on their behalf for EIDL and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding.
The indictment alleges that “as a result of Parker’s scheme the United States was defrauded out of over $2 million,” and that Parker transferred $13,955 of the fraudulent proceeds to a cosmetic surgery clinic “for a breast augmentation procedure and abdominoplasty with flank liposuction.”
Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan A. Porter and Ryan C. Grover.
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.
Georgia Man Sentenced to More Than 19 Years in Prison for Filing False ReturnsRead the Press Release
A Georgia man was sentenced today to 230 months in prison for charges related to his filing of dozens of fraudulent tax returns on behalf of multiple sham trusts.
Marquet Mattox, of Lilburn, was convicted by a federal jury on Aug. 18, 2021, of wire fraud, false claims and theft of government funds. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from 2016 to 2018 Mattox filed more than 30 fraudulent federal income tax returns with the IRS in the names of approximately 12 different trusts. On those returns, Mattox falsely reported that the trusts had withheld large amounts of taxes on purported interest income, thereby entitling the trusts to refunds. In total, Mattox claimed approximately $165 million in refunds on behalf of the purported trusts. The IRS paid $5 million of the requested refunds. Mattox used those funds to purchase a new house, a luxury automobile and other personal expenses.
“Marquet Mattox secured $5 million in fraudulent refunds by inundating the IRS with dozens of false returns on behalf of phony trusts he owned and controlled,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “His significant prison sentence today makes clear that fraudsters will be identified and prosecuted, no matter how persistent or complicated their schemes.”
“It’s an injustice to all those who rightfully pay their taxes when an individual criminally takes advantage of the system, in this case defrauding taxpayers of millions of dollars,” U.S Attorney Peter D. Leary for the Middle District of Georgia. “Our office and our law enforcement partners will do whatever it takes to hold fraudsters accountable for their crimes.”
“Mattox made multiple attempts to defraud the Internal Revenue Service of over $117 million,” said Special Agent in Charge James E. Dorsey of IRS-Criminal Investigation. “IRS has systems in place to detect and prevent fraud, attempting to file false claims for refunds is a federal crime. Today’s sentencing reflects the seriousness of Mattox’s actions and greed. Taxpayers should be wary of any individuals promoting and using schemes to submit false filings to the IRS. Should you come across such a scheme, please report it to IRS-Criminal Investigation.”
“TIGTA’s statutory mission includes investigating individuals who interfere with the lawful collection of taxes,” said J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). “Attempts to interfere with IRS employees engaged in the performance of their official duties will be aggressively pursued. We appreciate the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and IRS-Criminal Investigation in working with TIGTA to protect the integrity of federal tax administration.”
In addition to the prison term, Mattox was ordered to pay approximately $3.2 million in restitution and serve three years of supervised release.
IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of the Inspector General investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Jessica Kraft of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lyndie Freeman for the Middle District of Georgia prosecuted the case.
Georgia Man Sentenced to More Than 19 Years in Prison for Filing False ReturnsRead the Press Release
ATHENS, Ga. – A Georgia man was sentenced today to 230 months in prison for charges related to his filing of dozens of fraudulent tax returns on behalf of multiple sham trusts.
Marquet Mattox, of Lilburn, was convicted by a federal jury on Aug. 18, 2021, of wire fraud, false claims and theft of government funds. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from 2016 to 2018 Mattox filed more than 30 fraudulent federal income tax returns with the IRS in the names of approximately 12 different trusts. On those returns, Mattox falsely reported that the trusts had withheld large amounts of taxes on purported interest income, thereby entitling the trusts to refunds. In total, Mattox claimed approximately $165 million in refunds on behalf of the purported trusts. The IRS paid $5 million of the requested refunds. Mattox used those funds to purchase a new house, a luxury automobile and other personal expenses.
“It’s an injustice to all those who rightfully pay their taxes when an individual criminally takes advantage of the system, in this case defrauding taxpayers of millions of dollars,” U.S Attorney Peter D. Leary. “Our office and our law enforcement partners will do whatever it takes to hold fraudsters accountable for their crimes.”
“Marquet Mattox secured $5 million in fraudulent refunds by inundating the IRS with dozens of false returns on behalf of phony trusts he owned and controlled,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg. “His significant prison sentence today makes clear that fraudsters will be identified and prosecuted, no matter how persistent or complicated their schemes.”
“Mattox made multiple attempts to defraud the Internal Revenue Service of over $117 million,” stated IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge James E. Dorsey. “IRS has systems in place to detect and prevent fraud; attempting to file false claims for refunds is a federal crime. Today’s sentencing reflects the seriousness of Mattox’s actions and greed. Taxpayers should be wary of any individuals promoting and using schemes to submit false filings to the IRS. Should you come across such a scheme, please report it to IRS Criminal Investigation.”
“TIGTA’s statutory mission includes investigating individuals who interfere with the lawful collection of taxes,” said J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. “Attempts to interfere with IRS employees engaged in the performance of their official duties will be aggressively pursued. We appreciate the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and IRS-Criminal Investigation in working with TIGTA to protect the integrity of federal tax administration.”
In addition to the prison term, Mattox was ordered to pay approximately $3.2 million in restitution and serve three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal. There is no parole in the federal system.
IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of the Inspector General investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lyndie Freeman for the Middle District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Jessica Kraft of the Justice Department’s Tax Division prosecuted the case.
Former President of the Madison District Public Schools Board of Education and a Local Contractor Charged in $560,000 Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
DETROIT - Albert Morrison, the former President of the Madison District Public Schools Board of Education and local school district contractor, John David, have been charged in a superseding indictment with conspiracy to commit bribery arising out of David’s payments of over $560,000 in bribes to Morrison in exchange for $3.1 million in school contracts to David, U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced today. The bribery charges were added to the indictment filed on April 6, 2022, that charged Morrison with tax evasion and failure to file tax returns in connection with his failure to report over $500,000 in income from David.
Ison was joined in the announcement by James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Michigan Division, Sarah Kull, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, and John Woolley, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Education, Office of Inspector General.
Albert Morrison, age 60, and John David, age 64, are charged in the superseding indictment as co-conspirators in a bribery conspiracy count, and they are each separately charged with three counts of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. According to the indictment, Morrison was the elected President of the Madison District Public Schools Board of Education from 2012 through 2018. While Morrison was President, John David was one of the owners of a building maintenance and reconstruction company, Emergency Restoration (a/k/a Emergency Reconstruction), that was awarded over $3.1 million maintenance and construction projects in the Madison District Public Schools.
David, who was a long-time friend of Morrison, wrote checks from his company to Morrison’s solely owned company, Comfort Consulting, from 2014 through 2018. Morrison deposited the checks from David into his solely owned bank account. David, through his company, made at least $561,667 in payments to Morrison. David admitted he had to “pay to play” in the school district, and David’s companies received approximately $3,167,275 from the Madison District during the bribery conspiracy. Morrison spent the money from David on personal luxuries such as vacations in Florida and a boat slip.
To keep the payments secret from the school board and the community in the Madison Schools, Morrison, when publicly confronted at a Madison District school board meeting, denied having any financial ties to David or Emergency Restoration. Morrison and David also failed to disclose to State of Michigan auditors the payments Morrison received from David.
Morrison did not declare to the IRS David’s payments to Comfort Consulting as income in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, or 2018. In a further effort to conceal the payments from David, Morrison did not file a federal income tax return in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. By not declaring to the IRS the payments from David as income, Morrison avoided paying approximately $118,200 in taxes.
“Children and their parents deserve a school system free of corruption,” said United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison. “Today’s indictment demonstrates our commitment to ensure that our educational systems put the interests of our kids first.”
“It is important that contracts funded by our school systems be awarded through a fair and transparent process, not through deals funded by bribes to those in positions of power,” said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. “The FBI prioritizes efforts to expose corruption and we will continue to aggressively investigate these allegations alongside our partners at the IRS and Department of Education Office of Inspector General.”
“Honest and law-abiding citizens are fed up with the likes of those who use deceit and fraud to unfairly line their pockets," said Special Agent in Charge Sarah Kull, Internal Revenue Service, Detroit Field Office. "Those individuals who engage in this type of financial fraud should know they will not go undetected and will be held accountable."
An indictment is merely an accusation and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. If convicted, Morrison and David face the following statutory maximum penalties: 5 years in prison for the conspiracy count and 10 years in prison for each of the three bribery counts against each of them. Morrison faces a statutory maximum penalty of 5 years in prison for each count of tax evasion and 1 year in prison for each count of failure to file tax returns. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, and the Department of Education. It is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Resnick Cohen, Karen Reynolds, and Gjon Juncaj.
Former Louisiana State Senator and Chair of a State Political Party Charged with Wire Fraud for Role in Nearly Seven-Year Scheme to Defraud Campaign Entity, Donors, and Political Party OrganizationRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – The United States Attorney’s Office announced that former Louisiana State Senator and Chair of State Political Party “A”,KAREN CARTER PETERSON, age 52, from New Orleans, Louisiana, was charged today in a one-count bill of information with wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.
According to court documents, PETERSON served as a Louisiana State Senator for the 5th District from about 2010 until about April 8, 2022, and as the Chair of State Political Party A between about 2012 and 2020. As a Louisiana State Senator, PETERSON formed and maintained a campaign organization, the “Karen Carter Peterson Campaign Fund (“KCPCF”),” to solicit and raise campaign funds from individual and corporate donors. The campaign funds were solicited based upon the representations and premise that the funds would be used to facilitate PETERSON’S reelection for the position of State Senator. In furtherance of her scheme, PETERSON diverted, and caused her friends and associates to divert, campaign funds from the KCPCF to PETERSON’S personal use for the purpose of obtaining and using money and property from contributors to the KCPCF by means of materially false and fraudulent representations and promises for nearly seven (7) years. She did so by writing checks drawn on the KCPCF account to her friends and associates and directing them to cash the checks and then to give most or all of the proceeds to her. PETERSON used the funds to pay for personal expenses unrelated to her campaign or the holding of public office, including to pay gambling-related expenses, and, in the course of soliciting additional contributions, failed to disclose to potential contributors that PETERSON had already used funds contributed to the KCPCF for her personal benefit. Further, PETERSON caused the public filing of false and misleading campaign finance reports that mischaracterized expenditures as being for legitimate purposes related to her campaign or the holding of public office, but were, in fact, unrelated to such purposes and, instead, were diverted to PETERSON’S personal use.
Additionally, in her role as Chair of State Political Party A, PETERSON oversaw the strategic decision-making, operations, outreach, and direction of Party A and supervised its permanent staff, including individuals who had signatory authority of State Political Party A’s financial accounts. PETERSON exploited her position to choose entities (“ Companies”) operated by her associates, purportedly to provide campaign-related services to State Political Party A, and to determine the amount that Party A would pay each of the Companies. In fact, the Companies provided either no or minimal services for State Political Party A. PETERSON then directed the Companies to remit a portion of the funds paid to them by State Political Party A to PETERSON through either checks drawn on the accounts of the Companies or in cash.
If convicted, PETERSON faces a maximum term of twenty (20) years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000.00, up to three (3) years of supervised release after imprisonment, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.
The United States Attorney’s Office reiterated that a bill of information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
The United States Attorney’s Office praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and Forensic Accountant Josephine M. Beninati, CPA, CFE in this matter and thanks the Metropolitan Crime Commission for its assistance. Assistant United States Attorneys Jordan Ginsberg, Chief of the Public Corruption Unit, and Jonathan L. Shih are in charge of the prosecution.
Former Benefit Plan Administrator Admits Tax Evasion and Kickback SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A former benefit plan administrator today admitted engaging in multiple years of tax evasion and a kickback scheme related to his role as administrator of two union related employee benefit plans, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Jose Santa Maria, aka “Joe”, 64, North Haledon, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi to a six-count information charging him with five counts of tax evasion and one count of paying kickbacks related to an employee benefit plan.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Santa Maria was the plan administrator for a health fund and a training fund, both related to a labor union. At the same time, he was also employed by an attorney, who was serving as counsel for the two union funds. From at least 2013 through 2019, Santa Maria misappropriated in excess of $750,000 in benefit plan funds and then failed to report any of it to the IRS or pay the associated income taxes. Santa Maria also paid at least $50,000 to the attorney to influence that attorney’s actions with the executive board for the benefit plans.
The five counts of tax evasion each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $100,000 fine. The count of paying kickbacks related to an employee benefit plan, carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 15, 2022.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited investigators of the Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), under the direction of Regional Director of the New York Regional Office Thomas Licetti; special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Tammy Tomlins; and special agents of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, under the direction of John Gay, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel V. Grady O’Malley and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kendall Randolph of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel Steven D. Altman Esq., New Brunswick, New Jersey
Felony Lane Gang Member Sentenced to Federal Prison for Role in Bank Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore.—A Lauderdale Lakes, Florida man was sentenced to federal prison today for his leadership role in a bank fraud and identity theft scheme targeting female victims in the Portland Metropolitan Area.
Delvin Mills, 30, was sentenced to 55 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release. Mills was also ordered to pay $98,733 in restitution.
According to court documents, Mills was a member of the Felony Lane Gang, an interstate criminal organization based in Florida that traveled to locations throughout the U.S. to commit vehicle break-in and fraud sprees. The organization targeted female victims who would leave their purses, wallets, and valuables in parked cars. After victims exited their vehicles—often to drop off children, run errands, or visit a gym—Felony Lane Gang members would break into the vehicles to steal targeted items. After the theft, the gang members quickly deployed associates to conduct fraudulent bank or merchant transactions using their victims’ stolen identification, checks, and credit or debit cards.
In the fall of 2019, Mills led a group of individuals who traveled to Portland to target local victims. Once Mills and his accomplices stole items from a vehicle, they checked to see if one of several female co-conspirators resembled the victim. If one of their female co-conspirators could impersonate the victim, they would attempt to cash fraudulent checks written in the impersonated victim’s name. The co-conspirators would cash checks at various local banks, using the outer-most lane of each bank’s drive-up teller window to avoid detection.
Investigators identified 32 vehicle thefts and 22 instances of bank fraud committed during Mills’ most recent known Oregon crime spree. In total, this spree resulted in a financial loss of more than $98,000. After Mills left Portland, he and a co-conspirator—Damian Fletcher, 27, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida—travelled to Denver, Colorado where they continued breaking into cars and stealing identities.
On June 6, 2020, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a 14-count superseding indictment charging Mills, Fletcher, and four co-defendants with conspiring to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft. On February 24, 2021, Mills pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
After Mills pleaded guilty and was released on supervision conditions pending sentencing, he was arrested in Nevada for again breaking into cars. One month after his Nevada arrest, he was arrested in Southern Illinois for perpetrating a scheme similar to the one he had operated in Oregon. Mills’ arrest in Illinois led to a second federal conviction for which he will be sentenced on July 20, 2022.
On January 7, 2021, Fletcher pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. On May 3, 2021, he was sentenced to three years in federal prison and three years’ supervised release.
Co-defendants Megan Spurlock, 28, of Washington State; Linda Marie Lupo, 53, of Deerfield, Florida; and Justin Curry, 29, of Fort Lauderdale, have all pleaded guilty and were sentenced for their roles in the scheme.
U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the West Linn Police Department, Tualatin Police Department, and Clark County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Seth D. Uram and Quinn P. Harrington, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.
Federal Inmate Sentenced to Serve an Additional Year in Federal Prison for Indecent Exposure to Prison Staff MembersRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – Yesterday, a federal judge sentenced DONTE EARL GRIFFIN, 36, of Cincinnati, Ohio, to serve an additional 12 months and 1 day in federal prison for Indecent Exposure, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
On September 16, 2020, a federal grand jury returned a one-count Indictment that charged Griffin with Indecent Exposure while he was an inmate at the Federal Transfer Center (FTC) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. According to evidence presented at a bench trial in April 2021, Griffin willfully exposed his genitalia and intermittently engaged in masturbatory acts in front of two female FTC employees. The trial lasted two hours, after which U.S. District Court Judge Timothy DeGiusti found Griffin guilty of Indecent Exposure.
At sentencing, Judge DeGiusti sentenced Griffin to serve 12 months and 1 day in federal prison. This sentence will run consecutive to Griffin’s current sentence in June 2015 in the Eastern District of Kentucky to serve 10 years in federal prison for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Federal law prohibits convicted felons from possessing firearms and ammunition. In announcing the sentence in the Oklahoma indecent exposure case, Judge DeGiusti cited, among other things, the serious nature of the offense, Griffin’s criminal history, and the impact the incident had on the female Bureau of Prisons employees. Judge DeGiusti also ordered Griffin to serve three years of supervised release upon release from prison.
This case was the result of an investigation by the Special Investigative Services at the Federal Transfer Center and the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley L. Altshuler and Travis Leverett prosecuted the case.
Reference is made to public filings for more information.
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Accused Tops Shooter on Federal Hate Crimes and Firearms Charges in Buffalo, New YorkRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury today returned a 27-count indictment charging Payton Gendron, 19, of Conklin, New York, with 14 violations of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (Shepard-Byrd Act) and 13 firearms offenses in connection with the mass shooting at the Tops grocery store on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo, New York. The announcement was made by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross for the Western District of New York, and Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia of the FBI Buffalo Field Office.
The indictment alleges that on or about May 14, Gendron opened fire with a Bushmaster XM rifle and shot multiple individuals in and around the Tops grocery store, which resulted in the deaths of 10 Black people, as well as injury to three others. The indictment charges that Gendron violated the Shepard-Byrd Act by willfully causing the death of the victims because of their actual and perceived race and color.
In total, the 27-count indictment charges Gendron with 10 counts of hate crimes resulting in death, three counts of hate crimes involving an attempt to kill three injured individuals, and one hate crimes count alleging that Gendron attempted to kill additional Black people in and around the Tops grocery store. The indictment also charges Gendron with 13 counts of using, carrying, or discharging a firearm in relation to the hate crimes, and seeks forfeiture of items, including the weapon used in the shooting. The indictment further includes special findings alleging, among other things, that Gendron committed the offense after substantial planning and premeditation to commit an act of terrorism.
“Today, a grand jury has indicted Payton Gendron with hate crime and firearms offenses following the horrific attack on the Black community of Buffalo that killed 10 people and injured three others on May 14, 2022,” said Attorney General Garland. “The Justice Department fully recognizes the threat that white supremacist violence poses to the safety of the American people and American democracy. We will continue to be relentless in our efforts to combat hate crimes, to support the communities terrorized by them, and to hold accountable those who perpetrate them.”
Upon conviction, the charges in the indictment carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment or the death penalty. The Attorney General will decide whether to seek the death penalty at a later time. Should the Attorney General determine that the circumstances of the offense are such that a sentence of death is justified, the law requires that notice be filed with the court at a reasonable time before trial. Gendron is currently in state custody pending state criminal charges.
The indictment is the result of an investigation by the FBI Buffalo and Albany Field Offices; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Buffalo Office; the Buffalo Police Department; the New York State Police; and the Erie County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph M. Tripi, Brendan T. Cullinane, and Brett A. Harvey of the Western District of New York and Trial Attorney Shan Patel of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
More information about the Department’s hate crimes efforts, including facts and statistics, case examples, and a searchable collection of the Department’s resources for law enforcement, community groups, researchers, and others are available at www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.
An indictment is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Accused Tops Shooter on Federal Hate Crimes and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, NY – A federal grand jury today returned a 27-count indictment charging Payton Gendron, 19, of Conklin, New York, with 14 violations of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (Shepard-Byrd Act) and 13 firearms offenses in connection with the mass shooting at the Tops grocery store on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo, New York. The announcement was made by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross for the Western District of New York, and Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia of the FBI Buffalo Field Office.
The indictment alleges that on or about May 14, 2022, Gendron opened fire with a Bushmaster XM rifle and shot multiple individuals in and around the Tops grocery store, which resulted in the deaths of 10 Black people, as well as injury to three others. The indictment charges that Gendron violated the Shepard-Byrd Act by willfully causing the death of the victims because of their actual and perceived race and color.
In total, the 27-count indictment charges Gendron with 10 counts of hate crimes resulting in death, three counts of hate crimes involving an attempt to kill three injured individuals, and one hate crimes count alleging that Gendron attempted to kill additional Black people in and around the Tops grocery store. The indictment also charges Gendron with 13 counts of using, carrying, or discharging a firearm in relation to the hate crimes, and seeks forfeiture of items, including the weapon used in the shooting. The indictment further includes special findings alleging, among other things, that Gendron committed the offense after substantial planning and premeditation to commit an act of terrorism.
“Today, a grand jury has indicted Payton Gendron with hate crime and firearms offenses following the horrific attack on the Black community of Buffalo that killed 10 people and injured three others on May 14, 2022,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department fully recognizes the threat that white supremacist violence poses to the safety of the American people and American democracy. We will continue to be relentless in our efforts to combat hate crimes, to support the communities terrorized by them, and to hold accountable those who perpetrate them.”
Upon conviction, the charges in the indictment carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment or the death penalty. The Attorney General will decide whether to seek the death penalty at a later time. Should the Attorney General determine that the circumstances of the offense are such that a sentence of death is justified, the law requires that notice be filed with the court at a reasonable time before trial. Gendron is currently in state custody pending state criminal charges.
The indictment is the result of an investigation by the FBI Buffalo and Albany Field Offices; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Buffalo Office; the Buffalo Police Department; the New York State Police and the Erie County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph M. Tripi, Brendan T. Cullinane and Brett A. Harvey of the Western District of New York and Trial Attorney Shan Patel of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
More information about the department’s hate crimes efforts, including facts and statistics, case examples, and a searchable collection of the department’s resources for law enforcement, community groups, researchers, and others, are available at www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.
An indictment is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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Federal Charges Brought Against Stanislaus County Men After 440 Pounds of Methamphetamine SeizedRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Hugo Vigil Villagomez, 42, of Oakdale, and Serafin Villagomez Vigil, 27, of Riverbank, charging them with possessing and conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, on June 30, 2022, Villagomez and his nephew Vigil attempted to sell 440 pounds of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement officer. On the day of the deal, Villagomez and Vigil arrived at a parking lot in Salida, where they met with the undercover officer. They had brought with them several suitcases stuffed full of hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine. When the pair unzipped the suitcases, law enforcement personnel moved in and arrested them.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department Special Investigations Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin J. Gilio is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, the defendants each face a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $10 million fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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 www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
East Haven Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking CrimeRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that LUIS SALAMAN, also known as “J,” “Lou Benz,” “Louie Benz” and “Benz,” 20, of East Haven, pleaded guilty today via videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish in Hartford to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on September 22, 2020, New Haven Police officers arrested Salaman on an outstanding state arrest warrant after he entered a store on the corner of Ferry Street and Sanford Street in New Haven. At the time of his arrest, Salaman possessed a loaded Sig Sauer 1911 .45 caliber firearm with an obliterated serial number, and heroin and marijuana that he intended to distribute.
Salaman has been detained since his federal arrest on October 2, 2020.
Salaman is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer on October 17, 2022, at which time he faces a mandatory term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life.
This matter is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the New Haven Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Konstantin Lantsman and Natasha Freismuth.
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.
East Bay Mail Bomber Sentenced to 40 YearsRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Ross Gordon Laverty, convicted of multiple felonies for mailing two improvised explosive devices with the intent to injure or kill his targets, was sentenced today to 40 years (480 months) in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and U.S. Postal Inspection Service San Francisco Division Acting Inspector-In-Charge Kevin Rho. United States District Judge William H. Orrick handed down the sentence.
A federal jury convicted Laverty, 61, of Oakland, on October 14, 2020, of mailing explosive devices through the U.S. mail on two occasions with the intent to kill or injure the addressees. An explosives expert testified at trial that the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were victim-activated devices “intended to go off when the victim causes it to go off” by opening the package. Both IEDs contained a nickel coin epoxied to the end of a pipe that was designed to shoot “off like a projectile” in a manner “just like a bullet would out of a gun,” thereby injuring or killing the victims “pretty easily.”
Revenge motivated Laverty’s mailings. Trial evidence established that he sent the first package to retaliate against a corrections officer who strip-searched Laverty while he was incarcerated at a San Mateo county jail in April of 2014. Evidence showed Laverty sent the second package as retribution against an Alameda Police Department officer involved in a probation search of Laverty’s residence in October of 2013. The officer found contraband during that search and arrested Laverty.
Laverty missed his intended targets and injured others instead. Trial evidence showed that Laverty mailed the first package to the wrong person, directing it to an East Palo Alto man employed as a Whole Foods grocery store clerk who happened to share the same name as Laverty’s intended victim, the San Mateo corrections officer. The package arrived via U.S. mail at the victim’s residence. Its return address listed a purported jewelry store in Palo Alto. On October 19, 2017, the victim opened the package while he was in his backyard. The package detonated with a loud blast. The nickel epoxied to the end of the device’s copper pipe shot off, blowing a hole in the backyard fence and ultimately landing in a neighbor’s yard. The victim was left injured and in shock, with bleeding hands and blisters on his stomach. To this day the victim suffers ringing in his ears, cramping in his hands, and trouble concentrating.
The intended target of Laverty’s second mail bomb was the Alameda police officer who had arrested Laverty. On November 24, 2017, the officer’s wife returned home to find a U.S. postman had delivered a package addressed to her husband. The package listed a return address for a non-existent jewelry store in Berkeley. As the wife began to open the package, she saw wires inside. She quickly threw it. The package exploded, filling the house with smoke and debris. The victim’s head was injured, and an ambulance rushed her to a hospital where she was admitted. Three years later, the victim testified at trial that she still experiences head pains and ringing in her ears.
A grand jury returned a superseding indictment against Laverty on May 21, 2019, charging him with two counts of mailing an explosive devise with the intent to injure or kill, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1716(a) and (j)(2); two counts of possession of an unregistered firearm (explosive device), in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d); and two counts of using an explosive during the commission of a felony, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 844(h)(1) and (2).
A federal jury found Laverty guilty on all counts following his October 2020 trial.
“My heart goes out to the innocent victims of these horrific acts,” said United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds. “Ross Laverty not only injured the victims, he put mail carriers and handlers and numerous others at risk of serious injury and death. The public must be protected from such reckless, violent crimes. I thank our law enforcement partners, both federal and local, who worked long and hard to solve and prosecute these crimes.”
“This desperate and shocking attack on our partners in law enforcement did real harm to customers of the U.S. Postal Service,” said Acting Inspector-in-Charge Kevin Rho of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, San Francisco Division. “Today’s sentence demonstrates our unity of purpose in protecting the public from dangerous items in the mail. I want to thank ATF, FBI, the San Mateo County Crime Laboratory, Verdugo Regional Crime Laboratory, San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, East Palo Alto Police Department, Alameda Police Department, Alameda County Sheriff’s Department, and Oakland Police Department for their invaluable teamwork in bringing this criminal to justice.”
In addition to the 40 year sentence, United States District Judge Orrick imposed a three year term of supervision following Laverty’s release from prison and ordered that he pay restitution to his victims. Laverty was in custody at sentencing and begins serving his sentence immediately.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara J. Valliere and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Elise LaPunzina of the Special Prosecutions Section of the United States Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case, with the assistance of Helen Yee. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the East Palo Alto Police Department, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department, Alameda Police Department, Oakland Police Department, Alameda County Sheriff’s Department, and the San Mateo County Crime Laboratory and Verdugo Regional Crime Laboratory.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco Directs U.S. Attorneys and Law Enforcement Agencies to Prioritize Violent Crime in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
Today, during remarks at the Trilateral Working Group on Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco announced a directive to all U.S. Attorneys and law enforcement component heads addressing public safety in Indian country, including violence directed at indigenous women, youth and children.
In a memorandum, Deputy Attorney General Monaco declared it a priority of the Department of Justice to address the disproportionately high rates of violence experienced by American Indians and Alaska Natives, and relatedly, the high rates of indigenous persons reported missing. The memorandum directs each U.S. Attorney with Indian country jurisdiction — along with their law enforcement partners at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) — to update and develop new plans for addressing public safety in Indian country.
“With this memorandum, we are reaffirming the department’s unwavering commitment to promoting public safety in Indian Country and to respecting Tribal sovereignty,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Tribes know best how to make their communities safer, and Tribal engagement has thus been the cornerstone of the department’s review of its policies and procedures. Federal law enforcement agencies will continue to work diligently with our Tribal partners in support of public safety in Indian Country.”
In November 2021, the department established a Steering Committee dedicated to marshalling the department’s resources and personnel to address public safety and the issues of missing or murdered indigenous persons. The Steering Committee undertook a review — in close consultation with Tribal leaders and stakeholders — of the department’s relevant guidance, policies and practices to improve the law enforcement response in Indian country.
Today’s memorandum marks the first guidance from the Deputy Attorney General to U.S. Attorneys in Indian country since 2010, when then-Deputy Attorney General David Ogden required each U.S. Attorney with Indian country jurisdiction to establish a structure and plan for addressing public safety in Indian country. Deputy Attorney General Monaco’s memorandum sets forth needed updates, which account for significant legal and legislative developments in the intervening decade, including the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010, Savanna’s Act, the Not Invisible Act of 2019 and the 2013 and 2022 reauthorizations of the Violence Against Women Act. The memorandum also recognizes that the department’s law enforcement components are essential to investigating crimes in Indian country, and it directs those agencies to adopt their own guidelines, policies and protocols to address the unique public safety challenges in Indian country.
In particular, the memorandum instructs department prosecutors and law enforcement officers to update their operational plans, policies, and protocols to:
- Coordinate with Tribal, State and local law enforcement officers, as well as other federal agencies;
- Support victims, survivors and their families in a victim-centered and culturally-appropriate manner; and
- Address cases, including unresolved cases, involving missing or murdered indigenous people.
The memorandum also directs U.S. Attorneys Offices and law enforcement agencies to engage with Tribes to better address priority public safety issues, including combatting violence against women, youth and children and addressing the devastating consequences of drug trafficking and substance use disorder in Indian country.
You can read the Deputy Attorney General’s full remarks to the Trilateral Working Group here and the full text of the memorandum here.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco Directs U.S. Attorneys and Law Enforcement Agencies to Prioritize Violent Crime in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – During remarks at the Trilateral Working Group on Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco announced a directive to all U.S. Attorneys and law enforcement component heads addressing public safety in Indian country, including violence directed at indigenous women, youth and children. U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan contacted Colorado’s tribal leaders to discuss implementation of this new directive and looks forward to working with them to make Indian country safer for everyone.
In a memorandum, Deputy Attorney General Monaco declared it a priority of the Department of Justice to address the disproportionately high rates of violence experienced by American Indians and Alaska Natives, and relatedly, the high rates of indigenous persons reported missing. The memorandum directs each U.S. Attorney with Indian country jurisdiction — along with their law enforcement partners at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) — to update and develop new plans for addressing public safety in Indian country.
“With this memorandum, we are reaffirming the department’s unwavering commitment to promoting public safety in Indian Country and to respecting Tribal sovereignty,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Tribes know best how to make their communities safer, and Tribal engagement has thus been the cornerstone of the department’s review of its policies and procedures. Federal law enforcement agencies will continue to work diligently with our Tribal partners in support of public safety in Indian Country.”
In November 2021, the department established a Steering Committee dedicated to marshalling the department’s resources and personnel to address public safety and the issues of missing or murdered indigenous persons. The Steering Committee undertook a review — in close consultation with Tribal leaders and stakeholders — of the department’s relevant guidance, policies and practices to improve the law enforcement response in Indian country.
Today’s memorandum marks the first guidance from the Deputy Attorney General to U.S. Attorneys in Indian country since 2010, when then-Deputy Attorney General David Ogden required each U.S. Attorney with Indian country jurisdiction to establish a structure and plan for addressing public safety in Indian country. Deputy Attorney General Monaco’s memorandum sets forth needed updates, which account for significant legal and legislative developments in the intervening decade, including the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010, Savanna’s Act, the Not Invisible Act of 2019 and the 2013 and 2022 reauthorizations of the Violence Against Women Act. The memorandum also recognizes that the department’s law enforcement components are essential to investigating crimes in Indian country, and it directs those agencies to adopt their own guidelines, policies, and protocols to address the unique public safety challenges in Indian country.
In particular, the memorandum instructs department prosecutors and law enforcement officers to update their operational plans, policies, and protocols to:
- Coordinate with Tribal, State and local law enforcement officers, as well as other federal agencies;
- Support victims, survivors, and their families in a victim-centered and culturally-appropriate manner; and
- Address cases, including unresolved cases, involving missing or murdered indigenous people.
The memorandum also directs U.S. Attorneys Offices and law enforcement agencies to engage with Tribes to better address priority public safety issues, including combatting violence against women, youth, and children and addressing the devastating consequences of drug trafficking and substance use disorder in Indian country.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco Delivers Remarks at the Closing Session of the Fourth Convening of the Trilateral Working Group on Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls | OPA | Department of Justice
Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco Directs U.S. Attorneys and Law Enforcement Agencies to Prioritize Violent Crime in Indian Country | OPA | Department of Justice
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco Directs U.S. Attorneys and Law Enforcement Agencies to Prioritize Violent Crime in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Today, during remarks at the Trilateral Working Group on Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco announced a directive to all U.S. Attorneys and law enforcement component heads addressing public safety in Indian country, including violence directed at indigenous women, youth and children.
In a memorandum, Deputy Attorney General Monaco declared it a priority of the Department of Justice to address the disproportionately high rates of violence experienced by American Indians and Alaska Natives, and relatedly, the high rates of indigenous persons reported missing. The memorandum directs each U.S. Attorney with Indian country jurisdiction — along with their law enforcement partners at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) — to update and develop new plans for addressing public safety in Indian country.
“With this memorandum, we are reaffirming the department’s unwavering commitment to promoting public safety in Indian Country and to respecting Tribal sovereignty,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Tribes know best how to make their communities safer, and Tribal engagement has thus been the cornerstone of the department’s review of its policies and procedures. Federal law enforcement agencies will continue to work diligently with our Tribal partners in support of public safety in Indian Country.”
In November 2021, the department established a Steering Committee dedicated to marshalling the department’s resources and personnel to address public safety and the issues of missing or murdered indigenous persons. The Steering Committee undertook a review — in close consultation with Tribal leaders and stakeholders — of the department’s relevant guidance, policies and practices to improve the law enforcement response in Indian country.
Today’s memorandum marks the first guidance from the Deputy Attorney General to U.S. Attorneys in Indian country since 2010, when then-Deputy Attorney General David Ogden required each U.S. Attorney with Indian country jurisdiction to establish a structure and plan for addressing public safety in Indian country. Deputy Attorney General Monaco’s memorandum sets forth needed updates, which account for significant legal and legislative developments in the intervening decade, including the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010, Savanna’s Act, the Not Invisible Act of 2019 and the 2013 and 2022 reauthorizations of the Violence Against Women Act. The memorandum also recognizes that the department’s law enforcement components are essential to investigating crimes in Indian country, and it directs those agencies to adopt their own guidelines, policies and protocols to address the unique public safety challenges in Indian country.
In particular, the memorandum instructs department prosecutors and law enforcement officers to update their operational plans, policies, and protocols to:
- Coordinate with Tribal, State and local law enforcement officers, as well as other federal agencies;
- Support victims, survivors and their families in a victim-centered and culturally-appropriate manner; and
- Address cases, including unresolved cases, involving missing or murdered indigenous people.
The memorandum also directs U.S. Attorneys Offices and law enforcement agencies to engage with Tribes to better address priority public safety issues, including combatting violence against women, youth and children and addressing the devastating consequences of drug trafficking and substance use disorder in Indian country.
You can read the full text of the memorandum here.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco Directs U.S. Attorneys and Law Enforcement Agencies to Prioritize Violent Crime in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Today, during remarks at the Trilateral Working Group on Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco announced a directive to all U.S. Attorneys and law enforcement component heads addressing public safety in Indian country, including violence directed at indigenous women, youth and children.
In a memorandum, Deputy Attorney General Monaco declared it a priority of the Department of Justice to address the disproportionately high rates of violence experienced by American Indians and Alaska Natives, and relatedly, the high rates of indigenous persons reported missing. The memorandum directs each U.S. Attorney with Indian country jurisdiction — along with their law enforcement partners at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) — to update and develop new plans for addressing public safety in Indian country.
“With this memorandum, we are reaffirming the department’s unwavering commitment to promoting public safety in Indian Country and to respecting Tribal sovereignty,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Tribes know best how to make their communities safer, and Tribal engagement has thus been the cornerstone of the department’s review of its policies and procedures. Federal law enforcement agencies will continue to work diligently with our Tribal partners in support of public safety in Indian Country.”
In November 2021, the department established a Steering Committee dedicated to marshalling the department’s resources and personnel to address public safety and the issues of missing or murdered indigenous persons. The Steering Committee undertook a review — in close consultation with Tribal leaders and stakeholders — of the department’s relevant guidance, policies and practices to improve the law enforcement response in Indian country.
Today’s memorandum marks the first guidance from the Deputy Attorney General to U.S. Attorneys in Indian country since 2010, when then-Deputy Attorney General David Ogden required each U.S. Attorney with Indian country jurisdiction to establish a structure and plan for addressing public safety in Indian country. Deputy Attorney General Monaco’s memorandum sets forth needed updates, which account for significant legal and legislative developments in the intervening decade, including the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010, Savanna’s Act, the Not Invisible Act of 2019 and the 2013 and 2022 reauthorizations of the Violence Against Women Act. The memorandum also recognizes that the department’s law enforcement components are essential to investigating crimes in Indian country, and it directs those agencies to adopt their own guidelines, policies and protocols to address the unique public safety challenges in Indian country.
In particular, the memorandum instructs department prosecutors and law enforcement officers to update their operational plans, policies, and protocols to:
- Coordinate with Tribal, State and local law enforcement officers, as well as other federal agencies;
- Support victims, survivors and their families in a victim-centered and culturally-appropriate manner; and
- Address cases, including unresolved cases, involving missing or murdered indigenous people.
The memorandum also directs U.S. Attorneys Offices and law enforcement agencies to engage with Tribes to better address priority public safety issues, including combatting violence against women, youth and children and addressing the devastating consequences of drug trafficking and substance use disorder in Indian country.
You can read the full text of the memorandum here.
Crafton Man with Prior Federal Conviction for Possession of Child Pornography Indicted AgainRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Crafton, PA, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of Possession of Material Depicting the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
The one-count Indictment, returned on July 12, named Timothy Bryner, age 65, as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment, from in and around June 2021 to in and around March 2022, Bryner did knowingly possess material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor. Bryner is on federal supervised release from a previous Child Sexual Abuse Materials possession conviction for which he served 100 months in prison.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of ten years in prison, fine of not more than $250,000.00, and a term of supervised release of at least five years. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense(s) and the prior criminal history of the defendant. Indicate relevant bond/detention information if known
Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin J. Risacher is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Convicted Felon Sentenced to 80 Months in Prison for Firearm Possession During Drug CrimeRead the Press Release
HONOLULU – United States District Judge Derrick K. Watson yesterday sentenced Andrew Schwab, 43, of Waianae, Hawaii, to 80 months in prison for possessing a firearm in furtherance of methamphetamine trafficking. Judge Watson took note that Schwab had a lengthy criminal history for burglary, theft, and escape, and he found Schwab’s conduct toward the Honolulu Police Department (“HPD”) officers who arrested him arguably the most serious aspect of the offense.
According to court documents and information presented in court, on August 21, 2018, HPD officers approached Schwab—a convicted felon with an outstanding state parole retake warrant—at a gas station. Instead of complying with the officers’ attempt to apprehend him, Schwab jumped back into his car and intentionally rammed it into the front of a police car with two police officers in it. Schwab then reached for the floorboard of the vehicle where he had a loaded firearm, a Glock 19, 9mm pistol. HPD officers forcibly removed Schwab from the vehicle and then recovered the Glock 19 pistol, which Schwab later admitted he possessed to protect his drugs and drug proceeds, along with two other loaded firearms, 23 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 27.3 grams of methamphetamine intended for distribution, and over $5,600 in drug proceeds.
In light of Schwab’s extensive criminal history and the nature and circumstances of the offense, Judge Watson imposed a sentence higher than the range calculated under the federal Sentencing Guidelines.
“As we work to reduce crime in our community, our priority is the apprehension of criminals like Schwab who possess firearms for the purpose of engaging in additional criminal activity,” said U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors. “The prison sentence in this case is soundly justified based on the defendant’s violent resistance to law enforcement and his possession of multiple firearms and ammunition to protect his methamphetamine trafficking activity.”
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 works 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.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Honolulu Police Department conducted the investigation that resulted in the indictment. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara D. Ayabe handled the prosecution.
Connecticut Ophthalmologist Pleads Guilty to Five-Year Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Connecticut doctor pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to receiving kickbacks in exchange for ordering medically unnecessary brain scans.
Dr. Donald Salzberg, 67, of Avon, Conn., pleaded guilty before U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to receive kickbacks. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled by the Court. Salzberg was charged by an Information on May 23, 2022.
Salzberg, a licensed medical doctor in the State of Connecticut for 36 years, owned and operated Donald J. Salzberg, M.D., an ophthalmology practice in West Hartford, Conn. From 2014 through 2019, Salzberg conspired with a principal for a medical diagnostics company that performed transcranial doppler (TCD) scans – brain scans that measure blood flow in parts of the brain – to order hundreds of medically unnecessary TCD scans in exchange for kickbacks. Salzberg and his co-conspirator used false patient diagnoses to order the unnecessary brain scans, for which the co-conspirator would submit claims to Medicare and other insurance companies on behalf of the medical diagnostic company for payment. In exchange, Salzberg was paid cash kickbacks of $100 to $125 per test that he ordered, as well as sham administrative services fees. The scheme resulted in fraudulent bills of over $3 million to Medicare and private insurance companies.
The charge of conspiracy to commit health care fraud provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of conspiracy to violate the anti-kickback statute provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Phillip M. Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division; Joleen D. Simpson, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, Boston Field Office; Carol S. Hamilton, Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Boston Regional Office; Ketty Larco Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; and Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachel Y. Hemani and Howard Locker of Rollins’ Health Care Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case.
Columbia Woman Sentenced to More than Three Years in Tax Refund SchemeRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – Alice Felder-Lucas, 58, of Columbia, was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison for false claims against the United States and theft of governmental funds.
According to evidence presented during the defendant’s trial, Felder-Lucas filed fraudulent IRS Form 1040 tax returns petitioning for a tax refund of $708,190.00. As support, Felder-Lucas provided false IRS Form 1099 claiming millions of dollars of income and withholdings. Felder-Lucas’s tax return was flagged by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) for potential fraud. However, the funds were erroneously released to her. Although the IRS was able to claw back approximately $30,000 of the refund once the fraud was discovered, Felder-Lucas had transferred most of the ill-gotten funds to other bank accounts. She used the funds to purchase a new house and car. During her case, Felder-Lucas filed several documents with the Court alleging she was a “sovereign citizen”. The sovereign citizen movement is a broad term applying to a loose association of tax protesters, financial scheme promoters, and conspiracy theorists. Typically, adherents of the theory claim to be answerable only to their view of law and to not be subject to any government statutes, rules, or proceedings. The Court rejected these claims.
“To steal from the Government is to steal from every taxpaying citizen in America," said U.S. Attorney Corey F. Ellis. “The Defendant here stole from the American people and spent that money on luxuries for herself. She deserves to go to prison, and I appreciate our partners with the IRS for making this case possible.”
“Those who might consider preparing false tax returns should be aware of the extremely negative consequences as evidenced today," said Donald “Trey” Eakins, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS’s Charlotte Field Office. "Today's sentencing emphasizes that the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue their aggressive pursuit of those who would attempt to defraud America's tax system."
United States District Judge Mary G. Lewis sentenced Felder-Lucas to 41 months imprisonment for each count to run concurrently, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system. Felder-Lucas was also ordered to pay all outstanding tax balances to the IRS and ordered to pay $678,486.97 in restitution.
The case was investigated by the IRS and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney T. DeWayne Pearson, who also serves as the Office’s Criminal Chief.
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Colorado Man Pleads Guilty to “Bust Out” Bank Fraud Scheme in Sacramento Area and ElsewhereRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Jeffrey Kim, 51, of Colorado, pleaded guilty today to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, between Feb. 1, 2017, and July 24, 2017, Kim participated in a nationwide check kiting “bust out” scheme in order to obtain cash from banks. The scheme’s participants obtained a real Republic of Korea passport that was altered to bear a new photograph and name, which they used to open bank accounts with a small amount of cash. The accounts were dormant until a time the participants believed the bank would allow the account holder to deposit a check and make withdrawals before the check actually cleared. At that time, the participants wrote checks from a different bank account with non-sufficient funds, deposited those checks into the dormant account, and then withdrew cash from the dormant account before the checks cleared. The participants would access funds by purchasing a money order and then deposit the money order into yet another bank account associated with the scheme.
As part of the scheme, on Feb. 16, 2017, a participant opened an account at a BMO Harris branch in Arizona using a falsified Korean passport. Thirty-six checks were written against the account, all of which eventually bounced for insufficient funds. Another participant opened a Wells Fargo checking account in Arizona, using a different falsified Korean passport. Kim participated in the bust-out of this account. Seven times on May 25-26, 2017, Kim deposited checks from the BMO Harris account into the Wells Fargo at branch locations in Orangevale, Roseville, and Sacramento. Kim then made cash withdrawals of between $800 and $1,900, or requested cash back when depositing the checks.
In addition, on May 26, 2017, Kim purchased a postal money order for $995 from the Carmichael post office, using a debit card connected to one of the Wells Fargo bust-out accounts. Three days later, another participant deposited the money order into a different Wells Fargo account. The funds from the money order were used to give the bank account the appearance of legitimacy until that account was eventually “busted out” as part of the scheme.
On May 24, 2017, Kim obtained a fraudulent Korean passport with Kim’s picture, but the name and Social Security card of another individual, which he used to open a private mail box in Granite Bay and a bank account at the El Dorado Savings Bank in Folsom. Out of the El Dorado Savings Bank checking account, approximately 67 checks were presented for payment in amounts between $992 and $2,998 for a total of $313,796. All of the checks bounced as there was only $100 in the account to cover the checks.
Kim’s bust-out activity resulted in an actual loss of $196,058 to the banks, and an intended loss of $380,429 based on unsuccessful bust-out attempts.
Kim is the second defendant to plead guilty in this case. Kyung Min Kong pleaded guilty on Feb. 10, 2022, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 25, 2022. Charges are pending against Ki Jang, Il Chung, Hee Soung Oh, Bon Soke Hong, and Jong Eun Lee, who were all indicted on Oct. 21, 2021. The charges against them are only allegations; they are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is the product of an investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Audrey B. Hemesath is prosecuting the case.
Kim is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley on Oct. 6, 2022. Kim faces a statutory maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million for bank fraud and a mandatory consecutive two years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for aggravated identity theft. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Charleston Man Sentenced to Prison for Drug and Gun CrimesRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Shawn Lamont Lane, 33, of Charleston, was sentenced today to seven years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for distribution of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 5, 2021, Lane was a passenger in a vehicle encountered by law enforcement officers in the South Hills section of Charleston. The officers subsequently found approximately 11 grams of methamphetamine and 1 gram of fentanyl in Lane’s pocket. Lane admitted that he intended to distribute the drugs. Lane further admitted to possessing a Springfield Armory XD-M Elite 9mm pistol and more than 50 grams of methamphetamine also found in the vehicle. Lane admitted that in furtherance of his drug trafficking, he possessed this firearm along with two others later found in a residence where he was staying: a Norinco SKS, 7.62x39mm rifle and an Anderson Manufacturing AM-15, .300 Blackout caliber rifle.
Lane also admitted that on July 15, 2021, he sold 21 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant. The next day, July 16, 2021, Lane was stopped by law enforcement in a vehicle in which he was carrying another loaded handgun. Lane was again stopped by law enforcement, on July 20, 2021, and had over $2,300 in drug proceeds.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Charleston Police Department.
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Alex Hamner prosecuted the case.
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.
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-227.
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