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4 August 2022
Two Chilton County Men Sentenced Following Federal Gun ConvictionsRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama – Two men from Chilton County, Alabama have been sentenced for illegally possessing firearms, announced United States Attorney Sandra J. Stewart.
On August 3, 2022, Joshua Eugean Bean, 38, from Maplesville, Alabama, was sentenced to 60 months in prison. Last summer, James Ryan Little, 27, from Clanton, Alabama, was sentenced to 90 months.
According to their plea agreements and other court documents, in May of 2018, the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office was on the lookout for a truck that had been reported stolen. It was also reported that there were multiple firearms inside the truck. On May 29, 2018, an investigator from the sheriff’s office spotted the truck and initiated a stop. Four individuals were in the vehicle, including Bean and Little, along with seven firearms. The investigator identified Bean and Little as suspects in the theft of the truck and the guns. Both men had previously been convicted of felony offenses and were therefore prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms. A grand jury indicted Bean and Little in October of 2020, charging each one with unlawfully possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony offense. Later, each pleaded guilty to the charge.
When pronouncing Bean’s sentence, the judge noted that when Bean was arrested on November 9, 2020—just two weeks after his federal indictment— he was again found to be in possession of a firearm.
Following their prison sentences, Bean and Little will be on supervised release for three years. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Russell T. Duraski prosecuted the case.
Texas pharmacy owner indicted in conspiracy that netted more than $10 million in payments for expensive drugsRead the Press Release
STATESBORO, GA: A Texas pharmacy owner is charged in a federal indictment for a scheme that generated millions of dollars in payments for unnecessary, expensive prescriptions through bribes paid to prescribing physicians.
Lucky S. Ott Jr., 44, of Boerne, Texas, is charged with Conspiracy in a one-count indictment alleging that he participated in a scheme to generate revenue by paying doctors to write prescriptions for expensive drugs that were reimbursed by insurance companies, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The charge carries a statutory penalty of up to 15 years in prison, along with substantial financial penalties and up to three years of supervised release following any prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Prescription drug fraud increases health care costs for everyone, including taxpayers who subsidize social safety net programs,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “With our law enforcement partners, we will identify and shut down operations using illegal means to enrich those who profit at patient and taxpayer expense.”
According to the indictment, Ott was the owner of Boerne Drug in Boerne, Texas. The newly returned indictment by a Southern District of Georgia U.S. District Court Grand Jury alleges that from about 2017 to April 2019, Ott and co-conspirators offered and paid bribes to prescribing physicians in exchange for prescriptions for expensive drugs, including prescriptions to patients in the Southern District of Georgia whose information was obtained through the fraudulent use of a telemedicine call center. Boerne Drug would fill those prescriptions, typically for topical creams and gels, sending the unnecessary drugs to the named patients, and then receive reimbursement from pharmacy benefit managers.
During the time of the conspiracy, the indictment alleges that Boerne Drug and its co-conspirators paid more than $1 million in kickbacks and bribes, and received more than $10 million in reimbursements from insurance programs including Medicare and Tricare.
Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case is being investigated by the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan A. Porter and Ryan C. Grover.
Texas Man Sentenced on Hate Crime Charges for Attacking Asian FamilyRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today announced that Jose Gomez III, 21, of Midland, Texas, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on hate crime charges for attacking an Asian family he believed was Chinese and therefore responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Gomez had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of committing a hate crime.
According to the facts admitted in the plea, on March 14, 2020, Gomez entered a Sam’s Club Warehouse in Midland, Texas, behind an Asian family with young children. Gomez had never seen them before and believed they were Chinese. Gomez followed them in the store for several minutes because he perceived them to be a “threat” as they were “from the country who started spreading that disease around.” Gomez then momentarily left the family to find a serrated steak knife in the store. Gomez bent the blade so that when he held the handle in his fist, the blade rested against his knuckles, sharp-edge facing outward. Gomez returned to the Asian family and punched the father, B.C., in the face, cutting him. Gomez then left to retrieve an eight-inch knife from the store. When Gomez returned to B.C., Gomez abruptly turned towards B.C.’s two young children – then aged six and two years old – who were seated in the front basket of the shopping cart. Gomez slashed open the face of R.C., the then-six-year-old child. The blade entered millimeters from R.C.’s right eye, split his right ear, and wrapped around to the back of his skull. Gomez also stabbed a white Sam’s Club employee, Z.O., who intervened to stop Gomez from further assaulting the Asian family. While being held down on the ground, Gomez yelled at the Asian family, “Get out of America!”
Gomez admitted he believed the Asian family was Chinese and that he blamed them for the COVID-19 pandemic. Gomez further admitted he had attempted to kill the six-year-old child. Gomez also admitted he had attacked Z.O., the store employee, because Gomez wanted to kill the six-year-old child and Z.O. was preventing him from doing so.
“Pandemic-driven and racially-motivated acts of violence are deplorable crimes, and the Justice Department stands ready to use our hate crimes laws to hold perpetrators accountable,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.“Hate crimes targeting Asian Americans have spiked during the pandemic and must be confronted. All people deserve to feel safe and secure living in their communities, regardless of race, color or national origin.”
“Hate-motivated violence will simply not be tolerated in our society and every person deserves to feel safe from such vicious harm,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff for the Western District of Texas. “Today’s sentence sends the message loud and clear that our office will aggressively prosecute federal hate crimes while seeking justice for victims.”
"Mr. Gomez's cowardly and racially motivated actions do not represent our West Texas community,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffery R. Downey of the FBI El Paso Field Office. “It is our hope today's sentence will help the victims with the healing process. Rest assured, the FBI and our law enforcement partners will aggressively pursue anyone who commits these violent acts to ensure the civil rights of all Americans are protected."
The case was investigated by the Midland Police Department and the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandi Young for the Western District of Texas and Trial Attorney Angie Cha of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.
Texas Man Sentenced on Hate Crime Charges for Attacking Asian FamilyRead the Press Release
MIDLAND – The Justice Department today announced that Jose Gomez III, 21, of Midland, Texas, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on hate crime charges for attacking an Asian family he believed was Chinese and therefore responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Gomez had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of committing a hate crime.
According to the facts admitted in the plea, on March 14, 2020, Gomez entered a Sam’s Club Warehouse in Midland, Texas, behind an Asian family with young children. Gomez had never seen them before and believed they were Chinese. Gomez followed them in the store for several minutes because he perceived them to be a “threat” as they were “from the country who started spreading that disease around.” Gomez then momentarily left the family to find a serrated steak knife in the store. Gomez bent the blade so that when he held the handle in his fist, the blade rested against his knuckles, sharp-edge facing outward. Gomez returned to the Asian family and punched the father, B.C., in the face, cutting him. Gomez then left to retrieve an eight-inch knife from the store. When Gomez returned to B.C., Gomez abruptly turned towards B.C.’s two young children – then aged six and two years old – who were seated in the front basket of the shopping cart. Gomez slashed open the face of R.C., the then-six-year-old child. The blade entered millimeters from R.C.’s right eye, split his right ear, and wrapped around to the back of his skull. Gomez also stabbed a white Sam’s Club employee, Z.O., who intervened to stop Gomez from further assaulting the Asian family. While being held down on the ground, Gomez yelled at the Asian family, “Get out of America!”
Gomez admitted he believed the Asian family was Chinese and that he blamed them for the COVID-19 pandemic. Gomez further admitted he had attempted to kill the six-year-old child. Gomez also admitted he had attacked Z.O., the store employee, because Gomez wanted to kill the six-year-old child and Z.O. was preventing him from doing so.
“Pandemic-driven and racially-motivated acts of violence are deplorable crimes, and the Justice Department stands ready to use our hate crimes laws to hold perpetrators accountable,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Hate crimes targeting Asian Americans have spiked during the pandemic and must be confronted. All people deserve to feel safe and secure living in their communities, regardless of race, color or national origin.”
“Hate-motivated violence will simply not be tolerated in our society and every person deserves to feel safe from such vicious harm,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff for the Western District of Texas. “Today’s sentence sends the message loud and clear that our office will aggressively prosecute federal hate crimes while seeking justice for victims.”
"Mr. Gomez's cowardly and racially motivated actions do not represent our West Texas community,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffery R. Downey of the FBI El Paso Field Office. “It is our hope today's sentence will help the victims with the healing process. Rest assured, the FBI and our law enforcement partners will aggressively pursue anyone who commits these violent acts to ensure the civil rights of all Americans are protected."
The case was investigated by the Midland Police Department and the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandi Young of the Western District of Texas and Trial Attorney Angie Cha of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.
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Tampa Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Role in Construction-Related Wire Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Charlene E. Honeywell has sentenced Kelbin Tejada (32, Tampa) to 15 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The Court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $360,000, the proceeds of the wire-fraud conspiracy. Tejada had pleaded guilty on May 2, 2022.
According to court documents, Tejada owned and managed a construction company which purported to supply construction services and labor for construction contractors and subcontractors. In order to comply with Florida law, Tejada’s company was required to secure and maintain adequate worker’s compensation insurance coverage. Tejada’s company had agreements with contractors and subcontractors to use workers purported to be Tejada’s employees at construction sites and these workers were often undocumented aliens who were actually working for and under the daily supervision and direction of the contractors. Tejada or others would then regularly receive “payroll checks” from contractors that were cashed at various financial institutions to pay Tejada’s purported “employees” and other related expenses.
During the course of the scheme, Tejada falsely and fraudulently represented in insurance applications that his company had a very limited payroll and a very limited number of employees who worked on construction jobsites. Tejada also falsely and fraudulently sent wire communications to numerous contractors representing that his company’s employees had full worker’s compensation coverage.
In reality, Tejada’s company received and cashed more than $18,000,000 in checks from various construction contractors for these purported “employees”. These payroll figures far exceeded the very limited payroll figures that Tejada had reported to his worker’s compensation insurance company. As a result, these employees (in reality the employees of other entities) performed work on jobsites without adequate insurance coverage. In addition, the insurers lost premiums they would have charged had they been aware of the true number of workers their policies were thus being manipulated to cover.
As a result of these misrepresentations, Tejada’s company also disclaimed responsibility for ensuring that jobsite workers were legally authorized to work in the United States and that required state and federal payroll taxes were being paid for these workers. The contractors who actually paid these workers’ wages and used their services were thus also able to avoid responsibility for those duties as well.
“Mr. Tejada not only defrauded insurance companies of thousands of dollars in premiums by lying on his policy application, more importantly he severely jeopardized the health and well-being of non-citizen laborers who work long hours in hazardous positions,” said HSI Tampa Assistant Special Agent in Charge John Dumas. “HSI Special Agents and our law enforcement partners are committed to ensuring that all workers performing these jobs have the safety net of proper workman’s compensation insurance.”
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said, “Workers’ compensation fraud is a costly and dangerous crime that puts everyone at risk. This elaborate scheme illustrates how far criminals are willing to go to avoid paying workers’ compensation premiums and leaves honest Florida contractors to foot the bill for higher insurance rates in Florida. Thank you to the U.S. State Attorney’s Office, the Department of Homeland Security, and my dedicated insurance fraud detectives for their hard work in this case and bringing this bad actor to justice.”
This case was investigated by the United States Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations and the State of Florida Department of Financial Services. It is part of a lengthy investigation by those agencies into the use of shell companies and “ghost” employees in the construction industry. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer.
Stockton Man Charged with Possessing 83 Pounds of Methamphetamine for DistributionRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Gildardo Perez Avilez, 38, of Stockton, charging him with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Perez Avilez’s residence and seized 83 pounds of methamphetamine packaged in 1-pound bags and 8,800 counterfeit oxycodone M-30 pills containing fentanyl.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office, the Stockton Police Department, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Lee is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Perez Avilez faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty 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 defendant is 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.
Stockton Man Charged with Methamphetamine and Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Christian Flores, 25, of Stockton, charging him with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, law enforcement officers conducted a search warrant at Flores’s residence in Stockton and seized 15 pounds of methamphetamine and a loaded handgun.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office, the Stockton Police Department, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Lee is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Flores faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a fine of up to $10 million. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This 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.
Smuggled individual convicted of having pornographic imagesRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 24-year-old Mexican national has admitted to having child pornography on his phone, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Christian Dolores Munoz-De La Rosa pleaded guilty to transporting and possessing child pornography.
As part of his plea, Munoz-De La Rosa admitted that on June 6 he was part of a group of undocumented aliens caught near Carrizo Springs. At the time of his arrest, authorities examined his phone and soon discovered the child pornography images.
There were a total of 116 images of child pornography, some of which involved a child as young as three.
U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo will impose sentencing Nov. 9. At that time, Munoz-De La Rosa faces up to 20 years in federal prison as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Border Patrol.
Assistant U.S. Attorney April Ayers-Perez is prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources link on that page.
Sioux City Man with Violent History Sentenced to More Than 10 Years in Federal Prison for Illegal Possession of FirearmRead the Press Release
A Sioux City man who possessed a firearm and ammunition as a felon, was sentenced to 12 years in Federal Prison July 29, 2022.
Rudy Johnson, age 28, from Sioux City, Iowa, was convicted of possession of firearm and ammunition by a felon. Johnson committed the instant offense after being released from federal prison for a 2012 crime spree.
In the summer of 2012 Johnson illegally acquired 16 guns.
On June 19, 2012, Christopher Bailey, Joshua Fields, David Johnson, Rudy Johnson, Terrence Miles, and Austin Peters used one of those stolen weapons -- a shortened semi-automatic rifle – to rob the employees of Seoul Foods in South Sioux City, Nebraska. The clerks’ children (ages 4, 10, 12, and 14) were also inside the store at the time. Johnson used a knife to hold the store’s butcher at bay during the robbery.
The same day as the 2012 robbery Johnson and others contemplated robbing a Chinese-owned business in Sioux City, Iowa, but the plot was abandoned because the store appeared to be too busy; Instead, Johnson participated in an attempted drive-by shooting of an individual elsewhere in Sioux City, Iowa. The gun misfired and the would-be shooters drove off.
On August 15, 2013, Johnson was sentenced to federal prison for offenses related this crime spree. On December 11, 2020, Johnson commenced a term of federal supervised release after his term of imprisonment and – that same day – he criminally acquired a handgun. On December 20, 2020, he transported that firearm to Iowa, shot a victim nine times with it in Iowa, concealed it, and fled Iowa.
At sentencing Johnson said he did not intend to murder the victim of the December 20, 2020 incident, and he requested a lighter sentence. However, it was undisputed defendant told another that he had “a gun on” him and “whatever happens, happens”, and it was undisputed that defendant shot the victim approximately nine times, hitting nobody else, despite the parking lot being crowded with people.
Acting United States Attorney Timothy Duax stated, “This case is a good example of law enforcement using the current federal gun laws to remove a dangerous repeat offender from our community.”
Johnson was sentenced before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand to 120 months’ imprisonment for possessing a firearm as a felon. His term of supervised release was also revoked, and he was sent back to prison for another 24 months’ imprisonment. The two terms of imprisonment were ordered to run consecutively to one another resulting in a total new sentenced of 144 months. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Johnson remains in custody of the United States Marshal’s until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the U.S. Marshalls, Sioux Falls, South Dakota Task Force and the Sioux City, Iowa Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-4086.
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Schenectady Felon Sentenced to 30 Months for Firearm, Marijuana ConvictionsRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Muhammad Coleman, age 42, of Schenectady, New York, was sentenced today to 30 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, for unlawfully possessing a firearm as a felon, and for possessing and conspiring to distribute marijuana.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Division.
In previously pleading guilty, Coleman admitted that he conspired to sell marijuana from his Schenectady residence from at least May to October 2021. He also admitted to possessing about 20 pounds of marijuana, and to possessing a 10 mm Caspian Arms handgun, when the DEA searched his house on October 21, 2021. Coleman was not permitted to possess this firearm as a result of a prior drug felony conviction.
Coleman agreed to forfeit, as proceeds of the marijuana conspiracy, $319,387 in U.S. currency, and nine items of jewelry collectively worth more than $100,000, which the DEA seized on October 21, 2021.
This case was investigated by the DEA’s Capital District Drug Enforcement Task Force, which includes DEA Special Agents and investigators from state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Saratoga Springs Police Department, the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.
St. Croix Felon Pleads Guilty to Home Invasion and CarjackingRead the Press Release
St. Croix, VI – U.S. Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Luis Davis, 34, of St. Croix, pleaded guilty in District Court before Magistrate Judge Emile A. Henderson, III, to Using a Firearm During a Violent Crime, Carjacking, and Felon in Possession of a Firearm. The sentencing in this matter is scheduled for December 2, 2022, where Davis faces, a maximum of 15 years of incarceration on the carjacking, a maximum of 10 years on the felon in possession, and a mandatory minimum of seven years on the firearm possession during a violent crime. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
According to court documents, on September 10, 2017, Davis, along with two co-defendants, broke into a home in Estate Rust Op Twist while brandishing a firearm. Davis and is co-defendants physically assaulted an occupant of the home by punching him in the head and threatened to kill another occupant while demanding money. Davis and his co-defendants then forced the occupants, at gunpoint, into the rear passenger seat of their Toyota Tacoma truck and drove to the shoreline location where the male occupant had left his wallet. After retrieving the wallet, Davis and his codefendants fled in the Toyota Tacoma truck and a Jeep Wrangler. In addition to the vehicles, Davis and his co-defendants stole $200.00 cash, two iPhones valued at $600 each and an iPad valued at $200.00. In 2011, Davis was convicted of Felony Assault in the First Degree in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands.
This case was investigated by the Virgin Islands Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigations and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel H. Huston. The investigation is part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide initiative that brings together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and community leaders to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in a community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. For more information on the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods, please see: https://www.justice.gov/psn.
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Rochester Woman Previously Convicted on Federal Drug and Gun Charges, Going Back to PrisonRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Charity Lee, 40, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and a violation of supervised release, was sentenced to serve 39 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassie Kocher, who is handling the case, stated that in January 2021, Lee was convicted on federal charges of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and sentenced to time served and three years’ supervised release. On March 8, 2021, United States Probation Officers conducted a routine home visit at Lee’s Ernst Street residence. During the visit, officers recovered 15.5 grams of crack cocaine base, a razor blade and drug packaging material, as well as multiple rounds of ammunition.
The case was brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as part of its Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative. PSN is 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.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Probation Department, under the director of Chief Probation Officer Timothy Englert, the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Smith and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, New York Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito.
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Rapid City Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Receipt of Child Pornography and Possession of Child Pornography was sentenced on August 1, 2022, by Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.
Gray Allen Asmus, age 49, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison, followed by 10 years supervised release for Receipt of Child Pornography and Possession of Child Pornography. The sentences are to run concurrently. Asmus was also ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $200.
Asmus was arrested and federally indicted following two Cybertips from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children. Asmus was previously convicted of Possession of Child Pornography in 2016, and forensic examination of Asmus’ devices revealed multiple images of child pornography.
This case was investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, Rapid City Police Department, and the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah B. Collins prosecuted the case.
Asmus was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Prior Felon Going Back to PrisonRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Quandrell Davis, 31, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, was sentenced to serve 63 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Moynihan, who handled the case, stated that in June 2010, Davis was convicted of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree in Monroe County Court, and sentenced to five years in prison. On September 2, 2020, the Greater Rochester Area Narcotics Enforcement Team (GRANET), searched 52 Walnut Street in Rochester, and seized approximately 1.5 grams of fentanyl and approximately 1.5 grams of cocaine, three loaded firearms, one of which had been reported stolen in Tennessee, and ammunition. Drug trafficking paraphernalia was also seized, including digital scales and drug packaging material. Davis was taken into custody following the search.
The matter was brought by the United States Attorney’s Office as part of its Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative. PSN is 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.The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Smith and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, New York Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito.
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Pittsburgh Heroin Dealer Sentenced to Nearly Six Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court on Tuesday to 70 months’ imprisonment followed by four years of supervised release on his conviction for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today
United States District Judge William S. Stickman, IV imposed the sentence on Geron Anderson, 27, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
According to information presented to the court, in 2018, the Federal Bureau of Investigation began investigating a heroin trafficking organization of which Anderson was a member. Beginning in February of 2019 and continuing through September of 2019, the FBI received authorization to conduct a Title III wiretap investigation into the organization. Anderson was intercepted orchestrating the distribution of heroin throughout Pittsburgh. In addition to the intercepted communications, agents seized heroin, firearms, and bulk United States Currency from members of the organization. Judge Stickman referenced the seriousness of the offense as well as Anderson’s criminal history.
Assistant United States Attorney Mark V. Gurzo prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Chung commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Allegheny County Police Department, the Stowe Township Police Department, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, the Office of the Attorney General, the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office, the North Versailles Police Department, the Allegheny County Port Authority Police Department, the Munhall Police Department, and the Pennsylvania State Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Anderson.
This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Pearl River Woman Sentenced in Drug Trafficking CaseRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – A Pearl River woman was sentenced to 24 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on the Choctaw Indian Reservation, announced U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca of the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Brad Byerley of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
According to court documents, Winter Kate Lewis 32, of the Pearl River Community of the Choctaw Indian Reservation distributed methamphetamine on the Choctaw Indian Reservation from May 2019 to April of 2020.
A federal grand jury in July of 2021, indicted Lewis in a three-count indictment involving the possession and distribution of methamphetamine on the Choctaw Indian Reservation. On April 28, 2022, Lewis entered a plea of guilty to count one of the indictment charging conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. As stated in court, Lewis admitted to her role in the conspiracy.
Lewis was sentenced to a prison term of 24 months, plus a fine of $1500, to be followed by a term of 5 years supervised release following release from prison. The sentencing took place in the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson, Mississippi.
U.S. Attorney LaMarca commended the work of the members of the Choctaw Police Department of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs, and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration who investigated the case.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin J. Payne and Special Assistant United States Attorney Brian Burns.
Paw Paw Man Charged with Arson of Planned ParenthoodRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney Mark Totten announced that his office filed a criminal complaint today charging Joshua Brereton with setting fire to a Planned Parenthood building in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Brereton, age 25, is a resident of Paw Paw, Michigan.
On July 31, 2022, law enforcement received a report of a fire in progress at the Planned Parenthood in Kalamazoo. Subsequent investigation, including review of video surveillance from the fire scene, revealed that, at approximately 4:00 p.m., a man now identified as Brereton breached the fence surrounding the building, used a combustible fuel to ignite the exterior bushes of the building, lit a fireplace starter log, and then threw the burning log onto the roof of the building, ultimately starting two separate fires. After the fires started, Brereton fled the scene.
The complaint alleges that, approximately an hour before setting the fire, Brereton purchased citronella torch fuel, a Duraflame starter log, and a utility lighter from a Walmart in Paw Paw, Michigan. He also purchased a baseball cap similar to the one depicted being worn by the suspect in Planned Parenthood’s surveillance footage.
Prior to the fire, the complaint also alleges that Brereton posted a video to his YouTube channel discussing abortion and abortion policy and referring to abortion as “genocide.” In the video, Brereton also encouraged others to “step out of your comfort zone” and lend a hand in the fight.
If convicted of the arson charge, Brereton faces up to 20 years in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years.
Brereton’s arrest followed a joint investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety (KDPS). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie Carowan.
The charges in a complaint are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law. A copy of the criminal complaint and the allegations are attached to this release.
Brereton Complaint###
Owner of Consulting Company Pleads Guilty to Failure to File Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on August 1, 2022, Reverend Terrence D. Griffith, age 61, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan E. Schwab for failure to file a tax return.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Griffith was the President of Clearwater Consulting Associates, Inc., located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Reverend Griffith, as the responsible party for this company, failed to file a tax return for the year 2015. As a part of his guilty plea, Reverend Griffith also acknowledged that he failed to file tax returns for the years 2013-2016 for the consulting firm.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Consiglio is prosecuting the case.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is one year of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
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Omaha Woman Sentenced for a Methamphetamine OffenseRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – An Omaha, Nebraska woman, Anisha Ilene Luna, age 33, was sentenced on August 3, 2022, to eight years in prison, following her plea to a charge of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
In March 2021, the Mills County Sheriff’s Department received information that Luna and her co-defendant, Ronald Wayne Reed II, were planning to deliver an ounce of methamphetamine to a confidential source at a McDonald’s parking lot in Glenwood, Iowa. Deputies surveilled the McDonald’s and saw Luna and Reed arrive in a car. After a probable cause search, deputies found over five grams of methamphetamine in possession of Luna and Reed, which they intended to distribute. Investigation showed that Luna and Reed had distributed over a pound of methamphetamine.
Ronald Reed is scheduled to be sentenced October 5, 2022 in Council Bluffs.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Mills County Sheriff’s Department, Iowa State Patrol, and Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement investigated the case. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
Ohio Company and Corporate Vice President Plead Guilty to Selling Unregistered Virucide, Despite Repeated WarningsRead the Press Release
An Ohio corporation and its vice president pleaded guilty in federal court to the illegal sale of antimicrobial products. Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio and Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Lynn of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division (EPA-CID) made the announcement.
Evan Morgan and DEM Technology LLC of Dayton, Ohio, pleaded guilty to selling an unregistered “fogger,” which they claimed, without proof, could sanitize an entire room. According to the plea, beginning in 1996, DEM produced the surface-sanitizing product, SaniGuard. It was only authorized for use as a surface spray. However, since SaniGuard’s initial EPA registration, DEM has sold the product not only as a “Dry Sanitizing Surface Spray” but also as a “Total Release Fogger.” According to its marketing materials, the fogger product allowed for the entire can’s contents to be released into a room, supposedly disinfecting all surfaces in the room. It also claimed the fogger could “sanitize a room within 10 to 15 minutes”; is “effective against H1N1, E-Coli, Staphylococcus, MRSA and Salmonella”; and has a “99.99% kill rate of fungus, bacteria…and viruses.” DEM has never established efficacy nor safety data associated with SaniGuard’s use as a fogger as required by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.
From 2004 to 2015, DEM received and acknowledged repeated correspondence from the EPA, directing the removal of language relating to fogging from the SaniGuard label. Additionally, on July 21, 2015, the EPA entered a consent order, which ordered DEM to pay a civil penalty based upon DEM’s sale of the fogger product. Nonetheless, DEM continued to produce and sell Total Release Fogger in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
“The defendants in this case made claims about the efficacy of their product with no supporting data, putting their customers at risk,” said Assistant Attorney General Kim. “Despite this danger and repeated notices by EPA, the defendants continued their unlawful conduct for years. Yesterday’s guilty pleas shows that the Department of Justice will not tolerate such violations of federal law.”
“In order to safeguard the environment, it is essential that the Environmental Protection Agency’s pesticide programs receive accurate and honest information from pesticide registrants and their employees,” said Special Agent in Charge Lynn. “This guilty plea sends a clear message that EPA and its law enforcement partners will continue to hold individuals and companies fully accountable for illegal conduct that jeopardizes the environment.”
This case was investigated by Special Agent Christopher Wilson of EPA-CID and Jon Scale of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office Bureau of Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Adam Cullman of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
Northumberland County Doctor Sentenced to 15 Years’ Imprisonment for Operating A Massive “Pill Mill”Read the Press Release
WILLIAMSPORT –The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Dr. Raymond Kraynak, age 65, of Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on August 3, 2022, to 15 years’ imprisonment by Chief United States District Court Judge Matthew W. Brann for unlawful distribution of a controlled substance. Chief Judge Brann also ordered Kraynak to pay restitution in the amount of $22,365 to the victims or their families.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Kraynak previously pled guilty on September 23, 2021, to 12 counts of unlawful distribution and dispensing of a controlled substance outside the usual course of professional practice and not for legitimate medical purpose. Kraynak also admitted that the Schedule II narcotic opioid drugs that he prescribed resulted in the deaths of five of his patients.
Kraynak’s sentence followed Chief Judge Brann’s denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. The guilty plea occurred after 13 days of trial testimony after the government rested its case-in-chief. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Kraynak agreed to the 15-year term of imprisonment on each of the twelve counts he pleaded guilty to and the sentences will run concurrently.
Kraynak was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 20, 2017, in a 19-count indictment charging unlawful distribution and dispensing of controlled substances, causing the death of five patients by the unlawful distribution and dispensing of controlled substances, and maintaining two drug-involved premises, one in Mt. Carmel and the other Shamokin, Pennsylvania. Kraynak stopped seeing patients and surrendered his license in December 2017 when he was arraigned in federal court on the indictment.
Kraynak operated two offices, one in Mt. Carmel and the other in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, both known as Keystone Family Medicine Associates, and prescribed approximately 9.5 million units of oxycodone, hydrocodone, oxycontin and fentanyl to patients between January 2014 and July 31, 2017. The prosecution evidence included testimony from DEA analysts that Kraynak was the top prescriber of opioids in Pennsylvania in 2014, 2015, and 2016 and during those years prescribed more opioids than both the Veterans Medical Center in Pittsburgh and the Veterans Hospital in Philadelphia.
The prosecution’s evidence at trial also included testimony by a medical expert that Kraynak continued to prescribe high doses of opioids despite knowing that patients had previously been treated for drug overdoses, respiratory problems and other medical conditions increasing the risks of overdose and death.
The prosecution’s evidence also established that Kraynak, in prescribing these opioids to multiple patients outside of the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose, and did so without conducting a proper medical examination, inadequately verifying the patient’s medical complaint, and failing to assess the risk of abuse by individual patients.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration Diversion Control Division, with assistance from the Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, the Mt. Carmel Borough Police Department, Shamokin Police Department, the Schuylkill County Drug Task Force, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Health, Office of Drug Surveillance and Misuse Prevention, the Northumberland County Coroner’s Office, the Schuylkill County Coroner’s Office, and Lehigh County Coroner’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys William Behe and George Rocktashel prosecuted the case.
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New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Being a Felon in Possession of a GunRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that on Wednesday, August 3, 2022 JOSHUA REED, age 24, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a gun after having been convicted of a felony offense before United States District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle.
According to court records, New Orleans Police Department officers approached REED at a gas station in New Orleans East. During a search of his vehicle, the officers found a Glock pistol, which REED admitted that he possessed. REED also acknowledged that he had previously been convicted of burglary, which is a felony offense.
REED faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, up to a $250,000 fine, up to 3 years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is 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.
The case was investigated by the New Orleans Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Haller of the Violent Crime Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
New Castle Cocaine Distributor Sentenced to 12½ Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A Lawrence County resident has been sentenced in federal court to 150 months’ imprisonment and five years of supervised release on his conviction of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
United States District Judge Horan imposed the sentence on Dondi Searcy Jr., age, 37, formerly of New Castle, Pennsylvania.
According to information presented to the court, Searcy Jr. conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Intercepted communications revealed Dondi Searcy Jr’s role in a large-scale cocaine distribution based out of the New Castle, Pennsylvania area. Searcy Jr. and his conspirators arranged for cocaine to be transported, primarily through the United States Mail, from California to the New Castle area, where Searcy, Jr. and his conspirators distributed the cocaine.
Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
United States Attorney Chung commended the Drug Enforcement Administration, the New Castle Police Department, the Lawrence County District Attorney’s Office, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Searcy Jr.
Minneapolis Man Sentenced to More Than 20 Years in Prison for Using Social Media to Produce Child PornographyRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man was sentenced to 255 months in prison, 20 years of supervised release, and $36,000 in restitution for using social media to produce and attempt to produce sexually explicit images and videos of children, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, between August 2018 and March 2021, Nathan Miller Dobbelmann, 40, used social media apps to contact and solicit sexually explicit images and videos from children. Dobbelmann also sent minors sexually explicit videos of himself as well as sexually graphic text messages. Dobbelmann also joined online chat rooms and platforms to discuss and trade child pornography files with others.
On March 3, 2022, Dobbelmann pleaded guilty to one count of production and attempted production of child pornography. Dobbelmann was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge Donovan W. Frank.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI with assistance from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Hudleston prosecuted the case.
Michigan Man Arrested for International Computer Fraud Scheme and Distribution of Opioids and Other Illegal DrugsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Michigan man was arrested today in connection with a complex multi-year scheme to defraud computer users and to sell controlled substances online.
Doyal Kalita, 35, of Redford, Mich., was indicted on one count of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of conspiracy to import Schedule II and Schedule IV controlled substances and one count of money laundering conspiracy. Kalita will make an initial appearance in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan today. He will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
“Taking advantage of innocent people through the assumed anonymity that the internet provides is a cowardly crime. We believe that Mr. Kalita ran an online criminal enterprise that not only targeted and deceived innocent online users out of their own money, but also pumped deadly opioids into our communities,” said United State Attorney Rachael S. Rollins. “Bad actors think they can remain undetected from law enforcement while behind a computer screen. They should think again. We have the tools to identify you and bring your criminal activity to a halt. And we will use them.”
“Tech support scams cost Massachusetts residents $5.3 million last year, and consumers, nationwide, lost $347 million. The FBI is working hard every day to hold the criminals behind these scams accountable for the harm they inflict, and today, we arrested Doyal Kalita for his alleged role in a multi-year, international scheme to defraud computer users, and, for his role in a side business selling imported drugs online,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “Today’s arrest should be a warning to others that the FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to root out fraudsters who victimize our fellow citizens for personal gain.”
“The defendant and others allegedly operated a variety store of online scams. First, they are alleged to have devised a complex help-desk scam to defraud innocent individuals who were simply trying to resolve phony computer problems. In addition, they are also accused of operating an online drug distribution scheme that sold controlled substances,” said Joleen D. Simpson, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division, Boston Office. “As a result of today’s charges, their scams are no longer in operation, and they will now be held responsible for their alleged fraud and deceit.”
According to the indictment, in 2015, Kalita and a co-conspirator started a scheme to defraud internet users through the use of deceptive pop-up screens that falsely told victims that their computers were infected with viruses (or were otherwise damaged) and directed the victims to call for technical support. In fact, the victims were connected to Kalita and his co-conspirator’s call centers in India and in Michigan and were scared or deceived into buying products and services that they did not need. It is further alleged that, contemporaneously with the fraud scheme, Kalita and his co-conspirator launched an online drug distribution scheme that sold controlled substances, including opioids, and shipped the drugs from India and Europe to persons in Massachusetts and elsewhere in the United States. It is alleged that another individual later joined the conspiracy as one of Kalita’s principal drug suppliers.
The charge of wire fraud conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of money laundering conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the laundered funds, whichever is greater. The charge of conspiracy to import controlled substances provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million or twice the gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charges of drug distribution and conspiracy to distribute drugs each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million or twice the gain or loss, whichever is greater. 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.
U.S. Attorney Rollins, FBI SAC Bonavolonta and IRS SAC Simpson made the announcement today. The United States Marshals Service in Boston provided valuable assistance in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kriss Basil of Rollins’ Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Mexican Man Using Alias and in Possession of False Documents Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A man who presented false identification documentation and who was in possession of false documents was sentenced today to over four months in federal prison.
Lino Suastegui-Leon, age 49, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States and residing in Tama, Iowa, received the prison term after a May 12, 2022 guilty plea to the unlawful use of an identification document, misuse of a social security number, and unlawful possession of an identification document.
At the guilty plea, Suastegui-Leon admitted that on October 19, 2020, he knowingly used a social security number which had been unlawfully obtained. He also admitted that on April 1, 2022, he possessed a social security card bearing someone else’s name and social security number.
Suastegui-Leon was located at the Tama County, Iowa, treasurer’s office in possession of a variety of false documents, including a social security card and bank cards in the name of his alias. He also had a true copy of a Puerto Rican birth certificate. The investigation revealed he used the social security number and an out of state driver’s license to obtain employment in Iowa.
Suastegui-Leon was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Judge C.J. Williams. Suastegui-Leon was sentenced to four months and four days’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Suastegui-Leon is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be turned over to immigration officials.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Liz Dupuich and investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 22-cr-29.
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Members of Brooklyn Crew Charged with Murder, Drug Trafficking, and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Keechant L. Sewell, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) announced the unsealing today of a Superseding Indictment charging DANZEL MACKINS, a/k/a “Putt,” DARRIN SAMUELS, a/k/a “Klepto,” JAMEL WILLIAMS, a/k/a “Big T,” and BRANDON WILKINS, a/k/a “Banger,” a/k/a “Fishy,” with participating in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. MACKINS and SAMUELS are also charged with carrying and using firearms in connection with that drug trafficking crime, and with participating in the murder of Felton Durant, who was shot to death on April 25, 2021.
MACKINS and SAMUELS were previously charged with conspiring to distribute crack cocaine, though the charge of murder against each of them was only made public today. WILLIAMS and WILKINS were both arrested yesterday and are expected to be presented later today before the Honorable Katharine H. Parker, United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of New York. The case is assigned to United States District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “On April 25, 2021, Felton Durant was shot to death in broad daylight on a weekend afternoon over a drug trafficking dispute. As alleged in the Superseding Indictment unsealed today, Danzel Mackins and Darrin Samuels participated in that brutal killing, which took place in the middle of a busy public housing development in South Brooklyn. Thanks to the hard work of the NYPD, the defendants have been charged with this heinous crime. I am committed to devoting every resource in my Office to target gun violence in this City. To be clear, we are not going to give up any neighborhood, anywhere in this City to drug violence, and the charges unsealed today should make that clear to all violent actors who endanger our neighborhoods and our communities.”
NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said: “The wanton depravity outlined in the charges leveled against these individuals today will never be acceptable in any neighborhood of New York City. By dismantling their drug trafficking organization, and by putting a stop to the violence so often associated with this illegal activity, the NYPD and our law enforcement partners have affirmed our promise to the people we serve: Anyone who deals in this type of violent, destructive behavior will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
As alleged in the Superseding Indictment,[1] DANZEL MACKINS, DARRIN SAMUELS, JAMEL WILLIAMS, and BRANDON WILKINS, all of New York City, are charged with being members of a drug trafficking organization (the “DTO”) that distributed crack cocaine from December 2019 through July 2022. In addition to the murder of Durant Felton on April 25, 2021, MACKINS and SAMUELS are charged with using and carrying multiple firearms in connection with the charged drug trafficking conspiracy and aiding and abetting the same.
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A set of charts containing the names, charges, and maximum penalties for the defendants is set forth below.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD and thanked the Kings County District Attorney’s Office for its assistance in this case.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Thomas John Wright is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
COUNT
CHARGE
DEFENDANTS
MAXIMUM PENALTIES
1
Narcotics conspiracy
21 U.S.C. § 846
DANZEL MACKINS, a/k/a “Putt,” DARRIN SAMUELS, a/k/a “Klepto,” JAMEL WILLIAMS, a/k/a “Big T,” and BRANDON WILKINS, a/k/a “Banger,” a/k/a “Fishy"
40 years’ Imprisonment
Mandatory Minimum Sentence of 5 years
2
Using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crime, which firearm was brandished and discharged
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
DANZEL MACKINS, a/k/a “Putt,” and DARRIN SAMUELS, a/k/a “Klepto”
Life Imprisonment
Mandatory Minimum Sentence of 10 years
3
Murder through use of a firearm
18 U.S.C. § 924(j)
DANZEL MACKINS, a/k/a “Putt,” and DARRIN SAMUELS, a/k/a “Klepto”
Death or Life Imprisonment
Mandatory Minimum Sentence of 5 years
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Superseding Indictment and the descriptions of the Superseding Indictment constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Man who robbed two St. Louis cell phone stores at gunpoint sentenced to 16+ years in prisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber on Thursday sentenced a St. Louis man who robbed two cell phone stores in 2019 to 16 years and eight months in prison.
Deangelo Winston, 43, of Jennings, has also become notorious in local jails for misconduct, attacking inmates and guards, making improvised weapons, throwing urine and feces and damaging property, according to court testimony during Thursday’s sentencing hearing.
On June 21, 2019, Winston pretended to be a customer of the Boost Mobile store at 3956 South Broadway before pulling a pistol, stealing cash and several iPhones and leaving in a stolen Audi. On August 13, 2019, Winston robbed another Boost Mobile store, at 2253 South Grand Boulevard. One of employees present at the first robbery was also robbed by Winston at the second store.
Winston offered several stolen phones for sale via Facebook, but an FBI agent spotted the phones and arranged to buy them, confirming that the phones had been stolen in the Boost robbery, court filings show. A search of Winston's home found two guns.
Winston has 11 prior felony convictions, over half of which involved weapons crimes, court records show.
Winston pleaded guilty in January to two robbery charges and two gun charges. In court Thursday, witnesses said Winston had repeatedly been moved from jail to jail due to his conduct. Winston admitted writing on his cell window with his own feces Wednesday but claimed it was because he was unhappy with conditions in his cell.
In addition to the prison time, Judge Webber ordered Winston to undergo mental health and drug treatment and pay $11,400 in restitution to Boost Mobile.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
Man on supervised release sentenced to 5 years in prison for possessing firearmsRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – William J. Dishman, 40, of Cincinnati, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 60 months total in prison for possessing multiple firearms as a convicted felon and violating his supervised release.
According to court documents, in August 2021, Dishman was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service’s Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST).
Dishman had previously been convicted of burglary of a pharmacy and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Following his release from prison, Dishman was placed on supervised release. An arrest warrant was issued in the Southern District of Ohio after reports of Dishman violating his supervised release.
On Aug. 6, 2021, SOFAST members executed a search warrant at the property of Dishman’s wife in Cincinnati. Dishman’s wife said she had not seen Dishman for more than a month but allowed agents to search the apartment. In truth, Dishman was hiding in a wooden box underneath a furnace located in one of the bedroom closets. SOFAST members found and apprehended Dishman without incident.
While searching the apartment, agents discovered an assault rifle with an extended magazine and four pistols. One of the pistols was stuffed into a couch where a child was resting.
“The risk of danger to the officers who were executing Dishman’s arrest warrant is not hypothetical,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “They were potentially being lured into an ambush inside while Dishman hid. It is even more egregious that this occurred in the same apartment in which a child was sleeping. Within months of Dishman’s arrest, another deputy marshal was shot and wounded while executing a warrant under nearly identical circumstances.”
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); and Acting United States Marshal Bradley Stuart announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorney Noah R. Litton is representing the United States in this case.
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Man Who Made Threats Against Dr. Anthony Fauci and Other Federal Officials Sentenced to over Three Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Thomas Patrick Connally, Jr., age 57, most recently of Snowshoe, West Virginia to 37 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for making threats against a federal official, specifically for sending emails threatening harm to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the current Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Connally further admitted threatening Dr. Francis Collins, the former Director of the NIH, Dr. Rachel Levine, currently the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as well as a Massachusetts public health official and a religious leader.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank, Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“Everyone has the right to disagree, but you do not have the right to threaten a federal official’s life,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Erek L. Barron. “Threats like these will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Today’s sentencing shows that individuals threatening violence against federal officials and others will be held accountable for their crimes,” said Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “The public, including public servants, deserve the utmost safety and the assurance that they can perform their duties without interference. Our agency, working closely with our law enforcement partners, will continue to bring those who threaten violence to justice.”
According to Connally’s plea agreement, from December 28, 2020, to July 25, 2021, Connally used an anonymous email account from a provider of secure, encrypted email services based in Switzerland, to send a series of emails to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the current Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (“NIAID”) and the Chief Medical Advisor to President of the United States, threatening to harm and/or kill Dr. Fauci and members of his family. One of the emails threatened that Dr. Fauci and his family would be “dragged into the street, beaten to death, and set on fire.” On April 24, 2021, alone, Connally sent seven threatening emails starting at 10:05 p.m.
As detailed in Connally’s plea agreement, also on April 24, 2021, beginning at 9:34 p.m., Connally sent Dr. Francis Collins, the then-Director of the NIH, a series of four emails threatening Dr. Collins and his family with physical assault and death if Dr. Collins did not stop speaking about the need for “mandatory” COVID-19 vaccinations.
As stated in his plea agreement, Connally admitted that he sent the threats to Drs. Fauci and Collins with the intent to intimidate or interfere with the performance of their official duties and with the intent to retaliate against Dr. Fauci and Dr. Collins for performing their official duties, including discussing COVID-19 and its testing and prevention.
Connally also admitted sending emails threatening harm to three other individuals. Specifically, on November 24, 2020, Connally sent a series of six threatening emails to Dr. Rachel Levine, then Secretary of Health for the State of Pennsylvania, at Dr. Levine’s email account at the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The subject lines and body of the emails threatened Dr. Levine with physical violence and death. Similarly, on August 31, 2020, Connally sent an email threatening physical violence and death for a public health official in Massachusetts. Finally, on April 21, 2021, Connally sent a series of four threatening emails to four individuals who work for a religious institution in Newark, New Jersey. The four emails threatened physical violence and death to a religious leader at the institution.
Investigation revealed that the anonymous encrypted email account was associated with Connally. On July 27, 2021, law enforcement arrested Connally in Snowshoe, West Virginia, and executed a search warrant at his residence as well as on his vehicle, seizing five laptops and two cellular telephones which belonged to Connally.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the HHS OIG for its work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rajeev R. Raghavan and Jessica C. Collins, who prosecuted the federal case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Possessing Firearms, Methamphetamine in Checked Luggage at MSP AirportRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Mexican national has been sentenced to 120 months in prison after TSA agents at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport found firearms and methamphetamine in his luggage, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on October 29, 2021, Kevin Alan Aguilar-Moreno, 21, attempted to board a Delta Airlines flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix, checking two suitcases prior to boarding. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening determined that Aguilar-Moreno’s luggage contained approximately one kilogram of methamphetamine; a FN, Model 509 9x19 pistol; a Rock Island Armory, 1911 A1-FS pistol; an AR-15 type firearm with no serial number; eight rifle and handgun magazines; and 241 rounds of .223 ammunition, of which 39 were armor piercing ammunition. Aguilar-Moreno admitted that he obtained the narcotics from an individual in Red Wing, Minnesota, and was planning to sell them in Phoenix, Arizona.
Law enforcement determined that the AR-15 type firearm was a privately made firearm (PMF). These firearms are commonly known as “ghost guns” because they do not have serial numbers, which makes them difficult for law enforcement to trace.
On March 30, 2022, Aguilar-Moreno pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Aguilar-Moreno was sentenced today in U.S. District Court before Judge Eric C. Tostrud.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, Transportation Security Administration, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Dunne prosecuted the case.
Lyft Driver with Pending Warrant Indicted for Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon Following Car CrashRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS – A federal grand jury in Indianapolis returned an indictment late yesterday charging Terrance Clarke, 34, of Athens, Georgia, with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to court documents, on October 3, 2021, Clarke was working as a Lyft driver and picked up a customer in Fishers, Indiana. While enroute to the customer’s destination, Clarke drove onto the roundabout at 131st Street and Cumberland Road and collided with another vehicle. Both vehicles pulled off to the side of the road. Clarke exited his vehicle and removed a bag from the front passenger seat, placing it in the trunk. Clarke then removed a second bag from under the front passenger seat, also placing it in the trunk. Officers from the Fishers Police Department responded to the accident scene.
Officers ran a check of Clarke’s driver’s license and discovered that he had an active and extraditable warrant out of Georgia for attempted armed robbery and aggravated assault. Clark was taken into custody and placed under arrest.
During a search of the car, officers found a loaded Smith & Wesson 40 caliber handgun in a backpack. An additional loaded magazine and a small plastic bag containing marijuana were also located in this backpack.
In April of 2017, Clarke was convicted of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense in federal court in Georgia and is prohibited from legally possessing firearms.
Clarke is currently in custody of the U.S. Marshal. If convicted, he faces up to ten years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana and Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Columbus Field Division made the announcement.
ATF is investigating the case. The Fishers Police Department also provided valuable assistance.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick G. Gibson who is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Long Island Woman Pleads Guilty to Prison-Based Unemployment Insurance FraudRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Briana Garland, age 29, of Uniondale, New York, pled guilty today to conspiring with a New York State prisoner to obtain unemployment insurance benefits by fraud. Garland’s plea is the fourth and final plea in related cases stemming from pandemic-related schemes involving prisoners at the Bare Hill Correctional Facility in Malone, New York.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge, New York Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General (USDOL-OIG); Matthew Scarpino, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the Boston Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); Anthony J. Annucci, Acting Commissioner of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (NYSDOCCS); and Roberta Reardon, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL).
In pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, Garland admitted to submitting a false unemployment insurance claim to NYSDOL in the name of Bare Hill inmate Reginald Thornton. Prisoners were not eligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits. Garland agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $19,580 to the State of New York.
United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman stated: “These state prisoners were already incarcerated for other, serious crimes, and now they will serve more time for committing fraudulent schemes from behind bars. Thanks to the work of our federal and state partners, Briana Garland and the other defendants will not escape accountability for defrauding a program intended to help out-of-work New Yorkers put food on the table and pay their bills in the midst of a global public health crisis.”
USDOL-OIG Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Mellone stated: “Briana Garland and her coconspirators engaged in a scheme to defraud the New York State Department of Labor by filing for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits in the names of incarcerated individuals who were not entitled to such benefits. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of the UI system from those who exploit these benefit programs.”
HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Matthew Scarpino stated: “It is despicable that during such a difficult financial time in our history that Garland would attempt to fraudulently claim benefits meant for individuals who are struggling to find legitimate work during a pandemic. Her crimes were further exacerbated by her conspiring with a known, incarcerated criminal. HSI will continue to identify and hold accountable those that steal from the government and the pockets of American taxpayers.”
USPIS Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward stated: “Whenever criminals use the U.S. Mail to further pad their pockets at the expense of hard-working Americans, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service will be there to bring them to justice. Today’s plea highlights how proud we are of our law enforcement partnerships, and how we will continue to stand ready to assist in thwarting crimes like these.”
Garland’s mail fraud conviction carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. She is scheduled to be sentenced on December 8, 2022 by Chief United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
Thornton previously pled guilty to participating in two prison-based unemployment insurance fraud conspiracies and was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison, to be served after his state prison term ends. Two other defendants, Rhasha Wright and Bare Hill inmate Lord Paulin, previously pled guilty to conspiring with Thornton to obtain unemployment insurance benefits in the names of Paulin and another inmate. Paulin was sentenced to 19 months in federal prison, to be served after his state sentence ends. Wright is awaiting sentencing.
New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said: “The New York State Department of Labor is committed to fighting unemployment fraud, because every dollar stolen is a dollar taken away from a law-abiding New Yorker who needs it. This case was uncovered through our ongoing partnership with the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, and I’m grateful to the United States Department of Justice for seeing that those who commit fraud are held accountable.”
The cases were investigated by USDOL-OIG, HSI, USPIS, and the Offices of Special Investigations of NYSDOCCS and NYSDOL. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Chisholm and Joshua R. Rosenthal.
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.
Little Rock Lawyer Pleads Guilty in $11.5 Million Fraud CaseRead the Press Release
LITTLE ROCK—A Little Rock lawyer has pleaded guilty to his involvement in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Agriculture out of more than $11.5 million that was intended to benefit farmers who had been discriminated against. Everett Martindale, 75, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud this afternoon before Chief United States District Judge D. Price Marshall.
Martindale admitted in court today that he acted as the legal representative for claimants who filed false claims asserting they were discriminated against when they tried to get assistance from USDA for their farming operations. Martindale signed certifications that said he investigated the claims, when, in fact, he did not. The proceeds from the false claims were mailed to Martindale, and he took a portion of the money as an attorney’s fee. He also played an essential role in the process that allowed other defendants in the case to take a more substantial portion of the funds.
Martindale was the last defendant to enter a plea in the case. Lynda Charles, 72, of Hot Springs; Rosie Bryant, 74, of Colleyville, Texas; Delois Bryant, 75, of North Little Rock; and Brenda Sherpell, 72, of Gainesville, Texas, each pleaded guilty on July 6, 2022, to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. Niki Charles, 49, who is the daughter of Lynda Charles, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to conspiracy to commit mail fraud based on her role in notarizing affidavits that she knew to be false and soliciting people to file false claims.
The sisters also admitted that they hired a tax preparer to falsify tax returns, resulting in failure to report over $4.6 million to the Internal Revenue Service. That tax preparer, Jerry Green, pleaded guilty in January 2021. Judge Marshall will sentence all defendants at a later date.
As documented in plea agreements, the defendants submitted claims under two programs: the Black Farmers Discrimination Litigation (BFDL) settlement and the Hispanic and Women Farmers and Ranchers (HWFR) claim program. The BFDL settlement resulted from a class action lawsuit filed in 1997 in which a group of black farmers claimed they had been discriminated against when they applied for farm credit, credit servicing, or farm benefits from USDA. Similarly, the HWFR claim program was created after groups of Hispanic and women farmers filed separate lawsuits against USDA, also alleging discrimination in their farm benefit programs.
Both BFDL and HWFR resulted in a claims process where farmers who could show they had applied for participation in a USDA benefit program and believed they had been discriminated against could make a claim for financial relief. A successful claim resulted in an award of $62,500. Of that, $50,000 would be made payable to the claimant, and $12,500 would be transferred directly to the Internal Revenue Service as a tax withholding. Altogether, the sisters were involved with 192 claims, almost all of which were successful, resulting in a loss of over $11.5 million. The claims were false because the claimants had not suffered discrimination and, in most cases, had not even attempted to farm.
The indictment alleged that Martindale would deposit claim checks into his law firm trust account, issue a check from that trust account to the claimant, and withhold his attorney fee. For both BFDL and HWFR, attorney fees were restricted to $1,500 per claimant. The four sisters entered an agreement with Martindale in which they would split the attorney fee. The sisters, with Martindale’s help, also demanded and received additional money from the claimants themselves.
The money received from a claim was income that should have been reported on the claimant’s tax return. The sisters and their accountant, Green, admitted that Green provided tax preparation services for the claimants they had recruited and that Green falsified the tax returns in order to create a tax refund.
Three of the sisters—Lynda Charles, Rosie Bryant, and Delois Bryant—filed false tax returns of their own and used money from the conspiracy to purchase homes and other properties, including a Chevrolet van, and a Mercedes G550. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the sisters are required to relinquish any claim to the vehicles and to repay the fraud money they used to purchase properties. The money is due by the time they are sentenced, which has not yet been scheduled.
The investigation is being conducted by USDA-OIG and IRS Criminal Investigations with assistance from the United States Marshals Service and the United States Postal Inspection Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Cameron McCree, Bart Dickinson, and Amanda Fields.
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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at
https://www.justice.gov/edar
Twitter:
@EDARNEWS
Lincoln Man Sentenced for Methamphetamine Conspiracy and Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Matthew James Borden, 33, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced on August 4, 2022, to a total of 20 years in federal prison by United States District Judge John M. Gerrard. Borden was sentenced to 15 years for conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine mixture with a prior serious drug felony conviction and five years for using, carrying or possessing a firearm during or in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. The sentence for the gun charge must be served consecutive to, (after), the sentence on the drug conspiracy charge. Following his release from prison, Borden will serve ten years on supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Borden was also ordered to forfeit $6,362.00 in cash to the United States of America.
Information provided to law enforcement indicated Borden was involved with the distribution of at least 1.5 kilograms, (3 pounds) of methamphetamine mixture in the Lincoln area between June of 2020 and April 27, 2021.
On April 27, 2021, investigators saw another person contact Borden, who was sitting in a vehicle outside his Lincoln residence. After the other person walked away, they were contacted and found in possession of just under an ounce of methamphetamine. Borden was contacted and found in possession of approximately ¼ ounce of methamphetamine and $6,286.00 in cash. A loaded .38 caliber revolver was found in the center console of the vehicle Borden had been sitting in. A search warrant was executed at Borden’s residence. During that search, three baggies of methamphetamine totaling more than ½ ounce, ammunition for the .38 caliber revolver and an additional $76.00 in cash were found in Borden’s bedroom.
In 2013, Borden was sentenced to four to seven years in prison for two counts of distribution of marijuana in Adams County District Court.
This case was investigated by the Lincoln/Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force.
Lewistown man admits bank fraud in obtaining loans for his cattle ranching businessRead the Press Release
BILLINGS — A Lewistown man today admitted to defrauding a bank and a credit union after obtaining more than $1 million in loans for his cattle ranching business, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
Eric Edward Mack, 43, pleaded guilty to bank fraud. Mack faces a maximum of 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine and five years of supervised release.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan presided. A sentencing date will be set before U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The government alleged in court documents that from November 2015 to January 2018, Mack applied for and received multiple operating loans from Garfield County Bank and from the Fergus Federal Credit Union for his cattle ranching business. At the Garfield bank, Mack had loans totaling approximately $885,000 from 2015 to 2017, and at the Fergus credit union, Mack had loans totaling approximately $250,000 from 2016 to 2018. Mack secured loans at both businesses, with items, including cattle belonging to him. The government further alleged that between April 18, 2018 and June 14, 2018, Mack sold cattle, totaling more than $50,000, that were securing the Garfield and Fergus loans. Mack did not pay any of the proceeds to either the bank or credit union. The money should have been paid to the bank and credit union because the cattle secured Mack’s loans.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the FBI.
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Las Vegas Felon Sentenced to Prison for Unlawful Possession of A Stolen Firearm and COVID Relief FraudRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas resident was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon to four years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for possessing a stolen firearm and submitting fraudulent loan applications to the Small Business Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
Darnele Javoris Nelson, also known as “Ricky Ellis” and “Gamarmaurice Newson,” (40), pleaded guilty in March 2022 to one count of felon in possession of a firearm and one count of wire fraud.
According to court documents, on June 23, 2019, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers stopped a car in which Nelson was a passenger. The officer saw an open can of beer and later discovered a stolen loaded Glock .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine.
Nelson has three prior felony convictions including robbery and vehicular manslaughter in California; felony assault with a deadly weapon in California; and possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices in New York. He is prohibited by law from possessing a firearm.
Between July 2020 and May 2021, Nelson — who was on both supervised release and pretrial release — submitted at least three Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program loan applications to the Small Business Administration in attempts to obtain approximately $30,000, and at least one Paycheck Protection Plan loan application to obtain $20,833. In all four applications, Nelson falsely stated that he was the proprietor of several companies which did not exist, reported false revenue amounts, a fake number of employees, and that he was not facing felony charges or serving parole or probation for a felony conviction.
In addition to the sentence imposed yesterday, Nelson is currently serving a sentence for violating the conditions of supervised release from his New York felony case as a result of being arrested in Las Vegas in 2019. U.S. District Court Judge Kent J. Dawson sentenced Nelson to one year and nine months in July 2022.
U.S. Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada, Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI, and Special Agent in Charge Patrick Gorman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the FBI, the ATF, the Small Business Administration Office of the Inspector General (SBA OIG); IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (FRB-OIG), and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly Frayn and Mina Chang prosecuted the case.
If you have information about illegal firearms activity, you are urged to submit a tip to ATF by calling the hotline at 1-800-ATF-GUNS (1-800-283-4867) or through the ReportIt mobile app.
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.
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Lake Charles Man Sentenced for Illegal Possession of FirearmRead the Press Release
LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that James J. Julian, 37, of Lake Charles, Louisiana, was sentenced today by United States District Judge James D. Cain, Jr. for illegal possession of a firearm. Julian was sentenced to 84 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release.
Julian was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and pleaded guilty to the charge on May 3, 2022. The charge stems from an incident that occurred on March 3, 2020 when Julian got into an altercation with a female at her residence in Lake Charles. During their argument, Julian produced a silver revolver and pointed it at the female. There were children present who witnessed the incident and one child intervened until Julian left the residence on foot with the firearm. Law enforcement officers were called to the residence, and they searched for Julian. Behind the victim’s residence was an abandoned dwelling and officers located a silver High Standard .22 caliber revolver pistol and the victim was able to identify the firearm as being the one that Julian had pointed at her. Julian admitted to law enforcement officers that he had the firearm in his possession. He has a prior felony conviction for distribution of cocaine in 2014 and knew that he was prohibited from possessing any firearm or ammunition.
The case was investigated by the ATF and Lake Charles Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Bordelon.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN is part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.
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Knoxville Man Sentenced to 10 Months for Federal Firearms ViolationRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On August 4, 2022, United States District Judge Katherine A. Crytzer sentenced Kelvon Foster, 21, of Knoxville, TN, to 10 months’ imprisonment followed by two years of supervised release for making false or fictitious statements in connection with the purchase of a firearm in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(a)(6). Violations of that statutory provision are sometimes referred to informally as “straw purchasing.”
As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, Foster admitted to purchasing firearms from a Federal Firearm’s Licensee in Knoxville, TN, on behalf of people prohibited by federal law from purchasing firearms. Foster further admitted that he purchased at least one of the firearms, a Glock pistol, on behalf of a juvenile, Anthony Thompson. The Glock pistol was later recovered by law enforcement in connection with an officer-involved shooting of Thompson at Austin-East Magnet High School on April 12, 2021.
“In most straw purchasing cases, the harm is understood but often theoretical,” said United States Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III. “In this case, the harm was real and tragic. The laws prohibiting certain persons from purchasing firearms are there for a reason, and my office, and our law enforcement partners, will continue pursuing these cases to the fullest extent of the law.”
“A person violates federal law the moment they purchase and transfer a firearm to an individual who cannot legally possess them,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Mickey French. “The ATF is committed to working with our local, state, and federal partners to investigate and prosecute the ‘straw purchasers’ in conjunction with the individuals who receive these firearms and use them to commit violent criminal acts.”
This prosecution is the result of an investigation by the ATF and the TBI. The United States Attorney’s Office wishes to thank the Knox County Attorney General’s Office for its support of this federal investigation. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a comprehensive national strategy that creates local partnerships with law enforcement agencies to effectively enforce existing gun laws. It provides more options to prosecutors, allowing them to utilize local, state, and federal laws to ensure that criminals who commit gun crime face tough sentences. PSN gives each federal district the flexibility it needs to focus on individual challenges that a specific community face.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy L. Stone represented the United States.
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KC Man Sentenced for $1 Million Meth Conspiracy Near Elementary SchoolRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy that converted large amounts of liquid methamphetamine into crystal methamphetamine at a rented house near George Melcher Elementary School in Kansas City, Mo.
Ruben Ortiz-Vieyra, 43, a lawful permanent resident of the United States from Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough on Wednesday, Aug. 3, to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Ortiz-Vieyra to forfeit to the government $1,020,000, which was received for the unlawful distribution of methamphetamine, based on a sale price of $600 per ounce and the distribution of 1,800 ounces (112.5 pounds) of methamphetamine. The court ordered Ortiz-Vieyra to spend 10 years on supervised release following incarceration.
On Jan. 12, 2022, Ortiz-Vieyra pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school from Jan. 1, 2014, to May 18, 2018. Co-defendants Jose Vieyra-Lopez, 37, a citizen of Mexico; Megan Eubanks, 40, of Kansas City, Mo., and Victor Suarez-Gallardo, 34, of Kansas, have also pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
In addition to the drug-trafficking conspiracy, Ortiz-Vieyra, Vieyra-Lopez and Suarez-Gallardo each pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school. Ortiz-Vieyra, Suarez-Gallardo and Eubanks each also pleaded guilty to one count of possessing or using firearms with drug trafficking. Ortiz-Vieyra also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess or use firearms with drug trafficking.
Ortiz-Vieyra supplied methamphetamine to Eubanks. Vieyra-Lopez was the drug runner for Ortiz-Vieyra.
On April 26, 2018, a confidential informant purchased one-half pound of methamphetamine from Eubanks for $3,000 in a transaction that involved Ortiz-Vieyra. On May 2, 2018, the confidential informant purchased one pound of methamphetamine from Eubanks for $5,000. Ortiz-Vieyra was also involved in the transaction. On May 8, 2018, the confidential informant purchased one-half pound of methamphetamine. Ortiz-Vieyra and Vieyra-Lopez were involved in the transaction.
On May 15, 2018, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Eubanks’s residence. Officers seized methamphetamine, marijuana, a Ruger .380-caliber pistol, a box of ammunition, a counterfeit $100 bill, and drug paraphernalia.
On May 17, 2018, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at a Kansas City, Mo., residence controlled by Ortiz-Vieyra and Suarez-Gallardo. There were no furniture or other items inside the residence to make it appear occupied. Instead, officers found a black cooking stand that had a pan sitting on top that contained liquid methamphetamine. The residence is approximately 484 feet from George Melcher Elementary School.
Ortiz-Vieyra rented houses where liquid methamphetamine was converted into a crystallized form of methamphetamine for sale, including approximately five pounds of methamphetamine approximately one week before his arrest on May 17, 2018. Ortiz-Vieyra sold methamphetamine to Eubanks and others. The next day Suarez-Gallardo, who had also been observed at the residence where methamphetamine was being converted, was arrested. Officers found acetone and a Berretta .45-caliber firearm at his residence. Suarez-Gallardo distributed 10 to 15 pounds of methamphetamine from the conversion lab.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bruce Rhoades and Robert Smith. It was investigated by the Jackson County Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
KC Brother, Sister Plead Guilty to Armed Robbery of Pizza Delivery DriverRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., brother and sister have pleaded guilty in federal court to the armed robbery of a pizza delivery driver, after a third suspect involved in the robbery was killed during a shootout with police officers.
Samuel M. David, 20, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge W. Brian Gaddy today to one count of robbery and one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence.
David’s sister, Rochelle E. David, 24, pleaded guilty on April 28, 2022, to the same charges.
Rochelle David placed an order for pizza to a Pizza Hut restaurant on Oct. 19, 2020, in order to lure a Pizza Hut employee to her address to conduct an armed robbery with the assistance of Samuel David and Ennice Ross. When the delivery driver arrived at about 10:18 p.m., Samuel David and Ross confronted him in the parking lot. Ross displayed a firearm in his waistband and Samuel David demanded the driver’s money. Samuel David went through the driver’s pockets, taking a wallet and knife from him. They also took $100 in cash from the driver’s vehicle.
Ross ordered the delivery driver to take them to an ATM to withdraw more money from the driver’s bank account. The driver took them to a gas station, where Samuel David attempted to use the driver’s bank car to withdraw money from an ATM. Samuel David returned to the car and told Ross he wasn’t able to withdraw any money. Samuel David stabbed the driver in the hand with the driver’s knife.
Samuel David ordered the delivery driver to take them to his residence in Gladstone, Mo., while Rochelle David followed in a separate vehicle. Samuel David and Ross accompanied the driver into his residence, where they encountered the driver’s parents. Ross stayed with the driver’s parents while Samuel David walked the driver to his room, where the driver opened a safe and handed him cash. Samuel David and Ross then left the residence.
On Oct. 23, 2020, police officers were conducting surveillance in the area where the armed robberies occurred in an effort to locate Rochelle David in connection with an unrelated homicide investigation. She was seen leaving the apartment building in a vehicle with Samuel David and Ross. Officers conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle in the area of Admiral and Tracy. During the stop, Ross fired upon the officers. The officers returned fire, which resulted in his death.
Under federal statutes, Samuel and Rochelle David each is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole for the robbery, plus a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in federal prison without parole, up to life in federal prison without parole, which must be served consecutively, for the firearm. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron H. Black. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the FBI.
Jail Corrections Officer, Wife Indicted on Additional Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A corrections officer at the Jefferson City Correctional Center and his wife have been indicted by a federal grand jury on additional charges related to video recording their sexual assault of a child victim and other child pornography offenses.
Paul Emerson Schofield, 33, and his wife, Sara Ellen Schofield, 29, both of Jefferson City, were charged in a 12-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City on Wednesday, Aug. 3. The federal indictment replaces two separate criminal complaints against the defendants, which charged each of them with using a minor to produce child pornography. The Schofields have been in federal custody without bond since their arrest on July 13, 2022.
The federal indictment alleges that Paul and Sara Schofield participated in a conspiracy to produce child pornography over a nearly three-year period from July 29, 2019, to June 7, 2022. A child victim under the age of 12 allegedly was used to produce child pornography. In addition to the conspiracy, Paul Schofield is charged with four counts of producing child pornography and Sara Schofield is charged with two counts of producing child pornography.
Paul Schofield is also charged with one count of advertising child pornography, one count of receiving child pornography, one count of distributing child pornography, and one count of transporting child pornography.
Sara Schofield is also charged with one count of transferring obscene material to a minor.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the original 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 this indictment 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 Cyber Crimes Task Force and the FBI.
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."
Illinois Felon who Possessed Firearm Sent to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A man who was found with a firearm in Dubuque, Iowa, was sentenced today to more than three years in federal prison.
Lorenzo Lemons, age 29, currently residing in Dubuque, Illinois, received the prison term after a March 18, 2022 guilty plea to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
At the guilty plea, Lemons admitted that on September 13, 2021, he was found in Dubuque, Iowa, in possession of a Springfield XD-9 9mm handgun. Lemons was previously convicted of residential burglary in Champaign County, Illinois, in 2013, and retail theft in Champaign County, Illinois, in 2015. On September 13, 2021, Dubuque Police Department officers were conducting surveillance to locate a wanted fugitive. When they attempted to speak to Lemons, he immediately fled. He was apprehended and resisted arrest. He was ultimately found with a 9mm firearm in his waistband.
Lemons was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Lemons was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment and fined $100. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is 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.
Lemons is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Liz Dupuich and investigated by the Dubuque Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-cr-1034.
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Hyde Park Man Indicted for COVID-Relief and Federal Assistance Benefit FraudRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Hyde Park man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with his alleged use of a stolen identity to fraudulently obtain pandemic relief funds and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, previously known as Food Stamps.
Fernando Mateo Valenzuela, 68, was indicted on three counts of mail fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft and two counts of misrepresentation of a Social Security number. Valenzuela was previously charged by criminal complaint on June 17, 2022. He has remained in custody since his arrest on June 21, 2022.
According to the indictment, Valenzuela, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, used the identity of a United States citizen to apply for and receive $29,051 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits, made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. It is further alleged that Valenzuela also used the identity to apply for and receive $7,230 in SNAP benefits.
The charges of mail fraud each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charges of aggravated identity theft each provide for a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison, one of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charges of misrepresentation of a Social Security number each provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three 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; Bethanne M. Dinkins, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigation, Northeast Region; Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; Phillip M. Coyne, Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; Ketty Larco-Ward, Postal Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; and Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Tobin of Rollins’ Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigation’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF), a specialized investigative group comprising personnel from various state, local, and federal agencies with expertise in detecting, deterring, and disrupting organizations and individuals involved in various types of document, identity, and benefit fraud schemes.
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.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Husband and Wife Real Estate Team Sentenced for Wire FraudRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va. – A husband and wife realtor team from Wise were sentenced today on federal wire fraud charges related to their scheme to create fake residential sales contracts in order to obtain advance sales commissions to which they were not entitled.
Jessee Allen DeLoach, 40, pled guilty in February 2022 to one count of wire fraud. He was sentenced today to 15 months in federal prison. Natasha Ashley Miller DeLoach, 38, also pled guilty to wire fraud in February 2022 and was sentenced today to 15 months in federal prison. In addition to their prison time, the DeLoaches agreed to pay $146,273 in restitution.
According to court documents, the DeLoaches owned a real estate agency called Koltown Properties, Inc., which operated in Southwest Virginia. Between March 2016 and November 2019, the defendants created at least nineteen phony residential sales contracts and submitted them to multiple advance commission companies throughout the country to fraudulently obtain money.
Advance commission companies provide a financial service to real estate agents by assisting them with cash flow. Specifically, real estate agents may sell portions of their pending commissions on legitimate residential sales contracts in exchange for access to cash before the closing date.
As part of the scheme, the DeLoaches created entirely false sales contracts for properties they knew were not under contract or they listed buyers and sellers who did not exist. Additionally, the DeLoaches altered valid residential sales contracts to reflect that no other real estate agent was involved in order to double their claimed sales commissions. To further their schemes, the DeLoaches created fake title companies, including one named Excel Title Company, to validate the fraudulent contracts to the advance commission companies so they would in turn authorize commission payments to the DeLoaches. The DeLoaches obtained over $300,000 in advance sales commissions over the life of their schemes.
United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh and Special Agent in Charge Stanley M. Meador of the FBI made the announcement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Virginia State Police investigated the case, with assistance from the Wise County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lena L. Busscher is prosecuting the case.
Hospital Employee Sentenced to 18 Years in Federal Prison for Producing Child Exploitative Images of an Unconscious Victim PatientRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Donald Benson, age 42, of Nottingham, Maryland to 18 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for production of child pornography. Judge Blake also ordered that, upon his release from prison, Benson must register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”).
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Acting Special Agent in Charge Ryeshia Holley of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger; and Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department.
According to his guilty plea, on September 18, 2016, while working at a Maryland hospital as a patient sitter, Benson sexually assaulted a 15-year-old female (Victim 1) while she was unconscious. Additionally, Benson took 13 pictures of the sexual assault on Victim 1 and emailed those pictures to his personal email account. Benson used Victim 1’s birthdate as the subject of the email which was also visible on Victim 1’s hospital band in the pictures that Benson produced.
As stated in is plea agreement, in December 2019, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a report regarding child pornography activity on Benson’s email account. Between August 2015 to December 2019, Benson uploaded 337 files of possible child pornography.
During the investigation into Benson’s criminal conduct, investigators determined that several of the images Benson had emailed himself depicted images of minors being sexually assaulted including the images that Benson captured of Victim 1 while she as in an unconscious state.
On February 6, 2020, investigators executed search warrants at Benson’s residence and on his electronic devices including two cell phones, a CD labeled “Donny An”, and his email accounts. As a result of the executed search warrants, investigators located several images and files of child pornography and a CD that depicted a naked prepubescent female with her legs spread and genitals exposed. This CD contained images of child pornography from 1999 to 2013.
In an interview with law enforcement, Benson informed investigators that he took pictures of Victim 1 while working in an official capacity and while Victim 1 was unconscious. He also informed law enforcement that he took the exploitive pictures of Victim 1 when her father stepped out of the room to take a phone call.
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 Attorney’s 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. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI, HSI, the Baltimore County Police Department, and the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mary W. Setzer and Paul Budlow, who prosecuted the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Friona Woman Charged After Holding 17 Immigrants HostageRead the Press Release
A Friona woman allegedly who held 17 undocumented immigrants hostage in her home has been charged with a federal crime, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.
Manuela Magdalena Jimon Castro, 30, was charged via criminal complaint with alien harboring. She made her initial appearance Thursday before Magistrate Judge Lee Ann Reno.
According to the complaint, Ms. Castro and a family member partnered with an illegal immigrant smuggling operation to hold undocumented individuals hostage at their home, threatening to deprive them of food and water and refusing to allow them to leave until they paid $11,000 to $12,000 or “worked off” the debt.
The investigation began when law enforcement in California received a tip from a woman who claimed her sister was being held for ransom in Texas. The woman reported that her sister had traveled from Guatemala to Mexico with the intention of seeking asylum in the United States, then crossed the border at the behest of a Mexican cartel who held her captive. She said her sister sent her a pin of a location in Friona before she escaped.
In a subsequent interview with law enforcement, the woman said that while in Mexico, she was forced into a car at gunpoint by individuals she believed to be members of a smuggling cartel. After several months, they walked her across the southern border, then shuttled her from house to house in Texas and New Mexico, refusing to let her go until she paid off her debt. Eventually, she ended up at the Castro residence, where she was told she would be detained until she paid $12,000.
After speaking with the woman and another individual previously detained at the home, law enforcement searched the Castro home. Inside, they recovered 17 undocumented immigrants, including two minor children. Most of the individuals attempted to hide, concealing themselves in the attic, in cupboards, or inside totes covered in blankets. Agents noted that the home contained very little furniture, save mattresses and blankets for a large number of individuals spread across the floor.
In interviews with law enforcement, the recovered immigrants admitted that they had entered the country illegally with smugglers. They indicated that the smugglers had confiscated their cell phones, and only allowed intermittent contact with family members in order to obtain money to pay their “entrance fees.” Several stated that they believed they had to stay at the residence in Friona until their entrance fee had been paid in full.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
If convicted, she faces up to five years in federal prison.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas and Los Angeles Field Office conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Fiona Police Department, and the Thousand Oaks Police Department in California. Assistant U.S. Attorney Callie Woolam is prosecuting the case.
Four Guatemalan Nationals Indicted by Joint Task Force Alpha and Arrested as Part of Takedown of Deadly Human Smuggling Network Based in GuatemalaRead the Press Release
On Tuesday, extensive coordination and cooperation efforts between United States and Guatemalan law enforcement authorities culminated in the Guatemalan National Civil Police (PNC) conducting a significant enforcement operation to disrupt and dismantle a transnational human smuggling organization. This operation included the arrest of four alleged human smugglers who have been indicted in the United States.
On August 2, Guatemalan law enforcement executed 26 search warrants in Huehuetenango, El Quiché, Totonicapán, Alta and Baja Verapaz and arrested 19 individuals including the four U.S. fugitives. As a result of the search warrants, law enforcement recovered 10 high valued motor vehicles, firearms, and cash.
Felipe Diego Alonzo, aka “Siete”, 38; Nesly Norberto Martinez Gomez, aka “Canche”, 37; Lopez Mateo Mateo, aka “Bud Light”, 42; and Juan Gutierrez Castro, aka “Andres”, 45; were arrested in Guatemala at the request of the United States pursuant to charges previously filed in the Western District of Texas (WDTX) and unsealed yesterday. The defendants allegedly conspired with other smugglers to facilitate the travel of large numbers of migrants from Guatemala through Mexico, and ultimately, to the United States, charging the migrants and their families approximately $10,000 to 12,000 USD for the perilous journey. In addition to prolific smuggling of migrants to the United States, the human smugglers targeted in this operation are alleged to be responsible for the death of a young indigenous Guatemalan woman who died in Texas in April 2021. Guatemalan authorities arrested Diego Alonzo, Martinez Gomez, Mateo Mateo, and Gutierrez Castro pursuant to requests for their extradition by the United States.
The victim’s family paid the defendants approximately $10,000 for the journey to the United States. According to the indictment, the defendants and their co-conspirators guided her for several days through the desert to Odessa, Texas where she ultimately perished. Upon learning of her death, the defendants and their co-conspirators quickly worked to get rid of the body and discarded it on the side of a country road in Crane County, Texas. The defendants and their co-conspirators then arranged for payment to the victim’s family.
“Joint Task Force Alpha was created to investigate and prosecute the international networks responsible for dangerous and prolific human smuggling activities that exploit and victimize migrants,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “These indictments demonstrate the Department of Justice’s commitment to holding accountable criminal organizations that prey upon vulnerable people for profit. JTF Alpha’s dedicated personnel, along with our international law enforcement partners, are working tirelessly to disrupt and dismantle these harmful smuggling and trafficking networks.”
“These recent arrests are the culmination of over a year’s efforts of international coordination and investigation into this extensive human smuggling operation,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “This specific criminal organization has smuggled a large number of migrants from Guatemala, which included a young woman who died while being smuggled, and whose body was later callously dumped by the smugglers in Crane County, Texas. Along with our partners, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas is committed to delivering justice for her and to holding all the offenders accountable for their crimes, including those members of the criminal organization who remain in Guatemala.”
“HSI is deeply immersed in the global fight against human smuggling, and that absolutely includes our International Operations within Central and South America,” said Steve Francis, acting executive associate director of Homeland Security Investigations. “Combating this horrific, transnational crime is one of our top priorities – our special agents are actively engaged with law enforcement partners and task forces around the globe working to dismantle criminal networks that treat human life like a commodity. We will continue to root out those engaged in this crime and bring alleged perpetrators, such as these four, to justice.”
“Transnational criminal organizations continue to recklessly endanger the lives of individuals they smuggle for their own financial gain with no regard for human life,” said CBP Deputy Commissioner Troy Miller. “CBP supports Joint Task Force Alpha through information sharing and analysis from its frontline personnel and CBP’s National Targeting Center. That coordination is essential in identifying transnational criminal organizations and bringing human smugglers to justice.”
The indictments against Diego Alonzo, Martinez Gomez, Mateo Mateo and Gutierrez Castro and assistance provided by U.S. authorities to Guatemala law enforcement were coordinated under Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). JTFA was created by the Attorney General in June 2021 in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to strengthen the Department’s overall efforts to combat these crimes based on the rise in prolific and dangerous smuggling emanating from Central America and impacting our border communities. JTFA’s goal is to disrupt and dismantle those human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, with a focus on networks that endanger, abuse or exploit migrants, present national security risks, or engage in other types of transnational organized crime.
Since its creation, JTFA has successfully increased coordination and collaboration between the Justice Department, DHS, and other interagency law enforcement participants, and with foreign law enforcement partners, including El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico; targeted those organizations who have the most impact on the United States, and coordinated significant smuggling indictments and extradition efforts in U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country. To date, JTFA’s work with its partners has resulted in criminal charges and over a hundred domestic and international arrests, including against leaders, organizers and significant facilitators of human smuggling activities; several dozen convictions; significant jail sentences imposed; and substantial asset forfeiture. JTFA is comprised of detailees from southwest border U.S. Attorney’s Offices, including the Southern District of Texas, the Western District of Texas, the District of Arizona, and the Southern District of California, and dedicated support for the program is also provided by numerous components of the Criminal Division that are part of JTFA – led by the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP), and supported by the Office of Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training (OPDAT), the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS), the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), the Office of Enforcement Operations (OEO), the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs (OIA), and the Organized Crime and Gang Section (OCGS). JTFA is made possible by substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and other partners.
HSI Midland led U.S. investigative efforts, working in concert with HSI Guatemala, and the HSI Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C. HSI received substantial assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE)’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center/Operation Sentinel; U.S. Border Patrol, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Odessa and Midland Police Departments; the Texas Department of Public Safety; and the Ector County, Midland County, and Crane County Sherriff’s Offices. HRSP, OIA, and OPDAT provided significant assistance in this matter. The Department of Justice thanks Guatemalan law enforcement, who were instrumental in furthering this investigation.
The case is being handled by JTFA Deputy Director James Hepburn of HRSP, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adrian Gallegos and Jose Luis Acosta of the WDTX and JTFA, and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Fedock of WDTX, with assistance from HRSP Historian/Latin America Specialist Joanna Crandall.
The charges contained in an indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Fort Wayne Woman Sentenced to 57 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
FORT WAYNE – Madison McCoy,19 years old, of Fort Wayne, Indiana was sentenced, on August 3, 2022, by United States District Court Judge Holly A. Brady on her plea of guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
McCoy was sentenced to 57 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, on June 16, 2021, McCoy was stopped for traffic violations while traveling northbound on I-69 in Allen County, Indiana. When approached by police, McCoy admitted to having drug paraphernalia in the car. A search of the car yielded two packages wrapped in dark plastic under a sweatshirt on the rear driver’s floorboard. Inside the packages were multiple vacuum sealed bags containing small blue pills stamped with “M30.” There were approximately 20,000 pills weighing slightly over two kilograms. The pills later tested positive for the presence of Fentanyl and had a street value of approximately $500,000.00.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Fort Wayne Police Department and Indiana State Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lesley J. Miller Lowery.
Fort Wayne Man Sentenced to 300 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
FORT WAYNE – Eddie M. Knox, 56 years old, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Holly A. Brady on his plea of guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Knox was sentenced to 300 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, between May 6, 2019, and August 26, 2020, Knox was involved in a conspiracy with his co-defendants to distribute significant amounts of controlled substances. During the conspiracy, Knox personally distributed approximately 393 grams of methamphetamine and 98 grams of fentanyl in five controlled buys with law enforcement. Knox also provided a firearm to a felon during one of the controlled buys. In addition, Knox maintained a residence where controlled substances were sold and stored during the conspiracy, and where additional narcotics and two firearms were recovered.
Knox was the final defendant to be sentenced in this case. The other 5 co-defendants who were previously sentenced included:
Fredrick Morgan II, 43 years old, of Fort Wayne, who received 360 months in prison,
Larry Lamb, 41 years of age, of Fort Wayne, who received 295 months in prison,
Frederick Morgan, 65 years old, of Fort Wayne, who received 90 months in prison,
James Russell, Jr., 56 year old, of Fort Wayne, who received 84 months in prison, and
Sarah Waltz, 41 years old, of Fort Wayne, who received 37 months in prison.
This case was the result of a joint investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration, with the assistance of multiple local law enforcement agencies, including the Indiana State Police, Allen County Sheriff’s Department, Allen County Drug Task Force, Adams County Sheriff’s Office, Huntington Police Department, Auburn Police Department, and the Fort Wayne Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Stacey R. Speith and Brent A. Ecenbarger.
This case was 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.
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