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Wednesday 25 May 2022
Minnesota Man Convicted on Two Counts of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled SubstanceRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that Jerry Jerome Wise, age 36, of Moorhead, Minnesota, was found guilty on both counts of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine and Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl as a result of a federal jury trial in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The verdict was returned on May 18, 2022.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine carries a maximum penalty of up to life in custody and/or a $10,000,000 fine, up to life of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. The charge of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl carries a maximum penalty of up to 40 years in custody and/or a $5,000,000 fine, up to life of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Wise was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 6, 2021, with his co-conspirator Damara Needham. Needham pled guilty to the same offenses on December 6, 2021, and was sentenced on March 7, 2022, to 121 months in custody and five years of supervised release, along with a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Beginning on an unknown date and continuing until on or about July 27, 2020, Wise and his co-conspirator obtained methamphetamine and fentanyl in Arizona and transported it through the District of South Dakota. On July 27, 2020, a South Dakota Highway Patrol trooper stopped the vehicle they were driving and found approximately 655.3 grams of methamphetamine and over 700 fentanyl pills in the vehicle. They intended to distribute the methamphetamine and fentanyl to others.
This case was investigated by the South Dakota Highway Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Paige Petersen prosecuted the case.
A presentence investigation was ordered, and a sentencing date was set for August 8, 2022. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Members of Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to Decades in Prison for Selling Methamphetamine and Marijuana in Muncie, Anderson, Gosport, and BrazilRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS – Seven individuals have now been sentenced for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including methamphetamine and marijuana. The defendants had previously been indicted on their charges in 2019 and 2020. The seventh defendant, Mikhail Mgebrov, was sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt.
According to court documents, beginning approximately June 2019 and continuing through December 2019, the group conspired to traffic methamphetamine and marijuana in and around Muncie and Anderson, Indiana. During the months long investigation, law enforcement discovered that large quantities of methamphetamine and marijuana were being shipped from California to various addresses in Muncie and Anderson. The group maintained residences in Muncie and Anderson to store, process, and distribute the drugs and drug proceeds. Multiple members of the conspiracy possessed firearms to protect the organization’s drugs and money. After arriving in Indiana, the drugs were resold to others in Muncie, Anderson, Gosport, and Brazil, Indiana.
To date in this investigation, authorities have seized approximately 1.3 kilograms of methamphetamine as well as marijuana. In addition to drug seizures, authorities have seized over $15,000 in drug proceeds and seven firearms, including one AK-style, short barrel rifle.
To date, Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt has sentenced the following individuals in this case:
Defendant
Sentence
James Briscoe, 39, Muncie, Indiana
23 years in prison, 10 years supervised release
Damarus Page, 40, Anderson, Indiana
10 years in prison, 5 years supervised release
Bradley Clephane, 37, Gosport, Indiana
262 months (over 21 years) in prison, 5 years supervised release
Christopher Bays, 36, Brazil, Indiana
16.5 years in prison, 5 years supervised release
Jeremi Zarco, 31, Woodland Hills, California
200 months (over 16 years) in prison, 5 years supervised release
James Bell, 43, Muncie, Indiana
8 years in prison, 3 years supervised release
Mikhail Mgebrov, 39, Tarzana, California
10 years in prison, 5 years supervised release
Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Michael Gannon, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Indianapolis Field Office, and Rodney Hopkins, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Detroit Division made the announcement.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Postal Inspection Service investigated this case. The Muncie Police Department, the Anderson Police Department, the Terre Haute Police Department, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, and the Indiana State Police provided valuable assistance.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kendra Klump who prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Medford Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison Under Armed Career Criminal ActRead the Press Release
MEDFORD, Ore.—On May 24, 2022, a Medford man with a long criminal history, including multiple convictions for strangulation and assault, was sentenced to federal prison for illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
James Calvin Patterson, 46, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison and five years’ supervised release. Patterson’s sentence will run concurrently to a 45-month sentence recently imposed for a drug conviction in Jackson County Circuit Court.
According to court documents, in the early morning hours of March 30, 2019, two officers from the Medford Police Department observed a white compact car stopping in the middle of the road to pick up a passenger. Suspecting possible drug activity, the officers initiated a traffic stop. As one officer approached the vehicle, the front passenger, Patterson, began moving his hands around and near his midsection and waistband. Concerned Patterson was armed, the officer asked him to step out of the vehicle. Patterson initially did not move, but then quickly reached toward his waist band. Eventually Patterson excited the vehicle and, after initially complying with some of the officer’s commands, attempted to flee on foot.
Before long, the officer regained control of Patterson and forced him to the ground. As the officer tried to handcuff him, Patterson continued reaching for this waistband. After a struggle, officers successfully handcuffed Patterson. When they stood him up, a loaded pistol fell from his waistband.
Shortly after his arrest, Patterson made multiple recorded jail phone calls on which he admitted to possessing the firearm, acknowledged he was facing 15 years in prison, and stating he would have shot the officer if he had the chance.
On May 16, 2019, Patterson was charged by criminal complaint with illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Later, on June 5, 2019, a federal grand jury in Medford indicted Patterson on the same charge. On December 9, 2021, he pleaded guilty.
U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) with assistance from the Medford Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marco A. Boccato of the District of Oregon.
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.
McLaughlin Woman Sentenced for Assaulting Federal OfficerRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a McLaughlin, South Dakota, woman convicted of Assaulting, Resisting, and Impeding a Federal Officer was sentenced on May 23, 2022, by U.S. District Court Judge Charles B. Kornmann.
Valerie Red Fish, age 44, was sentenced to eight months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Red Fish was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 8, 2021. She pled guilty on December 6, 2021.
The conviction stemmed from an incident that occurred on May 27, 2020, in McLaughlin, in which Red Fish assaulted a Bureau of Indian Affairs officer by spitting on the officer while she was performing her official duties.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs – Office of Justice Services, Standing Rock Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook prosecuted the case.
Red Fish was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Martinsburg woman admits to role in drug trafficking enterpriseRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Rebecca Branham, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, has admitted to her role in a drug distribution enterprise, United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced.
Branham, 52, pleaded guilty today to one count of “Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Heroin, Fentanyl, Cocaine Base, and Cocaine Hydrochloride.” Branham admitted to working with others in a drug distribution operation in Berkeley County and elsewhere from June 2019 to October 2020.
Branham faces up to 20 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The FBI; the Department of Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; the West Virginia State Police; the Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; and the West Virginia Air National Guard investigated. The Eastern District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Kent County Sheriff’s Office assisted.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Find the related case here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/22-people-indicted-drug-trafficking-enterprise-spanned-several-states
Manchester Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking and Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
CONCORD - Zachary McInerney-Jones, 26, of Manchester, pleaded guilty on Monday in federal court to drug trafficking and firearm charges, United States Attorney Jane E. Young announced today.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 7, 2021, police investigating a potential shooting in Manchester were requested to stop a vehicle associated with McInerney-Jones. After locating and stopping the vehicle the next morning, the vehicle was towed to the Manchester police station to be searched pursuant to a warrant. During the search, officers located a pay stub and other documents associated with McInerney-Jones, as well as two handguns and ammunition. Officers also found evidence of drug trafficking, including fentanyl, marijuana, and $1,494.66 in cash.
McInerney-Jones is scheduled to be sentenced on August 29, 2022.
“Armed drug dealers present a serious threat to public safety,” said U.S. Attorney Young. “As part of our effort to protect the community from violent crime, we are working closely with the Manchester Police Department to identify and prosecute drug dealers who possess guns in the Queen City.”
“Guns and illegal drugs are a bad combination that has often led to violence in our city,” said Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg. “I am grateful for the diligent investigation that was completed by the Manchester Police Detectives which culminated in the arrest of the defendant.”
This matter was investigated by the Manchester Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joachim H. Barth.
This case is part of Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (S.O.S.). In July of 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the creation of S.O.S., which is being implemented in the District of New Hampshire and nine other federal districts. The goal of S.O.S. is to combat the large number of overdoses and deaths associated with fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. In New Hampshire, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is focusing its efforts on prosecuting synthetic opioid trafficking cases arising in Hillsborough County, which includes Manchester and Nashua.
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Man Sentenced to a Year in Federal Prison for Throwing Incendiary Device at Police in Chicago SuburbRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A man has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for throwing an incendiary device at police officers in Naperville, Ill., during a period of civil unrest in June 2020.
CHRISTIAN REA, 21, of Aurora, Ill., pleaded guilty earlier last year to a federal charge of obstructing law enforcement during the commission of civil disorder. U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin on Tuesday imposed the one-year prison sentence and ordered Rea to pay $13,585.66 in restitution to the city of Naperville.
The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. Valuable assistance was provided by the Naperville Police Department and Aurora Police Department.
“By intentionally throwing the firework at police officers, the defendant demonstrated a lack of respect for the law,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry Jonas argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “His actions could have sparked the crowd to engage in the very unlawful conduct the officers were there to prevent.”
The incident occurred in downtown Naperville on the evening of June 1, 2020. The officers responded to civil disorder in the business district involving dozens of individuals causing damage to property.
Rea admitted in a plea agreement that he threw a lit explosive or incendiary device in the proximity of a line of uniformed officers who were standing next to a police vehicle. As a result of the explosion, multiple officers suffered injuries, including repeated headaches, ringing in the ears, and vision loss.
Man Sentenced to Statutory Maximum for Shooting that Injured Two IndividualsRead the Press Release
A man who shot at a car injuring two people was sentenced today to ten years in federal prison.
Dai’Sean Dupree Battles, age 30, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after an October 19, 2021 guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Evidence in the case established that Battles and his girlfriend were involved in an altercation with another individual at a home in Waterloo. That individual left the residence with two others and Battles and his girlfriend followed in their vehicle. As they drove through downtown Waterloo, Battles took a firearm and discharged at least three rounds at the vehicle striking the driver and the backseat passenger. The backseat passenger suffered serious bodily injury.
Battles was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. At the sentencing, Judge Williams commented that Battles presented an “extreme danger to the community.” Battles was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment. 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.
Battles is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams and was investigated by a Federal Task Force composed of the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms assisted by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-CR-2034.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Man Sentenced to 57 Months for Illegal Gun Possession, and then Distributing Fentanyl While Released on BondRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that BRIAN VELEZ, also known as “Whites,” 33, formerly of Hartford and West Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 57 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for illegally possessing of a firearm, and then distributing fentanyl while released on bond.
According to court documents and statements made in court, at approximately 10:20 a.m. on November 27, 2018, a car Velez was operating sped away from Hartford Police officers who were attempting to stop the vehicle in Hartford’s South End. Velez parked in a driveway of a residence on Newbury Street and then ran from the car while carrying a duffel bag. After Velez was apprehended, a detective located the duffel bag in Velez’s path of travel. The bag contained a disassembled Ruger AR 556 semi-automatic rifle, which Velez was prohibited from possessing due to a prior felony conviction.
Velez was detained from the date of his arrest until April 2, 2019, when he was released on bond.
In January 2020, law enforcement received information that Velez was involved in ongoing criminal activity, including the distribution of narcotics. On January 28, 2020, investigators made a controlled purchase of 20 bags of fentanyl from Velez in Hartford.
On January 29, 2020, Velez pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon, stemming from his arrest in November 2018.
Velez has been detained since March 12, 2020, after he was arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with distributing fentanyl. On April 12, 2021, he pleaded guilty to distribution of fentanyl while on release in a pending federal case.
This investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force, the FBI’s Connecticut Violent Crime Task Force, and the Hartford Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian P. Leaming.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Man Convicted of Threatening to Kill 911 DispatcherRead the Press Release
Defendant made the calls on the way to the U.S. Capitol riot
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — Jonathan Joshua Munafo pleaded guilty today to communicating a threat in interstate commerce.
According to court documents, Munafo, 35, originally of Massachusetts, called the Calhoun County, Michigan 911 dispatch line over 140 times on January 5, 2021. Munafo demanded to speak to a Deputy Sheriff or Sergeant about unspecified issues, but did not have an emergency to report. When the dispatcher refused and asked him to clear the line, Munafo repeatedly called back. He threatened her, “I’m gonna cut your throat. I’m gonna make you eat your f***ing nose.” He said after the “Insurrection Act,” he was “coming to your door first,” and said, “it’s going to go way worse for your family.”
Cell phone location records revealed Munafo placed the calls from a truck stop in North Carolina. The next day (January 6, 2021), Munafo participated in the riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to a separate indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia. In that case, Munafo is charged with forcibly assaulting an officer of the Capitol Police, among eight other charges. He will appear in the District of Columbia to face those charges after his sentencing in Grand Rapids. Defendants are presumed innocent of pending charges unless proven guilty in a court of law where the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
“We will not tolerate threats of this kind,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “Emergency dispatchers do critical work, under stressful circumstances, to keep the community safe. No one, especially front-line public servants, should face threats of death or other physical violence.”
"Today, Jonathan Munafo admitted to repeatedly calling a Calhoun County dispatcher and threatening to kill her or harm her family,” said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “These threats were intended to intimidate and create fear in a public servant whose job is intensely stressful under the best of circumstances. This type of behavior cannot be tolerated, and the FBI will continue to investigate those who threaten our community with violence.”
Munafo faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison. United States District Judge Janet T. Neff will determine his sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
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MS-13 Member Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder in Aid of RacketeeringRead the Press Release
An El Salvador man was sentenced today to life in prison for murder in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering.
Juan Carlos Sandoval-Rodriguez, aka Picaro, aka El Pastor, aka Gasper, 24, of El Salvador, was sentenced to life in federal prison for a racketeering conspiracy, racketeering, attempted murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to commit murder in aid or racketeering, as well as related violent crimes in aid of racketeering, including three murders, connected to his participation in La Mara Salvatrucha, a transnational criminal enterprise also known as MS-13.
On Oct. 31, 2019, after a nine-day trial, a federal jury convicted Sandoval-Rodriguez of murder in aid of racketeering, and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, in connection with a murder that occurred on March 11, 2016.
On Jan. 24, 2022, a federal jury convicted Sandoval-Rodriguez of racketeering charges, along with co-defendants Jose Joya-Parada, aka Calmado, 21; Oscar Armando Sorto-Romero, aka Lobo, 23; and Milton Portillo-Rodriguez, aka Little Gangster, aka Seco, 26, after a three-month trial. Sandoval-Rodriguez, Portillo-Rodriguez, and Sorto-Romero were also convicted of multiple counts of murder in aid of racketeering.
Branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Frederick County, Anne Arundel County, Prince George’s County, and Montgomery County, Maryland. Sandoval-Rodriguez, Portillo-Rodriguez, and Joya-Parada were members of the Fulton Locos Salvatruchas (FLS) clique. Co-defendant Sorto-Romero was part of the Parque Vista Locos Salvatruchas (PVLS) clique.
Evidence at both trials established that between 2015 and 2017, Sandoval-Rodriguez and his co-defendants engaged in a pattern of racketeering, drug trafficking, extortion, murder, and brutal acts of violence against suspected rivals of the gang in an effort to increase MS-13’s power in the Frederick County, Montgomery County, and Anne Arundel County areas of Maryland.
Evidence presented at the 2019 trial established that Sandoval-Rodriguez participated in the murder of a suspected rival gang member on March 11, 2016. During this murder, Sandoval-Rodriguez lured the victim to Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis, Maryland, with the intention of killing him. Surveillance video from a nearby laundromat captured Sandoval-Rodriguez and the victim walking toward Quiet Waters Park on the evening of the murder. Once the victim arrived at the park, members of the gang struck him in the head with a branch or stick, and the assailants, including Sandoval-Rodriguez, repeatedly stabbed the victim with a knife, killing him.
While Sandoval-Rodriguez and other members of the gang committed the murder, other MS-13 members and associates stood watch outside the park to ensure no one entered or left the park, and to watch for police, so that the gang could complete the murder. Sandoval-Rodriguez cut his finger on the knife that he used to stab the victim. After the victim was killed, MS-13 members and associates buried him in a shallow grave inside the park, but Sandoval-Rodriguez did not bury the body because of the cut on his finger and fear that he would leave evidence at the scene. The body was not recovered until Aug. 28, 2017, when it was exhumed by law enforcement. After his arrest, Sandoval-Rodriguez’s writings about the murder as well as additional MS-13 paraphernalia was recovered among his personal belongings in jail. Sandoval-Rodriguez participated in the murder to raise his status in the gang and to assert the authority of MS-13 in Annapolis.
Trial evidence related to Sandoval-Rodriguez at his second trial focused on his participation in several murders, including that of a 17-year-old victim, who was believed to be a rival gang member. Specifically, the evidence showed that on March 31, 2017, the gang lured a 17-year-old from Annapolis to Wheaton Regional Park, where they stabbed him over 100 times, dismembered him, removed his heart, and buried him in a clandestine grave. Evidence was presented that Sandoval-Rodriguez and Portillo-Rodriguez lured the victim and, with other MS-13 members and associates, brought him from Annapolis to Wheaton Regional. Sandoval-Rodriguez, Portillo-Rodriguez, and Joya-Parada participated in the murder by stabbing, cutting, and dismembering the victim and Joya-Parada also helped to dig the victim’s grave.
Trial evidence also demonstrated that Sandoval-Rodriguez participated in a murder that occurred on June 24, 2017. In that murder, the gang used a female associate to lure a 21-year-old woman into a car and then took her to a wooded area in Crownsville, where she was killed, her body was dismembered, and she was buried in a clandestine grave. Co-defendant Portillo-Rodriguez aided in the planning of the murder and helped lure the victim into a car. Sandoval-Rodriguez traveled to the wooded area earlier in the day to dig a hole for the victim’s grave. MS-13 members caused the victim to lose consciousness, removed her clothing, and decapitated the victim with a machete. Sandoval-Rodriguez and Portillo-Rodriguez participated in the murder by stabbing and slashing the victim’s body with a machete, dismembering the body, and burying the body in a wooded area. As a result of their participation in the murder, Sandoval-Rodriguez, Portillo-Rodriguez, and other gang members were promoted within MS-13.
More than 30 MS-13 gang members and associates have been convicted in these cases.
Co-defendants from Sandoval-Rodriguez’s first case, Marlon Cruz-Flores, 25, Fermin Gomez-Jimenez, 23, Moises Alexis Reyes-Canales, and Manuel Martinez-Aguilar, aka El Lunatic, aka Zomb, 22, all of Annapolis, previously pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and a firearms offense. Both Gomez-Jimenez and Cruz-Flores were sentenced to 38 years in prison, Reyes-Canales was sentenced to 35 years in prison, and Martinez-Aguilar was sentenced to 24 years in prison.
On April 20, 2022, Joya-Parada was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for a racketeering conspiracy, racketeering, and related violent crimes in aid of racketeering. Portillo-Rodriguez and Sorto-Romero were each sentenced to life in federal prison, for a racketeering conspiracy and for racketeering, as well as related violent crimes in aid of racketeering, including multiple murders.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office; Acting Special Agent in Charge Selwyn Smith of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Baltimore Office; and Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the FBI; HSI; ATF; Frederick Police Department; Frederick County Sheriff’s Office; Anne Arundel, Montgomery, and Prince George’s County Police Departments; and Anne Arundel, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s County State’s Attorneys, with valuable assistance provided by the Baltimore County Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Stendig for the District of Maryland and Trial Attorney Matthew Hoff of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section prosecuted the first trial. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth S. Clark, Zachary Stendig, and Anatoly Smolkin for the District of Maryland prosecuted the second trial.
Anyone with information about MS-13 is encouraged to provide their tips to law enforcement. HSI and the FBI both have nationwide tip lines that you can call to report what you know. You can reach the FBI at 1-866-STP-MS13 (1-866-787-6713), or you can call HSI at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE.
This case is an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation.
Lower Brule Man Charged with Failure to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Lower Brule, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.
Russell Dean Wright, age 54, was indicted on May 3, 2022. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on May 17, 2022, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 10 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, life of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that between on or about November 1, 2021, and April 4, 2022, Wright, a person required to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, and a sex offender by reason of a conviction under federal law, knowingly failed to register and update his registration.
The charge is merely an accusation and Wright is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Hoffman is prosecuting the case.
Wright was remanded to state custody pending trial, which has been set for July 26, 2022.
Little Eagle Man Sentenced for Abusive Sexual Contact with a ChildRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Little Eagle, South Dakota, man convicted of Abusive Sexual Contact with a Child was sentenced on May 16, 2022, by U.S. District Court Judge Charles B. Kornmann.
Holden Cole Thompson, age 31, was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Thompson was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 8, 2021. He pled guilty on October 18, 2021.
The conviction stemmed from conduct that occurred between 2015 and 2016 at Little Eagle, in which Thompson engaged in sexual contact with a child who had not attained the age of 12 years.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook prosecuted the case.
Thompson was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Little Eagle Man Indicted for Domestic Assault ChargesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Little Eagle, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Domestic Assault by an Habitual Offender, Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, and Aggravated Sexual Abuse.
Yukon Oris Henry, age 45, was indicted on May 10, 2022. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on May 18, 2022, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to life in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, up to life on supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that in Little Eagle between 2020 and 2022, Henry unlawfully committed three domestic assaults against an intimate partner while having previously been convicted of crimes of domestic violence on at least two prior occasions. The Indictment further alleges that in October of 2020 in Little Eagle, Henry caused another person to engage in a sex act by the use of force.
The charges are merely accusations and Henry is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs – Office of Justice Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook is prosecuting the case.
Henry was released on bond pending trial. A trial date has been set for July 19, 2022.
Leader of Fayetteville Drug Conspiracy Sentenced to More than 23 YearsRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – A Fayetteville man was sentenced today to 280 months in prison for leading a network of heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine distributors. Garry Jermaine Alford, 49, previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, two-hundred eighty grams or more of cocaine base, and forty grams or more of fentanyl, and one count of possession with intent to distribute one hundred grams or more of heroin and forty grams or more of fentanyl.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, Alford employed at least half a dozen individuals to operate multiple houses used to store and sell drugs in the Deep Creek area of Fayetteville. Due to the heavy amounts of vehicle and foot traffic at these residences, investigators launched an investigation in early 2019. Search warrants executed at a number of Alford’s stash houses on September 10, 2020 resulted in the seizure of fentanyl, heroin, drug packaging materials, a 12 gauge shotgun, and over $68,000.
Co-conspirators Xavier Kaylon Whitted and Charles Dexter Underwood have previously been sentenced to terms of imprisonment of 84 months and 72 months respectively. Other members of the organization were prosecuted by the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Caroline Webb prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-CR-34-BO-1.
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Las Cruces Man Found Guilty of Kidnapping and CarjackingRead the Press Release
EL PASO – Yesterday, a federal jury convicted Fernando Angel Puga, aka Cholo, 36, from Las Cruces, NM, of kidnapping, carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury and transportation of a stolen vehicle in interstate commerce.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on June 9, 2017, Puga and his co-defendant Sergio Ivan Quinonez-Venegas, 38, from Mexico, approached a man working at a food truck in El Paso. Puga and Quinonez told the victim their car had broken down and asked for a ride. While the victim was giving the defendants a ride to a nearby gas station, Quinonez pulled out a gun and advised the victim that this, “was a kidnapping.” The victim was forced at gunpoint and knifepoint to drive the pair from El Paso to Las Cruces. Once in Las Cruces, the victim was struck and stabbed multiple times by a machete wielded by Puga causing factures to the victim’s skull and arms, and severe puncture wounds and lacerations to his body and hands.
Puga’s sentencing date has not been set. He faces up to life in prison for the kidnapping charge; up to 25 years in prison on the carjacking charge; and up to 10 years in prison for the stolen vehicle charge.
On February 2, 2022, Quinonez pleaded guilty to one count of carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 28, 2022. He faces up to 25 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff of the Western District of Texas and FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey R. Downey, El Paso Field Office, made the announcement.
The FBI El Paso Field Office, with valuable assistance from FBI Albuquerque; U.S. Border Patrol; Dona Ana County New Mexico Sheriff’s Office; El Paso Police Department; and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice K-9 unit, is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ian Martinez Hanna and Ellen Denum are prosecuting the case.
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Justice Department Observes National Missing Children’s DayRead the Press Release
As part of the 39th annual National Missing Children’s Day commemoration, the Department of Justice today honored 12 courageous individuals for their extraordinary efforts to recover missing children and bring sexual predators to justice.
“Every day, law enforcement professionals, advocates, and citizens alike step up to protect children from harm, reunite missing children with their families, and provide support in the aftermath of a traumatic event,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Today, the Justice Department is proud to honor some of these heroes and recognize them for their tireless work to create a safer and better world.”
The Department’s Office of Justice Programs’ (OJP) Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) leads the nation in observing National Missing Children’s Day. The observance was first proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan in 1983 in memory of six-year-old Etan Patz, who disappeared while walking to his bus stop in lower Manhattan on May 25, 1979. National Missing Children’s Day honors his memory and those children still missing. Etan’s killer was convicted in February 2017.
“We are at our best as a nation when we are working to secure a brighter future for our children,” said OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Amy L. Solomon. “There is no better reflection of our values as a society than our concern for the welfare of our young people, and these committed professionals have given clear expression to our aspirations.”
In lieu of an in-person ceremony, OJJDP has launched a website today featuring information about the awardees and statements from OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Solomon, OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan and President and CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Michelle DeLaune.
“We are deeply grateful to these 12 individuals for their exceptional deeds of bravery, vigilance and compassion on behalf of our nation’s children,” said OJJDP Administrator Ryan. “We could not be more proud to honor them on this special day.”
This year’s recipients are honored with the following awards:
Attorney General’s Special Commendation: This commendation recognizes the extraordinary efforts of an Internet Crimes Against Children task force, an affiliate agency or an individual assigned to either for making a significant investigative or program contribution to the ICAC task force program.
Recipients: Special Agent Theodore Indermuehle, Special Agent Wade Beardsley, Victim Service Specialist Leeana Liska and Senior Digital Forensic Examiner Tyrel Olsen of the Wisconsin ICAC task force, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman for the Western District of Wisconsin. They participated in an investigation that resulted in the arrest, prosecution and conviction of a high school teacher who was a sexual predator and who communicated directly with underage girls across many states to obtain sexually explicit videos.
Missing Children’s Law Enforcement Award: This award recognizes the extraordinary efforts of law enforcement officers who have made a significant investigative or program contribution to the safety of children.
Recipients: Special Agents Maria Markley, Star'Shemah Sylvestre, Kelli Johnson, Lisa Carroll, and Brandy Nettles of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) headquarters and field offices. They led NCIS efforts related to two significant initiatives, Operation Stolen Innocence and a cyber operation targeting Navy offenders. These included building a complex computer program to collect and analyze data from multiple sources.
Missing Children’s Child Protection Award: This award recognizes the extraordinary efforts of child protective service agency personnel, law enforcement officers, or other professionals who have made a significant investigative or program contribution to protecting children from abuse or victimization.
Recipients: Assistant Special Agent in Charge Shelly Smitherman and Intelligence Analyst Emily Keifer of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Nashville. In coordination with the U.S. Marshals Service and the Tennessee Department of Children's Services, they spearheaded Operation Volunteer Strong, a bold effort to identify and locate missing children in the state, leading to the recovery of 150 children in Tennessee. In some cases, the recovered children were identified as victims of human trafficking, which resulted in further investigative efforts.
The Department also named Sue Lee, a 5th grader at St. James Episcopal School in Los Angeles, California, as the winner of the 2022 National Missing Children’s Day poster contest. The contest creates an opportunity for schools, law enforcement, and child advocates to discuss the issue of child safety with youth and their parents.
OJP provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance, and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial equity in the administration of justice, assist victims, and strengthen the criminal and juvenile justice systems. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.
Janesville Man Sentenced to 16 Years for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Noah Eisele, 36, Madison, Wisconsin was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 16 years in federal prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release, for using minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing images of that conduct. Specifically, the defendant solicited young girls on Facebook for sexually explicit photos and videos. Eisele pleaded guilty to this charge on March 2, 2022.
In February 2021, the Rock County Sheriff’s Office uncovered Eisele’s activity after Facebook flagged an account for sharing child pornography. Law enforcement connected the account to the defendant, who admitted to creating the account in order to pose as a teenage boy. Eisele then used the account to message other users he believed to be minors, and instructed them to send him sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves. In addition to requesting child pornography, Eisele sent minors sexually explicit pictures and videos of himself.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed the identity of several girls targeted by Eisele through interviews, and determined they ranged in age from 11 to 17.
In sentencing the defendant, Judge Peterson reasoned a sentence above the 15-year mandatory minimum was warranted because of the defendant’s demonstrated pattern of predation and aggressive recruitment of girls online. Judge Peterson also noted the child pornography the defendant requested was particularly degrading, which included requests for bondage/dominance/submission/masochism content.
The charge against Eisele was the result of an investigation conducted by the Rock County Sheriff’s Office and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor L. Kraus prosecuted this case.
Investigation into Illegal Casinos Leads to Indictments Alleging Gambling Dens, Bribery, Extortion Scheme and Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – An investigation by the Orange County Asian Organized Crime Task Force has resulted in the arrest of seven out of nine defendants charged in three indictments that allege an array of criminal conduct, including drug trafficking, the attempted extortion and subsequent robbery of a small business, bribery of a police officer and operating illegal casinos.
One of three federal indictments unsealed this morning alleges a string of illegal casinos in Santa Ana and cites a shooting at one of the gambling dens in which an employee was struck in the neck.
“The number of illegal gambling dens has exploded during the pandemic, dramatically impacting the quality of life in many Orange County neighborhoods,” said United States Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison. “These illicit businesses are a breeding ground for drug trafficking, violence and even police corruption. We will continue to work with our local and federal law enforcement partners to eradicate this blight in our communities.”
“Illegal gambling locations create an increase in violent crime, adversely impact the quality of life of our communities, and cause disruption to our neighborhoods and our law-abiding business partners. This is something our agency will not tolerate,” said Santa Ana Police Chief David Valentin. “Today’s collaborative efforts, following a years-long extensive investigation with our local, state and federal partners, leverage our police department’s strong enforcement strategy – coined ‘Operation Community First’ – that was launched in February 2021 to target illegal gambling, narcotics and gun trafficking.”
“Today’s operation is the result of a joint effort among partners at the federal, state and local level in Santa Ana to dismantle an illegal gambling network that generated a variety of criminal activity causing great harm to the communities in which they operated,” said Kristi Johnson, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The defendants flouted the law and used enforcers with rival gangs to get victims to comply through the use of intimidation and violence in order to further their illicit network and generate profits.”
Members of the Task Force this morning arrested five defendants – which follows two arrests Tuesday afternoon. All seven defendants are expected to be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in Santa Ana. Authorities continue to search for two defendants.
The indictment alleging the operation of illegal casinos charges four defendants:
- Niem Ngoc Ha, aka “Dung Body,” 46, of Fountain Valley, who allegedly opened and operated four illegal casinos commonly called “nets” (if they are in a commercial district) or “slaphouses” (for those in residential areas), all of which were located in Santa Ana;
- Mindy Bui, aka “Thuy,” 36, of Westminster, who allegedly managed Ha’s illegal casinos;
- Honganh Thi Pham, aka “Hong,” 40, of Garden Grove, who also allegedly managed the illegal casinos; and
- Sammy Cardona, aka “Peanut,” 36, of Santa Ana, one of two defendants still being sought by authorities, who “would use violence to protect defendant Ha’s illicit casinos,” according to the indictment. Cardona is currently a fugitive.
These four defendants are charged with conspiracy and operating an illegal gambling business that allegedly generated thousands of dollars in profits on a daily basis.
Ha is additionally charged with bribery for allegedly paying approximately $128,000 to the now-convicted, former Santa Ana Police Officer Steven Lopez in an effort to protect his illicit casinos from law enforcement intervention. Lopez told Ha in September 2020 that Santa Ana police officers were planning to shut down one of his casinos in the coming days, according to the indictment. Lopez, who pleaded guilty in December 2020 to accepting the bribes, is scheduled to be sentenced on October 17.
“Organized criminal activity and illegal gambling schemes will not be tolerated in California,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Families throughout our state deserve to raise their children and live in safe neighborhoods, free from illicit and illegal activity. I am grateful for the collaboration and partnership of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the Santa Ana Police Department, IRS Criminal Investigation and the United States Postal Inspection Service in conducting this investigation.”
“Niem Ngoc Ha and other defendants operated multiple illicit gambling businesses that were abundant in criminal activity, including money laundering and bribery,” said IRS Criminal Investigation’s Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Korner. “Today’s takedown by the Orange County Asian Organized Crime Task Force demonstrates law enforcements determination and collaborative efforts to protect our communities from criminal enterprises. This should serve as a reminder that criminal activity within our communities will not be tolerated.”
“These defendants thought they would get away with their alleged criminal enterprise through intimidation and lies; but when you violate the rule of law and put the community and the United States Postal Service at risk, Postal Inspectors will leave no stone unturned to find you and bring you to justice for your crimes,” said Inspector in Charge Carroll N. Harris III of the Los Angeles Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The second indictment charges two men in a scheme to extort small businesses that were also operating as nets. Vincent Randal Pimentel, 30, of Santa Ana, and Steven Gallegos Saenz, 39, of Whittier, allegedly robbed those small businesses that refused to pay “taxes.” The indictment alleges that Saenz went to small businesses, claimed to be “mafia,” and made demands for extortionate payments, the indictment alleges. Pimentel is currently a fugitive
The indictment specifically alleges that on April 19, 2019, Saenz went to a Santa Ana video rental shop – which was also operating as a net – to demand the payment of “taxes.” After the owner refused to pay, Saenz, Pimentel and others went to the store later that day to rob the business, according to the indictment. During the incident, one of the robbers brandished what appeared to be a handgun, and the crew allegedly stole an $11,000 digital gambling machine, two $3,000 black digital gambling machines, two desktop computers, and approximately $3,500 in cash.
The two-count indictment charges Pimentel and Saenz with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and extortion, and interference with commerce by robbery.
The third indictment names three people who allegedly participated in a narcotics transaction involving a casino in Anaheim. This indictment charges:
- Ricardo Alonzo Nunez, aka “Rascal,” 44, of Anaheim, who agreed to sell methamphetamine;
- Marcus Jason Loomis, aka “Negro,” 37, of Barstow, who allegedly transported nearly two pounds of methamphetamine from an illegal gambling business in Anaheim that was supposed to be delivered to Nunez’s buyer; and
- Vanessa Maria Galloway, 37, of Barstow, who was present when the methamphetamine was seized, and who is charged in this indictment with possession with the intent to distribute heroin.
Nunez and Loomis are charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Nunez and Loomis are individually charged with substantive methamphetamine distribution counts. Galloway is charged individually with possession with intent to distribute heroin. Loomis and Galloway were taken into custody Tuesday afternoon.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
The charges of conspiracy and operating an illegal gambling business each carry a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. The bribery offense carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The violations of the Hobbs Act that allege interference with commerce by robbery and extortion each carry a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The methamphetamine charges discussed above each carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a potential sentence of life. The heroin trafficking offense carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years.
The ongoing investigation into illegal gambling houses in Orange County is being conducted under the auspices of the Orange County Asian Organized Crime Task Force. The primary investigatory agencies are the FBI; the Santa Ana Police Department; the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Gambling Control; IRS Criminal Investigation; and the United States Postal Inspection Service.
Substantial assistance is being provided by the California Highway Patrol, the Westminster Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the Anaheim Police Department and the Garden Grove Police Department.
Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel H. Ahn and Daniel S. Lim of the Santa Ana Branch Office are prosecuting this case.
I.T. Specialist Charged in Cyber Intrusion of Suburban Chicago Health Care CompanyRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — An information technology specialist has been indicted on a federal criminal charge for allegedly hacking into the server of a suburban Chicago health care company where he formerly worked as a contractor.
AARON LOCKNER illegally accessed the server of the health care company, which operated a clinic in Oak Lawn, Ill., on April 16, 2018, according to an indictment returned Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The cyber intrusion impaired medical examinations, treatment, and care of multiple individuals, the indictment states. Lockner had previously performed information security and technology work for the health care company and had access to its computer network, the indictment alleges. Two months before the cyber attack, Lockner sought and was denied an employment position with the health care company, the indictment states.
The indictment charges Lockner, 35, of Downers Grove, Ill., with one count of intentionally causing damage to a protected computer. Arraignment in federal court in Chicago has not yet been scheduled.
The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney A.J. Dixon.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The charge in the indictment is punishable by up to ten years in federal prison. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Husband and Wife Charged in Interstate Gun Trafficking SchemeRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, John DeVito, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, New York Field Division (ATF), and Keechant L. Sewell, Police Commissioner for the City of New York (NYPD), announced today that RONALD ROGERS and ANAUNCIA ROGERS were charged with conspiracy to commit gun trafficking and gun trafficking, in connection with their involvement in a scheme to illegally obtain and transport firearms from Georgia for resale to residents of New York. RONALD ROGERS was arrested yesterday traveling from Georgia to New York and was presented today before Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger in the Southern District of New York. ANAUNCIA ROGERS was also arrested yesterday in Georgia and was presented today in the Northern District of Georgia.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Anauncia and Ronald Rogers were in the business of illegally purchasing firearms in Georgia and transporting them to New York. The two are alleged to have purchased 68 guns in their interstate weapons-buying scheme. The importation of firearms into the tri-state exposes millions of New Yorkers to potentially lethal harm, and I commend the career prosecutors of this Office for partnering with the ATF and NYPD in the ongoing effort to rid our streets of illegal guns.”
ATF Special Agent-in-Charge John DeVito said: “One of ATF’s top priorities is to decrease the ever-growing threat to public safety caused by illegally trafficked firearms. The men and women of the Joint Firearms Task Force worked diligently to identify, investigate and to apprehend Ronald and Anauncia Rogers in this case. This investigation is yet another example of the collaborative work of the NYC Crime Gun Intelligence Center and all our investigative partners to reduce firearms trafficking and violent crime across our City and Nation.”
NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said: “The NYPD and our law enforcement partners at the ATF and the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District remain precisely focused on building strong cases against anyone who peddles illegal guns on the streets of New York. Bringing these gun traffickers to justice is dangerous work, and I commend our dedicated investigators for identifying and taking into custody this husband-and-wife team, who will now face the full consequences of their alleged actions.”
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint[1]:
From at least in or around September 2018 up to and including March 2022, RONALD ROGERS and ANAUNCIA ROGERS, both residents of the state of Georgia, engaged in a scheme to buy at least 68 firearms from at least seven federal firearms licensees (“FFLs”) in Georgia. Over the course of the scheme, ANAUNCIA ROGERS personally purchased at least 47 firearms. In connection with each purchase, ANAUNCIA ROGERS attested that she was the true purchaser of the firearms, when in fact she was buying guns on behalf of her husband and co-defendant, RONALD ROGERS. After ANAUNCIA ROGERS purchased the guns, RONALD ROGERS transported the firearms to New York City, usually by car, and illegally resold many of the guns to others.
To date, the NYPD has seized six firearms purchased in Georgia by ANAUNCIA ROGERS during arrests in New York City.
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RONALD ROGERS, 26, and ANAUNCIA ROGERS, 26, both of Riverdale, Georgia, are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit gun trafficking, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and one count of gun trafficking, which also carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the ATF and the NYPD for their assistance in this investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew J. King is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth in this release constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Horn Lake Man Sentenced for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Oxford, Miss. – A Horn Lake man was sentenced Tuesday to more than 8 years in prison for possessing child sexual abuse materials on his personal electronic devices.
According to court documents, Steven Mistilis, 62 years old, admitted to possessing, downloading, and viewing child sexual abuse images and videos for several years when approached by officers. Mistilis had a collection of over 1500 images and 549 child sexual abuse videos, many depicting infants and toddlers engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Eleven victims submitted Victim Impact Statements, and U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock ordered Mistilis to pay $35,000 in restitution to those victims.
“This individual downloaded and stored images and videos of very young children being sexually abused, and repeatedly viewed them for his sexual gratification and pleasure,” remarked U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner. “Prison is exactly where he belongs, and the Desoto County Sheriff’s Office and FBI deserve our gratitude for helping to remove him from society.”
The Desoto County Sheriff’s Department and FBI Oxford Resident Agency investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Parker S. Kline prosecuted the case.
Hammond Man Sentenced to 24 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
HAMMOND- Matthew Burton, 20 years old, of Hammond, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Jon E. DeGuilio on his plea of guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Burton was sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, on May 17, 2021, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Burton and recovered a firearm from under the front passenger seat which he possessed. Burton’s criminal history revealed he had a prior felony conviction for robbery, and as such, is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives/ Indiana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force with the assistance of the East Chicago Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Toth.
This case was 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.
Greensboro Resident Sentenced for Conspiring to Defraud North Carolina Medicaid SystemRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – A Greensboro, North Carolina woman, Sharita Mathis Richardson, was sentenced today to 22 months in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit health care fraud. On March 25, 2021, Richardson pleaded guilty to the charge. As part of sentencing, Richardson was also ordered to pay $2,005,531 in criminal restitution to the North Carolina Fund for Medical Assistance.
“This defendant conspired with others to steal millions in federal funding intended to provide health care to those in need,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “Our office will continue to bring those who abuse and misuse taxpayer funds to justice.”
According to court documents and other information presented in court, between approximately 2012 and 2016, Richardson conspired with Antonio Fozard and others to defraud the North Carolina Medicaid system through the submission of over $4 million in false and fraudulent claims for the reimbursement of behavioral health services. Medicaid is a federally funded health care benefit program that helps pay for medical-related services for low-income individuals and their families. In North Carolina, Medicaid is administered by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health Benefits.
Fozard owned and operated a number of behavioral health companies that purported to provide services to Medicaid beneficiaries in the Middle and Eastern Districts of North Carolina. These companies included Group Service, Inc., and Zoofari Kids, LLC. Each of these entities engaged in a systematic effort to steal from Medicaid by billing for services that were never rendered.
Group Service maintained offices at various times in Raleigh, Dunn, Durham, and Sanford. Among other things, Group Service employed Reginald Van Reese, Jr., and Ruben Samuel Matos to canvas low-income neighborhoods to identify eligible Medicaid recipients and collect their personal identifying information (PII), including their Medicaid Identification numbers. The harvested PII was then incorporated into false and fraudulent claims that Group Service submitted to Medicaid for reimbursement. Note writers, including Humberto Mercado, were also enlisted to fabricate supporting documentation in the event of a Medicaid audit. Richardson held herself out as Group Service’s chief operating officer and assisted Fozard in the day-to-day operations of the criminal enterprise.
During much of the same time period, Fozard and Richardson were also managing members of Zoofari Kids, which was similarly defrauding the North Carolina Medicaid system. Zoofari Kids operated in Durham and Garner. The Durham location shared the same address as Group Service and purported to provide mental health treatment to Medicaid recipients. The Garner location was strictly a drop-in daycare facility. The daycare, however, was effectively funded by Medicaid fraud proceeds paid out to Zoofari’s mental health business.
Fozard, Reese, Matos, and Mercado each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud in separate related cases. Reese, Matos, and Mercado were previously sentenced to terms of imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution to the North Carolina Fund for Medical Assistance. Fozard is scheduled to be sentenced during the term of court that begins on July 20, 2022.
Michael Easley, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Medicaid Investigations Division of the North Carolina Department of Justice investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Adam F. Hulbig prosecuted the case for the government.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-CR-506-FL.
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Grand Jury Returns IndictmentsRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. - A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin, sitting in Madison, returned the following indictments today. You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Man Charged with Robberies of Madison Businesses
Scott C. Tolliver, 42, Madison, Wisconsin, is charged with robbing two business in Madison. The indictment alleges that on April 15, 2022, he robbed the McDonald’s Restaurant on Regent Street and the Walgreens on East Campus Mall. The indictment alleges that the robberies occurred by means of actual and threatened force, violence, and fear of injury.
If convicted, Tolliver faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each count. The charges against him are the result of an investigation by the Madison Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Anderson is handling the prosecution.
Milwaukee Man Charged with Illegally Possessing Firearm & Ammunition
Marcell Davis, 31, Milwaukee, Wisconsin is charged with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. The indictment alleges that on March 8, 2022, Davis possessed a .22 caliber handgun, a .357 revolver, and 9mm ammunition.
If convicted, Davis faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The charge against him is the result of an investigation by the La Crosse Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Stephan is handling the prosecution.
The charges against Tolliver and Davis are brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the U.S. Justice Department’s program to reduce violent crime. The PSN approach emphasizes coordinator between state and federal prosecutors and all levels of law enforcement to address violent crime, especially felons illegally possessing firearms and ammunition and violent and drug crimes that involve the use of firearms.
Tomah Man Charged with Possessing Methamphetamine for Distribution
Stephen Thompson, 56, Tomah, Wisconsin, is charged with possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. The indictment alleges that he possessed the methamphetamine on March 17, 2022.
If convicted, Thompson faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison. The charge against him is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Wegner is handling the prosecution.
Bayfield County Man Charged with Stealing Timber from National Forest
Jerod Hecimovich, 40, Mason, Wisconsin, is charged in a 3-count indictment with stealing live oak timber, injuring live oak timber, and knowingly cutting and removing live oak timber from the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Bayfield County. According to the indictment, in April 2019 Hecimovich, as owner and operator of Hecimovich Forest Products, LLC, was awarded a contract by the U.S. Forest Service to harvest certain timber from U.S. Forest land. The indictment alleges that Hecimovich harvested certain live oak timber which the contract specified should not be removed. The indictment seeks the forfeiture of proceeds traceable to the offenses charged, including $24,736 representing the amount of proceeds obtained as a result of the alleged theft of government property.
If convicted, Hecimovich faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the charges of stealing government property and injuring government property. The charge of cutting and removing timber from the National Forest has a maximum penalty of 1 year in prison. The charges against him are the result of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Graber is handling the prosecution.
Man Charged with Escape
Craig Bellis, 42, formerly of Boscobel, Wisconsin, is charged with escape. The indictment alleges that on April 30, 2022, he escaped from custody at Rock Valley Community Programs Inc. in Janesville, Wisconsin, a residential reentry center in which he was lawfully confined.
If convicted, Bellis faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison. The charge against him is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Graber is handling the prosecution.
Goldsboro Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Methamphetamine TraffickingRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – A Goldsboro, North Carolina man was sentenced today to 180 months in prison for Conspiracy to Distribute and Distribution of 50 grams or more of Methamphetamine.
According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, Robert Lee Best, 61, was named in an Indictment filed on March 12, 2020 charging him with Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess With Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine from 2018 to March 12, 2020, (Count One) and Distribution of 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine and Aiding and Abetting (Count Two). On November 10, 2020, Best entered a plea of guilty to Count Two.
In May of 2018, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, Goldsboro and the Winston-Salem Police Departments, received information that Best was part of a large-scale drug trafficking organization operating in Goldsboro, which distributed large quantities of crystal methamphetamine and maintained several “trap houses” or “stash houses” in Goldsboro and employed runners, often times drug users, to hand deliver drugs.
Based upon the investigation law enforcement learned that Best had known the leaders of this organization for 20 years and worked in “the hole,” or “trap house” located on Slaughter Street where he distributed drugs for them. Best worked 12-hour shifts in the trap house selling narcotics for the organization. During these 12-hour shifts, two people worked each shift, an inside man and an outside man. The inside man answered the phone and prepared the drug orders. The outside man-made deliveries to the customers and served as a “lookout.” At the end of each shift, Best was responsible for delivering proceeds from the drug sales to a drop location.
Over the course of the conspiracy, Best was responsible for assisting in the distribution of 14,560 grams of cocaine and 1,507.7 grams of methamphetamine.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, Goldsboro Police Department, and the Winston-Salem Police Department, investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer C. Nucci prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for case number 5:21-CR-00198-M-1.
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Georgia man sentenced to decades in prison after admitting he produced and possessed images of child sexual exploitationRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA: A Liberty County man was sentenced to nearly 25 years in federal prison after admitting he produced and possessed child pornography.
John Paul Joseph Keegan, 31, of Midway, Ga., was sentenced to 295 months in prison after pleading guilty to Production of Child Pornography and Possession of Child Pornography, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker also ordered Keegan to pay $3,000 in restitution, to register as a sex offender and to serve 15 years of supervised release after completion of his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
“John Paul Keegan is being held responsible for his truly detestable exploitation of vulnerable children,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “This substantial prison sentence holds Keegan accountable and protects the community from this predator.”
Keegan’s wife, Sharon Elizabeth Keegan, 30, of Midway, Ga., faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, up to 30 years, after pleading guilty in April to Production of Child Pornography at the midway point of her trial in U.S. District Court.
The Keegans were indicted in May 2020 after an investigation launched through a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to Homeland Security Investigations. That tip led agents from the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to search the Midway mobile home where the Keegans resided, and investigators seized electronic devices found to contain images and videos of child sexual exploitation that each of the two had produced and shared over the internet.
“Keegan will now face accountability for his heinous acts and the immeasurable pain he inflicted upon innocent children,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “Children are among our most vulnerable populations and HSI and its law enforcement partners will continue to use all available resources to protect them from exploitation.”
“The GBI will continue to work tirelessly to protect innocent victims of online exploitation,” said GBI Director Vic Reynolds. “We are grateful for the partnerships we maintain with our local and federal agencies to bring these predators to justice.”
This investigation took place under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood, and was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer J Kirkland and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Tara M. Lyons, with assistance from Asset Recovery Unit Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Sue Robichaux.
Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or https://report.cybertip.org/.
Gary Man Sentenced to 235 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
HAMMOND- Omarr Williams, 43, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Jon E. DeGuilio on his plea of guilty to bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Williams was sentenced to 235 in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, on October 8, 2019, Williams robbed a bank in Hammond, Indiana. Upon entering the bank, Williams pointed a firearm at a bank teller and demanded money. At the time of his arrest. Williams was found to be in possession of a loaded firearm and $1,597.
At the time he committed the bank robbery, Williams was on probation for a prior armed robbery conviction. Based on his criminal history, Williams was determined to be a career offender which resulted in an increase to his sentence.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Hammond Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Caitlin M. Padula and Jennifer S. Chang.
This case was 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.
Former Yuba City Church Administrator Arrested in Oklahoma, Charged with Fraud and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An indictment was unsealed today following the arrest of Chanell Easton, 36, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. On May 19, 2022, a federal grand jury in Sacramento returned an indictment, charging Easton with 22 counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft for a scheme to embezzle church funds, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, from June 2013 to February 2018, Easton worked as an administrator at a church in Yuba City. During her employment, Easton stole over $360,000 from the church, including from its food pantry and youth ministry, during a years-long embezzlement scheme. Without the church’s knowledge or authorization, Easton opened five business credit card accounts in the church’s name. Easton used these five credit cards, as well as a credit card used by the church’s youth pastor, to make personal purchases—including at a hair salon, retail stores, online retailers, a vacation rental service, and to buy concert tickets—and then paid off the resulting balance with the church’s money. Easton also transferred money directly from the church’s bank accounts to her own personal account, paid down the balance of her own personal credit card, and paid her cellphone provider for her personal bills and for new phones.
According to the indictment, Easton also stole money from the church by writing checks to others for personal expenses and by writing checks to herself, on which she forged the signatures of the church’s treasurer or the head volunteer of the church’s food pantry.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elliot C. Wong and Christopher S. Hales are prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Easton faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of wire fraud, and a mandatory two-year sentence on each count of aggravated identity theft. 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.
Former Reality Television Personality Sentenced to 151 Months in Federal Prison for Downloading Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
FAYETTEVILLE – A Springdale man was sentenced today to 151 months in prison without the possibility of parole on one count of Receiving Material Depicting Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct. The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Joshua James Duggar, 34, of Springdale, repeatedly downloaded and viewed images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, including images of prepubescent children and depictions of sadistic abuse. Duggar, a former reality television personality who appeared with his family on the TLC series 19 Kids and Counting, installed a password-protected partition on the hard drive of his desktop computer at his used car lot in Springdale to avoid pornography-detecting software on the device. He then accessed the partition to download child sexual abuse material from the internet multiple times over the course of three days in May 2019. The password for the partition was the same one he used for other personal and family accounts. Duggar downloaded the material using the dark web and online file-sharing software, viewed it, and then removed it from his computer.
Law enforcement in Arkansas detected Duggar’s activity during an undercover investigation involving the online file-sharing program, subsequently searched his car lot in November 2019, and seized Duggar’s desktop computer as well as other evidence. Significant evidence was found that pointed to Duggar’s presence at the times of the offenses, including pictures that Duggar took on his phone that geolocated at or near the car lot. Duggar also sent multiple timestamped text messages to various individuals that indicated he was at the car lot at the relevant times; the messages were sent, and the iPhone pictures were created, at times within minutes of when the child sexual abuse material was downloaded or displayed on the desktop computer. Additionally, he was the only paid employee on the lot at those times.
On December 9th, 2021, a federal jury in the Western District of Arkansas convicted Duggar of receiving and possessing material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.
Homeland Security Investigations Fayetteville, Arkansas, the Arkansas Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, the Little Rock Police Department, and the High Technology Investigative Unit of the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carly Marshall and Dustin Roberts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas and Trial Attorney William G. Clayman of CEOS prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website @ www.pacer.gov. Western District of Arkansas case number 5:21 CR 50014
Former Philadelphia VA Hospital Employee Pleads Guilty to Stealing Almost $500,000 in Government FundsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Bruce Minor, 46, of Philadelphia, PA, entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Court Judge Chad F. Kenney in connection with his scheme to embezzle money from his former employer, the Philadelphia Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center (VAMC).
In April 2022, the defendant was charged in a one-count Criminal Information with theft of government funds stemming from his theft of $487,000 in Veterans Affairs travel reimbursement funds, which he helped administer as part of his official duties as an travel clerk. In order to perpetrate the theft, Minor created fraudulent travel reimbursement claims in the names of at least three other VAMC employees and then diverted the fraudulently obtained funds into bank accounts he controlled. According to court documents, in an email to VAMC management, the defendant admitted to stealing approximately $13,000 in travel funds, though subsequent investigation showed that he stole upwards of $487,000 between December 2015 and September 2019.
“Injured veterans – and all Americans – deserve public employees who do their jobs honestly, without gaming the system to line their own pockets,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “While the VA was focused on providing high-quality care and programs to the men and women who served our country, the defendant selfishly took advantage of his position to perpetrate this fraud scheme and cheat the taxpayers who fund these services.”
“Today’s guilty plea should send a message to those who would use their position to steal taxpayer dollars,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher F. Algieri of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Northeast Field Office. “This greed wastes precious funds that could otherwise be used to provide care and benefits to our nation’s veterans. The VA OIG appreciates the commitment of the U.S. Attorney’s Office throughout this investigation and will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to hold wrongdoers accountable.”
The case was investigated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Diviny.
Former Morris Resident Pleads Guilty to Child Exploitation OffenseRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that KEVIN CURLEY, 41, formerly of Morris, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to a child exploitation offense.
According to court documents and statements made in court, “Tor,” which is an acronym for “The Onion Router,” is a worldwide network of internet-connected computers that is designed to conceal the true IP addresses of the computers on the network and the identities of the network’s users. In 2020, HSI began investigating Curley for his involvement in an online community of individuals who sent and received child pornography images and videos via a hidden service website that operated on the Tor network. On August 5, 2020, investigators conducted a court-authorized search of Curley’s former residence in Morris and seized Curley’s desktop computer. Analysis of the seized computer revealed hundreds of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.
Curley was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on October 8, 2020.
Curley pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. Judge Arterton scheduled sentencing for August 30.
Curley is released on a $150,000 bond and residing in Naugatuck while awaiting sentencing.
This matter is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren C. Clark through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.
Former Long Island Resident Indicted for Massive Fraud Scheme Involving Sports BettingRead the Press Release
A two-count indictment was unsealed today in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York charging Cory Zeidman with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering conspiracy in connection with a sports betting fraud scheme he operated from Long Island and Florida. The defendant was arrested this morning and Florida and will make his initial appearance at the federal courthouse in Miami.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Ricky Patel, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New York, Patrick Ryder, Commissioner, Nassau County Police Department, and Daniel Brubaker, United States Postal Inspector in Charge, announced the charges.
“As alleged, Zeidman defrauded his victims, stole their life savings and persuaded them to drain their retirement accounts to invest in his bogus sports betting group, all so he could spend it on international vacations, a multi-million dollar residence and poker tournaments,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace. “Today’s indictment serves as a reminder to all of us to be wary of so-called investment opportunities that purport to have inside information, as they are really a gamble not worth taking.”
“As alleged, Zeidman preyed on individuals who were led to believe he had inside information that would lead them to easy money. In reality, he was selling nothing but lies and misinformation— bilking millions from victims along the way, leaving their lives in financial ruin and their bank accounts empty,” said HSI New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel. “HSI will continue to work together with our partners to follow the money and tackle complex financial investigations to bring to justice fraudsters like Zeidman, who finance their lavish lifestyles by concocting ways to bamboozle the innocent when their only real goal is lining their pockets with ill-gotten cash.”
“Mr. Zeidman took advantage of the public’s interest to “get in on the ground floor” of his sports betting organization. He devised a criminal scheme to fatten his pockets using nothing more than people’s love for sports and his clever words wrapped around a fraud. Postal Inspectors remind investors to thoroughly review all investment offers to ensure they are not left with a line of empty promises and a drained bank account,” said Inspector in Charge Brubaker.
The defendant was the leader of an organization that placed national radio advertisements to lure victims to retain the organization for sports betting advice. The victims were led to believe that the organization had privileged information that made betting on sporting events a no risk proposition. Victims were required to pay a fee to obtain this information which, unbeknownst to them, was either fictitious or obtained from an internet search by defendant and his co-conspirators. Many victims lost their life savings.
The defendant used the following aliases: Richard Barnes, Walter Barr, Mr. Carlyle, Ray Palmer, Rick Cash, Elliot Stern, Gordon Howard, David Coates, Simon Coates, Paul Knox, Mark Lewis, Joel Orenstein and Steve Nash. Some of the company names used by defendant’s scheme were Gordon Howard Global, Ray Palmer Group and Grant Sports International.
Any individuals who believe they may have been the victim of the alleged crimes perpetrated in connection with this release can contact HSI at 1-866-347-2423.
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony Bagnuola, Charles P. Kelly and Diane Beckmann.
The Defendant:
CORY ZEIDMAN
Age: 61
Boca Raton, FloridaE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-228 (JS)
Former Bookkeeper Charged with Embezzling over $3 Million from Law Firm Former EmployerRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Florida woman was charged with wire fraud after she stole over $3 million from the law firm where she worked as a bookkeeper, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Janet Lee Blissitt, 66, of Margate, Florida, is charged by complaint with one count of wire fraud. Blissitt was arrested earlier this morning and made her initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick M. Hunt in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, federal court. She was released on $150,000 bond.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Blissitt worked as a bookkeeper and assistant at a law firm in Boca Raton, Florida. She had access to several of the firm’s business bank accounts, including the firm’s client trust accounts. Starting in October 2021 and continuing through March 2022, Blissitt transferred money from several of the law firm’s business accounts to her personal account and other business bank accounts in New Jersey and Ohio. Blissitt would sometimes falsely note that the purpose of the transfers was to pay fees. Blissitt embezzled an estimated $3 million from the law firm.
The wire fraud charge has a maximum term of 20 years, and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the pecuniary gain to the defendant or loss to the victim, whichever is greatest.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Messenger in Newark and Special Agent in Charge Eric B. Smith in Cleveland, Ohio, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the Boca Raton Police Services Department for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie L. Hoxie of the Cybercrime Unit in Newark.
The charge and allegations in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Fomer Creola Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Depriving Arrestee of Civil Rights by Use of Unreasonable ForceRead the Press Release
MOBILE, AL – A former City of Creola police officer pleaded guilty today to depriving a man of his right to be free from the use of unreasonable force while in custody.
According to court documents filed in connection with his guilty plea, on April 21, 2021, Gary Lynn Davis, 54, of Creola, while acting as a City of Creola police officer, struck an arrestee in the face with his knee while the arrestee, identified by his initials J.B., was on his knees with shackles on his wrists and ankles. The blow knocked out one of J.B.’s teeth and caused vision issues. At the time of the incident, J.B. had been held on traffic violations for about four days and had become loud and unruly in the city jail. J.B. had money in his bank account to make bond but could not arrange for someone outside the jail to access his account. Davis threatened to put J.B. in a straitjacket, which the department had, but instead belly-chained J.B.’s wrists to his waist and shackled his ankles. J.B. complied with Davis’s demands to get into position so that Davis could shackle him. There was also another officer who was available to assist Davis in getting J.B. under control but Davis did not call him. When J.B. continued to be unruly Davis went next door to the city fire department and borrowed a rope. Davis then unsuccessfully attempted to hog tie J.B. J.B. resisted and the two wrestled on the floor. Davis also attempted unsuccessfully to choke J.B. to try to render him unconscious. A surveillance camera captured the struggle. Then Davis stood up in the cell doorway for a few seconds as J.B. knelt before him. The surveillance camera then captured Davis deliver a forceful blow to J.B.’s face with his knee. Davis’s blow sent J.B. careening backwards and he writhed in pain on the floor. When the police chief and another officer found out about the incident, the officer took J.B. to an ATM and allowed him to withdraw money to make bail. The officer then took J.B. to a city magistrate and he made bail.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) conducted an investigation of the incident, which then referred it to FBI Mobile for further investigation and consideration for federal prosecution. Davis faces state charges of Assault, Second Degree, and Attempted Murder, arising from the incident.Davis pleaded guilty to depriving J.B. of the right to be free of the deprivation of liberty without due process of law, which includes the right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a law enforcement officer. He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 29, 2022, and faces 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama and the FBI made the announcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Lankford is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
Florida Felon Sentenced to More Than Four Years in Prison for Illegally Possessing Firearm During High-Speed Chase in Baldwin CountyRead the Press Release
MOBILE, AL – A Florida man was sentenced today to 51 months in prison for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents, Mark Allen Snellgrove, 29, of Crestview, Florida, was arrested on February 24, 2021, after he led police on a high speed chase that resulted in injuries to two officers. That morning, officers had responded to a report of a suspicious truck loitering at a gas station in Bay Minette, Alabama. Upon arrival at the station, officers spoke with Snellgrove, the truck’s driver. Snellgrove gave officers a false name and failed to produce a valid identification.
While officers spoke with him, Snellgrove started his truck and floored the gas pedal, forcing an officer who was standing nearby to hang onto the steering wheel of the truck while it accelerated toward a light pole. Snellgrove’s truck hit another officer’s parked car and slammed into the pole, the impact of which caused serious injuries to the officer who was clinging to the truck’s steering wheel. That officer tased Snellgrove, who snatched the taser leads out of his chest and sped his truck in reverse into oncoming traffic the wrong way down Hand Avenue, a busy four-lane thoroughfare.
During the twenty-minute chase that ensued, Snellgrove forced many bystander cars off the road, attempted to ram a police vehicle head-on; drove through numerous stop signs and lighted intersections; drove through residential yards; crashed through a mailbox; and sped through a ditch to avoid a spike strip. At times during the pursuit, Snellgrove reached speeds of more than 100 miles per hour.
Officers eventually ended the chase in a wooded driveway of a private residence by ramming into Snellgrove’s truck and pinning it in place. Snellgrove refused verbal commands to get out of the truck and had to be taken down by a tracking dog. A passenger in the truck, codefendant Rodger Anthony Manning, also refused to get out and bit an officer on the finger as he resisted arrest.
Along the pursuit route, officers found a stolen 9mm pistol that had been thrown from the passenger side of Snellgrove’s truck during the chase. Officers also seized a stolen .45-caliber pistol from the truck near where Manning had been sitting in the backseat. Forensic analysis of the guns revealed Snellgrove’s DNA on the 9mm pistol and Manning’s DNA on the .45-caliber pistol. At the time Snellgrove possessed the pistol, he knew he had been convicted of felony drug offenses in Okaloosa County, Florida in 2019. Snellgrove’s felony convictions rendered his possession of the pistol illegal under federal law.
Senior United States District Judge Callie V.S. Granade ordered Snellgrove to serve a three-year term of supervised release upon his release from prison, during which time he will undergo drug testing and treatment. The court did not impose a fine, but Judge Granade ordered Snellgrove to pay $100 in special assessments.
Snellgrove faces several pending state criminal charges in Baldwin County, Alabama, including first-degree assault, attempting to elude police, reckless endangerment, and resisting arrest. Judge Granade ordered a portion of Snellgrove’s federal sentence to run consecutively to any punishment he may receive in the related state cases. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless he is proven guilty at trial.
In April 2022, Manning pleaded guilty to illegally possessing the stolen .45-caliber pistol found in Snellgrove’s truck. Manning is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Granade on July 13, 2022.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bay Minette Police Department, and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Roller prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
Federal Jury Finds Tennessee Man Guilty of Child Pornography CrimesRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – After a one-day trial, a federal jury convicted Matthew Corban Hagy, 51, of Memphis, Tennessee, of production and possession of child pornography.
Evidence at trial revealed Hagy traveled from Tennessee to Putnam County, West Virginia, as the caretaker for a man visiting family in Poca during the week of Christmas 2020. While there, Hagy took nude photographs of a 5-year-old boy and produced a graphic video of the boy. A search of Hagy’s phone revealed more than 700 additional images and videos of child pornography. In a statement given to police, Hagy admitted that he took a picture of the boy, but denied doing anything inappropriate. The jury found Hagy guilty on both counts of the indictment.
Hagy is scheduled to be sentenced on September 6, 2022. He faces at least 15 years and up to 50 years in prison, and a term of supervised release of at least five years and up to life. Hagy will also be required to register as a sex offender.
“That this individual preyed upon a minor child during the holidays makes his awful crimes all the more heinous,” said United States Attorney Will Thompson. “I thank the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, the South Charleston Police Department, and the Secret Service for their excellent investigative work in this case. I also commend Assistant United States Attorneys Julie White and Greg McVey and the trial team for prosecuting the case and securing guilty verdicts on all counts.”
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the trial. This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of 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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:21-cr-99.
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Federal Jury Convicts High-Level ISIS Member of Providing Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization, Including Two Counts Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
A New York man was found guilty by a federal jury in Brooklyn, following a three-week trial before U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis, of one count of conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), and five substantive counts of providing material support to ISIS.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Mirsad Kandic, 40, of Brooklyn, New York, and Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was a high-ranking member of ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization. He had multiple responsibilities within the global terrorist organization, including recruiting foreign fighters, trafficking foreign fighters from the West through Turkey and into Syria, and obtaining weapons, military equipment, maps, money, and false identifications for ISIS fighters. In carrying out these responsibilities, the defendant worked directly with ISIS emirs and battlefield commanders, including Bajro Ikanovic, who commanded an ISIS training camp in Syria beginning in or around 2014. Ikanovic, in turn, reported to Omar Shishani, then the top military commander for ISIS, and a key advisor to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was, at the time, the leader of ISIS and the self-declared Caliph of the Islamic State.
According to the testimony of 36 witnesses and evidence drawn from six continents, Kandic attempted to leave the United States to fight jihad as early as the summer of 2012. He was denied boarding at the United States point of departure and notified that he was on the no-fly list. In January 2013, Kandic attempted to fly from Toronto, Canada, to Istanbul, Turkey, on a direct flight. He was again denied boarding. The defendant then took a two-day Greyhound bus ride from New York City to Monterrey, Mexico, in November 2013, and flew through Panama, Brazil, Portugal, Germany, Kosovo, and Turkey before arriving in Syria at the end of 2013. In Syria, Kandic joined ISIS and became a fighter for the group in Haritan, an ISIS stronghold in the outskirts of Aleppo, wielding Russian-made PK machine guns and AK-47 assault rifles.
ISIS leadership then directed Kandic to Turkey to take up the role of smuggling foreign fighters and weapons into Syria from abroad, and to serve as an emir for ISIS media. Kandic disseminated ISIS recruitment messages and gruesome propaganda using more than 120 Twitter accounts. For example, Kandic sent out an ISIS-produced “documentary” titled the “Flames of War.” This video celebrated ISIS conquests and macabre executions of ISIS captives, including instances where victims were forced to dig their own graves before being summarily executed by gunshot. The defendant tweeted that this video was the “best thing ever seen on screen.”
Kandic was also a dedicated and prolific recruiter of foreign fighters for ISIS. He sent thousands of radicalized ISIS volunteer fighters from Western countries into ISIS-controlled territories in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East. This included a fellow New Yorker who became an ISIS sniper and sniper trainer, and another individual who became an emir for ISIS safehouses in the Idlib province of Syria.
One foreign fighter recruited by the defendant was Jake Bilardi of Australia. Bilardi contacted the defendant in June 2014 for assistance in traveling to Syria to join ISIS. Kandic provided Bilardi – who had just turned 18 years old and had never traveled internationally before – with instructions and guidance for reaching Istanbul, Turkey. Kandic then arranged for Bilardi to be picked up at the airport in Istanbul and smuggled him into Syria. Kandic maintained contact with Bilardi as he became an ISIS fighter and ISIS suicide bomber. Bilardi went on to commit a suicide truck attack with fellow ISIS members on March 11, 2015, in Ramadi, Iraq, killing himself, more than 30 Iraqi soldiers, and an Iraqi policeman. Prior to the attack, the defendant wished Bilardi well and stated, “May Allah make [their] inner organs implode.” After the attack, Kandic praised Bilardi, both on Twitter and to a co-conspirator. In audio recordings referencing similar suicide attacks, the defendant praised the killing of more than 90 people as “good.”
In addition, Kandic provided battlefield intelligence and maps to ISIS battlefield commanders and fighters on the ground, including Ikanovic. Kandic also conspired with Ikanovic and other ISIS members in Syria to dig tunnels under the Turkey-Syria border to move 800-1000 fighters into ISIS at a time. Kandic also shaped the information environment in which ISIS operated by enforcing ISIS media and publicity discipline. For example, the defendant directed other ISIS supporters to refrain from posting any information about the success (or failure) of ISIS recruitment efforts as well as to minimize any reporting about ISIS military action. Kandic also managed money for ISIS fighters in Syria, including two ISIS fighters who gave the defendant their bank cards, from which bank records showed more than $40,000 was transacted. Kandic smuggled weapons to ISIS in Syria, including a rifle scope for an ISIS sniper. Kandic operated a private market via Telegram – called “Khilafah (Caliphate) Market” – for which the defendant was the group administrator with authority to restrict access to the group. Members frequently posted firearms and military equipment for sale, including mortars, suicide belts, assault rifles, and other firearms. Among the members of the defendant’s private Telegram market was Abu Luqman, who, at the time, was the ISIS governor for the Raqqa province, ISIS’s de facto capital in Syria.
Kandic was arrested in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was convicted of one count of conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS and five substantive counts of providing material support to ISIS in the forms of personnel, including himself, Bilardi, and others, as well as services, weapons, property, and equipment, and false documentation and identification. At sentencing, he faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment on the two counts resulting in death, and 20 years’ imprisonment on each of the other four charges. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Saritha Komatireddy, J. Matthew Haggans, and Josh Hafetz for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance provided by Trial Attorney Jennifer Levy of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and paralegals Matt Wulf and Huda Abouchaer.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI’s Legal Attachés abroad, and foreign authorities in multiple countries on three continents provided critical assistance in this case. The Department of State’s Regional Security Office in Sarajevo provided critical assistance in this case. In addition, the Bosnian and Herzegovina State Investigation and Protection Agency, the Bosnian and Herzegovina State Intelligence and Security Agency, the Bosnian and Herzegovina Foreigners’ Affairs Service, the Bosnian and Herzegovina State Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Australian Federal Police, the Victoria Police (Australia), the Australian Border Force, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australian Attorney-General’s Department, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, Joint Operations Command in Iraq, and the FBI Legal Attaché Offices in Sarajevo, Canberra, Nur-Sultan, and Baghdad, provided extraordinary assistance in the investigation and prosecution. The Ministry of Justice for the Republic of Finland, and Federal Office of Justice in the Federal Republic of Germany, the Department of Justice & Constitutional Development in the Republic of South Africa, and the central authorities responsible for mutual legal assistance in Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Ukraine; and the FBI’s Legal Attaché Offices in those countries provided valuable support in the investigation.
The department also thanks the Ministry of Justice for the Republic of Finland, the Stuttgart Police Department and Federal Office of Justice in the Federal Republic of Germany, the Department of Justice & Constitutional Development in the Republic of South Africa, and the central authorities responsible for mutual legal assistance in Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Ukraine, as well as FBI’s Legal Attaché Offices in those countries for their assistance in the investigation.
Federal Jury Convicts High Level ISIS Member of Six Counts of Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization, Including Two Counts Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
A federal jury in Brooklyn returned a guilty verdict yesterday against Mirsad Kandic on one count of conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), and five substantive counts of providing material support to ISIS in the form of personnel, including himself, Australian citizen Jake Bilardi, and others, as well as services, weapons, property, equipment, false documentation and identification, all between January 2013 and June 2017, when the defendant was arrested in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The verdict followed a three-week trial before United States District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis. When sentenced, Kandic faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment on the two counts of the indictment resulting in death, and 20 years’ imprisonment on each of the other four charges.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Matthew Olsen, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Ricky J. Patel, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), and Keechant L. Sewell, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the verdict.
“Kandic was a high-ranking member of ISIS who recruited countless fanatics, helping them travel to Syria and other territories to become ISIS fighters. In addition to fueling the front lines of the ISIS army, the defendant aided the extremist group in many other ways, including by providing weapons and spreading its violent propaganda across the globe, to further its bloody and brutal terrorist campaign. Kandic’s actions were directly linked to attacks and significant loss of life,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “With today’s verdict, Kandic has been held accountable for his barbaric crimes. This Office and our law enforcement partners will never rest in our mission to protect the United States from those who threaten its safety and security.”
“Kandic helped to build a secret supply chain of willing fighters for ISIS, recruiting them over social media and ensuring their illegal transit into Syria so they could wage war. He played a vital role in the terrorist group's communications network allowing ISIS to maintain its stranglehold on territory within Syria, and propagating ISIS fighters around the world to plot attacks. Although the threat posed by ISIS has evolved, we must continue our pursuit and punishment of those who support the terrorist organization,” stated Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll.
“Kandic’s blind loyalty and dedication to engage in jihad was evident in his determination to join and then support the horrific actions of ISIS, whose terror campaigns have resulted in countless deaths around the world. For years, Kandic was deeply entrenched, orchestrating the movement of personnel and materiel and even helping to shape the messaging and image of ISIS in an effort to recruit and radicalize new followers,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel. “The verdict returned today is the result of years of multi-jurisdictional cooperation between international and domestic partners. HSI will continue to work alongside our partners to ensure the safety of individuals around the world from the actions of radical terrorists and bring those who seek to engage in terrorist acts to justice.”
As proven at trial, the evidence and testimony established that the defendant was a high-ranking member of ISIS—the deadliest terrorist organization in the world. He had multiple responsibilities within the global terrorist organization, including recruiting foreign fighters, trafficking foreign fighters from the West through Turkey and into Syria, and obtaining weapons, military equipment, maps, money, and false identifications for ISIS fighters. In carrying out these responsibilities, the defendant worked directly with ISIS emirs and battlefield commanders, including Bajro Ikanovic, who commanded an ISIS training camp in Syria beginning in or around 2014. Ikanovic, in turn, reported to Omar Shishani, then the top military commander for ISIS, and a key advisor to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, at the time the leader of ISIS and the self-declared Caliph of the Islamic State.
The witness testimony—which included 36 witnesses and evidence drawn from six continents—established the following: Kandic attempted to leave the United States to fight jihad as early as the summer of 2012. He was denied boarding and notified that he was on the No-Fly List. In January 2013, Kandic attempted to fly from Toronto, Canada to Istanbul, Turkey on a direct flight. He was again denied boarding. The defendant then took a two-day Greyhound bus ride from New York City to Monterrey, Mexico, in November 2013, and flew through Panama, Brazil, Portugal, Germany, Kosovo, and Turkey before arriving in Syria at the end of 2013. In Syria, Kandic joined ISIS and became a fighter for the group in Haritan, an ISIS stronghold in the outskirts of Aleppo, wielding Russian-made PK machine guns and AK-47 assault rifles.
ISIS leadership then directed Kandic to Turkey to take up the role of smuggling foreign fighters and weapons into Syria from abroad, and to serve as an emir for ISIS media. Kandic disseminated ISIS recruitment messages and gruesome propaganda using more than 120 Twitter accounts. For example, Kandic sent out an ISIS-produced “documentary” titled the “Flames of War.” This video celebrated ISIS conquests and macabre executions of ISIS captives, including instances where victims were forced to dig their own graves before being summarily executed by gunshot. The defendant tweeted that this video was the “best thing ever seen on screen.”
Kandic was also a dedicated and prolific recruiter of foreign fighters for ISIS. He sent thousands of radicalized ISIS volunteer fighters from Western countries into ISIS-controlled territories in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East. This included a fellow New Yorker who became an ISIS sniper and sniper trainer, and another individual who became an emir for ISIS safehouses in the Idlib province of Syria.
One foreign fighter recruited by the defendant was Jake Bilardi of Australia. Bilardi contacted the defendant in June 2014 for assistance in traveling to Syria to join ISIS. Kandic provided Bilardi—who had just turned 18 years old and had never traveled internationally before—with instructions and guidance for reaching Istanbul, Turkey. Kandic then arranged for Bilardi to be picked up at the airport in Istanbul and smuggled him into Syria. Kandic maintained contact with Bilardi as he became an ISIS fighter and ISIS suicide bomber. Bilardi went on to commit a suicide truck attack with fellow ISIS members on March 11, 2015, in Ramadi, Iraq, killing himself, more than 30 Iraqi soldiers, and an Iraqi policeman. Prior to the attack, the defendant wished Bilardi well and stated, “May Allah make there inner organs implode.” After the attack, Kandic praised Bilardi, both on Twitter and to a co-conspirator. In audio recordings referencing similar suicide attacks, the defendant praised the killing of more than 90 people as “good.”
In addition, Kandic provided battlefield intelligence and maps to ISIS battlefield commanders and fighters on the ground, including Ikanovic. Kandic also conspired with Ikanovic and other ISIS members in Syria to dig tunnels under the Turkey-Syria border to move 800-1000 fighters into ISIS at a time. Kandic also shaped the information environment in which ISIS operated by enforcing ISIS media and publicity discipline. For example, the defendant directed other ISIS supporters to refrain from posting any information about the success (or failure) of ISIS recruitment efforts as well as to minimize any reporting about ISIS military action. Kandic also managed money for ISIS fighters in Syria, including two ISIS fighters who gave the defendant their bank cards, from which bank records showed more than $40,000 in transactions. Kandic smuggled weapons to ISIS in Syria, including a rifle scope for an ISIS sniper. Kandic operated a private market via Telegram—called “Khilafah (Caliphate) Market”—for which the defendant was the group administrator with authority to restrict access to the group. Members frequently posted firearms and military equipment for sale, including mortars, suicide belts, assault rifles, and other firearms. Among the members of the defendant’s private Telegram market was Abu Luqman, who, at the time, was the ISIS governor for the Raqqa province, ISIS’s de facto capital in Syria.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Saritha Komatireddy, J. Matthew Haggans, and Josh Hafetz are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney Jennifer Levy of the Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division of the Department of Justice and Office Paralegals Matt Wulf and Huda Abouchaer.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI’s Legal Attachés abroad, and foreign authorities in multiple countries on three continents provided critical assistance in this case. The Office extends its appreciation to the Bosnian State Investigation and Protection Agency, the Bosnian State Intelligence and Security Agency, the Bosnian Foreigner’s Affairs Service, Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Bosnian State Prosecutor’s Office, the Australian Federal Police, the Victoria Police (Australia), the Australian Border Force, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australian Attorney-General’s Department, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, Joint Operations Command in Iraq, and the FBI Legal Attaché Offices in Sarajevo, Canberra, Nur-Sultan, and Baghdad, for their extraordinary assistance in the investigation and prosecution. The Office also thanks the Ministry of Justice for the Republic of Finland, the Stuttgart Police Department and Federal Office of Justice in the Federal Republic of Germany, the Department of Justice & Constitutional Development in the Republic of South Africa, and the central authorities responsible for mutual legal assistance in Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Ukraine, as well as the FBI’s Legal Attaché Offices in those countries for their assistance in the investigation.
The Defendant:
MIRSAD KANDIC
Age: 40
Brooklyn, New York; KosovoE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 17-CR-449 (NGG)
Federal Jury Convicts Claremore Man of 4 Counts of Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Minor by Force and Threat in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
A federal jury today convicted a man for sexually abusing a 13-year-old minor in his Claremore home in 2014 and 2015, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
Gary Dumont Riggs, 77, was found guilty of four counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor by force and threat in Indian County.
“Today, a federal jury sent Gary Riggs and other child predators a message that victims will be heard and the sexual abuse of children will not be tolerated within our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “As in so many of these cases, this victim, now a young adult, bravely faced her abuser in federal court and told her story. She is a survivor.”
"One of the most important missions of the FBI is to keep our children safe from predators like Mr. Riggs," said Special Agent in Charge Edward Gray of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office. "Today's conviction is a step in the right direction in the pursuit of justice for the victim of his predatory crimes."
According to the indictment, Riggs raped and otherwise sexually assaulted the victim at least three times between May 1, 2014, and Sept. 1, 2014, and at least one other time from Dec. 1, 2014, to Jan. 31, 2015. At the time of the abuse, Riggs was 70 years old. In May 2015, the victim revealed the abuse to a classmate who then reported the crimes to authorities. When speaking to an investigator, the girl revealed the assaults along with several other abusive incidents that began when she was 12.
When interviewed by law enforcement in May 2015, Riggs eventually admitted to several incidents where he inappropriately touched the victim’s genitals and admitted that he made her touch his genitals and perform sex acts on him. He told the investigator that he had to fight temptation every day. He then stated that he absolutely committed the sexual assaults of his own free will.
In 2022, the victim also disclosed further incidents of abuse. She described how Riggs would touch her any chance he could. During her testimony at trial, she said that she did not initially disclose all of the abuse out of self-preservation, explaining that at the time of initial disclosure, she felt if she revealed even half of the sexual abuse that occurred that no one would believe her. She also described how she began cutting herself as a way to cope with the trauma she had endured. She explained that she hoped the physical pain would detract from the emotional pain she felt. The victim then described how she has since learned healthy ways to cope with the trauma and has moved forward in a positive direction.
In closing, the defense argued that the victim's recollection of the events was inconsistent and allowed for reasonable doubt. The defense further claimed that investigators rushed to judgement and asked Riggs leading questions, which he simply repeated when answering them in 2015. Federal prosecutors countered stating that law enforcement used well established investigative techniques when interviewing the defendant and cited examples of Riggs providing independent details of the abuse to investigators that were not stated in their questions.
Prosecutors asserted that the defendant abused his position of trust and used his size and physical restraint when he sexually assaulted the victim repeatedly. In her final statement to the jury, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey Todd explained that in his own words, Riggs told law enforcement that “I wish it had never happened, but it did.” Todd then suggested that no one wished the abuse hadn’t happened more than the victim herself…but it did.
After two hours of deliberating, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all four counts.
The FBI and Verdigris Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stacey P. Todd and Niko A. Boulieris are prosecuting the case.
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Suburban Chicago Police Chief for Allegedly Corruptly Accepting Money from Local BusinessmanRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — The Chief of Police in the village of Summit, Ill., corruptly accepted money from a local businessman intending to be influenced and rewarded in connection with the transfer of a liquor license to another individual, according to a federal indictment.
The indictment returned Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago alleges that Chief JOHN KOSMOWSKI conspired with a Summit building inspector to accept more than $5,000 from the businessman in 2017. The pair accepted the money intending to be influenced and rewarded in connection with the transfer of a liquor license to another person, the indictment states. Kosmowski allegedly received a cash payment from the businessman on March 23, 2017, and then gave the building inspector a portion of it.
The charges allege that Kosmowski met with the building inspector earlier this year and informed him of the federal investigation into the payment. During the meeting, Kosmowski allegedly sought to corruptly persuade the building inspector to mischaracterize the purpose of the payment from Kosmowski to the inspector by falsely suggesting that it was a loan, the indictment states.
The indictment charges Kosmowski, 54, of Lockport, Ill., with one count of bribery conspiracy, one count of bribery, and one count of obstruction of justice. The building inspector, WILLIAM MUNDY, 59, of Summit, Ill., is charged with one count of bribery conspiracy and one count of filing a false tax return. Arraignments in federal court in Chicago have not yet been scheduled.
The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and Justin Campbell, Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tiffany Ardam and Jimmy L. Arce.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Exploiting Philippine minors through Facebook lands Texan in federal prisonRead the Press Release
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 47-year-old Harlingen man has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of receiving child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Rico Giovanni Machietto pleaded guilty Oct. 5, 2021.
Today, U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera Jr. sentenced Machietto to 80 months in federal prison. Machietto was further ordered to pay $5,000 special assessment and will serve 15 years on supervised release following completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Machietto will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
At the time of his plea, Machietto admitted that from Dec. 1, 2017, to June 1, 2018, he used Facebook to communicate with minor girls located in the Philippines. He requested nude photos of them and sent money as compensation to their families. As a result of the investigation, law enforcement discovered Machietto possessed one video and 106 images of child pornography on his Apple computer.
He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Homeland Security Investigations – Rio Grande Valley Child Exploitation Task Force conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ana C. Cano 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.
Durham Attorney Sentenced to Prison for Fraud and Tax Charges, Ordered to Forfeit More than $2 Million in RestitutionRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – Tiffany Dawn Russell was sentenced to 63 months today for her role in an extensive multi-year fraud conspiracy and was sentenced to 36 months for filing a false tax return. These sentences will be served concurrently. Earlier this year, Russell pled guilty to charges relating to her efforts to obtain more than $2.5 million from at least 12 financial institutions and the United States Small Business Administration. In addition to her prison sentences, Russell was ordered to forfeit more than $2 million in fraud proceeds.
“This defendant spent years defrauding banks and the federal government, and now she’ll be spending years behind bars,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “As Judge Dever noted at sentencing, this was more than a one-off mistake, it was a multitude of bad decisions by an attorney who knew better. This fraud scheme is even more egregious because the defendant falsely obtained more than $1 million in COVID-relief funds intended to help legitimate, hard-working business owners weather the pandemic. Money intended to keep businesses afloat was instead used to purchase beach homes and support the defendant’s personal interests. I commend the many law enforcement partners on our EDNC Covid Fraud Task Force who helped to ensure that attorney Tiffany Russell faced justice.”
Russell was originally indicted in November 2020 for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, access device fraud, and misuse of a social security number. According to the Indictment, Russell and her co-conspirators applied for loans and credit cards with social security numbers that were not issued to them by the Social Security Administration. By doing so, they created new credit profiles or synthetic identities for themselves to open financial accounts and make purchases from retailers without any intention of paying for the items and services obtained. Russell was charged with using a synthetic identity to purchase a BMW and to obtain a credit card which she used to pay for her 2016 butt augmentation surgery.
In addition to using synthetic identities, Russell also embarked on a scheme of credit washing to remove legitimate debt accounts from her credit history by falsely claiming she was the victim of identity theft and had not opened those accounts. Once the credit reporting agencies removed those accounts, her credit score improved, enabling her to obtain credit.
Russell also provided fabricated documents when applying for mortgages to purchase three properties, including an oceanfront residence in Nags Head, North Carolina. Russell gave doctored bank statements and inflated pay stubs to make it appear she had substantial liquid assets and the ability to pay the loans.
Finally, between March 30, 2020 and June 29, 2020, Russell and others fraudulently obtained more than $1 million in loans under the CARES Act, which was enacted by Congress to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The ten loan applications, including two for her law firm, contained false representations relating to the number of employees, monthly payroll, revenue, and expenses.
Russell used these illegally-obtained proceeds to make the down payment on her Nags Head property and purchase five other properties in North Carolina, Maryland and Alabama. Russell also used these ill-gotten gains to pay outstanding personal debt, unrelated to any business entity.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan B. Menzer was the prosecutor.
On May 17, 2021, the United States 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. The Eastern District of North Carolina’s COVID Task Force is a part of this effort to coordinate fraud-related investigations and prosecutions in Eastern North Carolina. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-cr-00505-D-3.
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Deadwood Man Indicted on Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Deadwood, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Receipt of Child Pornography, Obscene Visual Representations of the Sexual Abuse of Children, and Possession of Child Pornography.
Dean Russell Schallenkamp, age 60, was indicted on April 22, 2022. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann on May 20, 2022, and pleaded not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is a mandatory minimum of five up to 20 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, mandatory minimum of five years up to lifetime supervised release, and a $100 assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
Schallenkamp was federally indicted following a Cybertip from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children generated by Microsoft. The charges relate to Schallenkamp receiving and possessing child pornography between March 2011 and September 2021, at Deadwood. The charges are merely an accusation and Schallenkamp is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is a joint effort between the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, Homeland Security Investigations, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Rapid City Police Department, and the Pennington County Sheriff’s office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah B. Collins is prosecuting the case.
Schallenkamp was released on conditions pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Dayton businessman convicted of fraud at trial sentenced to 3 years in prisonRead the Press Release
DAYTON, Ohio – A Dayton businessman was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 36 months in prison for crimes related to a fraudulent insurance claim.
Following a trial in January 2022, the jury found Brian Higgins, 50, guilty of three counts of mail fraud and two counts of tampering with a witness with intent to retaliate.
According to court documents and trial testimony, in 2014 and 2015, Higgins filed a fraudulent insurance claim in connection with water damage to the Meeker Residence, an 8,000 square-foot house in Dayton. Higgins received more than $100,000 in insurance claims that he used for his personal benefit rather than to repair water damage that occurred from a 600-gallon fish tank.
Higgins used money disbursed on the claim to pay for personal expenditures, such as funding a new restaurant space, paying telephone bills, spending money at a casino, and other personal expenses, rather than paying for bona fide repairs and restoration of the home.
The defendant submitted invoices and repair cost estimates from a construction vendor to the insurance company in order to obtain money. The vendor documents were false and misrepresented the status of repair work at the Meeker Residence.
Higgins then diverted the money to himself and paid for travel, hotels and dining out, among other personal expenses. Higgins had the company keep a small amount of the money to complete small, cosmetic repairs in an attempt to cover up his scheme.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the sentence imposed by Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose. Deputy Criminal Chief Brent G. Tabacchi and Assistant United States Attorney Rob Painter are representing the United States in this case.
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Clayton Man Sentenced in Child Pornography CaseRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – A Clayton man was sentenced today by Judge James C. Dever III to a total of 97 months for Receipt of Child Pornography. On September 30, 2021, John Camarda, 68, pled guilty to the charge.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, in early 2020, agents with Homeland Security Investigations became aware that a certain IP address within the Eastern District of North Carolina had visited two dark web websites dedicated to the distribution and trading of child pornography related to babies and toddlers. The officer discovered the IP addresses belonged to John Camarda who lived in Clayton, North Carolina.
On July 16, 2020, agents executed a search warrant at Camarda’s home. Camarda confessed to viewing child pornography on the dark web and said he had been engaged in such behavior since 2008. Camarda said he had looked at thousands of images and videos over the years but would not save them to his computer. He admitted to maintaining a document that contained a list of websites that contained child pornography that he liked.
Digital devices were seized from the residence and were forensically analyzed. There was substantial evidence of Camarda accessing websites dedicated to child pornography as well as specific images and videos of child pornography. In addition, Camarda had multiple videos on his computer depicting children engaging in sexual activity. Some of these videos depicted toddlers engaged in sexual activity and some depicted children engaged in sadistic and masochistic conduct. Agents found the document to which Camarda referred that was a list of over 30 pages of websites containing child pornography.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after the sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case with the assistance of the State Bureau of Investigation, Cary Police Department, Johnston County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Marshal’s Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charity Wilson prosecuted the case.
This case was part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative, a national program aimed at ensuring that criminals exploiting children are effectively prosecuted by making full use of all available law enforcement resources at every level. For more information about this important national project, Project Safe Childhood, go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-cr-00217-D.
Chicago Man Charged in Federal Court with Trafficking “Ghost Guns”Read the Press Release
CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been charged in federal court with trafficking individually manufactured “ghost guns” in the city this year.
DEVON DOW, 22, is charged with willfully dealing firearms without a license. He was arrested Tuesday afternoon. A detention hearing is set for Friday at 1:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Heather K. McShain.
The charge and arrest were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Angie Salazar, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of Homeland Security Investigations; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives provided valuable assistance. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Peabody.
According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Dow sold seven “ghost guns” on five different occasions in Chicago this year. The transactions allegedly occurred in a parking lot in the Grand Crossing neighborhood on the city’s South Side. The firearms were considered “ghost guns” because they contained no identifiable serial number and had been manufactured from parts collected from various sources. Unbeknownst to Dow, the individual to whom he sold the guns was an undercover law enforcement officer, the complaint states.
Disrupting illegal firearms trafficking is a centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s cross-jurisdictional strike force aimed at reducing gun violence. As part of the Chicago firearms trafficking strike force, the U.S. Attorney’s Office collaborates with ATF, HSI, CPD, and other federal, state, and local law enforcement partners in the Northern District of Illinois and across the country to help stem the supply of illegally trafficked firearms and identify patterns, leads, and potential suspects in violent gun crimes.
Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is also a focus of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) – the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy. In the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Attorney Lausch and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district.
The public is reminded that a complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The charge in the complaint is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Chesterfield County Man Sentenced for Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – A Chesterfield County man was sentenced today to 30 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for producing child pornography.
According to court documents, beginning in December 2015 and continuing over several years, Joshua Clayton Brady, 36, made sexually explicit videos with multiple female victims between the ages of 14 and 16 using the internet application Skype. Brady met these victims on various dating websites, falsely representing himself as a member of one of two wealthy families in the United Kingdom and the United States. Brady sometimes threatened to expose the victims’ activities on those websites to their parents to coerce their participation in the sexual activity. Several years after recording one victim, Brady reapproached that victim when she was a college freshman. Brady then induced the victim to wire him money and allow him to use the victim’s credit cards by threatening to release the videos he had made previously. Brady engaged in similar conduct with adult women he had met on-line.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jason Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia; Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; and Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael C. Moore and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel E. Fishel prosecuted the case.
This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The task force is composed of FBI agents, along with other federal agents and detectives from northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children and those engaged in human trafficking.
In 2021, EDVA launched “UnMasked,” a community-based educational outreach and prevention program in Virginia dedicated to raising awareness and educating the community about the prevalence of online sexual exploitation involving children and young adults. UnMasked is a multi-disciplinary partnership of local, state, federal, and non-profit stakeholders. The core curriculum is provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) NetSmartz program. To report an incident involving online sexual exploitation, call 1-800-843-5678 or submit a report at report.cybertip.org. To request an UnMasked event at your school or organization, please contact EDVA’s Community Outreach Coordinator at [email protected].
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:21-cr-17.
Charleston Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Drug CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston man was sentenced today to four years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for distribution of cocaine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Jason Edward D’Arco, 40, sold a total of almost three-quarters of a pound of cocaine to a confidential informant on four occasions in January and February 2020. The drug sales occurred at D’Arco’s residence and a sandwich shop he managed in downtown Charleston.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Charleston Police Department. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) provided assistance during the investigation.
Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Nowles Heinrich prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-263.
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Canton Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Sex TraffickingRead the Press Release
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler announced that Larrien Brown-Austin, 37, of Canton, Ohio, was sentenced on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, by U.S. District Judge Pamela A. Barker to 15 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release and ordered to pay a $5,000 special assessment fine and $1,885 in restitution to victims. Judge Barker pronounced the sentence after Brown-Austin pleaded guilty to participating in a sex trafficking conspiracy that forced victims to perform sex acts in exchange for money.
“This defendant targeted vulnerable victims and exploited their drug dependency all in an attempt to make money and feed his own heinous and selfish wants,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler. “Human trafficking is an insidious crime, and law enforcement will use every means available to ensure that these traffickers face justice.”
“Identifying, investigating, and apprehending sex trafficking offenders is a critical part of our mission,” said Cleveland FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Philip Frigm, Jr. “The sentence handed down today reflects the tireless effort of the FBI and our law enforcement partners to examine criminal enterprises operating within our communities and bring to justice those who endanger public health and safety. The FBI commends the work of our investigating and prosecuting partners to protect our neighborhoods for law-abiding citizens and remove these offenders from our communities who prey on vulnerable people.”
According to court documents, from June through August of 2018, Brown-Austin lived at a residence in Canton provided by his father that he used to facilitate commercial sex acts. In June of 2018, Brown-Austin met Victim #1 and Victim #2 and forced both victims to live at the residence, perform sex acts in exchange for money and provide him with the profits.
Court records state that Brown-Austin supplied his victims with drugs in an attempt to foster an addiction and withdrawal dependency cycle that forced them to rely upon him for more drugs. Documents show that Brown-Austin used force, threats, acts of violence and leveraged the drug dependency of his victims to coerce them into performing additional commercial sex acts. Brown-Austin also kept a mobile tracking application on the cell phones of his victims in order to determine their whereabouts at all times.
Also charged in this matter as co-defendants are Shannon Marzano and Larry Brown-Austin both of Canton. Marazano and Larry Brown-Austin have both previously pleaded guilty and have been sentenced for their roles in the scheme.
This case was investigated by the Canton FBI, Canton Police Department and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carol M. Skutnik.