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Thursday 21 April 2022
Justice Department Announces Nationwide Coordinated Law Enforcement Action to Combat Health Care-Related COVID-19 FraudRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – The Department of Justice today announced criminal charges against 21 defendants in nine federal districts across the United States for their alleged participation in various health care related fraud schemes that exploited the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases allegedly resulted in over $149 million in COVID-19-related false billings to federal programs and theft from federally-funded pandemic assistance programs. In connection with the enforcement action, the department seized over $8 million in cash and other fraud proceeds.
“Today’s announcement by the Department of Justice demonstrates our continued resolve to protect the integrity of the government efforts to combat the COVID 19 pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds for the Northern District of California. “We will pursue anyone seeking to profit from this health care crisis by committing crimes that endanger the health and well-being of the public at a time when confidence in our public health system is of critical importance. Every day, the multi-agency partnership formed to combat pandemic-related fraud is holding fraudsters to account for their crimes.”
“The Department of Justice’s Health Care Fraud Unit and our partners are dedicated to rooting out schemes that have exploited the pandemic,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s enforcement action reinforces our commitment to using all available tools to hold accountable medical professionals, corporate executives, and others who have placed greed above care during an unprecedented public health emergency.”
“This COVID-19 health care fraud enforcement action involves extraordinary efforts to prosecute some of the largest and most wide-ranging pandemic frauds detected to date,” said Director for COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Kevin Chambers. “The scale and complexity of the schemes prosecuted today illustrates the success of our unprecedented interagency effort to quickly investigate and prosecute those who abuse our critical health care programs.”
This announcement builds on the success of the May 2021 COVID-19 Enforcement Action and involves the prosecution of various COVID-19 health care fraud schemes. For example, several cases announced today involve defendants who allegedly offered COVID-19 testing to induce patients to provide their personal identifying information and a saliva or blood sample. The defendants are alleged to have then used the information and samples to submit false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for unrelated, medically unnecessary, and far more expensive tests or services. In one such scheme in the Central District of California, two owners of a clinical laboratory were charged with a health care fraud, kickback, and money laundering scheme that involved the fraudulent billing of over $214 million for laboratory tests, over $125 million of which allegedly involved fraudulent claims during the pandemic for COVID-19 and respiratory pathogen tests. In two separate cases in the District of Maryland and the Eastern District of New York, owners of medical clinics allegedly obtained confidential information from patients seeking COVID-19 testing at drive-thru testing sites and then submitted fraudulent claims for lengthy office visits with the patients that did not, in fact, occur. The proceeds of these fraudulent schemes were allegedly laundered through shell corporations in the United States, transferred to foreign countries, and used to purchase real estate and luxury items.
“Throughout the pandemic, we have seen trusted medical professionals orchestrate and carry out egregious crimes against their patients all for financial gain,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “These health care fraud abuses erode the integrity and trust patients have with those in the health care industry, particularly during a vulnerable and worrisome time for many individuals. The actions of these criminals are unacceptable, and the FBI, working in coordination with our law enforcement partners, will continue to investigate and pursue those who exploit the integrity of the health care industry for profit.”
In another type of COVID-19 health care fraud scheme announced today, defendants allegedly exploited policies that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) put in place to enable increased access to care during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, in the Southern District of Florida, one medical professional was charged with a health care fraud, wire fraud, and kickback scheme that allegedly involved billing for sham telemedicine encounters that did not occur and agreeing to order unnecessary genetic testing in exchange for access to telehealth patients. Late last year, one defendant previously was sentenced to 82 months in prison in connection with this scheme.
“The attempt to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic by targeting beneficiaries and stealing from federal health care programs is unconscionable,” said Inspector General Christi A. Grimm of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). “HHS-OIG is proud to work alongside our law enforcement partners at the federal and state levels to ensure that bad actors who perpetrate egregious and harmful crimes are held accountable.”
Today’s announcement includes charges against two additional defendants for schemes targeting the Provider Relief Fund (PRF). The PRF is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a federal law enacted in March 2020 that provided financial assistance to medical providers to provide needed medical care to Americans suffering from COVID-19. In total, 10 defendants have been charged with crimes related to misappropriating PRF monies intended for frontline medical providers and three have pleaded guilty.
Today’s announcement also includes charges against manufacturers and distributors of fake COVID-19 vaccination record cards who, according to the allegations, intentionally sought to obstruct the HHS and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in their efforts to administer the nationwide vaccination program and provide Americans with accurate proof of vaccination. For example, in the Northern District of California, three additional defendants were charged in a scheme to sell homeoprophylaxis immunizations for COVID-19 and falsify COVID-19 vaccination record cards to make it appear that customers received government-authorized vaccines. One defendant allegedly misused her position as the Director of Pharmacy at a northern California hospital to obtain real lot numbers for the Moderna vaccine that were then used to falsify COVID-19 vaccination record cards.
“As alleged, the defendants knowingly deceived the public for their own gain while endangering the health of our community members,” said FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan. “The FBI San Francisco office and our federal partners will continue to aggressively pursue the criminal behavior of those seeking to fraudulently profit from the current health crisis.”
Another defendant in the Northern District of California pleaded guilty to the scheme in April 2022. U.S. Attorney Hinds described additional schemes being prosecuted in the Northern District of California in a video posted here.
In addition, in a separate case in the Western District of Washington, one manufacturer was charged in the multistate distribution of fake COVID-19 vaccination record cards after allegedly telling an undercover federal agent that “until I get caught and go to jail, [expletive] it I’m taking the money, ha! I don’t care.”
Further, the Center for Program Integrity, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CPI/CMS) separately announced today that it has taken an additional 28 administrative actions against providers for their alleged involvement in fraud, waste, and abuse schemes related to the delivery of care for COVID-19, as well as schemes that capitalize upon the public health emergency.
“We are committed to working closely with our law enforcement partners to combat fraud, waste and abuse in our federal health care programs,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “The administrative actions CMS has taken protect the Medicare Trust Funds while also safeguarding people enrolled in Medicare.”
Today’s enforcement actions were led and coordinated by Assistant Chief Jacob Foster and Trial Attorney D. Keith Clouser of the National Rapid Response Strike Force, and Assistant Chief Justin Woodard of the Health Care Fraud Unit’s Gulf Coast Strike Force in the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The Fraud Section’s National Rapid Response Strike Force and the Health Care Fraud Unit’s Strike Forces (SF) in Brooklyn, the Gulf Coast, Miami, Los Angeles, and Newark, as well as the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the District of Maryland, District of New Jersey, District of Utah, Northern District of California, and Western District of Tennessee are prosecuting these cases. Descriptions of each case involved in today’s enforcement action are available on the department’s website at: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit/case-summaries.
In addition to the FBI, HHS-OIG, and CPI/CMS, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General; Department of Defense Office of Inspector General; Department of the Interior Office of the Inspector General; Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General; Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations; Homeland Security Investigations; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General; and other federal and local law enforcement agencies participated in the law enforcement action.
The Fraud Section leads the Health Care Fraud Strike Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Health Care Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 federal districts, has charged more than 4,200 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for nearly $19 billion. In addition, the CMS, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
The Department of Justice needs the public’s assistance in remaining vigilant and reporting suspected fraudulent activity. To report suspected fraud, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) at (866) 720-5721 or file an online complaint at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/webform/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. Complaints filed will be reviewed at the NCDF and referred to federal, state, local, or international law enforcement or regulatory agencies for investigation.
An indictment, complaint, or information is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Juan Orlando Hernández, expresidente de Honduras, acusado por narcotráfico y armas de fuego, extraditado a los Estados Unidos desde HondurasRead the Press Release
Juan Orlando Hernández, alias JOH, de 53 años, expresidente de Honduras, tendrá su comparecencia inicial mañana, 22 de abril, ante el juez de primera instancia Stewart D. Aaron en un tribunal federal en Nueva York luego de ser extraditado hoy desde Honduras. Un tribunal federal reveló hoy los cargos de tráfico de drogas y armas en una acusación enmendada contra Hernández.
La acusación formal alega que desde al menos alrededor de 2004, hasta alrededor de 2022, inclusive, Hernández, que fue presidente de Honduras durante dos mandatos, participó en una conspiración corrupta y violenta de narcotráfico para facilitar la importación de cientos de miles de kilogramos de cocaína a los Estados Unidos. Hernández supuestamente recibió millones de dólares para usar su cargo público, las fuerzas del orden público y el ejército para apoyar a las organizaciones de narcotráfico en Honduras, México y otros lugares.
“El Departamento de Justicia está adoptando un enfoque integral para proteger a nuestras comunidades y nuestro país de los delitos violentos,” señaló el fiscal general Merrick B. Garland. “El Departamento está comprometido a desarticular todo el ecosistema de las redes de tráfico de drogas que dañan al pueblo estadounidense, sin importar cuán lejos o cuán alto debamos llegar.”
“Juan Orlando Hernández, el reciente expresidente de Honduras, supuestamente se asoció con algunos de los narcotraficantes más prolíficos del mundo para construir un imperio corrupto y brutalmente violento basado en el tráfico ilegal de toneladas de cocaína a los Estados Unidos,” expresó el fiscal federal para el Distrito Sur de Nueva York, Damian Williams. “Se alega que Hernández usó sus vastos poderes políticos para proteger y ayudar a los narcotraficantes y líderes de cárteles, alertándolos sobre posibles interdicciones y permitiendo la violencia fuertemente armada para apoyar su tráfico de drogas. Felicito a los fiscales de carrera del Distrito Sur de Nueva York por sus incansables esfuerzos para desarticular todo el ecosistema del tráfico de drogas ilícitas, desde traficantes callejeros hasta un exlíder mundial, y todo lo demás.”
“La extradición de hoy muestra claramente que la DEA no se detendrá ante nada para perseguir a los actores políticos más poderosos que participan en el tráfico de drogas, la violencia y la corrupción,” sentenció la administradora de la DEA, Anne Milgram. “La investigación de varios años de la DEA reveló que Juan Orlando Hernández, el ex presidente de Honduras, fue una figura central en una de las mayores y más violentas conspiraciones de tráfico de cocaína del mundo. Hernández usó las ganancias del narcotráfico para financiar su ascenso político y, una vez elegido Presidente, aprovechó los recursos policiales, militares y financieros del gobierno de Honduras para promover su plan de narcotráfico. Este caso debería enviar un mensaje, a todos los líderes políticos del mundo que comercian con posiciones de influencia para fomentar el crimen organizado transnacional, de que la DEA no se detendrá ante nada para investigar estos casos y desmantelar las organizaciones de narcotraficantes que amenazan la seguridad y la salud del pueblo estadounidense.”
Según la acusación enmendada, Hernández protegió a algunos de los mayores narcotraficantes del mundo, incluido su hermano y ex miembro del Congreso Nacional de Honduras, Juan Antonio Hernández Alvarado (Hernández Alvarado), alias Tony Hernández, contra la investigación, el arresto y la extradición; hizo que se proporcionara información confidencial militar y policial a los traficantes de drogas para ayudarlos a transportar toneladas de cocaína a través de Honduras con destino a los Estados Unidos; ordenó a miembros fuertemente armados de la Policía Nacional de Honduras y del ejército hondureño que protegieran los cargamentos de drogas mientras transitaban por Honduras; y permitió la violencia brutal.
Como congresista, luego Presidente del Congreso Nacional de Honduras y finalmente Presidente de Honduras durante dos mandatos, Hernández supuestamente recibió millones de dólares en ganancias de la cocaína que usó para enriquecerse, financiar sus campañas políticas y cometer fraude electoral mientras el pueblo de Honduras soportaba condiciones de pobreza y violencia desenfrenada.
Desde por lo menos 2004, las organizaciones de tráfico de drogas en Honduras han trabajado para recibir toneladas de cocaína enviadas a Honduras desde, entre otros lugares, Colombia y Venezuela, a través de rutas marítimas y aéreas. Estas organizaciones luego transportaron la cocaína hacia el oeste en Honduras hacia su frontera con Guatemala y, finalmente, al norte hacia los Estados Unidos. Durante este tiempo, los miembros de esta conspiración transportaron más de 500,000 kilogramos de cocaína a través de Honduras y hacia los Estados Unidos. Para garantizar que estos envíos masivos de cocaína pasaran con seguridad por Honduras, las mayores organizaciones de tráfico de drogas de la región obtuvieron el apoyo y la protección directa de ciertos funcionarios públicos hondureños prominentes, incluido Hernández. A cambio, estos traficantes pagaron millones de dólares en sobornos a Hernández y otros funcionarios públicos.
Según se alega, como congresista y luego Presidente de Honduras, Hernández se asoció con el exlíder del Cártel de Sinaloa, Joaquín Guzmán Loera (Guzmán Loera), alias El Chapo, entre otros individuos. Aproximadamente en 2013, mientras Hernández estaba haciendo campaña para convertirse en Presidente, aceptó aproximadamente 1 millón de dólares en ganancias del narcotráfico de Guzmán Loera. Hernández envió a Hernández Alvarado y un asociado, armados con ametralladoras, a cobrar el soborno de 1 millón de dólares de Guzmán Loera. A cambio, Hernández prometió seguir protegiendo las actividades de narcotráfico del Cártel de Sinaloa en Honduras.
Como se alega, aproximadamente en 2013 y 2014, Hernández se asoció con el traficante hondureño de cocaína a gran escala y violento, Geovanny Fuentes Ramírez. Durante múltiples reuniones entre Hernández y Fuentes Ramírez, Fuentes Ramírez sobornó a Hernández para obtener protección y seguridad para sus actividades de narcotráfico. Hernández informó a Fuentes Ramírez, en parte, que Hernández quería que Fuentes Ramírez se asociara con Hernández Alvarado, quien estaba manejando actividades de narcotráfico en Honduras, y que Hernández iba a “meter la droga en las narices de los gringos.”
Además de Guzmán Loera y Fuentes Ramírez, otros narcotraficantes prolíficos en Honduras y Guatemala pagaron a Hernández sobornos provenientes de las ganancias de las drogas para apoyar su carrera política a cambio de la protección y la colaboración de Hernández en su narcotráfico. Hernández usó estos sobornos estimulados por la cocaína para asegurar su continuo ascenso en la política hondureña, incluida su elección como Presidente en 2013 y 2017. En relación con las elecciones de 2013 y 2017, Hernández ordenó a los miembros de esta conspiración que sobornaran a políticos y funcionarios electorales con ganancias de las drogas para garantizar que Hernández ganara la presidencia.
En 2018, Hernández Alvarado fue imputado en el Distrito Sur de Nueva York en relación con su participación en esta conspiración, y posteriormente fue condenado tras el juicio el 18 de octubre de 2019. Mientras el caso de Hernández Alvarado estaba pendiente, Hernández continuó coordinando de cerca con traficantes a gran escala, incluido Fuentes Ramírez, quien continuó pagando sobornos a Hernández por protección. Además, durante el juicio de Hernández Alvarado, se introdujeron como prueba libros de contabilidad de drogas pertenecientes a otro exnarcotraficante hondureño y cómplice, mencionado en la acusación formal como “CC-2”. Estos libros de contabilidad contenían, entre otras cosas, anotaciones con el nombre de Hernández Alvarado y “JOH”, las iniciales de Hernández, junto con los asientos correspondientes que reflejaban grandes pagos a Hernández y Hernández Alvarado.
Aproximadamente una semana después de la condena de Hernández Alvarado, presos armados con machetes y un arma de fuego asesinaron a CC-2 en una prisión de Honduras para evitar la posible cooperación de CC-2 contra, entre otros, Hernández.
El 27 de enero de 2022, Hernández fue imputado en la acusación sdustitutiva y se emitió una orden de arresto en su contra.
El 15 de febrero de 2022, Hernández fue arrestado y detenido por las autoridades hondureñas a petición de los Estados Unidos. Posteriormente, los Estados Unidos presentaron una solicitud formal de extradición, que fue concedida por el juez de primera instancia de Honduras. Hernández apeló la decisión de extradición ante el Tribunal Supremo de Justicia de Honduras. El 28 de marzo, el Tribunal Supremo de Honduras rechazó su apelación. El 6 de abril, el Tribunal Ad Hoc de la Sala Constitucional del Tribunal Supremo de Justicia de Honduras determinó que la apelación final de Hernández era inadmisible. El 13 de abril, el gobierno de Honduras certificó la finalización de los procedimientos de extradición de conformidad con las órdenes judiciales anteriores, lo que resultó en la entrega de Hernández a los Estados Unidos el 21 de abril.
Hernández está imputado de tres cargos: (1) conspiración para importar cocaína a los Estados Unidos, lo que conlleva una sentencia mínima obligatoria de 10 años y una sentencia máxima de cadena perpetua; (2) usar y portar ametralladoras y dispositivos destructivos durante la conspiración para importar cocaína, y poseer ametralladoras y dispositivos destructivos para promover la conspiración de importación de cocaína, que conlleva una sentencia mínima obligatoria de 30 años y una sentencia máxima de cadena perpetua; y (3) conspiración para usar y portar ametralladoras y dispositivos destructivos durante la conspiración de importación de cocaína, y poseer ametralladoras y dispositivos destructivos para promover la conspiración de importación de cocaína, que conlleva una sentencia máxima de cadena perpetua. Un juez de un tribunal de distrito federal determinará la sentencia después de considerar las Pautas de sentencia de los EE. UU. y otros factores legales.
La División de Operaciones Especiales de la DEA, la Fuerza de Ataque de Nueva York y la Oficina Regional de Tegucigalpa investigaron el caso. La Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales del Departamento de Justicia brindó una valiosa asistencia para asegurar el arresto y la extradición de Hernández.
Este enjuiciamiento es parte de una operación de las Fuerzas de Tarea contra la Delincuencia Organizada y los Delitos Asociados al Narcotráfico (OCDETF, por sus siglas en inglés). Se puede encontrar información adicional sobre el Programa OCDETF en https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Los fiscales federales adjuntos Jacob H. Gutwillig, Michael D. Lockard, Jason A. Richman y Elinor L. Tarlow del Distrito Sur de Nueva York procesan el caso.
Los cargos en la acusación enmendada son simplemente acusaciones, y se presume inocente al acusado hasta que se pruebe su culpabilidad más allá de toda duda razonable en un tribunal de justicia.
English
Juan Orlando Hernández, Former President of Honduras, Indicted on Drug-Trafficking and Firearms Charges, Extradited to the United States from HondurasRead the Press Release
Juan Orlando Hernández, aka JOH, 53, the former President of Honduras, will make his initial appearance tomorrow, April 22, before Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron in federal court in New York after being extradited today from Honduras. A federal court unsealed drug-trafficking and weapons charges today in a superseding indictment against Hernández.
The indictment charges that from at least in or about 2004, up to and including in or about 2022, Hernández, the former two-term President of Honduras, participated in a corrupt and violent drug-trafficking conspiracy to facilitate the importation of hundreds of thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United States. Hernández allegedly received millions of dollars to use his public office, law enforcement, and the military to support drug-trafficking organizations in Honduras, Mexico, and elsewhere.
“The Justice Department is taking a comprehensive approach to protecting our communities and our country from violent crime,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Department is committed to disrupting the entire ecosystem of drug trafficking networks that harm the American people, no matter how far or how high we must go.”
“Juan Orlando Hernández, the recent former President of Honduras, allegedly partnered with some of the world’s most prolific narcotics traffickers to build a corrupt and brutally violent empire based on the illegal trafficking of tons of cocaine to the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “Hernández is alleged to have used his vast political powers to protect and assist drug traffickers and cartel leaders by alerting them to possible interdictions, and sanctioning heavily armed violence to support their drug trade. I commend the career prosecutors of the Southern District of New York for their tireless efforts to disrupt the entire illicit drug trafficking ecosystem, from street-level dealers to a former world leader, and everything in-between.”
“Today’s extradition clearly shows that the DEA will stop at nothing to pursue the most powerful political actors who engage in drug trafficking, violence, and corruption,” said Administrator Anne Milgram of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). “DEA’s multi-year investigation revealed that Juan Orlando Hernández, the former President of Honduras, was a central figure in one of the largest and most violent cocaine trafficking conspiracies in the world. Hernández used drug trafficking proceeds to finance his political ascent and, once elected President, leveraged the Government of Honduras’ law enforcement, military, and financial resources to further his drug trafficking scheme. This case should send a message – to all political leaders around the world that trade on positions of influence to further transnational organized crime – that the DEA will stop at nothing to investigate these cases and dismantle drug trafficking organizations that threaten the safety and health of the American people.”
According to the superseding indictment, Hernández protected some of the largest drug traffickers in the world, including his brother and former member of the Honduran National Congress, Juan Antonio Hernández Alvarado (Hernández Alvarado), aka Tony Hernández, from investigation, arrest, and extradition; caused sensitive law enforcement and military information to be provided to drug traffickers to aid them in transporting tons of cocaine through Honduras bound for the United States; directed heavily-armed members of the Honduran National Police and Honduran military to protect drug shipments as they transited Honduras; and sanctioned brutal violence.
As a congressman, then President of the Honduran National Congress, and finally the two-term President of Honduras, Hernández was allegedly paid millions of dollars in cocaine proceeds which he used to enrich himself, finance his political campaigns, and commit voter fraud while the people of Honduras endured conditions of poverty and rampant violence.
Since at least 2004, drug-trafficking organizations in Honduras have worked to receive tons of cocaine sent to Honduras from, among other places, Colombia and Venezuela, via maritime and air routes. These organizations then transited the cocaine westward in Honduras toward its border with Guatemala and eventually north to the United States. During this time, members of this conspiracy transported more than 500,000 kilograms of cocaine through Honduras and into the United States. In order to ensure that these massive cocaine shipments safely passed through Honduras, the largest drug-trafficking organizations in the region obtained the support and direct protection of certain prominent Honduran public officials, including Hernández. In return, these traffickers paid millions of dollars in bribes to Hernández and other public officials.
As alleged, as a congressman and then President of Honduras, Hernández partnered with the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquín Guzman Loera (Guzman Loera), aka El Chapo, among other people. In or about 2013, as Hernández was campaigning to become president, he accepted approximately $1 million in drug-trafficking proceeds from Guzman Loera. Hernández sent Hernández Alvarado and an associate, armed with machine guns, to collect the $1 million bribe from Guzman Loera. In exchange, Hernández promised to continue protecting the Sinaloa Cartel’s drug-trafficking activities in Honduras.
As alleged, in or about 2013 and 2014, Hernández partnered with violent and large-scale Honduran cocaine trafficker Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez. During multiple meetings between Hernández and Fuentes Ramirez, Fuentes Ramirez bribed Hernández for protection and security for his drug-trafficking activities. Hernández informed Fuentes Ramirez, in part, that Hernández wanted Fuentes Ramirez to partner with Hernández Alvarado, who was managing drug-trafficking activities in Honduras, and that Hernández was going to “stuff the drugs right up the noses of the gringos.”
In addition to Guzman Loera and Fuentes Ramirez, other prolific traffickers in Honduras and Guatemala provided Hernández with bribes from drug proceeds to support his political career in exchange for Hernández’s protection and partnership in their drug trafficking. Hernández used these cocaine-fueled bribes to ensure his continued ascendancy in Honduran politics, including his election as President in 2013 and 2017. In connection with both the 2013 and 2017 elections, Hernández directed members of this conspiracy to bribe politicians and election officials with drug proceeds to ensure that Hernández won the presidency.
In 2018, Hernández Alvarado was charged in the Southern District of New York in connection with his participation in this conspiracy, and he was subsequently convicted after trial on Oct. 18, 2019. While Hernández Alvarado’s case was pending, Hernández continued to coordinate closely with large-scale traffickers, including Fuentes Ramirez, who continued to pay Hernández bribes for protection. Further, during Hernández Alvarado’s trial, drug ledgers belonging to another former Honduran drug trafficker and co-conspirator, referred to in the superseding indictment as “CC-2,” were introduced into evidence. These ledgers contained, among other things, notations with Hernández Alvarado’s name and “JOH,” Hernández’s initials, along with corresponding entries reflecting large payments to Hernández and Hernández Alvarado. Approximately one week after Hernández Alvarado was convicted, prisoners armed with machetes and a firearm murdered CC-2 in a Honduran prison to prevent CC-2’s potential cooperation against, among others, Hernández.
On Jan. 27, 2022, Hernández was charged in the superseding indictment and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
On Feb. 15, 2022, Hernández was arrested and detained by Honduran authorities at the request of the United States. The United States thereafter submitted a formal extradition request, which the Honduran Magistrate Judge granted. Hernández appealed the extradition decision to the Honduran Supreme Court. On March 28, the Honduran Supreme Court denied his appeal. On April 6, the Ad Hoc Tribunal of the Constitutional Chamber of the Honduran Supreme Court determined Hernández’s final appeal was inadmissible. On April 13, the Government of Honduras certified the completion of the extradition proceedings consistent with the previous court orders, resulting in Hernández’s surrender to the United States on April 21.
Hernández is charged with three counts: (1) conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison; (2) using and carrying machine guns and destructive devices during, and possessing machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the cocaine importation conspiracy, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison; and (3) conspiring to use and carry machine guns and destructive devices during, and to possess machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the cocaine importation conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The DEA’s Special Operations Division, New York Strike Force, and Tegucigalpa Country Office investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance in securing Hernández’s arrest and extradition.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob H. Gutwillig, Michael D. Lockard, Jason A. Richman, and Elinor L. Tarlow for the Southern District of New York prosecuting the case.
The charges in the superseding indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Juan Orlando Hernandez, Former President of Honduras, Extradited to the United States on Drug-Trafficking and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
Merrick Garland, the Attorney General of the United States, Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Anne Milgram, the Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), announced today the unsealing of drug-trafficking and weapons charges contained in a Superseding Indictment against JUAN ORLANDO HERNANDEZ, a/k/a “JOH,” the former President of Honduras. The case is pending before U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel. HERNANDEZ, 53, a Honduran national, is expected to arrive in the Southern District of New York today and will have his initial appearance tomorrow, April 22, 2022, before Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron.
From at least in or about 2004, up to and including in or about 2022, HERNANDEZ, the former two-term President of Honduras, allegedly participated in a corrupt and violent drug-trafficking conspiracy to facilitate the importation of hundreds of thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United States. HERNANDEZ allegedly received millions of dollars to use his public office, law enforcement, and the military to support drug-trafficking organizations in Honduras, Mexico, and elsewhere.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said: “The Justice Department is taking a comprehensive approach to protecting our communities and our country from violent crime. The Department is committed to disrupting the entire ecosystem of drug trafficking networks that harm the American people, no matter how far, or how high we must go.”
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Juan Orlando Hernandez, the recent former President of Honduras, allegedly partnered with some of the world’s most prolific narcotics traffickers to build a corrupt and brutally violent empire based on the illegal trafficking of tons of cocaine to the United States. Hernandez is alleged to have used his vast political powers to protect and assist drug traffickers and cartel leaders by alerting them to possible interdictions, and sanctioning heavily-armed violence to support their drug trade. I commend the career prosecutors of the Southern District of New York for their tireless efforts to disrupt the entire illicit drug-trafficking ecosystem, from street-level dealers to a former world leader, and everything in-between.”
DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said: “Today’s extradition clearly shows that the DEA will stop at nothing to pursue the most powerful political actors who engage in drug trafficking, violence, and corruption. DEA’s multi-year investigation revealed that Juan Orlando Hernandez, the former President of Honduras, was a central figure in one of the largest and most violent cocaine-trafficking conspiracies in the world. Hernandez used drug-trafficking proceeds to finance his political ascent and, once elected President, leveraged the Government of Honduras’ law enforcement, military, and financial resources to further his drug-trafficking scheme. This case should send a message—to all political leaders around the world that trade on positions of influence to further transnational organized crime—that the DEA will stop at nothing to investigate these cases and dismantle drug-trafficking organizations that threaten the safety and health of the American people.”
According to the allegations contained in the Superseding Indictment, other court filings, and statements made during court proceedings[1]:
HERNANDEZ protected some of the largest drug traffickers in the world, including his brother and former member of the Honduran National Congress, Juan Antonio Hernandez Alvarado (“Hernandez Alvarado”), a/k/a “Tony Hernandez,” from investigation, arrest, and extradition; caused sensitive law enforcement and military information to be provided to drug traffickers to aid them in transporting tons of cocaine through Honduras, bound for the United States; directed heavily-armed members of the Honduran National Police and Honduran military to protect drug shipments as they transited Honduras; and sanctioned brutal violence.
As a Congressman, then the President of the Honduran National Congress, and finally the two-term President of Honduras, HERNANDEZ was allegedly paid millions of dollars in cocaine proceeds, which he used to enrich himself, finance his political campaigns, and commit voter fraud while the people of Honduras endured conditions of poverty and rampant violence.
Since at least in or about 2004, drug-trafficking organizations in Honduras have worked together to receive tons of cocaine sent to Honduras from, among other places, Colombia and Venezuela, via maritime and air routes. These organizations then transited the cocaine westward in Honduras toward its border with Guatemala and eventually north to the United States. During this time, members of this conspiracy transported more than 500,000 kilograms of cocaine through Honduras and into the United States. In order to ensure that these massive cocaine shipments safely passed through Honduras, the largest drug-trafficking organizations in the region obtained the support and direct protection of certain prominent Honduran public officials, including HERNANDEZ. In return, these traffickers paid millions of dollars in bribes to HERNANDEZ and other public officials.
As a Congressman and then President of Honduras, HERNANDEZ partnered with, among others, the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquín Guzman Loera (“Guzman Loera”), a/k/a “El Chapo.” In or about 2013, as HERNANDEZ was campaigning to become President, he accepted approximately $1 million in drug-trafficking proceeds from Guzman Loera. HERNANDEZ sent Hernandez Alvarado and an associate, armed with machine guns, to collect the $1 million bribe from Guzman Loera. In exchange, HERNANDEZ promised to continue protecting the Sinaloa Cartel’s drug-trafficking activities in Honduras.
In or about 2013 and 2014, HERNANDEZ partnered with a violent and large-scale Honduran cocaine trafficker named Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez (“Fuentes Ramirez”). During multiple meetings between HERNANDEZ and Fuentes Ramirez, Fuentes Ramirez bribed HERNANDEZ for protection and security for his drug-trafficking activities. HERNANDEZ informed Fuentes Ramirez, in part, that HERNANDEZ wanted Fuentes Ramirez to partner with Hernandez Alvarado, who was managing drug-trafficking activities in Honduras, and that HERNANDEZ was going to “stuff the drugs right up the noses of the gringos.”
In addition to Guzman Loera and Fuentes Ramirez, some of the most prolific traffickers in Honduras and Guatemala provided HERNANDEZ with bribes from drug proceeds to support his political career in exchange for HERNANDEZ’s protection and partnership in their drug trafficking. HERNANDEZ used these cocaine-fueled bribes to ensure his continued ascendancy in Honduran politics, including his election as President in 2013 and 2017. In connection with both the 2013 and 2017 elections, HERNANDEZ directed members of this conspiracy to bribe politicians and election officials with drug proceeds to ensure that HERNANDEZ won the presidency.
In 2018, Hernandez Alvarado was charged in the Southern District of New York in connection with his participation in this conspiracy, and he was subsequently convicted after trial on October 18, 2019. While Hernandez Alvarado’s case was pending, HERNANDEZ continued to coordinate closely with large-scale traffickers, including Fuentes Ramirez, who continued to pay HERNANDEZ bribes for protection. Further, during Hernandez Alvarado’s trial, drug ledgers belonging to another former Honduran drug trafficker and co-conspirator, referred to in the Superseding Indictment as “CC-2,” were introduced into evidence. These ledgers contained, among other things, notations with Hernandez Alvarado’s name and “JOH,” HERNANDEZ’s initials, along with corresponding entries reflecting large payments to HERNANDEZ and Hernandez Alvarado. Approximately one week after Hernandez Alvarado was convicted, prisoners armed with machetes and a firearm murdered CC-2 in a Honduran prison to prevent CC-2’s potential cooperation against, among others, HERNANDEZ.
On the afternoon of January 27, 2022, HERNANDEZ was charged in the Superseding Indictment and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
On February 15, 2022, HERNANDEZ was arrested and detained by Honduran authorities at the request of the United States. The United States thereafter submitted a formal extradition request, which the Honduran Magistrate Judge granted. HERNANDEZ appealed the extradition decision to the Honduran Supreme Court. On March 28, the Honduran Supreme Court denied his appeal. On April 6, the Ad Hoc Tribunal of the Constitutional Chamber of the Honduran Supreme Court determined HERNANDEZ’s final appeal was inadmissible. On April 13, the Government of Honduras certified the completion of the extradition proceedings consistent with the previous court orders, resulting in HERNANDEZ’s surrender to the United States on April 21.
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HERNANDEZ is charged with three counts: (1) conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; (2) using and carrying machine guns and destructive devices during, and possessing machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the cocaine-importation conspiracy, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; and (3) conspiring to use and carry machine guns and destructive devices during, and to possess machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the cocaine importation conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The potential mandatory minimum and maximum sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA’s Special Operations Division, New York Strike Force, and Tegucigalpa Country Office, as well as the assistance of the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division in the arrest and extradition of HERNANDEZ.
This prosecution 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.
This case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob H. Gutwillig, Michael D. Lockard, Jason A. Richman, and Elinor L. Tarlow are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Superseding Indictment, and the description of the Superseding Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Individual Sentenced on Kidnapping and Weapons Charges Connected to Murder in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
A member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma was sentenced today to more than 12 years in prison for his conduct in connection with a homicide that took place in 2017 within Indian Country in Oklahoma. The defendant was sentenced to 155 months for kidnapping and 120 months for being a felon in possession of a firearm, to run concurrently, followed by five years’ supervised release.
According to court documents, Nicholas Earl Faulkner, 32, of Holdenville, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to kidnapping and being a felon in possession of a firearm in May 2019. According to his plea, in April 2017, Faulkner was living with co-defendant Matthew Armstrong, who was involved in smuggling contraband into various prisons and jails for the Indian Brotherhood (IBH), a prison-based Indian gang active in Oklahoma.
According to court documents, on April 16, 2017, at Armstrong’s residence, Armstrong had a dispute over drugs with the victim, who was also staying at the home. Armstrong and Faulkner took the victim into the woods behind the residence where Armstrong tied her to a tree. Faulkner brought Armstrong the binding materials, at Armstrong’s direction. Faulkner and Armstrong left the victim tied to the tree for several hours and then returned with a rifle. Armstrong shot the victim twice killing her. Faulkner then took the gun and left the area at the direction of Armstrong.
Armstrong pleaded guilty in October 2021 to murder in Indian country, kidnapping and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He will be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Wilson of the Eastern District of Oklahoma, and Special Agent in Charge Edward Gray of the FBI’s Oklahoma City Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Rami Badawy and Brian Morgan of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Zach Parsons of the Eastern District of Oklahoma prosecuted the case.
Houston Man Sentenced for East Texas Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas – A Houston man has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.
Fernando Perez-Gomez, 36, was convicted at trial on July 20, 2021, of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a kilogram or more of heroin, 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and five kilograms or more of cocaine. Perez-Gomez was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on April 20, 2022.
According to information presented at trial, from at least May 2014 through May 2016, Perez-Gomez was involved in a conspiracy to traffic drugs from the Houston-area through the Eastern District of Texas and to various destinations for distribution through the United States. The investigation revealed that at least 16 persons were involved in this polydrug conspiracy, which resulted in the seizure of approximately 80 kilograms of cocaine, over four kilograms of methamphetamine, and a kilogram of heroin. Additionally, $2.5 million in cash was seized as part of the investigation.
“Illegal drugs continue to threaten the country and at home in our communities.,” said U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston. “Often it is the basis for other violent crime, property crime and, unfortunately, overdose deaths. We will continue to track, arrest, and prosecute those individuals like Perez-Gomez, who traffic their poison. We are thankful for the collaboration of law enforcement that worked diligently on this case.”
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Houston Police Department, the Pasadena Police Department, and the Texas Department of Public Safety. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Jonathan C. Lee.
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Houston County Pair Indicted for Solicitation of MurderRead the Press Release
TYLER, Texas – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging a Grapeland man and woman with federal solicitation of murder violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.
Reynaldo Campos, Jr., 44, and Robin Pittman, also known as Robin Hill, 42, were named in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Tyler charging them with murder for hire and conspiracy to commit murder for hire; solicitation to commit murder for hire and conspiracy to solicit murder for hire; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; and felon in possession of a firearm.
According to the indictment, on Feb. 9, 2022, Campos is alleged to have solicited a person he believed to be an associate of a co-conspirator, who was in fact an undercover federal agent, to murder a former associate of Campos. Campos discussed the intended murder with the agent on multiple occasions over the next several weeks. On April 8, 2022, Campos and Pittman traveled together from Houston County to Tyler to discuss the murder, to provide the “hit man” with a handgun to be used for the murder, and to provide the “hit man” with information about the intended target. On April 13, 2022, Campos and Pittman again traveled together from Houston County to Tyler to discuss the murder and to provide the “hit man” with approximately one gallon of Phenylacetone/P2P and a shotgun as partial payment for the murder of the intended target.
If convicted, the defendants face up to 10 years in federal prison.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.
A grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Holdenville Resident Sentenced on Kidnapping and Weapons Charges Connected to Murder in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma was sentenced today to more than 12 years in prison for his conduct in connection with a homicide that took place in 2017 within Indian Country in Oklahoma. The defendant was sentenced to 155 months for kidnapping and 120 months for being a felon in possession of a firearm, to run concurrently, followed by five years’ supervised release.
According to court documents, Nicholas Earl Faulkner, 32, of Holdenville, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to kidnapping and being a felon in possession of a firearm in May 2019. According to his plea, in April 2017, Faulkner was living with co-defendant Matthew Armstrong, who was involved in smuggling contraband into various prisons and jails for the Indian Brotherhood (IBH), a prison-based Indian gang active in Oklahoma.
According to court documents, on April 16, 2017, at Armstrong’s residence, Armstrong had a dispute over drugs with the victim, who was also staying at the home. Armstrong and Faulkner took the victim into the woods behind the residence where Armstrong tied her to a tree. Faulkner brought Armstrong the binding materials, at Armstrong’s direction. Faulkner and Armstrong left the victim tied to the tree for several hours and then returned with a rifle. Armstrong shot the victim twice killing her. Faulkner then took the gun and left the area at the direction of Armstrong. Faulkner and Armstrong later purchased concrete mix, returned to the murder scene, untied the victim’s body, dug a shallow grave, placed the body in the grave, and covered it with concrete and soil.
Armstrong pleaded guilty in October 2021 to murder in Indian country, kidnapping and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He will be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Wilson of the Eastern District of Oklahoma, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Investigative Division, and Special Agent in Charge Edward Gray of the FBI’s Oklahoma City Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Rami Badawy and Brian Morgan of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Zack Parsons of the Eastern District of Oklahoma prosecuted the case.
Guatemalan Man Charged with Illegally Using Social Security Number to Obtain EmploymentRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that FIDADELFO ANTONIO CAMEY-ESPANA, age 35, a native of Guatemala, was charged today in a one-count indictment with illegally using a social security number in order to enroll in a safety class to qualify for employment, in violation of Title 42, United States Code, Section 408(a)(7)(B).
FIDADELFO ANTONIO CAMEY-ESPANA faces a maximum term of imprisonment of not more than five (5) years, a fine of up to $250,000.00, up to three (3) years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00.
U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that an indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of Homeland Security Investigations in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Carter K. D. Guice, Jr. is in charge of the prosecution.
Georgia Man Sentenced to 60 Days in Jail and Fined for Entering Port of Albany Under False PretensesRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Andrew Avila, age 45, of Acworth, Georgia, was sentenced yesterday to a 60-day term of imprisonment, to be followed by 1 year of supervised release, and to pay a $5,000 fine, for the misdemeanor offense of entering the Port of Albany under false pretenses. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and U.S. Department of Energy Inspector General Teri L. Donaldson.
Avila was convicted on December 2, 2021 after a four-day jury trial. The trial evidence demonstrated that Avila traveled from Atlanta, Georgia, on May 2, 2018, and entered the Port of Albany by passing himself off as a Department of Energy (“DOE”) employee. The Port of Albany is a secured area that spans parts of Albany, Rensselaer, and the Town of Bethlehem, New York, and is subject to a security plan required and approved by the United States Coast Guard.
This case was investigated by the Department of Energy, Office of the Inspector General, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Emily C. Powers and Rick Belliss.
Georgia Fugitive Is Sentenced to 13 Years for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Today, Chief U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced James Julius Lumpkin, of Sevierville, Tennessee, to 156 months in prison and five years of supervised release for drug trafficking, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
U.S. Attorney King is joined in making today’s announcement by Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which oversees the Asheville Post of Duty, Jamaal Thompson Commander of the U.S. Marshals Service Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force, and Sheriff Chip Hall of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
According to filed court documents and the sentencing hearing, in November 2020, the U.S. Marshals Service Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force learned that Lumpkin, a fugitive with outstanding arrest warrants in Georgia for trafficking narcotics, was located in Jackson County. Law enforcement learned that Lumpkin was staying at a local motel in Cullowhee, North Carolina, and proceeded to plan the arrest. On November 6, 2020, a team of federal and local law enforcement arrested Lumpkin while he was sitting in his van at the motel parking lot. At the time of the arrest, law enforcement seized from the van multiple plastic bags containing methamphetamine, digital scales, two loaded firearms, and ammunition. Law enforcement also recovered at the scene marijuana and prescription opioid pills.
On November 1, 2021, Lumpkin pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, marijuana and Hydrocodone. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King credited the U.S. Marshals Service Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force, the DEA’s Asheville Post of Duty and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office for the investigation of this case.
Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Kent, of the United States Attorney’s Office in Asheville, prosecuted the case.
Four defendants await sentencing after pleading guilty to roles in operation of industrial-level pill productionRead the Press Release
AUGUSTA, GA: Four defendants are awaiting sentencing after admitting they participated in an operation that used pill presses to package and distribute illegal drugs.
Albert Bynoe, a/k/a “Chino,” a/k/a “Bossman Chino,” 35, of Decatur, Ga., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute, and to Distribute, Methamphetamine, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The guilty plea subjects Bynoe to a statutory sentence of up to 20 years in prison, along with substantial financial penalties, followed by a period of supervised release after completion of any prison term.
There is no parole in the federal system.
“Our law enforcement partners did exceptional work in identifying and intercepting foreign shipments of materials used to manufacture pills containing illegal drugs,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “Our office is committed to prosecuting makers and distributors of illegal substances that threaten the health and safety of our communities.”
Bynoe’s mother, Cynthia Dessaure-Outlaw, 58, of Grovetown, Ga., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Unlawful Transport of Drug Paraphernalia. Two other defendants, Darnee Cooper, a/k/a “Lafayette,” a/k/a “Lafayette Bandz,” 34, of Columbia, S.C., and Nicholas Butler, 42, of Augusta, await sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute.
As described in court documents and proceedings, the investigation began in 2018 when U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents flagged a shipment addressed to Dessaure-Outlaw that contained, among other items, molds for a commercial pill press. Dessaure-Outlaw voluntarily forfeited the materials. In 2020, investigators from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration flagged a shipment of a pill press sent to Dessaure-Outlaw’s Grovetown address, and located three prior shipments that had been sent to a Columbia, S.C. address in Bynoe’s name along with large amounts of powdered binding agents used to manufacture pills.
In 2021, agents searched Bynoe’s residence in Decatur, Georgia and his rented storage unit in Tucker, Ga., seizing methamphetamine, a pill press machine, pill molds in the shape of a joker and seashells, firearms, drug paraphernalia, and cash. A September 2021 federal indictment charged Dessaure-Outlaw and Bynoe in the operation, along with Cooper, Butler and other members of the conspiracy. All four defendants pled guilty.
Sentencing for the four defendants has not yet been scheduled.
“As part of safeguarding our borders from serious health and security threats, Customs and Border Protection Savannah continues its strong collaboration with our Southern District law enforcement partners.” said, Scott Huntly, Assistant Port Director for CBP Savannah.
“Our mission at DEA is to disrupt, dismantle, and destroy drug trafficking organizations – and this illegal pill pressing operation is no different,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. “Thanks to the collective efforts of our law enforcement partners, these criminals will be held accountable."
“We are committed to working with our partners to get dangerous drugs out of our communities,” said Vic Reynolds, Director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “Illegal and unidentified pills on the streets pose a danger to public health. Thank you to the men and women working each day to bring these violators to justice.”
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection National Targeting Center, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team, the Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office, and the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted for the United States by Southern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew A. Josephson and Jeremiah L. Johnson.
Four Defendants Sentenced in the Western District of LouisianaRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that four defendants were sentenced today in the Western District of Louisiana on various charges. Their sentencing information is as follows:
SHREVEPORT, La. - Chief United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. sentenced Christopher Donta Willis, 46, of Mansfield, Texas, to 264 months (22 years) in prison, followed by 4 years of supervised release, on drug trafficking charges. Willis was charged in February 2019 and pleaded guilty on September 13, 2021 to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. During an investigation into drug trafficking activities in the Shreveport/Bossier City area, agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) received information that Willis and another individual were attempting to distribute methamphetamine on January 25, 2019. Later that day, a trooper with the Louisiana State Police (LSP) conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle being driven by Willis. Once stopped, Willis fled the scene but was quickly apprehended by law enforcement officers and was found to have methamphetamine on his person. Additional methamphetamine was recovered pursuant to a residential search warrant. The drugs that were seized were sent to the crime laboratory for analysis and were confirmed to be methamphetamine.
The case was investigated by the DEA, ATF and Louisiana State Police, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian C. Flanagan and Earl M. Campbell.
LAFAYETTE, La. - United States District Judge James D. Cain, Jr. sentenced the following defendants in Lafayette, Louisiana:
Marquel Devon Robinson, 34, of Lake Arthur, Louisiana, was sentenced to 72 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute heroin. On February 15, 2019, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at the residence of Robinson in Lake Arthur. During the execution of the warrant, officers recovered methamphetamine, heroin, and a heroin-fentanyl mixture along with other drug paraphernalia. The seized narcotics were sent to a laboratory for testing and were determined to contain 168.6 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, 17.1 grams of a mixture and substance containing heroin, and 13.23 grams of a mixture and substance containing heroin and fentanyl. Robinson pleaded guilty to the charge on November 30, 2021.
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Investigation, the Lake Arthur Police Department and Jefferson Davis Parish Sheriff’s Office and the CAT Team, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy.
Isaac J. Fontenot, 23, of Church Point, Louisiana, was sentenced to 46 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for sexual abuse of a minor. Fontenot was also ordered to register as a sex offender. In October 2020, when Fontenot was 22 years old, he engaged in sexual relations with a female victim under the age of 15 years old. Fontenot knew that the victim was a minor but continued having sexual relations with her. He pleaded guilty to the charge on November 30, 2021.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Coushatta Tribal Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Nickel.
Clifton Lamar Dodd, 50, a federal inmate, was sentenced to 21 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for mailing a number of hoax letters to United States Senate post office boxes. Dodd was found guilty at his trial in July 2021 by a federal jury in Lafayette.
On May 2, 2016, personnel at the United States Senate mail facility received four suspicious mailed envelopes, each containing a white powdery substance. Each envelope bore a return address of FCI Oakdale, and each listed a different inmate as the purported sender. The United States Capitol Police’s Hazardous Response Unit responded and confirmed that the white powder was merely talcum powder. In addition to the talcum powder, each letter contained a note scrawled in all caps on a small scrap of paper that stated, “MY BOSS MADE ME DO THIS.” On the back of each note was the name of four different inmates, all of which were housed at FCI Oakdale.
U.S. Capitol Police and agents from the FBI and Bureau of Prisons began an investigation into the origin of the letters. Agents interviewed the inmates whose names were listed as senders of the letters and learned that Dodd had sent one of the inmates threatening notes and bragged about getting the inmate removed from the prison yard. FBI submitted the hoax letters to its crime lab for forensic evaluation and found one of Dodd’s fingerprints on the outside of one of the envelopes.
The FBI, Bureau of Prisons, and U.S. Capitol Police conducted the investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney T. Forrest Phillips prosecuted the case.
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Fort Worth Man Sentenced to 35 Years for Sexually Abusing 7-Year-OldRead the Press Release
A Fort Worth man was sentenced today to 35 years in federal prison for sexually abusing a 7-year-old girl, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.
Sherman Moore, 65, pleaded guilty in November 2021 to sexual exploitation of children. He was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor.
According to plea papers, Mr. Moore admitted that in the fall of 2019, he enticed a 7-year-old child into sexually explicit conduct in order to videotape her.
On Sept. 7, Mr. Moore recorded a video focusing on the victim’s genitals as she walked across her mother’s bed in her home in Fort Worth. He then uploaded the file to his Google Drive.
Fort Worth Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations’ Fort Worth Field Division conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aisha Saleem prosecuted the case.
Fort Wayne Man Sentenced to 110 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
FORT WAYNE- James J. Goheen, III, age 39, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Holly A. Brady, on his plea of guilty to maintaining a drug-involved premises, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Goheen was sentenced to 110 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release.
According to documents in this case, between September and November 2020, Goheen maintained a residence in Fort Wayne for the purpose of distributing and manufacturing a controlled substance. When Fort Wayne Police attempted to stop Goheen prior to executing a search warrant of his residence, he led police on a high-speed chase. He was apprehended after stop sticks were utilized to disable his vehicle.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with the assistance of the Fort Wayne Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stacey R. Speith.
Former Paralegal for Chicago Law Firm Charged with Embezzling Bankruptcy Estate FundsRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A former paralegal for a Chicago law firm has been indicted for allegedly embezzling more than $600,000 from bankruptcy estate accounts.
BECKY LOUISE SUTTON fraudulently embezzled the funds from 2009 to 2018 while working on bankruptcy matters at the law firm, according to an indictment returned Wednesday in U.S. District in Chicago. Sutton orchestrated the fraudulent transfers of bankruptcy funds from fiduciary bank accounts intended for creditors to accounts Sutton controlled, including her personal bank account, credit card account, student loan account, and mortgage account, the indictment states. In one instance, Sutton used a company with a name similar to a true creditor to disguise her fraudulent diversion of the funds, the indictment states.
The indictment charges Sutton, 66, of Austin, Texas, and formerly of Park Forest, Ill., with three counts of wire fraud and three counts of embezzlement from the estate of a debtor. The indictment seeks forfeiture from Sutton of $611,263 in alleged criminally derived proceeds. 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. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Trustee Program. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kartik K. Raman.
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.
Each wire fraud count is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison, while each embezzlement count carries a maximum sentence of five years. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Former Nevada Business Owner and Salesman Sentenced for Conspiring to Defraud the United StatesRead the Press Release
Two Nevada men were sentenced to prison today for conspiring to defraud the IRS.
Saud Alessa was sentenced to 13 months in prison and Jeffrey Bowen was sentenced to 60 days in prison. After a federal jury trial in November 2021, Alessa and Bowen were both convicted on the conspiracy charge, and Alessa also was convicted on tax evasion and false tax return charges.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from 2010 through approximately March 2014, Alessa, Bowen and another co-conspirator, Jackie Hayes, sought to thwart efforts by the IRS to collect more than $500,000 in tax liabilities owed by Alessa for tax years 1998 to 2007. As part of the scheme, Hayes entered into a payment arrangement with Bowen, the owner of a vacuum cleaner distributor, J&L Distributing Inc. (J&L), where commissions actually earned by Alessa for his work at J&L were falsely recorded in the company’s books as commissions earned by Hayes. Hayes and Bowen then submitted tax forms and filings to the IRS falsely reporting that Hayes had earned the income. This scheme allowed Alessa to evade IRS collection efforts and the payment of his outstanding federal tax debt. To further conceal his income and assets, Alessa filed false 2012 and 2013 individual tax returns, and in February 2013, he filed a bankruptcy petition falsely reporting no income.
In addition to imprisonment, Chief U.S. District Judge Miranda M. Du ordered Alessa and Bowen to each serve three years of supervised release and to pay over $500,000 in restitution to the United States.
Hayes previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced in February 2022 to two months in prison for her role in the conspiracy.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Christopher Chiou for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Albert A. Childress of IRS-Criminal Investigation made the announcement. They commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, which conducted the investigation, and members of the U.S. Trustee Program, which uncovered the charged conduct during the supervision of the administration of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case filed by Alessa.
Trial Attorneys Michael Landman and Eric Taffet of the Justice Department’s Tax Division prosecuted the case.
Former Nevada Business Owner and Salesman Sentenced for Conspiring to Defraud the United StatesRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS – Two Nevada men were sentenced to prison today for conspiring to defraud the IRS.
Saud Alessa was sentenced to 13 months in prison and Jeffrey Bowen was sentenced to 60 days in prison. After a federal jury trial in November 2021, Alessa and Bowen were both convicted on the conspiracy charge, and Alessa also was convicted on tax evasion and false tax return charges.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from 2010 through approximately March 2014, Alessa, Bowen and another co-conspirator, Jackie Hayes, sought to thwart efforts by the IRS to collect more than $500,000 in tax liabilities owed by Alessa for tax years 1998 to 2007. As part of the scheme, Hayes entered into a payment arrangement with Bowen, the owner of a vacuum cleaner distributor, J&L Distributing, Inc. (J&L), where commissions actually earned by Alessa for his work at J&L were falsely recorded in the company’s books as commissions earned by Hayes. Hayes and Bowen then submitted tax forms and filings to the IRS falsely reporting that Hayes had earned the income. This scheme allowed Alessa to evade IRS collection efforts and the payment of his outstanding federal tax debt. To further conceal his income and assets, Alessa filed false 2012 and 2013 individual tax returns, and in February 2013, he filed a bankruptcy petition falsely reporting no income.
In addition to imprisonment, Chief U.S. District Judge Miranda M. Du ordered Alessa and Bowen to each serve three years of supervised release and to pay over $500,000 in restitution to the United States.
Hayes previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced in February 2022 to two months in prison for her role in the conspiracy.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Christopher Chiou for the District of Nevada, and Special Agent in Charge Albert Childress of IRS-Criminal Investigation made the announcement. They commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, which conducted the investigation, and members of the U.S. Trustee Program, which uncovered the charged conduct during the supervision of the administration of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case filed by Alessa.
Trial Attorneys Michael Landman and Eric Taffet of the Justice Department’s Tax Division prosecuted the case.
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Former Chiropractor Sentenced to Nearly Six Years in Federal Prison for Fraudulently Submitting $2.2 Million in Billings to Health InsurersRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – A former Orange County chiropractor was sentenced today to 70 months in federal prison for stealing from health insurers by fraudulently causing the submission of $2.2 million in billings for chiropractic services never provided, medical diagnoses never given, office visits that never occurred, and medical devices that were falsely prescribed.
Susan H. Poon, 57, of Dana Point, was sentenced by United States District Judge David O. Carter, who ordered her to pay $1,379,622 in restitution to her victims.
At the conclusion of a five-day trial in June 2021, a federal jury found Poon guilty of five counts of health care fraud, three counts of making false statements relating to health care matters, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
From January 2015 to April 2018, Poon, whose office was in Rancho Santa Margarita, schemed to defraud health insurance companies by submitting false reimbursement claims for services that were never performed.
Poon also submitted fraudulent prescriptions containing medical diagnoses of individuals that she had never met, including toddlers and children, which led a medical device manufacturer to submit false claims for reimbursement to one health insurer.
The patients that Poon claimed to have met with and treated were dependents – such as the spouses and children – of Costco Wholesale Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. employees. Poon unlawfully took and used the dependent’s personal identifying information (PII) in her reimbursement requests and prescriptions. Poon obtained the PII by attending health fairs at various UPS warehouses and Costco locations and soliciting such information from employees.
“[Poon’s] scheme consisted of interdependent moving parts,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “She lied about visits with, diagnoses of, and treatments given to actual people and their children. She sent fraudulent Durable Medical Equipment (DME) prescriptions – predicated on visits with these patients that never happened – to a DME manufacturer. And she fabricated medical documentation containing the personal identifying information of these ‘ghost’ patients to mislead an auditor.”
In total, Poon billed and caused to be billed approximately $2.2 million through her scheme.
Poon’s chiropractic license was revoked in July 2019, according to the California Department of Consumer Affairs.
The following agencies investigated this matter: Amtrak – Office of the Inspector General, California Department of Insurance, U.S. Department of Labor – Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General, the FBI, and Office of Personnel Management – Office of the Inspector General.
Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel S. Lim and Daniel H. Ahn of the Santa Ana Branch Office prosecuted this case.
Former Brokers Found Guilty of Fraud Offenses Committed in Fraudulent Stock OfferingRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – This week, following a six-day trial, a federal jury in Fort Lauderdale, Florida returned guilty verdicts against Jeffrey Alan Horn (“Horn”), 47, of Coral Springs, Florida, and Omar Leon Plummer (“Plummer”), 54, of Margate, Florida, for their involvement in a fraudulent private placement offering of restricted common shares of Sunset Capital Assets, Inc., formerly known as Sunset Brands, Inc., a Nevada corporation (“Sunset”). Horn was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and four counts of securities fraud. Plummer was convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
According to evidence presented at trial, between October 2014 and April 2016, Horn, Plummer, and their co-conspirators cold-called prospective investors and made materially false statements and omissions about the offering, including failing to disclose that they would receive exorbitant commissions from selling Sunset stock. Plummer, who disguised his identity by using the alias “Al Goldstein” when contacting prospective investors, also failed to disclose his extensive disciplinary history in the securities industry, which included cease and desist orders issued by state regulators that prohibited Plummer from engaging in certain securities activities in Arkansas and Colorado.
The trial evidence further showed that, in connection with the Sunset offering, Horn sent prospective investors Private Placement Memoranda and other written offering materials that included misrepresentations regarding Sunset’s purported assets, and how Sunset would use the investors’ funds, among other misrepresentations. Of the approximately $1.6 million raised from investors during the offering, nearly all of the money was diverted away from Sunset and into the pockets of the defendants and their co-conspirators. Horn and Plummer were formerly licensed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to sell securities, and Plummer was also formerly licensed by FINRA to act an investment advisor, but neither defendant held any active securities licenses during the Sunset offering.
Horn and Plummer are scheduled to appear for sentencing on July 6, before United States District Judge Rodney Smith, at the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, announced the verdicts.
FBI Miami investigated this case. FINRA assisted. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dwayne Williams and David Snider prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Stone is handling asset forfeiture.
The related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-60019-Smith.
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Federal Jury Convicts Sallisaw Resident of Offenses Relating to the Aggravated Sexual Abuse of A Minor in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that Jerry Dewayne Rogers, age 59, of Sallisaw, Oklahoma was found guilty by a federal jury of one count of Aggravated Sexual Abuse in Indian Country, three counts of Abusive Sexual Contact in Indian County, and one count of Sexual Abuse of a Minor in Indian Country.
The jury trial began with testimony on Monday, April 18, 2022, and concluded on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, with the guilty verdicts. Based on the verdicts, the defendant is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of not less than thirty years imprisonment.
During the trial, the United States presented evidence that the defendant sexually abused a child. The sexual abuse began when the victim was 8 years old and continued until age 13 years.
The guilty verdicts were the result of an investigation by the Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma prosecuted the case because the victim is a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe and the crimes occurred in Sequoyah County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation, and within the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The Honorable Timothy D. DeGiusti, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, presided over the trial and ordered the completion of a presentence report. Sentencing will be scheduled following completion of the report. Rogers was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal pending the imposition of sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin D. Traster was the lead prosecutor representing the United States.
Federal Inmate Convicted by Jury of Assault on Fellow Prisoner at FDCRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Robert Smith, 49, of Philadelphia, PA, was convicted today after trial of one count of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm, and one count of possession of contraband in prison stemming from a violent incident in which he was involved while in federal prison.
In December 2020, while the defendant was incarcerated at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, he was involved in a physical altercation with another incarcerated individual in the same unit. Officers separated them and took them both for medical assessment, where it was discovered that the other individual had a wound consistent with being stabbed. Video footage of the fight showed Smith striking the individual with a stabbing motion, then passing an unknown item under a door to another individual, who discarded the item in a trash can. Officers searched the trash can several minutes later and found a seven-inch-long piece of metal fashioned into a knife.
“One goal of incarceration is to deter future criminal conduct,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “But instead of learning from previous mistakes, this defendant engaged in a violent assault on a fellow inmate. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will not tolerate this kind of lawless behavior.”
“It’s concerning when inmates serving time for past offenses continue to break the law, particularly with crimes of violence,” said Jacqueline Maguire, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “Both the federal inmates and BOP personnel at FDC Philadelphia deserve a safe environment in which to live and work, so violent behavior like Robert Smith’s cannot go unpunished. This conviction ensures he will spend even longer behind bars. We hope the extra time sends a message that it’s in his interests to do better going forward.”
The case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher Diviny and Lauren Stram.
Federal Grand Jury B Indictments Announced- April 2022Read the Press Release
United States Attorney Clint Johnson today announced the results of the April 2022 Federal Grand Jury B.
The following individuals have been charged with violations of United States law in indictments returned by the Grand Jury. The return of an indictment is a method of informing a defendant of alleged violations of federal law, which must be proven in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt to overcome a defendant’s presumption of innocence.
Samuel Goana-Gonzalez. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Goana-Gonzalez, 37, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after being removed on March 2, 2011, at or near Laredo, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles M. McLoughlin is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-102
Michael Dylan Hedrick. Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to do Bodily Harm in Indian Country; Carrying, Using, Brandishing, and Discharging a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence (superseding). Hedrick 28, of Tulsa, allegedly struck a victim with a vehicle with the intent to do bodily harm on Nov. 28, 2021. He is further alleged to have shot at the same victim plus two others on Nov. 6, 2021. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard M. Cella is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-05
Denim Lee Blount, Hunter Hobbes. Conspiracy to Carry, Use, and Brandish a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence (Counts 1 and 4); Attempted Carjacking (Count 2); Carrying, Using, Brandishing, and Discharging a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence (Count 3); Robbery in Indian Country (Count 5); Felony Murder in Indian Country (Count 6); Causing Death by Carrying, Using, and Discharging a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence (Count 7); Obstruction of Justice by Killing a Victim (Count 8). On May 8, 2021, at 10:29 pm, two men later identified as Hobbs, 20, of Bixby, and Blount, 19, of Tulsa, approached a man who was attempting to hook up his SUV and trailer in an apartment complex parking lot. Based on surveillance footage, Blount pointed a shotgun at the man, while Hobbs pointed a rifle at him. The two ordered the victim to get out of his vehicle. When the victim refused, both men allegedly shot him multiple times. The two then fled, leaving the victim and his vehicle behind. The victim was transported to St. Francis Hospital for non-life threatening injuries. Hobbs and Blount are also charged with conspiring to carry, use, and brandish firearms during a robbery in the early morning hours of May 13, 2021, at Haikey Creek Park in Broken Arrow. During the robbery, the two allegedly shot and killed Caleb Vaughn Collier and Kelly Ray Olen John Landsaw-Davis before fleeing the scene in Collier’s stolen vehicle. In this 2nd superseding indictment, Blount and Hobbs are also charged with killing the two victims to prevent them from identifying the defendants to authorities. The FBI, Tulsa and Broken Arrow Police Departments, and U.S. Marshals Service are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Nassar and Leah Paisner are prosecuting the case. 21-CR-233
Kawaun Thelma Hopkins. First Degree Burglary in Indian Country; Second Degree Burglary in Indian Country. On Dec. 2, 2021, 27-year-old Hopkins, a non-Indian of Tulsa, broke into a Native American victim’s residence while it was occupied and stole a purse containing cash and other valuables. On a separate occasion on Dec. 12, 2021, Hopkins a broke into an unoccupied residence, owned by a second Native American victim, with the intent to steal property or commit any other felony. The Tulsa Police Department and FBI are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Jiang is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-103
Derius Donovan Ledet. Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition. On March 22, 2022, Ledet, 32, of Bristow, was charged with being a felon in possession of a Rossi .38 Special revolver and five rounds of ammunition. The Tulsa Police Department and Oklahoma Highway Patrol are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin G. Bish is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-112
Jamal Jawon Lamont McShan. Assault of an Intimate/Dating Partner by Strangling and Attempting to Strangle in Indian Country. On April 4, 2022, McShan, 21, of Tulsa, assaulted an intimate partner by strangling her. The FBI and Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cheryl L. Baber is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-104
Tyler Craig Mitchell. Assault of an Intimate/Dating Partner by Strangling, Suffocating, and Attempting to Strangle and Suffocate in Indian Country; Kidnapping in Indian Country. Mitchell, 29, of Adair, allegedly kidnapped and strangled an intimate partner on July 7, 2020. The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor A.S. Régal is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-105
Scott Edward Parker. Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to do Bodily Harm in Indian Country. On Jan. 7, 2022, Parker, 54, of Broken Arrow, allegedly pointed a firearm at a female victim and her family while both were driving on Highway 169 in Tulsa. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Brasher is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-106
Garret Wayne Pulliam. Arson in Indian Country; Arson. On March 26, 2022, Pulliam, 36, set fire his room at the Hickory Inn Motel located in Grove, causing lives to be placed in danger and destruction to the property. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Grove Police Department and Cherokee Nation Marshal’s Service are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex M. Scott is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-113
In this press release defendant Mitchell's age has been corrected.
Federal Civil Complaint Seeks the Forfeiture of Funds Stolen from A California-Based Business and Transferred by Money MulesRead the Press Release
Charlotte, N.C. Today, U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced the filing of a federal civil complaint seeking the forfeiture of $597,891.46, seized as part of an investigation of at least three individuals operating as money mules responsible for transferring over $1.2 million in funds stolen from a business located in San Diego, California.
Reginald DeMatteis, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Charlotte Field Office, joins U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
A money mule is a person who, at the direction of another individual or criminal organization, transfers illicit funds typically acquired through fraud. Sometimes money mules are innocent victims unaware they are implicated in criminal activity. Other times, money mules maybe aware, or come to realize but ignore, that they are assisting a fraudster with illegal money movement activities.
“Money mules are quickly becoming the preferred method criminal networks use to transfer illicit funds. These networks, operating within the U.S. and overseas, target individuals online via romance scams, business scams, or otherwise, and turn them into money mules doing the criminals’ dirty work,” said U.S. Attorney King. “We are doing our part to cut off the flow of funds to criminal organizations, but we also need the public’s help in this effort. Be wary of anyone who contacts you online and asks you to use your bank account to move money. You could be putting in thieves’ pockets money stolen from victims of fraud.”
As alleged in the filed complaint, the U.S. Secret Service previously seized $597,891.46 from the account of Theresa Harlow, an elderly woman located in California. The complaint alleges that Harlow and at least two other individuals, identified in court documents as Money Mule 1, and Money Mule 2, allegedly moved the fraud proceeds through four different financial institutions and via multiple transactions involving checks and wires. The indictment further alleges that when law enforcement began investigating the movement of the money, the three money mules reported that they became involved when individuals reached out to them online about moving money and believed the purpose of the money transfers was to assist in business transactions and/or movement of an inheritance. In reality, as alleged in the complaint, the money the mules were moving belonged to a California business that had been defrauded.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the U.S. Secret Service for their investigative work in this case.
Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin Bain-Creed of the United States Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is in charge of the civil proceedings.
To learn more about the Department of Justice’s Money Mule Initiative and to receive more information on how to protect yourself and others please visit: https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch/money-mule-initiative
Ecorse Man Sentenced on Charges of Mail FraudRead the Press Release
DETROIT – An Ecorse resident was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison after having pleaded guilty to committing mail fraud by executing a scheme to defraud his employer, Hankyu Hanshin Express, Inc., announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.
Joining in the announcement was Special Agent in Charge James A. Tarasca, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division.
Receiving the sentence from U.S. District Judge Linda V. Parker was Phillip E. Garza, 53, of Ecorse, Michigan. Garza pleaded guilty before Judge Parker to one count of mail fraud in June 2020. His sentencing was delayed because of the pandemic.
According to court records, Garza was employed by Hankyu Hanshin Express (USA) Inc. (HHE), a transportation and logistics services company based in suburban Chicago. HHE had several branch offices, including one in Taylor, Michigan. Garza held the position of ocean export specialist and was responsible for arranging the shipment of sea going goods through third-party shippers.
Garza created a shell company, El Centro Express, that was made to appear to be a third-party shipper. From October 2011 through May 2019, Garza submitted 2,300 invoices to HHE on the letterhead of El Centro Express. As a result, HHE issued 389 checks to El Centro Express and mailed them to a post office box Garza opened in Taylor. Those checks totaled over $1.1 million. Garza used those funds to pay personal expenses. For example, he paid his credit card issuers about $80,000, made monthly car payments totaling about $55,000, and paid about $39,000 to phone companies and cable and Internet service providers. He also made payments on personal loans, paid medical expenses, and went out to restaurants.
The investigation of his case was conducted by the FBI. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Hiyama.
Drug “Take Back Day” to Take Place Saturday, April 30th in the Eastern District of WashingtonRead the Press Release
Spokane – United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington Vanessa Waldref and DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank A. Tarentino announced that Saturday, April 30, 2022, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. is DEA National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. This year marks the 22nd bi-annual event in the eleven-year history of the Drug Take Back initiative. Drug Take Back Day gives the public the opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington will be partnering on Saturday, April 30, with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Spokane Police Department, and other community partners at Northtown Mall, 4750 North Division, located in the northwest corner of Division Street and Queen Avenue in Spokane.
At its last Take Back Day in October 2021, the DEA collected nationally a record-high amount of expired, unwanted, and unused prescription medications, with the public turning in close to 745,000 pounds of unused drugs. Over the 11-year span, DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day has brought in more than 15.2 million pounds of prescription drugs. With studies indicating a majority of abused prescription drugs come from family and friends, including from home medicine cabinets, clearing out unused medicine is essential. Of those numbers, Washington State collected 9,380 pounds of prescription drugs at approximately 72 collections sites operated by the DEA and its state and local law enforcement partners.
“My office is committed to reducing tragic drug overdose deaths. By participating in events like Prescription Drug Take Back Day, we can remove expired narcotics from our communities, prevent medication misuse, and make Eastern Washington safer and stronger,” U.S. Attorney Waldref stated. “Consistent with Operation Engage Spokane – which is a comprehensive community-level approach for addressing the drug epidemic, through proactive prevention strategies, conversations, and collaboration with local partners – drug take back events are one way members of our community can positively impact the opioid crisis and protect their loved ones. Prescription drug misuse and overdose deaths do not discriminate – they can impact individuals of any age, race, gender or demographic.”
“The DEA Seattle Field Division is committed to making our communities safer and healthier by driving down overdoses and overdose deaths through targeted enforcement and community- based initiatives like our 22nd National Prescription Drug Take Back Day,” said Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. “Opioid misuse and abuse, which are fueling the drug overdose epidemic, are a clear and present public health, public safety, and national security threat in the United States. With the help from the community, we can remove the unwanted prescription pills found in homes throughout Spokane from causing potential harm. This collaborative effort is an example of the DEA’s commitment and resolve in the fight to decrease the significant surge in overdoses afflicting Eastern Washington.”
“Our officers see the painful and costly effects of drug related crimes every day. Last year almost 300 Americans died each day due to drug overdoses,” Spokane Police Chief Craig Meidl stated. “Everything we can do to stop these deaths is a life saved, and a family not ruined by the scourge of overdose deaths. Drug Take Back Day is a great step community members can take to make a difference.”
In addition to DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, there are many other ways to dispose of unwanted prescription drugs every day. The FDA provides information on how to properly dispose of prescription drugs. To find out where year-round disposal sites are located, go to https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/where-and-how-dispose-unused-medicines.
For more information about Annual Prescription Drug Take Back Day, go to www.DEATakeBack.com
District Court Appoints Robert J. Troester to Continue Serving as United States Attorney for the Western District of OklahomaRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – The United States District Court has appointed Robert J. Troester to continue serving as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma. Chief United States District Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti administered the oath of office.
"I am humbled and grateful for the confidence the Court has placed in me to lead this great office in the pursuit of justice," said U.S. Attorney Troester. "It is my sincere privilege to serve the people of the Western District with such a dedicated team of professionals who are devoted to public service and upholding the rule of law in a fair, impartial, and ethical manner."
On December 26, 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed U.S. Attorney Troester to serve as United States Attorney. By statute, Attorney General Garland’s appointment is limited to 120 days and expires on April 24, 2022. The District Court’s appointment will be effective on April 25, 2022. Thereafter, Troester will serve as United States Attorney until a presidential appointee is confirmed.
As United States Attorney, Troester serves as the chief federal law enforcement officer responsible for all federal criminal prosecutions and civil litigation involving the United States, federal agencies, and federal employees in the Western District of Oklahoma. The Western District is the largest of three judicial districts in Oklahoma. It includes 40 of the 77 counties and 21 federally recognized Indian tribes. The U.S. Attorney’s Office consists of nearly 100 staff members to accomplish its mission.
U.S. Attorney Troester has served in the Department of Justice since 1995. He has held multiple managerial positions in the U.S. Attorney’s Office throughout his career, including Acting U.S. Attorney on four occasions, First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney, and Chief of the Civil Division. He has also served in other capacities in Washington D.C., including Associate Deputy Attorney General, Sr. Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General, and Deputy Director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. Before he joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Troester worked in private practice in Oklahoma City, with the State of Oklahoma government, and in local law enforcement at the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office in Kearney, Nebraska.
For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdok.
Couple Who Murdered Government Witness Sentenced to Life in PrisonRead the Press Release
Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge John Antoon II has sentenced David Chappell Fey (57, Belleview) and Shari Lynn Gunter (58, Ocklawaha) to life imprisonment for murdering a government witness. Fey and Gunter were found guilty by a federal jury following a joint trial in December 2021. The trial required special accommodations, with a separate jury hearing evidence for each defendant. In the end, each jury returned guilty verdicts on all four counts – distribution of methamphetamine, conspiracy to murder a government witness, murder of a government witness, and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl causing death. Prior to trial, Fey pleaded guilty to an additional seven counts of distributing methamphetamine.
According to trial evidence, Fey and Gunter lived together in Summerfield, Florida, where they routinely distributed methamphetamine and other drugs. The 31-year-old victim, who was the mother of three children, was one of their customers. The victim had agreed to cooperate with law enforcement and conducted a controlled buy of $40 worth of methamphetamine on January 19, 2016. After discovering that the victim was helping authorities, Fey and Gunter conspired to murder her to prevent her from acting as a witness against them. Specifically, on April 5, 2016, Fey and Gunter made up a “hot shot” – a syringe containing a lethal amount of fentanyl and methamphetamine – and provided it to the victim. When the victim injected herself, she immediately collapsed. Gunter then dragged the victim outside, kicked her in the head, and placed her in the passenger seat of her car. As the victim sat helpless in the vehicle, Fey and Gunter administered a second, fatal dose of fentanyl and methamphetamine, causing her death. They then drove the victim to a cemetery in Oxford, Florida, and staged the scene to make it appear like an accidental overdose.
“The United States is currently in the midst of an unprecedented opioid epidemic. Every single day, DEA investigators, along with our local and state law enforcement partners, are working tirelessly to keep our communities safe and healthy,” said DEA Miami Field Division Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter. “This sentencing highlights our commitment to our Florida communities, our efforts to bring justice to the victims and their families, and our resolution to hold these drug traffickers accountable for their actions.”
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with support from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael P. Felicetta and Tyrie K. Boyer.
Convicted Felon Sentenced for Possession of AmmunitionRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal judge today sentenced a Vincent man for being a felon in possession of ammunition, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Acting Special Agent in Charge Mickey French.
U.S. District Court Judge Madeline Haikala sentenced Nigel Earl Hartley, 43, of Vincent, to 39 months in prison followed by 36 months supervised release for being a felon in possession of ammunition. Hartley pleaded guilty to the charge in January. Hartley is prohibited from possessing ammunition because of multiple prior felony convictions
According to the plea agreement, on October 13, 2020, deputies of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office went to Hartley’s residence in Vincent, AL, to arrest him on two active Shelby County arrest warrants. During a search of Hartley’s person incident to the arrest, deputies located six rounds of ammunition in his pocket.
The ATF investigated the case, along with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Darius Greene prosecuted the case.
Convicted Felon Pleads Guilty to Possessing Firearm That He Displayed on Social MediaRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Elijah Howard (22, Tampa) has pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Howard faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, Howard, a multi-convicted felon, brandished a Glock 19 semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine during an Instagram video on December 21, 2021. Later that same day, Tampa Police Department officers encountered Howard in possession of that same firearm during a traffic stop. Howard was detained and the firearm was recovered. Officers determined that the firearm was loaded with 34 rounds of ammunition, including a round in the chamber.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel J. Marcet.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Convicted Arsonist Is Sentenced to Prison for Mailing Threatening Letters to A WitnessRead the Press Release
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Clinton Douglas Cole, 55, of Caroleen, N.C., was sentenced to 24 months in prison and three years of supervised release today, for mailing threatening letters to a witness, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Chief U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger presided over the sentencing hearing.
U.S. Attorney King is joined in making today’s announcement by Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), which oversees Charlotte.
According to filed documents and court proceedings, in October 2015, an individual witnessed the defendant set fire to a residence in Rutherford County. The defendant was convicted of state charges related to the arson and was sentenced to prison. Court documents show that in January 2020, while Cole was still serving time in prison for the state conviction, he mailed two threatening letters to the witness. In one letter, Cole reminded the witness of a previous threat he made to burn down the witness’s house. In a second letter, Cole wrote to the witness, “You are going to wish that you would not have stuck your nose were [sic] it did’nt [sic] belong,” and threatened to physically harm the witness and the witness’s child. On December 22, 2021, Cole pleaded guilty to mailing threatening communications.
The investigation was handled by USPIS. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis Solheim, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville, prosecuted the case.
Chinese National Sentenced to 52 Months for $20 Million Covid-19 Pandemic Loan Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that MUGE MA, a/k/a “Hummer Mars,” was sentenced to 52 months in prison in connection with a fraudulent scheme to obtain over $20 million in Government-guaranteed loans designed to provide relief to small businesses during the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. In connection with loan applications for relief available from the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) Program, MA falsely represented to the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) and six financial institutions that his companies, New York International Capital LLC (“NYIC”) and Hurley Human Resources LLC (“Hurley”), had hundreds of employees and paid millions of dollars in wages to those employees, when, in fact, MA appears to have been the only employee of his companies. MA previously pled guilty to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman, who imposed today’s sentence. MA was arrested on May 21, 2020 and has been detained since his arrest.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Within days of Congress authorizing billions of dollars to help small businesses struggling to make ends meet during the COVID-19 pandemic, Muge Ma saw it as an opportunity to enrich himself by applying for millions of dollars in funds to pay wages to hundreds of employees that never existed. Today’s sentence demonstrates that this Office and our law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to prosecute those who sought to commit pandemic relief fraud.”
According to public filings in Manhattan federal court:
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of hundreds of billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the SBA’s PPP. Pursuant to the CARES Act, the amount of PPP funds a business is eligible to receive is determined by the number of employees employed by the business and their average payroll costs. Businesses applying for a PPP loan must provide documentation to confirm that they have previously paid employees the compensation represented in the loan application. The CARES Act also expanded the separate EIDL Program, which provided small businesses with low-interest loans of up to $2 million that can provide vital economic support to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing due to COVID-19.
From at least in or about March 2020 through at least on or about May 15, 2020, MA applied to the SBA and at least six banks for a total of over $20 million in Government-guaranteed loans for his companies NYIC and Hurley (together, the “Ma Companies”) through the SBA’s PPP and EIDL Program. In connection with these loan applications, MA represented, among other things, that he was the sole owner and executive director of the Ma Companies, that the Ma Companies were located on the sixth floor of his luxury condominium building in New York, New York, and that NYIC and Hurley together had hundreds of employees and paid millions of dollars in wages to those employees on a monthly basis. In fact, however, MA appears to have been the only employee of NYIC since at least in or about 2019, and Hurley does not appear to have any employees. In order to support the false representations made by MA in the loan applications about the number of employees at, and the wages paid by, the Ma Companies, MA submitted fraudulent and doctored bank records, tax records, insurance records, payroll records, and/or audited financial statements to six different banks, and also provided links to the Ma Companies’ websites, which describe them as purportedly “global” companies. MA also used the name and identity of another person in connection with the submission of a fraudulent loan application and supporting documentation to at least one financial institution.
Before the discovery of the fraudulent conduct by MA, the SBA approved a $500,000 EIDL Program loan for NYIC and a $150,000 EIDL Program loan for Hurley, and $20,000 in loans advances were provided to MA by the SBA. In addition, a bank approved and disbursed over approximately $800,000 in PPP loan funds for Hurley, which were frozen in connection with this investigation. MA thereafter withdrew his loan applications from the banks and returned the funds.
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Mr. Williams praised the investigative work of the FBI’s Financial Cybercrimes Task Force, SBA-OIG, and IRS-CI. Mr. Williams also thanked the Office of the New York State Comptroller, the New York State Department of Labor, and the New York City Police Department for their assistance with the investigation.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Sagar K. Ravi is in charge of the prosecution.
Charleston Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearm CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston man pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Re'Shaun Lamonte Wilborne, 36, admitted he possessed a Jimenez Arms, model JA NINE, 9mm caliber handgun found by Charleston Police officers when they arrested him on July 20, 2021, for an active state warrant.
Wilborne knew he has prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his January 2004 conviction in Fayette County Circuit Court for second-degree sexual assault and his August 2017 conviction in United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
Wilborne is scheduled to be sentenced on July 14, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Charleston Police Department for conducting the investigation.
United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Negar M. Kordestani is prosecuting 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-162.
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California Men Sentenced to More Than Six Years for International Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle has sentenced T’Andre McNeely (Los Angeles, CA) and Michael Carr (Los Angeles, CA) each to six years and six months in federal prison for wire fraud conspiracy relating to their participation in a large-scale international tax fraud scheme. Both Carr and McNeely had pleaded guilty on December 28, 2021. A third conspirator, Brandon Williams, pleaded guilty to wire fraud on March 29, 2022. His sentencing is scheduled for June 23, 2022.
According to court documents, from Summer 2014 through approximately Spring 2018, Carr, McNeely, and Brandon Williams operated a scheme to defraud the United States government of more than $17 million through the filing of false and fraudulent tax returns in the names of hundreds of identity theft victims. The conspirators used sophisticated cyber means to obtain the personal data used to file the tax returns. Conspirators—including individuals located in Nigeria and Vietnam—then prepared and filed the returns quickly and in large batches. The tax returns were filed from real CPA firms across the United States, all of whom had been hacked.
Carr and McNeely were hired by a Nigeria-based conspirator to collect the proceeds of the tax fraud and send those proceeds to him in Nigeria. Carr and McNeely opened bank accounts, obtained prepaid debit cards, and provided addresses to which tax fraud proceeds could be deposited or mailed. Cards and accounts that McNeely and Carr obtained were used on thousands of false and fraudulent tax returns claiming in excess of $17 million in refunds, to which the conspirators were not entitled.
“Tax fraud is not a victimless crime, and is in fact a crime against the American people. The defendants conspired with foreign nationals to steal the identities of U.S. taxpayers, using cyber tools to breach accounting firms’ security protocols, all for the purpose of lining their pockets with ill-gotten gains” said Special Agent in Charge Mark H. Pearson. “Let this case serve as notice to criminals domestic and foreign, that our investigators are some of the best in the business, and they’re committed to protecting this country and the American public from identity theft and financial fraud.”
This case was investigated by the Tampa and Oakland Field Offices the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and the Tampa Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Special assistance was provided by the Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles Field Offices of the IRS-CI, and the Tampa Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rachel Jones.
Cabell County Woman Sentenced for Federal Drug CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Cabell County woman was sentenced today to two years in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release, for use of a telephone to facilitate drug trafficking.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Kassie McNeeley, 22, of Lesage, delivered a package of methamphetamine for Myreo Dixon to an individual in an apartment on Crestmont Drive in Charleston on January 9, 2021. Dixon had directed McNeeley to deliver the package and collect $31,500 as payment for the methamphetamine. McNeeley utilized her cell phone to maintain contact with Dixon throughout the drug deal by texting him multiple times. When McNeeley left the apartment in her vehicle, law enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop and seized the $31,500 in drug proceeds.
Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Monica D. Coleman prosecuted the case.
This case is part of a long-term investigation, dubbed the “Woo Boyz,” which resulted in federal charges against 15 individuals and was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Charleston Police Department, and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), with assistance from the United States Marshals Service and the West Virginia State Police. The Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (AHIDTA) provided critical support to the investigative agencies.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the law enforcement agencies for conducting the investigation.
The investigation was part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.
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-00032.
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Berkeley Duo Charged with Conspiracy to Sell and Sales of Fentanyl and Methamphetamine in the TenderloinRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – David Ordonez and Juan Carlos Hernandez-Ordonez appeared in United States District Court today to face federal charges of conspiring to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and of distributing 40 grams or more of fentanyl in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District, announced United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Wade R. Shannon. David Ordonez is also charged with distribution of five grams or more of methamphetamine.
The federal criminal complaint unsealed today alleges that Ordonez, 19, and Hernandez-Ordonez, 18, repeatedly traveled from their shared apartment in Berkeley to the Tenderloin of San Francisco to sell narcotics in the open-air drug market of the 7th Street and Market Street area. The complaint charges the two Berkeley men with engaging together in a conspiracy to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl in the Tenderloin from February 9 to March 29, 2022. The complaint specifically describes five narcotics sales during this time period to undercover San Francisco police officers. In each sale, either Ordonez or Hernandez-Ordonez sold fentanyl or methamphetamine, and sometimes both, to an undercover officer. In addition to the conspiracy charge, the complaint charges each man with specific narcotics sales. Ordonez is charged in the complaint with selling approximately 59 grams of fentanyl for $1,000 to an undercover officer in an alley near the area of 7th Street and Market Street on February 24, 2022. The complaint describes that Ordonez at the same time sold the undercover officer approximately 30 grams of methamphetamine for $200. The complaint next charges Ordonez with selling approximately 71 grams of methamphetamine for $500 to an undercover officer on March 10, 2022, in the same location and alleges that at the same sale he sold approximately 28 grams of fentanyl to the officer for $500. The complaint next charges Hernandez-Ordonez with selling approximately 59 grams of fentanyl for $1,000 to a different undercover officer on March 29, 2022. That alleged sale also occurred in the area of 7th Street and Market Street.
The four counts in the federal complaint each carry the same minimum and maximum criminal penalties. The complaint charges Ordonez and Hernandez-Ordonez with one count of engaging in a conspiracy to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 and 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B)(vi). The complaint also charges Ordonez and Hernandez-Ordonez each with separate counts of distributing 40 or more grams of fentanyl in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B)(vi). The complaint lastly charges Ordonez with one count of distributing five or more grams of methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B)(viii). The statutory penalty for each one of these counts is a minimum of five years of imprisonment and a maximum of 40 years of imprisonment, a maximum of a 5,000,000 fine, and a minimum of 4 years of supervision following release from prison with a maximum of life. However, any sentence following a conviction would be imposed by a court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
The charges contained in the criminal complaint are only allegations. As in any criminal case, a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Ordonez and Hernandez-Ordonez made their initial federal court appearances today before United States Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixson. The next court appearance for Ordonez is scheduled on April 22 for appointment of an attorney and to set a detention hearing. Hernandez-Ordonez is next scheduled for April 27 for a detention hearing. Both remain in custody.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren M. Harding is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Amala James. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by DEA and the San Francisco Police Department Narcotics Division.
Bakersfield Man Indicted for Unlawful Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Katerrin McCray, 25, of Bakersfield, was charged today by a federal grand jury with being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, on Jan. 15, 2022, law enforcement officers attempted to stop a vehicle in which McCray was the passenger for traffic infractions in Bakersfield. The vehicle sped off and McCray discarded a loaded Glock Model 22 .40‑caliber handgun out the passenger window during the pursuit. Officers apprehended McCray and shortly afterwards located McCray’s handgun in the street where he discarded it, along with a high-capacity magazine and 21 rounds of 40-caliber ammunition. Because of his prior criminal convictions, including a 2017 conviction for being a felon in possession of firearm and a 2018 conviction for receiving known stolen property, McCray may not lawfully possess firearms or ammunition.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Bakersfield Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher D. Baker is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, McCray faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charge is only an allegation; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Austin-Area Man Guilty of Federal Fraud and Money Laundering ViolationsRead the Press Release
SHERMAN, Texas – A Leander man has been found guilty of federal fraud and money laundering violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.
James Clark Nix, 73, was found guilty by a jury of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and aiding and abetting. The verdict was reached today following a four-day trial before U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant.
According to information presented at trial, James Nix and his son, Bradley Nix, used their businesses, AMIG and NECO, to defraud victim investors of at least $6 million, under the false promise of small business investments and high interest returns of up to 10 percent. Once in possession of the fraudulent funds, James Nix used the money for various expenses such as luxury homes, hotels, and vehicles. During the investigation, investigators lawfully seized a Maserati and Land Rover that were tied to James Nix’s fraudulent conduct. The jury convicted James Nix on all counts - conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering.
“This case represents our district’s continued efforts to root out and prosecute those persons who scam and victimize well-meaning investors. said U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston. “Although the case was complex and difficult to investigate and prosecute, our investigative partners and prosecution team rose to the occasion. The excellent investigation and prosecution provided ease to the jury to deliberate only an hour before finding the defendant guilty.”
“Under the guise of an established, professional tax business Mr. Nix solicited investments from individuals and secured their trust. In return, the investors found their 401(k) and bank accounts empty, and little hope in recovering their funds. The defendant’s Ponzi scheme stole a lifetime of financial resources from multiple victims, and turned them into lavish homes, cash and cars for his personal benefit,” said Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno. “The FBI will continue to work with our partners to investigate financially devastating schemes and seek justice for victims of fraud.”
Nix was indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 19, 2020. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys from the Eastern District of Texas.
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Augusta Man Charged for Assault on a Federal OfficerRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Maine: U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee announced today that Derik Broox Wight, 41, of Augusta has been charged by criminal complaint with assaulting a federal officer.
According to the criminal complaint, on April 20, 2022, Wight entered the Edmund S. Muskie Federal Building in Augusta with a knife and attacked a security officer contracted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Protective Service, at one point holding the knife near the officer’s throat. A second officer shot Wight who was then arrested and transported to the hospital for treatment of his wound.
If convicted of the charge, Wight faces up to 20 years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, or both, followed by up to three years supervised release.
A charge in a criminal complaint is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Abingdon Man to Serve More Than 17 Years for Trafficking MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va. – Ralph Allen Phillips, Jr., 62, was sentenced today to 210 months in federal prison for possessing with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.
According to court documents, law enforcement officials executed several controlled purchases of methamphetamine from Phillips in early 2021. While executing a search warrant of Phillips’s residence, federal agents found approximately one pound of methamphetamine in his bedroom safe along with nearly $40,000 in cash, some of which bore the same serial numbers as cash used during the controlled purchases. Elsewhere, agents found a loaded 9 mm handgun, several thousand dollars in additional cash, and more methamphetamine and other drug paraphernalia.
The investigation revealed that Phillips began selling multi-ounce quantities of methamphetamine in Southwest Virginia for approximately two-and-a-half years, and then escalated to trafficking over a pound of methamphetamine every two weeks.
As part of his plea agreement, Phillips is forfeiting a total of $44,550 in cash, the 9mm handgun and ammunition, as well as four motorcycles.
United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia and Jared Forget, Special Agent in Charge of DEA’s Washington Division, made the announcement.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Virginia State Police, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, and the Abingdon Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Whit D. Pierce prosecuted the case.
2 defendants sentenced to prison for crimes connected to burying murder victims, narcotics traffickingRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Two local men were sentenced in federal court for their roles in crimes related to the 2018 murders of three victims and a related narcotics ring.
In September 2021, a federal grand jury charged five Columbus men with crimes related to the three murders. An alleged narcotics conspiracy in 2018 to rob a local marijuana dealer of drugs and cash in his residence allegedly resulted in the shooting death of another resident within that house. To cover up for this murder, it is alleged one defendant murdered a man and a woman with knowledge of the first murder.
The indictment also charges defendants with crimes related to trafficking cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin.
In total, 13 individuals have been charged federally for their alleged involvement in either the murders, the cover-up of the murders, or the related narcotics conspiracy.
Lashawn Lee White, 47, was one of four defendants charged with crimes related to the alleged narcotics conspiracy. White possessed fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, Oxycodone, three pistols, one sawed-off shotgun and $20,000 in cash at his residence.
He was sentenced on April 19 to 12 years in prison.
Charles Koon, 52, was one of four other defendants charged in February 2021 for their alleged involvement with moving, dismembering, relocating and then burying the bodies of murder victims Henry Watson and Tera Pennington. He was sentenced 63 months in prison.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; James C. Harris III, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin and Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant announced the sentences imposed by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson.
The joint investigation includes assistance from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), Franklin County Coroner’s Office, Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center (ONIC), U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the Columbus Division of Fire and the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy D. Prichard and Elizabeth A. Geraghty are representing the United States in the cases.
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Wednesday 20 April 2022
“Fedora Bandit” Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison for Bank Robberies and CarjackingRead the Press Release
Denver – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces a federal judge sentenced Daniel Wade Shaw, age 32, of Centennial, to 108 months in federal prison for holding up four banks and carjacking a woman.
The defendant admitted in a plea agreement to four counts of bank robbery and one count of carjacking between February 2, 2021, and April 2, 2021. According to the plea agreement filed with the court, the defendant robbed the Wells Fargo on West 52nd Avenue in Arvada wearing a fedora and mask on February 2, 2021. On February 12, 2021, the defendant entered the US Bank on West Bowles Avenue in Littleton, verbally demanding money. Out of fear, the victim teller complied with the demand. The defendant ran off. He was observed wearing a light tan fedora, a blue surgical mask, and a dark coat. A search of the area surrounding the bank located the tan fedora hat and blue surgical mask. The hat was later tested for DNA, and it matched a DNA profile from a swab obtained from the defendant.
According to the plea agreement, detectives executed search warrants during the investigation, and records obtained from Google showed the defendant’s phone at or near several other bank robberies, including the Wells Fargo Bank located at 6722 S. University Boulevard on March 22, 2021, and the 1st Bank at 10367 Federal Boulevard in Westminster on March 23, 2021, where he threatened to use a gun. Gmail records show the defendant at both scenes at the time of the robbery.
According to the plea agreement, on March 30, 2021, the defendant approached a woman who was filling up washer fluid in her vehicle. The defendant got into her car, pointed a handgun in her direction, cycled the slide, and motioned for the victim to step away. Out of fear, the victim complied. The defendant took the car and fled the area. Gmail records show the defendant’s phone near the scene at the time of the carjacking.
On April 4, 2021, Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies contacted Daniel Shaw outside his residence and arrested him on an active search warrant. A search of the residence and found items of evidence related to some of the bank robberies. They also found a stolen car that had been used in several robberies.
“This defendant left a trail of terrified victims, who were just doing their jobs and going about their daily lives. This lengthy sentence will not make those victims whole again, but it does send a clear message that we will prosecute criminals who rob innocent people of their peace of mind,” said U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan. “We appreciate our federal and state partners who work tirelessly to take repeat offenders off the streets.”
“Bank robbery is not a victimless crime. Bank personnel and customers can be traumatized, and of course, we all pay for the loss and the increased security measures,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael H. Schneider of the Denver FBI Field Office. “This defendant did not learn his lesson the first time, and today's sentence will hopefully provide him with more time in prison to reflect upon his criminal conduct.”
“Violent crimes are on the rise in the Denver metro area. Our investigators, crime lab, and all other supporting resources are crucial to not only prosecuting these suspects, but to also helping the victims of violent crime. While we celebrate the outcome of this case, we remain focused and relentless in our pursuit to bring more violent criminals to justice,” said Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Shrader.
U.S. District Court Judge Daniel D. Domenico imposed a 108-month prison sentenced after a hearing in federal court on April 20, 2022.
Case 21-cr-00109 was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Brian Dunn. The charges were the result of an investigation by the FBI Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Woman sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for second-degree murder and intentional child abuse for death of infantRead the Press Release
ALBUQERQUE, N.M. – Sophia Zayas, 40, was sentenced in federal court on April 19 to 30 years in prison for charges relating to the 2007 death of her infant daughter. On Aug. 4, 2021, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict on one count of second-degree murder, one count of intentional child abuse resulting in death, four counts of intentional abuse resulting in great bodily harm and two counts of intentional child abuse not resulting in great bodily harm.
On Feb. 19, 2014, her husband, Peter Zayas, 37, pleaded guilty to negligent child abuse resulting in great bodily harm. In his plea agreement, Peter Zayas admitted that between August 16, 2007, and Oct. 22, 2007, he permitted his infant to be in a situation that endangered her life knowing that there was a foreseeable risk that she would be physically harmed or killed by leaving her in the care of Sophia Zayas, knowing that she had a history of alcohol abuse. At the time of the offenses, Peter Zayas was a sergeant with the U.S. Air Force and was stationed at Holloman Air Force Base. On Oct. 2, 2018, Peter Zayas was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The infant sustained fractures to her skull, ribs, and radius and ulna as a result of the abuse. Physicians testified that the child's injuries stemmed from multiple blunt force trauma that was the result of abusive behavior. The jury heard testimony that Sophia Zayas’s daughter died as the result of an axonal injury in her brain and that the injury was caused by a blow to the head. Additionally, the jury heard testimony that Sophia Zayas had a serious drinking problem, that she was the only steward for the infant on the day of her death, and that the baby suffered numerous abusive incidents in her short life.
Previously, Sophia Zayas pleaded guilty on Feb. 24, 2014, to negligent child abuse resulting in great bodily harm. However, in November of 2015, her counsel filed a motion to withdraw her guilty plea, asserting that her plea was not knowing and voluntary following a change in the relevant child abuse law. The district court denied that motion on Feb. 8, 2017. On Sept. 27, 2018, she was sentenced to 15 years in prison, but successfully appealed the district court’s decision to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. On Feb. 6, 2020, the Tenth Circuit remanded the case back to the district court with instructions to vacate her guilty plea.
The FBI and the Air Force Office of Special Investigation investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo and Christopher S. McNair is prosecuting the case.
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Wise County Man Sentenced for Possession of Fentanyl, Guns Following Single-Vehicle CrashRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va. – A Wise County, Virginia man, who was found to be in possession of over 40 grams of fentanyl and a pair of firearms at the scene of a single-vehicle accident, was sentenced today in federal court to 195 months in federal prison.
Malcolm T’Rell Pinkston, 31, of Big Stone Gap, Va., pleaded guilty in November 2021 to one count of possession with the intent of distribute and attempting to possess with the intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and one count of possessing a firearm and ammunition in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to court documents, law enforcement arrived at the scene of a single-vehicle crash on Route 23 in Duffield, Virginia where they found Pinkston visibly impaired and handling a 9 mm pistol next to his crashed vehicle. Inside the vehicle, officers found 48 grams of fentanyl, a 5.56 caliber pistol, and several magazines and rounds of ammunition. Two Scott County Sheriff’s Deputies were taken to the hospital following fentanyl exposures from processing the evidence.
Pinkston was serving a term of supervised release at the time of his accident due to a prior federal conviction for conspiracy to distribute oxycodone.
United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia, Charlie J. Patterson, Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Washington Field Division, and Colonel Gary T. Settle, Superintendent of the Virginia State Police made the announcement today.
The Scott County Sheriff’s Office, the Virginia State Police, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lena L. Busscher prosecuted the case.
Wisconsin Rapids Man Sentenced to 12 Years for Methamphetamine TraffickingRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that David Shamont Lindsey, 38, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 12 years in federal prison for distributing more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. Lindsey pleaded guilty to this charge on January 24, 2022.
An investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies in central Wisconsin determined that Lindsey distributed substantial amounts of methamphetamine in the Wisconsin Rapids area for a number of years. In May 2019, he was recorded by law enforcement delivering nearly 4 ounces of methamphetamine to a customer in Plover, Wisconsin. In August 2019, Lindsey was stopped by the Utah Highway Patrol as he returned to Wisconsin from the West Coast with 6 ½ pounds of methamphetamine concealed in a large PVC tube hidden in his car. Lindsey intended to distribute the methamphetamine in Wisconsin.
In sentencing Lindsey, Judge Conley said that 12 years was a reasonable and necessary sentence considering that Lindsey was a major drug trafficker in the Wisconsin Rapids area rather than engaging in lawful employment. Judge Conley noted that although Lindsey had previous criminal convictions, this would be the first meaningful prison term for his conduct. However, an aggravating factor considered by the court was Lindsey’s purposeful submission of false affidavits and information to the court when attempting to influence the court’s decision on pretrial motions raised by Lindsey who represented himself.
The charges against Lindsey were the result of an investigation conducted by the Central Wisconsin Drug Task Force, Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, the Utah Highway Patrol, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Anderson and Chadwick Elgersma prosecuted this case.
Wisconsin Man Charged with Seeking to Intimidate and Interfere with Housing Rights Following Racially-Motivated IncidentsRead the Press Release
A federal criminal complaint was issued charging William A. McDonald, 54, of West Allis, Wisconsin, with using force and threatening to use force to injure, intimidate and interfere with the housing rights of multiple individuals because of their race, color or national origin. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Richard G. Frohling for the Eastern District of Wisconsin made the announcement.
According to a publicly filed complaint, law enforcement has been investigating a series of racially motivated incidents involving property damage and threats of bodily harm unless individuals move from West Allis. The complaint alleges that McDonald violated federal law with respect to one or more of these incidents.
The FBI’s Milwaukee Field Office and the West Allis Police Department are investigating the case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip Kovoor and Christopher Ladwig for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, in collaboration with Trial Attorney Nikhil Ramnaney for the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Wisconsin Man Charged with Seeking to Intimidate and Interfere with Housing Rights Following Racially-Motivated IncidentsRead the Press Release
A federal criminal complaint was issued charging William A. McDonald, 54, of West Allis, Wisconsin, with using force and threatening to use force to injure, intimidate and interfere with the housing rights of multiple individuals because of their race, color or national origin. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Richard G. Frohling for the Eastern District of Wisconsin made the announcement.
According to a publicly filed complaint, law enforcement has been investigating a series of racially motivated incidents involving property damage and threats of bodily harm unless individuals move from West Allis. The complaint alleges that McDonald violated federal law with respect to one or more of these incidents.
This case was investigated by the FBI Milwaukee Field Division and the West Allis Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip Kovoor and Christopher Ladwig for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, in collaboration with Trial Attorney Nikhil Ramnaney for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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William Kelly Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison in Connection with the AnC Vermont EB-5 Project in the Northeast KingdomRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office announced that William Kelly, 73, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and previously of Weston, Florida, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison by Chief Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford in United States District Court. Chief Judge Crawford also ordered a three-year term of supervised release and ordered Kelly to pay $8,338,600.77 in restitution. Today’s sentencing follows Kelly’s guilty plea in June 2021 to conspiring with co-defendants Ariel Quiros, Jong Weon (Alex) Choi, and William Stenger in a multi-year wire fraud scheme to defraud immigrant investors seeking green cards through the EB-5 program. He also pleaded guilty to concealing material facts in a matter within the jurisdiction of a federal agency, namely United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which oversaw the EB-5 program.
According to court records and proceedings, the AnC Vermont project was designed to raise $110 million from 220 immigrant investors in order to construct and operate a biotechnology facility in Newport, Vermont. EB-5 investors could qualify for permanent resident status (commonly known as a green card) by investing $500,000 in a commercial enterprise approved by USCIS and the Vermont Regional Center (VRC), which had the authority to approve and monitor EB-5 projects in Vermont. In order to obtain a green card, each investor needed to demonstrate to USCIS that his or her investment had created, or would create within a few years, ten jobs. From 2012 to 2016, approximately 169 investors invested approximately $85 million in the AnC Vermont project, in addition to paying approximately $8 million in “administrative fees.” Fundraising was never completed, and the AnC Vermont facility was never constructed.
When he pleaded guilty, Kelly admitted that he and his co-conspirators misled AnC Vermont investors about how investor funds would be used, about how many jobs would be created by the project, and about the timeline for this job creation. For example, Kelly and others knew that it was necessary to demonstrate a plan to create at least 2,200 jobs in order to obtain USCIS approval of the AnC Vermont project, and that USCIS approval and business revenues were both important to investors. The jobs report for the project was directly based on hiring and financial projections generated by Kelly, Choi, and Stenger to justify the job creation number required for EB-5 approval. Kelly knew that no one had assessed whether the purported financial projections in the project’s business plan were reasonable. Between 2012 and 2016, Kelly and his co-conspirators maintained the jobs numbers in spite of the fact that no one associated with the AnC Vermont project was making progress toward identifying customers for clean room rentals, acquiring commercially viable stem cell products, or developing the potential artificial organs.
Kelly also admitted that between March 2013 and October 2014, he helped Quiros and Stenger pay over $47 million in AnC Vermont investor money to Jay Construction Management (JCM), a Quiros-controlled entity that was designated as a pass-through corporation for approximately $52 million that was to be paid to a Korean company created and controlled by Choi. During this period, Kelly knew that Quiros forwarded less than $6 million from JCM to Choi’s company. Kelly knew that Quiros used approximately $21 million of the AnC Vermont investor funds sent to JCM to pay off a Raymond James loan that was used for expenses unrelated to the AnC Vermont project. In addition to the wire fraud conspiracy charge, Kelly admitted helping conceal from the VRC that Quiros had used the $21 million in AnC Vermont investor funds for purposes unrelated to the AnC Vermont project.
As part of his plea agreement, Kelly agreed to cooperate in the government’s ongoing matters related to this case. The plea agreement signed by Kelly and the government capped Kelly’s potential jail sentence at 36 months, so long as he abided by the terms of the agreement. In connection with Kelly’s sentencing proceeding, the government informed the Court that Kelly had abided by the agreement’s terms and would be called as a witness at any trial of Kelly’s co-defendants.
Co-defendant Quiros pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering, and concealment charges in August 2020 and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 29, 2022. Co-defendant Stenger pleaded guilty to submitting false documents to the VRC and was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $250,000 in restitution, on April 14, 2022. Co-defendant Choi remains at large.
Nikolas P. Kerest, United States Attorney, expresses his gratitude for the outstanding investigation assistance by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, IRS Criminal Investigation, the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, and for the assistance of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section and Office of International Affairs. The prosecutors handling the case are Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicole Cate and Paul Van de Graaf. William Kelly is represented by Robert Goldstein, Esq. and Mary Kehoe, Esq. Ariel Quiros is represented by Neil Taylor, Esq. and Robert Katims, Esq. William Stenger is represented by Brooks McArthur, Esq. and David Williams, Esq.
Virgin Islands Assistant United States Attorney Receives Prestigious Attorney General's AwardRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI - United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced today that Assistant United States Attorney Adam F. Sleeper has been awarded an Attorney General’s Award by the United States Department of Justice for Outstanding Contributions by a New Employee. "The Annual Attorney General’s Awards recognize Department of Justice employees for their extraordinary contributions to the rule of law and the pursuit of justice," U.S. Attorney Shappert said. "AUSA Sleeper joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the fall of 2019 and currently serves as the Appellate Chief for the office. In addition to his responsibilities in the U.S. Virgin Islands, AUSA Sleeper supports our colleagues in the Eastern District of Oklahoma by handling appeals from that district as needed. He has also provided exceptional assistance to attorneys here in the Territory and across the United States."
Prior to joining the United States Attorney’s Office, AUSA Sleeper clerked for a federal judge on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and for U.S. District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez in the District of the Virgin Islands. He is a graduate of Cornell Law School and of Connecticut College.
More information regarding the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s efforts is available at https://www.justice.gov/usao-vi.
Verona Man Indicted on Drug and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA. A resident of Verona, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of violating various federal firearms and narcotics laws, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
The three-count Indictment named Anthony Kenney, age 31, as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment, Kenney is alleged to have possessed with the intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fluorofentanyl and fentanyl and a quantity of a mixture of heroin and fentanyl on or about Jan. 4, 2022. Additionally, Kenney is alleged to have possessed a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and Kenny is also alleged to have possessed a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon on or about Jan. 4, 2022.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $5,000,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Douglas C. Maloney is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.