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Wednesday 9 March 2022
Carbon County Woman Charged with Theft of Government FundsRead the Press Release
SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a former Postal contractor, Rachele Ostrowe, age 39, of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, was indicted by a federal grand jury for theft of Government funds.
According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, the indictment alleges that between November 2017 and April 2019, Ostrowe fraudulently claimed mileage payments for extra trips to deliver mail and parcels to which she knew she was not entitled. The indictment alleges she stole over $1,000.
The case is being investigated by the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Sean A. Camoni is prosecuting the case.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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Brooklyn Man Indicted for Gunpoint Robberies of More Than $1 MillionRead the Press Release
A 10-count superseding indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Robert Rodriguez with Hobbs Act robbery, Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy, and related firearms crimes for planning and executing four armed robberies targeting the owner and patrons of a Queens check-cashing business in July 2020 and September 2021. Rodriguez was arrested today and is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Taryn A. Merkl. Rodriguez’s co-defendant, Raymundo Heyaime Sanchez, was previously arrested and indicted for Hobbs Act robbery and related crimes for his role in one of the four robberies charged in the superseding indictment. Sanchez is currently detained pending trial.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, John B. DeVito, Special Agent-in-Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, New York Field Division (ATF), and Keechant L. Sewell, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the charges.
“As alleged in the superseding indictment, the defendant is charged with the brazen gunpoint robberies of the owner and customers of a Queens check cashing business,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Such openly menacing and violent conduct will not be tolerated. This Office will vigorously prosecute criminals who allegedly commit violent crimes using guns and endanger the safety and security of our communities.”
“Today’s arrest of an armed violent criminal by the ATF/NYPD Sparta Task Force is another example of our unwavering commitment to aggressively pursue and investigate acts of violence involving the use of firearms in our communities” stated ATF Special Agent-in- Charge DeVito. “The defendant’s willful disregard for the safety and security of our citizens was evident by preying on both the business and customers alike. Thanks to our partners in the United States Attorney’s Office and the NYPD, this defendant will now have to answer for his violent actions in a court of law.”
“Today’s indictment is another example of our laser-like focus on combating violent crime and holding accountable anyone who endangers people on our streets,” stated NYPD Commissioner Sewell. “If you carry an illegal gun in New York City – and especially if you use that gun to terrorize our communities – you will be arrested and charged accordingly. Thanks to the combined efforts of the NYPD and our partners at the ATF and the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, the accused in this case now faces the prospect of significant federal prison time.”
As set forth in court filings, Rodriguez, Sanchez, and a co-conspirator targeted the owner of a check-cashing business located in Jamaica, New York. On July 3, 2020, after conducting surveillance of the owner’s home and business, the owner was confronted in the driveway of the business by masked bandits who pistol-whipped him on the back of the head before robbing him of more than $1 million. Rodriguez subsequently committed three additional robberies of the business’s customers more than a year later. On each occasion, Rodriguez purportedly waited in a vehicle near the check-cashing business until a customer departed, at which point he followed each victim by car before ultimately robbing the customer at gunpoint.
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted of the charges, the defendants face a mandatory minimum of 84 months’ imprisonment and up to life in prison.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lindsey R. Oken and Adam Toporovsky.
The Defendants:
ROBERT RODRIGUEZ (also known as “Chicho”)
Age: 37
Brooklyn, New YorkRAYMUNDO HEYAIME SANCHEZ
Age: 25
Brooklyn, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-CR-465 (S-1)(PKC)
Bridgeport Gang Member Sentenced to 40 Years for Murder, Role in Courthouse Shooting, Other ViolenceRead the Press Release
TYIESE WARREN, also known as “Loose Screw,” 21, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 480 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for murder and other violent crimes he committed as a member of a Bridgeport gang.
Today’s announcement was made by Leonard C Boyle, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut; Joseph T. Corradino, State’s Attorney for the Fairfield Judicial District; Bridgeport Acting Police Chief Rebeca Garcia; James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division; David Sundberg, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, and Acting U.S. Marshal Lawrence Bobnick.
According to court documents and statements made in court, the FBI, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service and Bridgeport Police have been investigating multiple Bridgeport-based gangs whose members are involved in narcotics trafficking, murder and other acts of violence. Warren has been a member of the “Original North End” (“O.N.E.”), a gang based in the Trumbull Gardens area of Bridgeport whose members sold narcotics, laundered narcotics proceeds, committed acts of violence against rival gang members, robbed drug dealers, stole cars from inside and outside Connecticut and used them to commit crimes, and tampered with witnesses who might testify against them. From approximately 2017 until August 2020, O.N.E. members were aligned with the “Greene Homes Boyz” (“GHB/Hotz”), a gang based in the Charles F. Greene Homes Housing Complex in Bridgeport’s North End, against rival groups in Bridgeport, including the East End, East Side and PT Barnum gangs, as well as 150, which is a geographic gang based on the West Side of Bridgeport.
On December 8, 2019, Warren and others shot and killed Ty’Quess Moore, 18, a member or associate of the East End/P.T. Barnum gang alliance.
Warren also helped plan and carry out the retaliation shootings of East End gang members and associates in a brazen afternoon shooting in front of a Bridgeport courthouse. At 12:11 p.m. on January 27, 2020, Bridgeport Police responded to the area of 172 Golden Hill Street in Bridgeport after a Shot Spotter activation detected approximately 20 shots being fired in front of the state courthouse located there. Upon arrival, investigators discovered that four victims had been shot while sitting inside a black Chevrolet Impala. One victim was shot in the side of his chest and was left paralyzed and a second victim sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his back, shoulder and wrist. The victims’ vehicle had approximately 23 entry bullet holes in the driver’s side and windshield area.
Warren also participated in gang-related drug trafficking.
Further, on March 25, 2020, Warren and an accomplice stole a car that was in front of the Citgo 6M Service Station and Quik Mart located at 2000 Barnum Avenue in Stratford. During the theft, they dragged the car’s driver, who was trying to stop the theft and was hanging onto the car, several hundred yards before he let go. Warren and an accomplice then engaged in a carjacking involving a Toyota Corolla in Bridgeport, holding the owner at gunpoint and ultimately driving away in the car. Minutes later, Warren and an accomplice committed a gunpoint robbery of the Citgo in Stratford, taking cash from the store and a cellphone from a store employee. Stratford Police arrested Warren later that night after he crashed another stolen car he was driving on an I-95 on-ramp and then ran from police.
Warren has been detained since March 25, 2020. On October 25, 2021, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity.
This ongoing investigation is being conducted by ATF, the FBI’s Safe Streets and Violent Crimes Task Forces, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Bridgeport Police Department, Connecticut State Police and the Bridgeport State’s Attorney’s Office, with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory and the Stratford and Naugatuck Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rahul Kale, Karen L. Peck, Jocelyn C. Kaoutzanis, and Stephanie T. Levick.
This prosecution is a part of the Justice’s Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), Project Longevity and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) programs.
PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Project Longevity is a comprehensive initiative to reduce gun violence in Connecticut’s major cities. Through Project Longevity, community members and law enforcement directly engage with members of groups that are prone to commit violence and deliver a community message against violence, a law enforcement message about the consequences of further violence and an offer of help for those who want it. If a group member elects to engage in gun violence, the focused attention of federal, state and local law enforcement will be directed at that entire group.
OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Blairsville Bookkeeper Sentenced to Prison for Embezzling from Her Employer and Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA- A resident of Blairsville, PA was sentenced in federal court for Mail Fraud and Filing a False Income Tax Return, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
Sandra Jo Doak, 63, was sentenced to 42 months’ imprisonment at Count 1, and 38 months at Count 2, to be served concurrently, and three years’ supervised release for defrauding her employer in her role as bookkeeper for the medical office of Matthew Klain in Indiana, PA. Doak embezzled company funds totaling approximately $592,833, which she used for personal expenses such as the sporting events and travel. Doak also concealed the embezzled income from the IRS on her personal income tax returns and was ordered to pay $123,849 to the IRS in restitution.
In imposing sentence, United States District Judge Bissoon considered the seriousness of the offenses and financial impact upon the medical practice and its employees.
Assistant United States Attorney Gregory C. Melucci prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service and the Pennsylvania State Police along with the Indiana Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Office conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Sandra Jo Doak.
Birmingham Man Pleads Guilty to Charges Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a MinorRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A Birmingham man plead guilty this week to the charges of sex trafficking of a minor and production of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr.
Jeremy Lynn Alexander, 36, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre to one count of sex trafficking of a minor and one count of production of child pornography. According to the plea agreement, on or about July 16, 2021, FBI Birmingham’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force received a priority lead regarding a 14-year-old female reported missing out of Madison, Wisconsin. FBI Birmingham and Homewood Police Special Investigations Unit launched an immediate investigation to find and recover the child. They located her through an advertisement on a website known for commercial sex advertisements. A task force officer responded to the number posted in the advertisement, the minor victim replied, and provided the address to meet. Members of the task force responded to a local hotel and located the juvenile victim in the hotel room with Alexander. Further investigation revealed child pornography involving Alexander and the juvenile victim located on Alexander’s cell phone.
FBI Birmingham's Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force investigated the case, with the assistance of the Homewood Police Special Investigations Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Darius Greene and R. Leann White are prosecuting the case.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Alien smuggler’s high speed flight leads to stint in federal prisonRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 43-year-old Falfurrias resident has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of transporting illegal aliens, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Pedro Galindo pleaded guilty Dec. 1, 2021.
Today, U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton handed Galindo a sentence of 41 months in federal prison. At the hearing, the court noted he had prior convictions for burglary, robbery and conspiracy to transport undocumented aliens.
On Sep. 3, 2021, Galindo was driving a black Chevrolet Impala Northbound on U.S. Highway 281 near San Manuel. During that time, law enforcement observed a low-riding vehicle that appeared to contain more occupants than its seating capacity allowed.
When a registration check on the vehicle returned with no record on file, law enforcement attempted to pull the vehicle over for further inspection. Galindo failed to yield and drove north at an accelerated speed before eventually losing control. At that time, he allowed eight passengers to exit the vehicle. Authorities determined all passengers were illegally present in the United States.
After speeding through the Falfurrias checkpoint, Galindo continued to flee in his vehicle at nearly 148 miles per hour. A vehicle immobilization device brought the car to a halt where officers were able to arrest Galindo.
He will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Parker Gochenour prosecuted the case.
16 Defendants, Including 12 Physicians, Sentenced to Prison for Distributing 6.6 Million Opioid Pills and Submitting $250 Million in False BillingsRead the Press Release
Sixteen Michigan and Ohio-area defendants, including 12 physicians, have been sentenced to prison for a $250 million health care fraud scheme that included the exploitation of patients suffering from addiction and the illegal distribution of over 6.6 million doses of medically unnecessary opioids. Five physicians were convicted in two separate trials, while 18 other defendants pleaded guilty. Seven defendants await sentencing.
“It is unconscionable that doctors and health care professionals would violate their oath to do no harm and exploit vulnerable patients struggling with addiction,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “These are not just crimes of greed, these are crimes that make this country’s opioid crisis even worse – and that is why the department will continue to relentlessly pursue these cases.”
“Patients look to physicians and medical professionals for their expertise and knowledge, trusting that they will do what is best to take care of them,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “In this circumstance, these medical professionals provided prescription drugs to those with no medical need. It is unacceptable that in this nation’s current opioid crisis, physicians and medical professionals are exploiting the well-being of their patients for profit. Thanks to the diligent work of the FBI and our law enforcement partners, we are able to navigate the important sphere of healthcare fraud and to continue our mission of bringing those who operate these criminal schemes to justice.”
“Health care professionals who exploit opioid addiction for financial gain do so at the risk of endangering their patients and undermining critical public health efforts to address the opioid epidemic,” said Special Agent in Charge Mario Pinto of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to ensure that bad actors are held accountable for such egregious disregard for patient safety and well-being.”
“IRS-CI is committed to working with its law enforcement partners to help fight the opioid crisis and to prevent unscrupulous heath care professionals from using taxpayer funded programs as their own piggybanks,” said Special Agent in Charge Sarah Kull of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Detroit Field Office.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the scheme involved doctors refusing to provide patients with opioids unless they agreed to unnecessary back injections. Perpetrated through a multi-state network of pain clinics from 2007 to 2018, the evidence established that the clinics were pill mills frequented by patients suffering from addiction, as well as drug dealers, who sought to obtain high-dosage prescription drugs like oxycodone. The doctors working at the clinics agreed to work only a few hours a week to “stay under the radar” of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), yet were among the highest prescribers of oxycodone in the State of Michigan.
To obtain prescriptions, the evidence showed that the patients had to submit to expensive, unnecessary and sometimes painful back injections, known as facet joint injections. The injections were selected because they were among the highest reimbursing procedures, rather than based on medical need. Trial testimony established that, in some instances, patients experienced more pain from the shots than from the pain they had purportedly come to have treated, and that some patients developed adverse conditions, including open holes in their backs. Patients largely acquiesced to these unnecessary procedures because of their addiction or desire to obtain pills to be resold on the street by drug dealers. Evidence further established that the defendant physicians repeatedly performed these unnecessary injections on patients over several years and were paid more for facet joint injections than any other medical clinic in the United States.
The evidence further established that the proceeds of the fraud were used to fuel lavish lifestyles. Francisco Patino, a doctor and part-owner of the clinics, bought jewelry, cars and vacations, as well as paid Ultimate Fighting Championship and other mixed martial arts fighters to promote his specialized diet program. Mashiyat Rashid, Patino’s business partner and part-owner of the clinics, purchased private jet flights, courtside tickets to the NBA Finals and expensive real estate. Other physicians involved in the scheme purchased luxury cars, gold bars, and indoor basketball courts and swimming pools. Over $16 million in fraud proceeds was forfeited by the United States from the defendants.
The physicians sentenced by the court include:
- Spilios Pappas, M.D., 63, of Lucas County, Ohio, convicted at trial in 2020 for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and health care fraud, was sentenced on March 9, to nine years in prison and ordered to pay $32,287,758 in restitution.
- Tariq Omar, M.D., 63, of Oakland County, Michigan, convicted at trial in 2020 for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and health care fraud, was sentenced on March 9, to eight years in prison and ordered to pay $24,243,603 in restitution.
- Joseph Betro, D.O., 60, of Oakland County, Michigan, convicted at trial in 2020 for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and health care fraud, was sentenced in February 2022 to nine years in prison and ordered to pay $27,417,516 in restitution.
- Mohammed Zahoor, M.D., 53, of Oakland County, Michigan, convicted at trial in 2020 for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and health care fraud, was sentenced in February 2022 to eight years in prison and ordered to pay $36,645,577 in restitution.
- Zahid Sheikh, M.D., 62, of Macomb County, Michigan, was sentenced to 70 months in prison, and ordered to pay $2,088,797 in restitution in connection with his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
- Abdul Haq, M.D., 76, of Ypsilanti, Michigan, was sentenced to four years in prison, and ordered to pay $6,927,046.12 in restitution in connection with his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
- Steven Adamczyk, M.D., 47, of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, was sentenced to 42 months in prison, and ordered to pay $1,237,570.97 in restitution in connection with his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
- David Weaver, M.D., 67, of Canton, Michigan, was sentenced to three years in prison, and ordered to pay $229,500 in restitution in connection with his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
- Glenn Saperstein, M.D., 58, of Commerce Township, Michigan, was sentenced to 20 months in prison, and ordered to pay $2,722,760.95 in restitution in connection with his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
- Manish Bolina, M.D., 43, of Canton, Michigan, was sentenced to 20 months in prison, and ordered to pay $310,936.95 in restitution in connection with his guilty plea to one count of false statements.
- Hussein Saad, M.D., 42, of Dearborn, Michigan, was sentenced to 10 months in prison, and ordered to pay $415,207.54 in restitution in connection with his guilty plea to one count of false statements.
- David Yangouyian, M.D., 58, of Farmington Hills, Michigan, was sentenced to six months in prison, and ordered to pay $35,480.98 in restitution in connection with his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
Other defendants sentenced by the court include:
- Mashiyat Rashid was sentenced in March 2021 to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay over $51 million in restitution in connection with his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and one count of money laundering.
- Yousef Almatrahi, 34, of Romulus, Michigan, the owner of a home health agency, was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay $1,359,512.69 in restitution in connection with his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud in connection with his payment of illegal kickbacks for the referral of patients from the clinics for medically unnecessary home health services.
- Hina Qazi, 39, of Rochester Hills, Michigan, the owner of a home health agency, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $827,713 in restitution in connection with her guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud in connection with her payment of illegal kickbacks for the referral of patients from the clinics for medically unnecessary home health services.
- Joshua Burns, 43, of Detroit, Michigan, was sentenced to one-day in prison and ordered to pay $144,00 in restitution in connection with his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay and receive illegal kickbacks and bribes in connection with Patino’s referral of urine drug testing and sponsorship of MMA fighters.
The following defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on future dates:
- Francisco Patino, M.D., is scheduled to be sentenced on his conviction after a one-month trial in 2021 on one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, two counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay and receive health care kickbacks, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and one count of money laundering.
- Yasser Mozeb, 39, of Hamtramck, Michigan, the office manager of the Tri-County clinics, is scheduled to be sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay and receive illegal kickbacks and bribes.
- Kashif Rasool, M.D., 46, of Troy, Michigan, is scheduled to be sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
- Tariq Siddiqi, 44, of Sterling Heights, Michigan, is scheduled to be sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud in connection with his payment of illegal kickbacks for the referral of patients from the clinics for medically unnecessary home health services.
- Tasadaq Ali Ahmad, 54, of Canton, Michigan, the owner of a home health agency, is scheduled to be sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay and receive kickbacks.
- Stephanie Borgula, 41, of Livonia, Michigan, a licensed physical therapist, is scheduled to be sentenced in connection with her guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
- Meiuttenun Brown, M.D., 51, of Toledo, Ohio, is scheduled to be sentenced in connection with her guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
The FBI, HHS-OIG and IRS-CI investigated the case.
Assistant Chief Jacob Foster of the National Rapid Response Strike Force and Trial Attorneys Thomas Tynan, Steven Scott, Kathleen Cooperstein and Shankar Ramamurthy of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this Program, comprised of 15 strike forces operating in 24 federal districts, has charged more than 4,200 defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for more than $19 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
"Get Dat Money" Member Sentenced to 17+ Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
MACON, Ga. – The 13th member of Macon’s “Get Dat Money” (GDM) methamphetamine drug trafficking organization was sentenced to serve more than 17 years in prison resulting from a lengthy investigation into the network’s illegal activities throughout Middle Georgia.
Tabitha Whitehead, 37, of Macon, was sentenced to serve 210 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release on Tuesday, March 8, after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Dec. 21, 2020. There is no parole in the federal system.
“The final member of Kelvin Carswell’s ‘Get Dat Money’ organization has been held to account for her role in pushing large amounts of methamphetamine in Middle Georgia, destroying many lives and hurting our community in the process,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “The tremendous efforts by federal and local investigators in this case ultimately protected people and ended an illegal methamphetamine network orchestrated by Carswell from behind prison walls.”
"This sentencing ends an exhaustive investigation into a conspiracy that compounded an epidemic that is killing our citizens," said Philip Wislar, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. "The lengthy sentence received by Whitehead and the twelve other defendants in this case serves as an example of the FBI and our law enforcement partners commitment to end the opioid crisis."
“We can be grateful that this dangerous group of individuals has been held to account for spreading poison in our community. The partnership between the Bibb Sheriff’s Office and the FBI has resulted in members of the ‘Get Da Money’ criminal organization getting justice for their criminal deeds,” said Bibb County Sheriff David Davis.
The following individuals have been sentenced to prison:
Kelvin D. Carswell, aka “K-9,” “Nine,” “Kinineso Harlem Carswell,” “9ne Oharlem,” “Kninepunkin KinGcarswell,” 42, of Macon, was sentenced to serve the maximum 240 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to one count conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine on Dec. 15, 2020;
Davan Randolph, 50, of Macon, was sentenced to serve 125 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Dec. 15, 2020;
Terrico Wade, 40, of Macon, was sentenced to serve 71 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine on Dec. 15, 2020;
Chad Cummings, 38, of Macon, was sentenced to serve 60 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on May 3, 2021;
Quateshia Carswell, 28, of Macon, was sentenced to serve 48 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Dec. 1, 2020;
Trent Burton, 51, of Macon, was sentenced to serve the maximum 48 months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to use of communication facility on Dec. 16, 2020;
Kewaunis King, 31, of Macon, was sentenced to serve the maximum 48 months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to use of communication facility on Dec. 15, 2020. King’s federal sentence will run consecutively to any term of imprisonment imposed in Bibb County, Georgia, Superior Court for criminal conduct occurring on Nov. 27, 2018, in Case No. 2018-130280;
Trayvion Burney, 27, of Macon, was sentenced to serve 33 months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony on Jan. 27, 2021;
Kelly Jones, 39, of Macon, was sentenced to serve 24 months of probation after pleading guilty to use of communication facility on Dec.15, 2020;
Jahmi Booker, 39, of Macon, was sentenced to serve ten months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to use of communication facility on Dec. 15, 2020;
Jacobi Jones, Sr., 36, of Macon, was sentenced to serve seven months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to misprision of felony on Dec. 21, 2020; and,
Henry Flowers, 33, of Macon, was sentenced to time served to be followed by one year of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to use of a communication facility on Jan. 11, 2021.
U.S. District Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self III presided over this case.
According to court documents, FBI’s Macon office and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office initiated an investigation in 2017 into the Carswell drug trafficking organization known as “Get Dat Money” or “GDM.” On May 30, 2012, Carswell had been incarcerated by the Georgia Department of Corrections, serving a sentence for attempted carjacking with a maximum release date of Oct. 12, 2026. In June 2017, the FBI received information that Carswell was orchestrating the sale of drugs while incarcerated at the Washington State Prison in Sandersville, Georgia. A search of Carswell’s prison cell uncovered a quantity of drugs and a cellular phone with multiple SD cards. Investigators discovered Carswell was texting his co-conspirators explicit instructions via his contraband cell phone to facilitate the distribution of methamphetamine, heroin and crack cocaine from prison. The drugs, once obtained, were sold from a residence Carswell and his co-conspirators referred to as “The Mansion” located at 373 Fulton Street in Macon. Carswell’s co-conspirators would sell drugs out of “The Mansion” at his direction. Drugs were also sold by distributors working at the behest of Carswell at multiple motels located in Macon. Throughout the course of the conspiracy, Carswell’s co-conspirators obtained more than 10,000 grams of methamphetamine for distribution at his direction.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.
Criminal Chief Michael Solis prosecuted the case.
Tuesday 8 March 2022
York Woman Charged with Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on March 4, 2022, a criminal information was filed charging Melinda Bixler, age 49, of York, Pennsylvania, with one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from unlawful activity.
According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, the information alleges that Bixler purchased a home in York, PA for $685,000 using money that she had obtained through various unlawful means.
The information alleges that Bixler obtained a mortgage loan for the purchase of this home by submitting multiple false statements to York Traditions Bank. These false statements allegedly included a forged letter from the owners of a business property that Bixler had previously purchased stating that she no longer owed money to the prior owners, when in fact she was still making monthly payments on it. It is also alleged that Bixler obtained a gift letter from her son stating that he was gifting his mother $350,000 from his own personal funds when Bixler actually funneled money to her son through a series of transactions that disguised the true sources of the funds. One source of these funds was $78,000 that Bixler took from the bank account of M.H., a 94-year-old woman residing at a nursing home in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Bixler was then the power of attorney for M.H., and she therefore had access to the elderly client’s bank account.
The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, York County District Attorney’s Office, York County Area Agency on Aging, and the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, Protective Services Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Romel Sharma is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, the maximum penalty under federal law is 10 years’ imprisonment. This charge may also carry a fine and a term of supervised release following imprisonment. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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Yakima Man Sentenced to 22 Years in Federal Prison for Child Pornography OffenseRead the Press Release
Yakima, Washington – On March 2, Chief U.S. District Judge Stanley A. Bastian sentenced Douglas Craig Parsley, 34, of Yakima, Washington, to 22 years in federal prison for attempted production of child pornography. Chief Judge Bastian also ordered Parsley to serve an additional 20 years on federal supervision after he is released from prison. Parsley pleaded guilty on October 27, 2021.
According to court documents, Parsley attempted to produce child pornography by photographing a toddler he was babysitting while the child’s mother was at work. Parsley photographed his minor victim in nude and partially nude states.
The investigation began in 2019 when an Internet Crimes Against Children (“ICAC”) Task Force Officers in Contra Costa, California, arrested a person who was trying to meet up with another person to engage in sexual activity with a minor. Search warrants led to the discovery of communications with Parsley, and law enforcement agents obtained a federal search warrant for Parsley’s home in Yakima. During the execution of that warrant, officers seized a variety of Parsley’s electronic devices, which contained forensic evidence demonstrating that Parsley had taken images of a toddler he was babysitting the previous November. It also became clear that Parsley had used those images in online communications with others.
U.S. Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref commended the efforts of the Homeland Security Investigations agents and task force officers in this case: “It is a nightmare scenario for parents that a babysitter who is entrusted with the care of a small child would memorialize sexual images of that child and distribute them online. Mr. Parsley’s egregious conduct warrants every minute of the significant sentence imposed. The children of the Eastern District of Washington deserve to live in a safe and strong community just as their parents do. I am deeply grateful for the work of Homeland Security Investigations, our local and state partners, and the ICAC Task Force, which builds fortresses around our children all across the Nation. It is everyone’s job to protect children, and this case shows that we will work across state lines and follow every lead to do so.”
“Mr. Parsley made a decision to take advantage of a working mother while using the Internet to trade child exploitation images. His decision will keep him behind bars for the next 22 years,” said Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Robert Hammer, who oversees HSI operations in the Pacific Northwest. “This is an example of how our Task Force-based law enforcement partnerships are continuously working around the clock to keep Washington communities safe from child predators.”
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, with the Southeast Regional ICAC Task Force, and the Contra Costa County, California, District Attorney’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Michael Murphy, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.
Wiggins Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Transportation of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Hattiesburg, Miss. – A Wiggins man was sentenced to serve 60 months in federal prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release, for transporting visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi. Restitution to the victims was also ordered.
According to court documents, Charles Ezekiel Spangler, 38, was identified by the FBI when they received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that he uploaded pictures of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct via the internet to his Tumblr account in June of 2018.
Spangler was indicted by a federal grand jury and he pled guilty on December 2, 2021.
The case was investigated by the FBI with the assistance of the Mississippi Attorney General’s Cyber Crimes Division.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones prosecuted the case.
Whitehall Man Charged with Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Kevin Smurphat, age 33, of Whitehall, New York, appeared in federal court yesterday on child pornography charges.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
According to the indictment, Smurphat used the Internet to distribute, receive, transport and possess images and videos of child pornography.
The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Smurphat appeared yesterday before United States Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart and was ordered detained pending further proceedings. If convicted, Smurphat faces a minimum 15 years and up to 40 years in prison, a maximum $250,000 fine, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
This case is being investigated by the FBI and its Child Exploitation Task Force, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin C. Segovia as part of Project Safe Childhood.
Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Waterford Resident and Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to 50 Years in Federal Prison for Sexual Exploitation of Several ChildrenRead the Press Release
A Waterford man was sentenced today to 50 years in federal prison after having pleaded guilty to production of child pornography and commission of an offense against a child by a registered sex offender, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.
Ison was joined in the announcement by Acting Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations.
Jostin Arthur Desco, 28, was sentenced by United States District Judge Judith E. Levy.
According to court records, Desco sexually exploited at least ten different children using a variety of methods. Desco sexually assaulted a 7 year-old boy who he knew well, recorded that abuse, and sent it to others on the dark web. Desco also used fake personas to convince several teenage boys to produce sexually explicit images and videos of themselves. Desco, using this fake persona, then convinced the boys to send the material to him. Desco then blackmailed several victims into producing more child pornography for him. Desco even attempted to get some victims to commit sex acts on their siblings as part of the extortive conduct. Desco was also a member of several groups, both on the dark web and the open web, that traded child pornography. Some communications between Desco and other were recovered, including one series of messages where Desco stated, “Yes I am sick and yes I am a monster.”
Desco committed most of these crimes while on parole for a previous offense of distributing child sexually abusive material. That crime required him to register as a sex offender.
“The actions of this defendant are reprehensible and demonstrate how a sexual predator can use the internet to victimize innocent children,” said US Attorney Ison. “The lengthy sentence in this case will ensure that Desco will never be able to harm a child again. It should send a clear message that those who prey on our most vulnerable citizens will be held accountable. We also hope this sentence helps to bring closure to the victims and their families.”
“Desco’s horrific crimes hurt the most vulnerable members of our community,” said HSI Detroit acting Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris III. “This sentencing sends a powerful message to those who would prey on the innocent and serves as a reminder of the work necessary to catch these predators and remove them from our communities.”
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin M. Mulcahy and Rosemary Gardey.
Washington’s two U.S. Attorneys join federal law enforcement partners to brief religious leaders on security for houses of worshipRead the Press Release
Seattle – U.S. Attorney Nick Brown of the Western District of Washington and U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref of the Eastern District of Washington joined federal law enforcement leaders Monday evening March 7, 2022, for the first of five online trainings on security issues for houses of worship.
“People gather in their houses of worship for prayer, fellowship, and community. Investigating and prosecuting hate crimes is a top priority for the Department of Justice, and we must ensure that people are safe,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “I want to be sure our religious communities have the latest information on ways to secure their facilities, and deal with threats that may come their way. As we saw recently at a synagogue in Houston, training made a difference in the safe escape of those taken hostage.”
“A top priority for FBI Seattle is protecting against threats to Washington state’s faith communities,” said Donald M. Voiret, Special Agent in Charge of the Seattle Field Office. “That’s why we held this event and others like it. We want our houses of worship to be equipped and our lines of communication open before a disaster strikes, and hopefully, with preparation, we can keep that from happening.”
The virtual meeting was facilitated by the Jewish Community Center. More than 70 people attended the opening training.
The meeting provided an overview of some of the future trainings and provided an opportunity for questions to a panel of experts. The future trainings will cover: Active Shooter guidance, ensuring facility safety, counterterrorism, and hate crimes prosecutions.
Participating federal agencies include the FBI, Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF).
Wagner Woman Charged with Child Abuse and Neglect and Involuntary ManslaughterRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Wagner, South Dakota, woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Child Abuse and Neglect and Involuntary Manslaughter.
Chelsea Andersh, age 26, was indicted on March 2, 2022. She appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy on March 7, 2022, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 15 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and up to $200 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on or about September 11, 2021, Andersh intentionally and knowingly abused, exposed, tortured, tormented, and cruelly punished a child who had not attained the age of seven by subjecting him to an environment which was lacking in proper parental care through the actions and omissions of Andersh, and which was injurious to the child’s welfare. Andersh’s actions led to the death of the child.
The charges are merely accusations and Andersh is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Charles Mix County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Hoffman is prosecuting the case.
Andersh was released on bond pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Wagner Man Sentenced for Failure to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Wagner, South Dakota, man convicted of Failure to Register as a sex Offender was sentenced on March 7, 2022, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Russell Duane Hubbeling, age 57, was sentenced to nine months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Hubbeling was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 5, 2021. He pled guilty on December 1, 2021.
The conviction stems from Hubbeling failing to register as a sex offender as required by federal law between August 5, 2021, and September 2, 2021. Hubbeling had previously been convicted of a sex offense in federal court, which requires him to register for the rest of his life.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.
Hubbeling was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Virginia Woman Sentenced for Coercing and Enticing MinorRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. – Last week, Sara Belen Coltz, 38, of Norfolk, Virginia was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John C. Hinderaker to 120 months in prison, followed by a lifetime term of supervised release. Coltz previously pleaded guilty to coercion and enticement of a minor. After she is released from prison, Coltz will be required to register as a sexual offender.
In late 2017 through mid-2018, Coltz used a computer to communicate with the victim who was under the age of eighteen. In these communications, Coltz chatted with the victim about sexual acts she wanted to perform.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
The Tucson Police Department conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica L. Seger, District of Arizona, Tucson handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR 20-00678-TUC-JCH
RELEASE NUMBER: 2022- 021_Coltz# # #
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.United States Reaches Agreement with Travis County Clerk’s Office to Ensure Polling Place Access for Voters with DisabilitiesRead the Press Release
AUSTIN – U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff of the Western District of Texas announced today that the United States has reached an agreement with the Travis County Clerk’s Office (“Travis County”) to ensure that the county provides accessible polling places to voters with disabilities. The agreement resolves the United States’ investigation into Travis County’s compliance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by a state or local government in any of its programs or services.
The United States surveyed over 50 of the polling places Travis County used during the 2020 Primary Election. The United States observed that all polling places surveyed contained architectural or equipment barriers for voters with disabilities, such as a lack of van accessible parking, excessively sloped ramps, excessively sloped routes to the entrance, and protruding objects. In addition, the accessible voting machines lacked knee and toe clearance to accommodate wheelchairs and lacked the same level of privacy afforded to other voters. Polling places also lacked notice or procedures for voters with disabilities to access the county’s curbside voting system in a manner consistent with the ADA.
Under the terms of the agreement, the county will use an evaluation form for each current and prospective polling place based on ADA architectural standards. The agreement requires the county to either relocate voting to new, accessible facilities, or to use temporary measures such as portable ramps, signs, traffic cones, and doorbells to ensure accessibility on Election Day. In addition, Travis County will train its poll workers and other elections staff on the requirements of the ADA and how to use temporary measures to ensure each polling place is accessible during elections.
Travis County is working collaboratively with the United States to make all polling places accessible and has already taken steps since the 2020 Primary Election to ensure polling place accessibility.
“The right to vote is a foundation of our democracy and must not be diminished or restricted by barriers to access at polling sites,” said U.S. Attorney Hoff. “Under this agreement, eligible voters with disabilities in Travis County will be able to exercise their fundamental right to vote and participate in our democracy.”
People interested in finding out more about the ADA or this agreement can call the toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD) or access the ADA website at http://www.ada.gov.
This investigation was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Liane Noble and Thomas Parnham with the assistance of the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
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United States Citizen Residing in Dominican Republic Sentenced to 178 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Import Cocaine into United StatesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A United States citizen who had been residing in the Dominican Republic was sentenced today to 178 months in prison for conspiring to import hundreds of pounds of cocaine into the United States from Venezuela, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Edwin Nieves-Rosado, aka “Tortuga,” 56, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas to Count One of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to import five kilograms or more of cocaine. Judge Salas imposed a sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2016 through Jan. 10, 2020, Nieves-Rosado and others conspired to import at least 800 kilograms of cocaine. Nieves-Rosado admitted playing a managerial role in this conspiracy, which involved more than five individuals.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge Salas sentenced Nieves-Rosado to five years of supervised release.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents and task force officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration operating in New Jersey, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson in Newark, as well as special agents and task force officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration operating in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. He also thanked the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Marshals Service for their assistance with the case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Repole of the Economic Crimes Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Francesca Liquori, Chief of the OCDETF/Narcotics Unit.
Uniontown Man Sentenced to More than 12 Years in Prison for Attempting to Engage in Sexual Conduct with a MinorRead the Press Release
Acting U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler announced that Bradley Willem Beun, 42, of Uniontown, Ohio, was sentenced on Tuesday, March 7, 2022, by U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi to more than twelve years, or 151 months, in prison and ten years of supervised release after Beun pleaded guilty to coercion or enticement of a minor.
“This defendant took deliberate steps and made real plans to sexually abuse what he believed to be was an eight-year-old child, “ said Acting U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler. “Thanks to the work of law enforcement, this defendant will no longer have the opportunity to prey upon children.”
“Our unwavering commitment to protecting innocent and defenseless children is paramount,” said Eric B. Smith, FBI Special Agent in Charge. “We are dedicated to thoroughly investigating reprehensible behavior from vile individuals and will continue to work diligently to thwart criminal misconduct of this nature.”
According to court documents, in April 2021, Beun began an online conversation with an undercover FBI agent and expressed interest in meeting the undercover agent’s purported 8-year-old child for the purposes of engaging in sexual conduct. On April 16, 2021, Beun arrived at the pre-determined location to meet the minor and was arrested by law enforcement.
This investigation was conducted by the FBI. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Ballard Tangeman.
U.S. District Court Orders Suburban Chicago Company to Stop Distribution of Adulterated and Misbranded Nutritional SupplementsRead the Press Release
In a consent decree entered Monday, a federal court ordered a Waukegan, Illinois, company to stop distributing nutritional supplements that violate the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced.
The United States alleged in a complaint filed in the Northern District of Illinois on March 3 that Salud Natural Entrepreneur, Inc. (Salud), its owner, Hector Pablo Oliva, production manager Michel Monfort, and quality control manager Carolina L. Giral violated the FDCA by distributing adulterated and misbranded dietary supplements and unapproved new drugs that the company claimed would cure, mitigate, treat or prevent diseases such as cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. The United States also alleged that Salud did not comply with good manufacturing practice regulations designed to help ensure the safety of nutritional supplements, and that on one occasion Salud used ingredients that had tested positive for salmonella in manufacturing a product.
“Nutritional supplement makers must comply with laws and regulations meant to protect public health,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to working with its agency partners to take action against manufacturers who risk the safety of consumers by failing to adhere to the FDCA.”
“Nutritional supplements must be manufactured, labeled, and distributed in compliance with federal law,” said U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch Jr. for the Northern District of Illinois. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to working with our colleagues at the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch to ensure that the public is not misled by unsubstantiated claims.”
“Current good manufacturing regulations are in place to protect consumers, and it is imperative that dietary supplement manufacturers comply to ensure this protection,” said Associate Commissioner Judy McMeekin, Pharm.D. for FDA Regulatory Affairs. “We also hold manufacturers responsible when their product is inappropriately labeled with claims to cure or prevent disease to protect consumers who are unknowingly scammed by false or misleading claims.”
The defendants agreed to settle the suit and be bound by a consent decree of permanent injunction filed along with the complaint. The order entered by the court permanently enjoins the defendants from violating the FDCA, and requires, among other things, that the defendants stop manufacturing, processing, labeling, holding or distributing any product that they claim can treat or cure disease, until they comply with federal law. The defendants also must bring their operations into compliance with current good manufacturing regulations.
The government was represented in this matter by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and Senior Litigation Counsel Don Lorenzen of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch, with the assistance of Leslie Cohen of the FDA’s Office of Chief Counsel.
Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
U.S. District Court Orders Suburban Chicago Company to Stop Distribution of Adulterated and Misbranded Nutritional SupplementsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – In a consent decree entered Monday, a federal court ordered a Waukegan, Ill. company to stop distributing nutritional supplements that violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced today.
The United States alleged in a complaint filed in the Northern District of Illinois on March 3, 2022, that Salud Natural Entrepreneur Inc., its owner, Hector Pablo Oliva, production manager Michel Monfort, and quality control manager Carolina L. Giral violated the FDCA by distributing adulterated and misbranded dietary supplements and unapproved new drugs that the company claimed would cure, mitigate, treat or prevent diseases such as cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. The United States also alleged that Salud did not comply with good manufacturing practice regulations designed to help ensure the safety of nutritional supplements, and that on one occasion Salud used ingredients that had tested positive for salmonella in manufacturing a product.
“Nutritional supplement makers must comply with laws and regulations meant to protect public health,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to working with its agency partners to take action against manufacturers who risk the safety of consumers by failing to adhere to the FDCA.”
“Nutritional supplements must be manufactured, labeled, and distributed in compliance with federal law,” said John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to working with our colleagues at the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch to ensure that the public is not misled by unsubstantiated claims.”
"Current good manufacturing regulations are in place to protect consumers, and it is imperative that dietary supplement manufacturers comply to ensure this protection,” said Associate Commissioner Judy McMeekin, Pharm.D. for FDA Regulatory Affairs. “We also hold manufacturers responsible when their product is inappropriately labeled with claims to cure or prevent disease to protect consumers who are unknowingly scammed by false or misleading claims.”
The defendants agreed to settle the suit and be bound by a consent decree of permanent injunction filed along with the complaint. The order entered by the court permanently enjoins the defendants from violating the FDCA, and requires, among other things, that the defendants stop manufacturing, processing, labeling, holding or distributing any product that they claim can treat or cure disease, until they comply with federal law. The defendants also must bring their operations into compliance with current good manufacturing regulations.
The government was represented in this matter by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and Senior Litigation Counsel Don Lorenzen of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch, with the assistance of Leslie Cohen of the FDA’s Office of Chief Counsel.
Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found here.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Reaches ADA Settlement with Jefferson Partners L.P. dba Jefferson LinesRead the Press Release
FARGO - Interim United States Attorney Nicholas W. Chase announced today that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of North Dakota entered into a settlement agreement with Jefferson Partners L.P. dba Jefferson Lines to resolve an allegation that the transportation company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA").
The settlement agreement resolves an ADA complaint alleging that a Jefferson Lines bus driver refused to allow a passenger, who used a walker to assist with mobility, to use the bus’s lift, located at the rear of the bus, to exit the bus. The complaint alleged that the bus driver instead required the passenger to walk from a seat at the back of the bus to the front of the bus and then use the stairs to get off the bus, all without the assistance of the walker. During its investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office learned that from January 1, 2017, through August 7, 2020, Jefferson Lines received twenty-four customer complaints regarding disability access issues, eight of which were complaints that a bus lift failed to work or that a driver failed to properly operate a lift.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Jefferson Lines will:
• train vehicle operators, personnel who assist passengers, and any personnel who operate lifts on the requirements of the ADA;
• require each such employee to demonstrate they can operate accessibility features and properly secure individuals who use mobility devices;
• test drivers on their ability to operate a vehicle’s accessibility features; and
• test all fixed-route vehicles weekly to ensure all accessibility features are operable and remove faulty vehicles from service until they can be repaired.
Jefferson Lines also agreed to compensate the complainant $5,000.00 for the alleged violation of the complainant’s rights under the ADA.
Interim U.S. Attorney Chase commended Jefferson Lines for cooperating throughout this investigation and for their commitment to the ADA. "For many people with disabilities, transportation is a challenging issue. The corrective measures agreed to by Jefferson Lines will allow individuals with disabilities better access to transportation services in North Dakota and around the United States. We hope other transportation providers remain focused on compliance with this important civil rights law. Our Office is committed to ensuring individuals with disabilities have full and equal access to places of public accommodation and the benefits of transportation services in North Dakota."
Since October 29, 2012, the fleets of all large, fixed-route over-the-road bus operators, such as Jefferson Lines, must be 100 percent readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. The ADA authorizes the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate complaints and undertake compliance reviews of covered entities. The Justice Department is also authorized to commence a civil lawsuit in federal court in any case that involves a pattern or practice of discrimination or raises an issue of general public importance, and to seek injunctive relief, monetary damages, and civil penalties.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Vavrosky Iversen represented the United States in this matter, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Michelle Erdmann.
Any member of the public who wishes to file a complaint alleging that any place of public accommodation or public entity in North Dakota is not accessible to persons with disabilities may file a complaint online at www.ada.gov or contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 701-297-7400.
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Two Plead Guilty in Methamphetamine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Two drug traffickers pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to their roles in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy.
William Velez, 40, of Boston, and Mark Daileanes, 53, of Litchfield, N.H., pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Daileanes also pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for June 28, 2022 and July 27, 2022, respectively. The defendants were indicted in May 2021, along with two other defendants, Andrew Lunn and Anthony Elwell.
On four occasions between June and September 2020, Lunn sold pure methamphetamine to a cooperating witness in amounts ranging from 100 to almost 280 grams. Velez supplied Lunn with the methamphetamine for each of those deals. For one of the deals, in July 2020, Elwell provided Daileanes with money to purchase 280 grams of methamphetamine from Lunn.
Lunn pleaded guilty on Dec. 16, 2021. Elwell has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial
The charges of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and distribution each provide for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. The charge of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine provides for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New England Division, made the announcement today. The New Hampshire State Police and the Everett, Nashua (N.H), Merrimack (N.H.), Litchfield (N.H), and Manchester (N.H.) Police Departments provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alathea Porter of Rollins’ Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The remaining defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Two Former Senior Venezuelan Prosecutors Charged for Receiving over $1 Million in BribesRead the Press Release
Two former senior Venezuelan prosecutors have been charged with money laundering for their receipt of bribes in exchange for agreeing not to pursue criminal charges against certain individuals in Venezuela.
According to the indictment, Daniel D’Andrea Golindano (D’Andrea), 43, and Luis Javier Sanchez Rangel (Sanchez), 35, both of Venezuela, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property.
The indictment alleges that, in or around 2017, D’Andrea and Sanchez, in their official roles as prosecutors within the Venezuelan Attorney General’s Office, were investigating an individual, identified as Contractor 1 in the indictment, for alleged corruption relating to contracts obtained with subsidiaries of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company (PDVSA). D’Andrea and Sanchez discussed and agreed to receive bribes of more than $1 million in exchange for not pursuing criminal charges against Contractor 1 and others.
According to the indictment, D’Andrea caused a co-conspirator to create false invoices seeking payment, purportedly for medical diagnostic equipment, from Contractor 1. In or around 2017, Contractor 1 caused the payment of over $1 million dollars to an account in the Southern District of Florida for the benefit of D’Andrea and Sanchez. As a result of this payment, D’Andrea and Sanchez caused the Venezuelan Attorney General’s Office not to seek criminal charges against Contractor 1 and others. D’Andrea and Sanchez used the proceeds from these bribes for their personal benefit.
If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering and up to 10 years in prison for each count of engaging in transactions in criminally derived property. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The defendants are in Venezuela and remain at large.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami office made the announcement.
Trial Attorney Alexander Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael N. Berger of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section has lead responsibility for investigating and prosecuting all Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Two Former Senior Venezuelan Prosecutors Charged for Receiving over $1 Million in BribesRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – Two former senior Venezuelan prosecutors have been charged with money laundering for their receipt of bribes in exchange for agreeing not to pursue criminal charges against certain individuals in Venezuela.
According to the indictment, Daniel D’Andrea Golindano (D’Andrea), 43, and Luis Javier Sanchez Rangel (Sanchez), 35, both of Venezuela, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property.
The indictment alleges that, in or around 2017, D’Andrea and Sanchez, in their official roles as prosecutors within the Venezuelan Attorney General’s Office, were investigating an individual, identified as Contractor 1 in the indictment, for alleged corruption relating to contracts obtained with subsidiaries of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company (PDVSA). D’Andrea and Sanchez discussed and agreed to receive bribes of more than $1 million in exchange for not pursuing criminal charges against Contractor 1 and others.
According to the indictment, D’Andrea caused a co-conspirator to create false invoices seeking payment, purportedly for medical diagnostic equipment, from Contractor 1. In or around 2017, Contractor 1 caused the payment of over $1 million dollars to an account in the Southern District of Florida for the benefit of D’Andrea and Sanchez. As a result of this payment, D’Andrea and Sanchez caused the Venezuelan Attorney General’s Office not to seek criminal charges against Contractor 1 and others. D’Andrea and Sanchez used the proceeds from these bribes for their personal benefit.
If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering and up to 10 years in prison for each count of engaging in transactions in criminally derived property. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The defendants are in Venezuela and remain at large.
U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami office made the announcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael N. Berger of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Alexander Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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.
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Two Cleveland Men Charged with Distributing Fentanyl Mixture that Led to Overdose DeathRead the Press Release
Acting U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler announced that a federal grand jury has returned a four-count indictment charging Willie A. Pratt, 33, and Darryl L. Roberts, 31, both of Cleveland, Ohio, with distributing fentanyl that led to an overdose death.
According to court records, on October 31, 2021, officers with the Rocky River Police Department responded to a residence for a call of a possible drug overdose. Upon arrival, police identified the deceased and discovered a substance, later identified as a cocaine and fentanyl mixture and a cell phone on the decedent.
Court records state that officers investigated the incident and determined the alleged drug supplier’s number in the victim’s phone. On November 1, 2021, investigators arranged a meeting with the alleged drug supplier ostensibly to purchase more drugs and arrested defendants Pratt and Roberts in connection with the investigation.
During the arrest, it is alleged that law enforcement officers obtained detectable amounts of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl from both defendants. In addition, court documents state that investigators obtained the cell phone defendant Pratt used to communicate with the decedent.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation.
In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum, and in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
This case was investigated by the DEA and Rocky River Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Payum Doroodian.
Two California Men Sentenced for Conspiracy and Hate Crime Convictions for Attacking and Threatening to Kill Restaurant Patrons and Workers Because of Their Perceived National OriginRead the Press Release
Two California men were sentenced yesterday on conspiracy and hate crime charges for attacking five victims inside a restaurant while shouting ethnic slurs, hurling chairs at the victims and threatening to kill them.
William Stepanyan, 23, of Glendale, was sentenced to five years in prison and Harutyun Harry Chalikyan, 24, of Tujung, was sentenced to 15 months in prison. Each defendant was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. The court also ordered the defendants to jointly pay $21,200 in restitution for damage to the Turkish restaurant. Each defendant previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of committing a hate crime.
According to the facts admitted in the plea agreements, the defendants, who identify as members of the Armenian-American community, attacked five victims inside a family-owned Turkish restaurant on Nov. 4, 2020, because of their anger about Turkey’s support of Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia. Earlier that day, Stepanyan sent a text message saying that he planned to go “hunting for [T]urks.” That evening, the defendants drove to the restaurant with a group of approximately nine individuals who planned to demonstrate outside the establishment because they considered it symbolic of Turkey. Upon arriving at the restaurant, Stepanyan and Chalikyan stormed inside, threw hard wooden chairs at the victims, smashed glassware, destroyed a plexiglass barrier and overturned tables. One of the defendants asked the victims, “Are you Turkish?” and shouted, “We came to kill you! We will kill you!” The attack caused at least $20,000 of damage to the restaurant and physically injured multiple victims.
“The defendants violently attacked people inside a family-owned restaurant because of their perceived nationality,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Such violence based on national origin has no place in our society. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute bias-motivated crimes in an effort to secure justice for the victims and the communities they are meant to target and intimidate.”
“These defendants were driven by hate, and their actions were deplorable,” said U.S. Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison for the Central District of California. “The physical injuries and emotional trauma to the victims cannot be understated. We hope that the sentences handed down today will help vindicate those harms.”
“The victims in this case were brutally attacked by the defendants who trampled their civil rights and likely caused lasting psychological pain for nothing more than the perception of where they were born,” said Assistant Director in Charge Kristi Johnson of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI is committed to investigating civil rights violations and holding accountable individuals who commit violent acts motivated by hate.”
Trial Attorney Michael J. Songer of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Greer Dotson of the Central District of California prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Beverly Hills Police Department.
Two Arkansas Men Sentenced to over 23 Years Combined in Federal Prison for Fraud and Money Laundering in Connection with Proposed Elm Springs, Arkansas Wind FarmRead the Press Release
FAYETTEVILLE – Two Arkansas men were sentenced today to federal prison for Wire Fraud, Aiding and Abetting Wire Fraud, Money Laundering and Aiding and Abetting Money Laundering in connection with the development of a wind turbine that was never operational and a proposed wind farm project in Elm Springs, Arkansas, that was never constructed. The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearings in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.
Jody Douglas Davis, 47, of Searcy, Arkansas, was sentenced to 180 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $1,138,845.28 in restitution and Phillip Vincent Ridings, 64, of North Little Rock, Arkansas, was sentenced to 97 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $1,138,845.28 in restitution.
“This case represents some of the most important work that we do,” said United States Attorney Clay Fowlkes. “These defendants developed a scheme for the purposed of stealing large sums of money from innocent investors. The defendants in this case used lies and misrepresentations to trick investors into paying them large amounts of money that they converted for their own, personal use. We will continue to work with our Federal Law Enforcement partners at the FBI and the IRS to investigate and prosecute cases like this. We will also continue to work tirelessly to protect others from similar schemes to defraud.”
"Mr. Davis and Mr. Ridings callously defrauded members of our community through a fictional investment opportunity," said FBI Little Rock Special Agent in Charge James A. Dawson. "Even after being federally indicted, these men continued to advance their criminal scheme through blatant falsehoods and deceit. Today's sentencings send a clear message to other fraudsters: preying upon our Arkansas communities will not stand."
“Davis and Ridings stole money from investors and used it for their personal use with no intention of building the wind farm project.,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher J. Altemus Jr., IRS-CI Dallas Field Office. “This sentencing should detour criminals from committing similar crimes.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Davis, and Ridings, formed a limited liability company in Texas in 2014 called Dragonfly Industries International, LLC (“Dragonfly”) and Arkansas Wind Power (“AWP”), an Arkansas limited liability company located in Springdale, Arkansas, to develop what they told investors was a revolutionary wind turbine design that was to be installed on a 311-acre wind farm proposed for construction in Elm Springs, Arkansas.
According to the superseding indictment, Davis and Ridings conspired with Cody Fell of Springdale, Arkansas, and others, beginning as early as June 2014 and continuing through and including March 2018, to obtain money from investors who were told that the investors’ money would be used to build a prototype of the wind turbine and develop wind farms in Elm Springs, Arkansas, in Iowa, and other states. The evidence presented at trial showed that Davis and Ridings used most of the $700,000 they obtained from investors for Davis’ and Ridings’ personal use. Specifically, evidence at trial revealed that investors were told that Dragonfly’s wind turbine could produce more energy than the traditional three-blade wind turbines commonly used on existing wind farms; that nationally recognized engineering firms and a University of Memphis mechanical engineering professor had “validated” the Dragonfly wind turbine’s design; that the Department of Defense has expressed strong interest in acquiring Dragonfly’s wind turbines for use in combat zones; that a prototype of the wind turbine was nearing completion; that leaders of underdeveloped countries were ready to buy Dragonfly’s wind turbines; and that a $10 million grant from the Department of Energy was soon to be awarded to Dragonfly, when in truth and fact, none of these representations were true.
A federal jury convicted Davis and Ridings on September 3, 2021.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kyra Jenner and Kenneth Elser prosecuted the case.
Turkish National Sentenced to 27 Months for Orchestrating “Birth Tourism” Health Care Fraud Scheme on Long IslandRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Ibrahim Aksakal was sentenced by United States District Judge Joanna Seybert to 27 months’ imprisonment for conspiring to commit health care and wire fraud in connection with a so-called “birth tourism” scheme that Aksakal operated in Suffolk County between approximately 2017 and 2020. The scheme facilitated pregnant Turkish women fraudulently entering the United States using tourist and business visas to give birth so that their children would obtain birthright citizenship and medical benefits. The Court also ordered Aksakal to pay restitution in the amount of $1,039,723.63, and forfeiture in the amount of $397,500.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Raymond A. Tierney, District Attorney for Suffolk County; Ricky J. Patel, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI); Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, New York Region (HHS-OIG); Frank T. Walsh, Jr., Acting Medicaid Inspector General, New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG); and Rodney K. Harrison, Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), announced the sentence.
From at least January 2017 to September 2020, Aksakal and his co-conspirators advertised a birth tourism scheme on two Turkish-language Facebook pages. The approximate $7,500 fee charged to each pregnant woman would include transportation, “insurance” to cover the costs of pre-natal, delivery, and post-natal medical care. Aksakal and his co-conspirators also instructed the women to conceal their pregnancies.
The pregnant women stayed in one of seven “birth houses” that Aksakal maintained in Center Moriches, Dix Hills, East Northport, East Patchogue, Smithtown and West Babylon, New York. As a result of the scheme, Medicaid disbursed more than $1 million in fraudulently obtained benefits.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Bradley T. King, Oren Gleich, and Special Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Sacks are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
IBRAHIM AKSAKAL (also known as “Dennis”)
Age: 50
East Patchogue, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 20-CR-400 (JS)
Trio Sentenced to Federal Prison for Conspiracy, Identity Theft, and Various Fraud Charges, Including A Stolen COVID-19 Stimulus CheckRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced the sentencings of Joe Nicholas Catala, 21, of Port St. Lucie, Florida (formerly of Tallahassee, Florida); Nicholas Carl Ramirez, 20, of Port St. Lucie, Florida (formerly of Tallahassee, Florida); and Clonet Junior Charmant, 21, of Port St. Lucie. Catala was sentenced to a total of thirty-six months in prison, Ramirez was sentenced to a total of two months in prison, and Charmant was sentenced to a total of 26 months prison. All defendants were ordered to pay restitution to financial institutions and individuals.
The sentences imposed were the result of guilty pleas which were entered in November 2021, when all three defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Catala also pleaded guilty to passing or uttering a Treasury check bearing a false or forged endorsement. Charmant also pleaded guilty to identity fraud.
“Identity thieves would rather steal the personal identifying information of hardworking citizens than earn an honest living,” said U.S. Attorney Coody. “Thanks to the dedication of our law enforcement partners, these criminals will have steady employment cleaning the toilets and dormitories of a Bureau of Prisons facility for some time; a task that hopefully will deter them from future criminal conduct upon release.”
Court documents reflect that between April 1, 2019, and May 2, 2020, Catala, Ramirez, and Charmant unlawfully obtained and shared with each other and others the credit and debit card numbers, bank account numbers, and personal identifying information of third parties without authorization. Further, the defendants communicated with each other and others about how their scheme would be executed and how they would share the proceeds. The trio then fraudulently transferred funds from accounts belonging to customers of financial institutions into their own accounts using Zelle and the Internet. Additionally, the defendants used the proceeds of their scheme to purchase merchandise and services from merchants and restaurants, and to make cash withdrawals at automated teller machines (“ATMs”).
Further, Catala fraudulently used the names, addresses, and debit card numbers of others to purchase theme park admissions tickets. Catala also fraudulently used the name, social security number, and date of birth of the previous tenant of his Tallahassee apartment in a false application to open a bank account. Catala used the falsely opened bank account to deposit the proceeds of the previous tenant’s Economic Impact Payment (“EIP”) check, also known as a “Coronavirus Stimulus Check,” which was mailed to Catala’s apartment. Catala deposited the EIP check knowing that it had a forged endorsement, and then electronically transferred some of the proceeds to Charmant via Zelle.
“The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration continues to aggressively pursue those who attempt to corruptly interfere with Federal tax administration, including those who fraudulently obtain Economic Impact Payments through the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act which were intended for Americans to assist them through the pandemic,” said J. Russell George, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. “We appreciate the work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and our law enforcement partners to ensure this criminal activity is held to account.”
Catala’s imprisonment will be followed by five years of supervised release. Ramirez’s and Charmant’s imprisonment will both be followed by three years of supervised release. All three defendants were ordered to pay restitution to financial institutions and individuals. As part of the sentences imposed, the Court also ordered the forfeiture of the defendants’ cell phones, computers, U.S. currency, an Xbox gaming system, and various debit/credit/gift cards.
“U.S. Postal Inspectors are committed to protecting the nations mail system and our customers from crimes involving the mail,” said Joseph Cronin, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service - Miami Division.
This case was jointly investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and the Tallahassee Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Justin M. Keen prosecuted the case.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Three Rome-area men sentenced for firearms and drug trafficking offensesRead the Press Release
ROME, Ga. – Michael Lee Spears, Dustin Wayne Womack, and Jarrett Louallen have been sentenced for firearms and drug trafficking crimes that occurred in Rome, Georgia.
“Our community is safer with these violent felons and drug pushers no longer on the streets,” said U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “We are grateful for the hard work and the longstanding partnerships between federal and state law enforcement agencies in Northwest Georgia.”
“The sentencing of these three men demonstrates the FBI and our law enforcement partners commitment to protect our citizens against violent offenders,” said Philip Wislar, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI will continue to use aggressive approaches to identify, disrupt, and dismantle violent offenders and their criminal enterprises, ultimately making our communities safer.”
“The hard work of law enforcement and prosecutors to stop offenders from plaguing neighborhoods with illegal drugs and guns makes a big impact on communities. We will continue to work with our partners to investigate these crimes to dismantle criminal enterprises,” said Vic Reynolds, Director, Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
According to U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges and other information presented in court: On May 13, 2019, the Floyd County Police Department responded to a 911 call about someone shooting a firearm at a residence. Law enforcement developed information indicating the person living at that residence had been involved in a dispute with Jarrett Louallen prior to the shooting. The FBI further learned that Louallen may have taken the firearm used in the shooting to Talladega, Alabama.
On June 24, 2019, law enforcement officers traveled to Louallen’s relatives’ home in Talladega, Alabama. Law enforcement located the firearm, which was an AM 15 semi-automatic rifle with a 30-round magazine with the serial numbers removed and painted over with black paint. The FBI confirmed that Louallen was the individual who shot at the residence after reviewing video surveillance.
On May 22, 2019, investigators conducted an undercover drug buy with Michael Lee Spears. Spears sold 132.237 grams of methamphetamine during the operation.
The following day, members of the Rome/Floyd Metro Task Force, the Rome SWAT Team, and the FBI executed a search warrant at Spears’ residence. Spears fired at the officers from inside his residence. Law enforcement officers returned fire and Spears eventually surrendered.
In addition, on June 21, 2019, the FBI and law enforcement officers with the Rome/Floyd Metro Task Force, the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office, the Floyd County Police Department, the Rome Police Department, traveled to the Sunrise Inn in Rome, Georgia, to execute an arrest warrant for a probation violation for Dustin Wayne Womack. As officers approached the door, they could hear people inside moving around. Officers kicked open the door and saw Womack running towards the bathroom. An officer heard an object land in the bathtub and saw a firearm. Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for the room and, during the search, recovered 118.952 grams of methamphetamine, two digital scales, and a glass smoking device.
The defendants’ sentences are as follows:
- Michael Lee Spears, 46, of Rome, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark H. Cohen to eight years, eleven months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. This sentence accounts for the two years, nine months he has already spent in custody. Spears was convicted on charges of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on June 23, 2021, after he pleaded guilty.
- Dustin Wayne Womack, 32, of Lindale, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr., to ten years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Womack was convicted on charges of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on July 22, 2021, after he pleaded guilty.
- Jarrett Louallen, 34, of Rome, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr., to five years, ten months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Louallen was convicted of one charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on March 31, 2021, after he pleaded guilty.
These cases were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, with significant assistance provided by the Rome/Floyd Metro Task Force. Additionally, agencies involved were the Floyd County Police Department, Floyd County Sheriff’s Office, Rome Police Department, and the Floyd County District Attorney’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin N. Spritzer prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Texas Woman Sentenced for Unemployment Fraud Related to COVID-19 PandemicRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Texas woman was sentenced today for her involvement in a scheme to fraudulently claim COVID-19-related unemployment assistance.
Donna Wasson, 37, of San Antonio, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 18 months in prison and two years of supervised release. Wasson was also ordered to pay restitution and forfeiture in the amount of $5,437. On Nov. 8, 2021, Wasson pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) created a temporary federal unemployment insurance program called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). PUA, administered by the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance, provides unemployment insurance benefits for individuals who are not eligible for other types of unemployment benefits (e.g., the self-employed, independent contractors, or gig economy workers).
Wasson applied for Massachusetts unemployment benefits despite residing in Texas and receiving unemployment benefits via the Texas Workplace Commission. In addition, Wasson carried out instructions concerning other fraudulent unemployment claims from a former Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) employee, and accessed unemployment claims under multiple stolen identities to fraudulently obtain benefits to which she was not entitled.
The investigation is being conducted by Homeland Security’s Investigation’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF), a specialized field investigative group comprised of personnel from various local, state, and federal agencies with expertise in detecting, deterring, and disrupting organizations and individuals involved in various types of document, identity, and benefit fraud schemes.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations made the announcement today. Special assistance was provided by the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance, Program Integrity Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Abely, Chief of Rollins’ Criminal Division, and Dustin Chao, Chief of Rollins’ Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit, prosecuted the case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Texas Man Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Laundering Proceeds of Multimillion Dollar Business Email Compromise SchemeRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that TERRY FORMER was sentenced this afternoon to 48 months in prison in connection with the laundering of more than $2.2 million in proceeds of a business email compromise scheme. FORMER pled guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud on April 2, 2021, before U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel, who imposed today’s sentence.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Terry Former played an essential role in a scheme to defraud businesses, by organizing a team of co-conspirators to open shell company bank accounts to accept the victims’ funds and clandestinely transfer them to the fraudsters. Today’s sentence demonstrates the severe consequences that will befall those who facilitate criminal conduct by laundering its proceeds.”
According to the Indictment and other public filings in the case:
From at least in or about October 2018 through at least in or about October 2019, TERRY FORMER participated in a scheme to defraud businesses and by impersonating individuals and businesses in the course of otherwise ordinary financial transactions, thereby fraudulently inducing counterparties to those transactions to transfer funds to bank accounts controlled by FORMER and his co-conspirators (the “Scheme”). FORMER was one of the primary individuals responsible for coordinating the money side of the Scheme. In particular, he directed co-conspirators to open up bank accounts in the names of shell companies, which were purposefully chosen to mirror the names of the true counterparties in the business transactions that were targeted by the Scheme. FORMER also coordinated between the individuals involved in impersonating the true counterparties and the individuals holding the bank accounts to let them know when the accounts would be funded and to funnel the money out of those accounts once received .
In reliance on the foregoing false and misleading misrepresentations, one of the victims of the Scheme wired more than $2.2 million into a fraudulent bank account opened at FORMER’s direction. FORMER and his co-conspirators, knowing the money represented fraud proceeds, transferred a portion of those fraud proceeds out of the fraudulent bank account in transactions designed to conceal and disguise their source, ownership, and control. FORMER’s efforts to drain the account completely were stopped only when the bank froze the funds.
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FORMER, 46, of Texas, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release.
Mr. Williams praised the work of Homeland Security Investigations for their investigative efforts and ongoing support and assistance with the case. The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Deininger and Tara La Morte are in charge of the prosecution.
Texan caught smuggling over $30,000Read the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 36-year-old man has been charged with bulk cash smuggling, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
A federal grand jury has returned an indictment against Modesto Zepeda for smuggling $30,025 into the United States from Mexico.
Originally charged by criminal complaint, he made his first appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher dos Santos Feb. 16. He is expected to appear for his initial appearance on the indictment in the near future.
On Feb. 14, Zepeda attempted to enter United States through the Gateway to the Americas Port of Entry in Laredo as a pedestrian, according to the charges. There, he allegedly gave a negative declaration for possessing currency over $10,000.
The charges allege law enforcement searched him and found a total of $30,025 hidden inside his wallet, pants pocket and underwear.
If convicted, Zepeda faces up to five years in prison as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Isaac is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Tewksbury Woman Charged in Superseding Indictment with Tax and Unemployment FraudRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Tewksbury woman has been charged in a superseding indictment for allegedly embezzling more than $1.8 million from her employer and collecting unemployment assistance while employed fulltime.
Joanne Dinoto a/k/a Joanne Mara, 47, was charged in a superseding indictment with an additional count of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return. In November 2021, Dinoto was indicted on one count of bank fraud, two counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
According to the charging document, between December 2013 and April 2020, Dinoto stole more than $1.8 million from her employer, a flooring company based in Acton, by falsely inflating her compensation, using her employer’s corporate credit card for personal expenses, and forging at least two checks to herself from her employer’s checking account. To hide her scheme, Dinoto allegedly modified her employer’s accounting records. It is also alleged that during the period August 2020 through May 2021, Dinoto collected unemployment benefits from the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance under her true Social Security number, while also working full time for a lighting company based in Wilmington under a fake Social Security number. The superseding indictment further alleges that, between 2015 and 2020, Dinoto did not report more than $1 million in funds she embezzled from the Acton company nor her wages from the Wilmington company on her federal income tax returns.
The charge of bank fraud provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million or twice the gross gain or loss. The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. The charge of filing a false tax return provides for a sentence of up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of aggravated identity theft provides a mandatory sentence of two years in prison, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Office; Joleen D. Simpson, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston; and Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, made the announcement today. The Acton Police Department and Middlesex District Attorney’s Office also provided assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen A. Kearney of Rollins’ Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Tennessee Man Indicted in Erie on Wire Fraud and ID Theft ChargesRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A resident of Knoxville, Tennessee has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Erie on charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
The four-count Indictment named Justin Edward Zadorozny, 30, 10245 Boston Lane, Knoxville, Tennessee, as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment presented to the court, Zadorozny used a stolen identity to apply online for and obtain a $10,000 loan, open a bank account, and attain various credit accounts.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 62 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, 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 Christian A. Trabold is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Millcreek Police Department 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.
Tangipahoa Parish Man Pleads Guilty to Violating the Federal Controlled Substances ActRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JAMES WATTS, age 50, a resident of Amite, Louisiana, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon yesterday to a one count superseding bill of information charging him with possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.
According to court documents, on March 8, 2021, Tangipahoa Sheriff’s Office deputies initiated a traffic stop on WATTS in Independence, Louisiana after they received a report that WATTS had assaulted a female victim. Upon stopping WATTS, deputies saw drug paraphernalia in plain view in the rear passenger seat. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed 397 grams of methamphetamine.
During a subsequent interview with agents from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, WATTS acknowledged the methamphetamine found during the search of the vehicle was his. He further admitted that he had sold approximately one pound of methamphetamine between March 6th and March 8th, 2021, and that he obtained two pounds of methamphetamine from his source of supply approximately every two weeks.
WATTS faces a mandatory minimum term of five years, up to forty years imprisonment, a fine of up to $5,000,000, at least four years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney J. Benjamin Myers.
Stephens County Man to Serve Life in Federal Prison for Sexual Abuse of a Child Under 12Read the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – LAWRENCE JUNIOR LOFTIS, 65, of Stephens County, was sentenced to serve life in federal prison for abusive sexual contact with a child under 12 years old, announced Robert J. Troester, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.
"Sexual abuse of children will not be tolerated because it exploits the most vulnerable members of our society and inflicts devastating and long-lasting trauma to the lives of victims," said U.S. Attorney Troester. "It is impossible to restore the innocence that was so callously stolen away from the child victim in this case. Our hope is that the life sentence of imprisonment for Mr. Loftis will bring some solace to the victim and the family because it ensures that he will never be able to abuse and exploit another child. I commend the FBI and Stephens County Sheriff’s Office who diligently investigated this case, the Stephens County District Attorney’s Office who provided valuable assistance, and the prosecutors who held this defendant accountable."
"The FBI is dedicated to ensuring the safety and security of Oklahoma’s youth, and yesterday’s sentence sends a clear message that crimes against children, in both urban and rural Oklahoma, will never be tolerated" said Edward Gray, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Oklahoma City Division. "I am proud of the diligent work of our agents and law enforcement partners to identify and investigate sexual perpetrators and bring them to justice so they can’t victimize anyone again."
On April 20, 2021, a federal grand jury returned a three-count Indictment against Loftis, charging him with aggravated sexual abuse and abusive sexual contact with a child under 12 years old.
On August 13, 2021, after a four-day trial, a federal jury found Loftis guilty of abusive sexual contact with a child under 12 years old. Evidence at trial showed that, between early 2018 and late 2019, Loftis knowingly engaged in and caused sexual contact with a child, who was then eight to ten years old. The jury heard testimony from witnesses who had helped bring the sexual abuse to light, from the child victim, and from the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office investigator who interviewed Loftis. Finally, the jury heard the testimony of another victim who had been sexually abused by Loftis for many years when that person was a child. The jury did not reach a verdict on the two counts charging Loftis with aggravated sexual abuse of a child.
On March 7, 2022, Judge Wyrick sentenced Loftis to serve life in federal prison. In imposing the sentence, Judge Wyrick noted the nature and circumstances of Loftis’s sexual abuse, his history and characteristics, the need to adequately deter related conduct, and the need to protect the public from further crimes of Loftis. Loftis has been in custody since February 28, 2020.
Federal jurisdiction existed in this case because the crime was committed in Indian Country and Loftis was Native American. This was the first McGirt Indian Country case to go to trial in the Western District of Oklahoma.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Oklahoma City Field Office and the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Stephens County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bow Bottomly and Brandon Hale are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Reference is made to court filings for further information.
Spring Hill Sisters Charged in Tax Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NASHVILLE – A federal indictment unsealed today, charges two Spring Hill, Tennessee women with conspiracy to commit tax fraud and 12 counts of employment tax fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Mark H. Wildasin for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Ketura Oden, 46, and Consuela Oden, 51, were arrested by IRS Criminal Investigation agents earlier today.
According to the indictment, between February 2015 and February 2022, Ketura Oden and Consuela Oden, who are sisters, conspired to defraud the IRS with respect to employment taxes. The indictment alleges that beginning in 2004, Ketura Oden owned and operated a home health care business, Complete Care Choice, in Spring Hill, Tennessee. Between 2006 and 2012, the IRS initiated two collections actions because Ketura Oden had withheld taxes from her employees’ paychecks while failing to pay those taxes to the IRS. Ketura Oden entered into two installment agreements with the IRS.
In January 2013, the IRS opened another collection action on Complete Care Choice because Ketura Oden had again withheld employment taxes from her employees’ paychecks while failing to pay those taxes to the IRS. In December 2014, the IRS notified Ketura Oden that if she did not pay the employment taxes, the IRS would recommend her for civil injunction or criminal prosecution. Two months later, Ketura Oden opened her business under a new name, Complete Home Care Services of TN, Inc. (Complete Home Care), and registered the business in the State of Tennessee, listing Consuela Oden as the owner.
A few days after opening the business under the new name, Ketura Oden told the IRS that she was closing Complete Care Choice and going to work at another home health agency as a wage-earning employee. Ketura Oden also falsely told the IRS that Complete Home Care provided different services than Complete Care Choice. In fact, Ketura Oden continued to run the business, and Complete Home Care continued to operate just as Complete Care Choice had done, with the same employees, clients, customers, and vendors. Consuela Oden held herself out to the IRS and others as the “owner” of the business.
In January 2017, the IRS initiated a collection action against Complete Home Care for unpaid employment taxes. During the collection action, both women held Consuela Oden out to be the owner of the business.
In October 2017, Consuela Oden filed a personal income tax return, on which she claimed a loss from the business. That loss reduced her tax liability and caused Consuela Oden to receive a tax refund in the amount of $14,534, which the IRS applied to reduce a previously assessed tax debt against her.
In January 2018, a Special Agent with IRS-Criminal Investigation issued a summons to Consuela Oden that required her to provide the IRS with records related to Complete Home Care. Consuela Oden did not comply with the summons.
A federal district court judge in the Middle District of Tennessee issued an order for Consuela Oden to show cause why she had not complied with the summons. Consuela Oden eventually provided some records in response to the summons.
In addition to conspiracy, both Ketura Oden and Consuela Oden are also charged with twelve counts of employment tax fraud. The indictment alleges that the sisters withheld federal income taxes, Medicare taxes, and Social Security taxes from their employees’ paychecks, but did not pay those taxes over to the IRS as they were required to do. Ketura Oden and Consuela Oden allegedly withheld and failed to pay to the IRS approximately $640,789 in employment taxes that they withheld from Complete Home Care employees’ paychecks.
If convicted, both defendants face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.
This case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn W. Booth is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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South Florida Sex Trafficker Sentenced to 25 Years’ ImprisonmentRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – A Miami man who forced a woman and a 16-year-old girl into selling themselves for sex was sentenced today in Miami, Florida to 25 years’ imprisonment.
According to court documents, Julius Dwight Mozie met the minor after she had run away from home. Mozie coerced the minor into taking lewd photographs and then subsequently posted the photographs on a website to advertise the minor victim for commercial sex acts. Then, Mozie forced the minor to perform commercial sex acts. Around the same time, Mozie also forced an adult victim to perform commercial sex acts for several months. If the victims failed to comply with Mozie’s instructions, he would subject them to his “Torture Chamber” to punish them. In the “Torture Chamber,” Mozie handcuffed, beat, raped, and waterboarded his victims. He also urinated and defecated on them.
United States Senior District Court Judge Beth Bloom imposed the 25-year sentence, which also included a term of 15 years of supervised release following incarceration.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami; Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office; W. Howard Harrison, Chief of Plantation Police Department; and George A. Perez, Interim Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) announced the sentence.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Crimes Against Children Human Trafficking Task Force, in partnership with Homeland Security Investigations, Plantation Police Department, MDPD’s Human Trafficking Squad, the South Florida Human Trafficking Task Force, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lacee Monk and Manolo Reboso.
To report suspected human trafficking or to obtain resources for victims, please call 1-888-373-7888; text “BeFree” (233733), or live chat at HumanTraffickingHotline.org. The toll-free phone, SMS text lines, and online chat function are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Help is available in English, Spanish, Creole, or in more than 200 additional languages. The National Hotline is not managed by law enforcement, immigration or an investigative agency. Correspondence with the National Hotline is confidential and you may request assistance or report a tip anonymously.
To learn more about the National Resource Hotline visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. To learn more about the U.S. Department of Justice’s efforts to combat human trafficking visit www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.
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 no. 20-cr-20087.
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Six Augusta-area defendants indicted on separate firearms, drug chargesRead the Press Release
AUGUSTA, GA: Three Augusta men face felony gun charges while three others also faces drug trafficking charges as Richmond County law enforcement officials pursue individuals associated with an increase in gang-related violent crime.
Federal indictments returned in the March term of the Southern District of Georgia U.S. District Court Grand Jury charge all six defendants with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, a charge that carries a statutory sentence upon conviction of up to 10 years in federal prison – with a possible sentence of up to life in prison for defendants with a significant record of criminal convictions.
“Law enforcement agencies throughout the Southern District need assistance in battling the increase in violent crime and illegal firearms, and our office continues to answer the call to help,” said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “We stand with Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree in protecting the law-abiding citizens of the Augusta area by removing those who would threaten the community’s safety.”
Defendants charged in the Augusta area include:
- Reginald DeMarco Smith, a/k/a “Gunslinger,” 48, of Augusta, charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute 500 Grams or More of Cocaine, and An Amount of Fentanyl, “Crack” Cocaine, and Marijuana; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Smith sped away from an attempted traffic stop Feb. 12, 2021, by a Richmond County Sheriff’s deputy, then abandoned his vehicle and ran into the woods. Investigators found a loaded pistol, a significant amount of drugs, and more than $18,000 in cash at the scene, and Smith was located and arrested nine months later.
- Robert Lewis Coney Jr., 50, of North Augusta, S.C., and Donnie Lee Curtis Jr., 37, of Tunnel, Ga., each charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute, and To Distribute, 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine; Possession with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine; two counts of Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; and Possession of a Firearm by Convicted Felon. The two were identified during a drug trafficking investigation in early 2021, and arrested May 19, 2021, in the parking lot of a motel in Columbia County.
- Lyondo Larell Ware, a/k/a “China,” 41, of Augusta, charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Ware was on felony probation when Richmond County deputies searching his residence Sept. 22, 2021, found a loaded pistol.
- Willie Liddell, 38, of Augusta, charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies were assisting the U.S. Marshals Service in arresting Liddell on an outstanding warrant when they discovered a pistol in Liddell’s jacket pocket.
- Elijawan Leysath Rhodes, 29, of Augusta, charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Richmond County Sheriff’s Office investigators responding to gunfire at a Wrightsboro Road motel Dec. 31, 2021, arrested Rhodes after a brief chase when they found a pistol in Rhodes’ vehicle.
Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The cases are being investigated by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia G. Rhodes, Henry W. Syms Jr., and Jeremiah L. Johnson.
Sherwood Woman Sentenced to 96 Months in Prison for Bank Fraud and Stealing from Social SecurityRead the Press Release
LITTLE ROCK—A Sherwood woman was sentenced today for bank fraud and theft of government funds. Kelli Hogue, formerly known as Kelli Cashion, 59, was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison by United States District Judge Lee P. Rudofsky.
Hogue was charged by a federal grand jury in October 2019, and the indictment alleged that she had been employed as a clerk and paralegal at the Herrod Law Firm in North Little Rock from 2009 until 2018. Hogue had previously been a licensed attorney in Arkansas from 1996 until 2001 but was prohibited from practicing law after a state forgery conviction.
While working for the law firm, Hogue was also employed as the bookkeeper for Runyan Sanitary Sewer District 211, a non-profit entity that owned and operated a sewage plant for the North Little Rock Water Department, from October 2010 until November 2018. From 2011 until 2018, Hogue wrote checks payable to herself from the Runyan bank account and deposited them into accounts she controlled, and she hid these checks by making false entries in QuickBooks, where they appeared as business expenses. She issued approximately 180 unauthorized checks to herself from Runyan’s bank account, held at National Bank of Arkansas and later at Arvest Bank, totaling approximately $669,599.71.
Hogue also falsified information in order to receive Social Security disability payments by informing the Social Security Administration (SSA) she had stopped working for the law firm in 2008 or 2009, which she had not. She did not report her work as a bookkeeper for Runyan, either, and she received additional disability payments during the time she worked as a bookkeeper. In this way, she stole approximately $120,523 in Social Security disability payments.
Hogue pleaded guilty in August 2021. In January 2022, Hogue submitted four letters to the Court in preparation of her sentencing in support of her request for a reduced sentence. Three letters purported to be from her doctors, and one letter claimed to be from her pastor. Federal investigators interviewed those whose signatures were on the letters, but all four people said they did not write the letters in support of Hogue and that Hogue had falsified them. Judge Rudofsky revoked Hogue’s pre-sentencing release and ordered her to remain in custody pending sentencing.
At today’s sentencing hearing, it became public that Hogue had already repaid $120,000 to the SSA and $669,000 to Runyan, but she did so with money she obtained after falsifying her federal tax returns and receiving over $4 million. The investigation regarding her false tax returns is ongoing.
“This defendant has spent years defrauding her employer as well as the government out of hundreds of thousands of dollars,” stated United States Attorney Jonathan D. Ross. “Her brazen theft is an injustice to those who pay into the system as well as those who truly need its assistance, and today’s sentence indicates the seriousness of her greed-fueled crimes.”
“For more than 10 years, Kelli Hogue committed fraud by continuing to receive Social Security disability insurance benefits while working. This sentence demonstrates that my office will continue to protect the integrity of the SSA and hold accountable those who defraud its programs,” said Gail S. Ennis, Inspector General for the SSA. “I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecuting this case.”
In addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge Rudofsky also sentenced Hogue to five years of supervised release following her term of imprisonment and a fine of $100,000.00. The investigation was conducted by the United States Secret Service and the Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General, and the case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Pat Harris.
Santa Paula Doctor and Lancaster Patient Recruiter Arrested in Hospice Fraud Scheme that Received over $30 Million from MedicareRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – Authorities today arrested a physician and a marketer on federal charges stemming from a scheme that bilked Medicare out of more than $30 million for medically unnecessary hospice services provided to patients who were obtained through illegal kickbacks.
Dr. Victor Contreras, 66, of Santa Paula, and Callie Jean Black, 63, of Lancaster, are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court.
A 14-count indictment unsealed today also names the former Pasadena resident who controlled the hospices, Juanita Antenor, 59, who remains at large and is believed to be in the Philippines.
According to court documents, Antenor owned a Pasadena hospice company called Arcadia Hospice Provider, Inc., and she controlled a second, Saint Mariam Hospice, Inc., that billed Medicare and Medi-Cal for hospice services for patients who were not terminally ill. In some case, the companies submitted bills for services that were never provided.
Contreras, who was on probation imposed by the California Medical Board while he was part of the scheme, provided fraudulent certifications for some of these patients, including patients he claimed to have examined, but never actually saw, according to the indictment.
Antenor allegedly paid marketers, including Black, illegal kickbacks for the patients referred to Arcadia and Saint Mariam.
From approximately September 2014 until April 2019, Arcadia submitted to Medicare nearly $23 million in claims for hospice services provided to beneficiaries and was paid approximately $18,853,757 for those claims, according to the indictment. Between February 2015 and April 2019, St. Mariam submitted to Medicare approximately $13,742,116 in claims for hospice services and was paid approximately $11,395,849 for those claims. Contreras is linked to about $5.1 million of the total claims paid by Medicare.
Additionally, Arcadia and St. Mariam submitted more than $5.5 million in claims to Medi-Cal, which paid the companies a total of just over $1.35 million.
Antenor and Contreras are charged in the indictment with health care fraud – six counts name Antenor, and Contreras is charged with five counts. Additionally, Antenor is charged with four counts of paying illegal kickbacks for health care referrals, and Black is charged with four counts of receiving illegal kickbacks.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted of the charges in the indictment, Contreras would face a statutory maximum sentence of 50 years in prison, while Black would face up to 40 years. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General; the FBI; and California Department of Justice investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Kristen A. Williams of the Major Frauds Section is prosecuting this case.
San Antonio Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for distribution of child pornography.
According to court documents, in 2019, Lynn Maxwell Gerstner, 72, befriended a minor in South Carolina. The online relationship became sexual in nature when Gerstner began talking openly about sex and asked the minor to send nude photos. The minor produced and shared nude photos and sexually explicit videos. When the minor tried to break the relationship off, Gerstner contacted the minor’s employer stating he had videos of the minor that were “extremely sexual in nature,” and thought the minor’s employment should be terminated. Instead, the employer contacted law enforcement in San Antonio.
On April 23, 2019, Bexar County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Gerstner’s residence and recovered cell phones that belonged to Gerstner. Numerous images of child pornography were found on the phones including sexually explicit photos of children as young as four.
On June 11, 2020, Gerstner pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography. In addition to the prison sentence, Gerstner was ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution and a lifetime of supervised release after prison.
“This defendant spent the majority of his life as a predator, exploiting young children for his own sexual gratification,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “Even after law enforcement agents seized his devices, he immediately went out and obtained new devices so he could continue to have access to child sexual abuse materials. He not only sexually exploited minors, but he also actively attempted to cause additional harm if they didn’t comply with his sexual demands. The court recognized the increased danger he presented to our society and sentenced him appropriately.”
“Every day, our nation’s children are being abused and exploited by child predators,” said FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Jason Hudson. “But thankfully, now there will be one less violent offender on the streets, harming the children of our community. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to relentlessly pursue and prosecute those who would commit heinous acts against our most precious treasure – our children.”
The FBI, along with invaluable assistance from the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Thompson prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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San Antonio Man Sentenced for Bank FraudRead the Press Release
SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for stealing mail and cashing fraudulent checks.
According to court documents, Zachary Wayne Crowell, 35, was part of a group who broke into mailboxes to steal checks, credit cards, identification documents, bank statements and other financial statements. Checks were “washed” to remove the original payee’s name so that they could be deposited into accounts controlled by Crowell or his codefendant Brandon James Waggoner. Funds were then withdrawn before the checks were returned as fraudulent. Crowell also used stolen debit and credit cards to purchase firearms illegally in other people’s names.
On May 18, 2021, Crowell pleaded guilty to one count of Bank Fraud. In addition to the prison sentence, Crowell was ordered to pay $39,743.62 in restitution and complete five years of supervised release after serving his sentence.
“Mailbox break-ins and postal theft are serious crimes that can create havoc as they often lead to further affronts such as fraud, financial loss and identity theft, as happened here,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “It is striking that Zachary Crowell illegally purchased guns as a result of breaking into mailboxes in this case. We will continue to work closely with our partners to investigate and prosecute these matters to the fullest extent of federal law.”
“Mail and Identity theft investigations remain a top priority for the Secret Service in our mission to protect the nation’s financial institutions and victims of fraud,” said U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Paul Duran. “The success in this case demonstrates our commitment to that mission and the collaborative efforts with our law enforcement partners.”
“One of the top priorities of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) is to protect and maintain the integrity of the U.S. Mail,” said Scott Fix, Inspector in Charge of the Houston Division of the USPIS. “Postal Inspectors will work tirelessly to identify and arrest individuals like Zachary Wayne Crowell who choose to steal mail and use it to commit further crimes. Today’s sentencing is the culmination of many hours of hard work by Postal Inspectors and our local law enforcement partners including the Texas Department of Public Safety, Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and San Antonio Police Department, to identify and bring these individuals to justice.”
On October 5, 2021, codefendant Brandon James Waggoner pleaded guilty to one count of Bank Fraud. He was sentenced on February 1, 2022, to time served, a five-year supervised release and ordered to pay $4,992 in restitution.
The U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney William R. Harris prosecuted the case.
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Rapid City Man Sentenced to Four Years in Federal Prison for Drug Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on February 24, 2022, by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken.
Melvin Corbine, age 44, was sentenced to four years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Corbine was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury on July 23, 2020. He pleaded guilty on September 24, 2021. While involved in the conspiracy, Corbine distributed methamphetamine in the Rapid City area to others for use and distribution.
This case was investigated by the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET), Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. UNET is comprised of law enforcement from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police Department, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, South Dakota National Guard, and the South Dakota Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich prosecuted the case.
Corbine was immediately returned to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Rapid City Man Indicted on Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for two counts of Receipt of Child Pornography and two counts of Possession of Child Pornography.
Titus Amiotte, age 21, was indicted on February 17, 2022. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann on February 25, 2022, and pleaded not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is a mandatory minimum of five years up to 20 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, lifetime supervised release, and a $100 assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
Amiotte was federally indicted following a Cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The charges relate to Amiotte receiving and possessing child pornography between 2020 and 2022. The charges are merely accusations and Amiotte is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is a joint effort between the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, Homeland Security Investigations, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Rapid City Police Department, and the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Sazama is prosecuting the case.
Amiotte was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial, which has been set for May 3, 2022.
Purveyor of fake COVID-19 vaccines sentencedRead the Press Release
Seattle – A Redmond, Washington, man who held himself out as a biotech expert was sentenced today in federal court for introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Johnny T. Stine, 57, was sentenced to 5 years of probation and $246,986 in restitution. Stine claimed to be Founder & President of North Coast Biologics. In a variety of online postings from as early as March 2, 2020, Stine claimed to have developed a COVID-19 vaccine that he offered to inject in customers for $400-$1000 each. At the sentencing hearing Magistrate Judge Brian A. Tsuchida said, “This is a difficult and troubling case…. It would be completely reasonable to send you to jail, but I’m going to give you a longer probation sentence so we can keep an eye on you.”
“This wasn’t just a COVID related scheme. From 2018-2020, Mr. Stine made more than $200,000 selling cancer patients his ‘vaccines’ that he said would cure their disease,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “He truly preyed on those who were desperate for any glimmer of hope, injecting people with unapproved substances developed in his rented garage, with no assurance of safety or purity.”
According to records filed in the case, in early March 2020, the Food and Drug Administration - Office of Criminal Investigation (FDA-OCI), was alerted to Stine’s posts on social media. An investigator contacted Stine in an undercover capacity, and Stine represented that he had a COVID-19 vaccine for sale. Stine claimed that his main biotech effort was creating vaccines that attack cancer tumors. He indicated that he had used a similar method to develop his COVID-19 vaccine. On March 27, 2020, even as the undercover investigation was ongoing, FDA-OCI received a complaint from an area resident about Stine injecting a friend of the complainant with a “vaccine” for COVID-19.
In early April 2020, investigators met with Stine in undercover roles. Stine represented to the agents that he traveled across the U.S. giving his vaccine. Stine indicated he would make a trip to Oregon and California to vaccinate family members of the undercover agents.
In late April, responding to complaints from the public, the Washington State Attorney General issued a ‘cease and desist’ letter to Stine, telling him to stop making claims and offering his “vaccine” for COVID-19. Rather than be deterred, Stine indicated it had just increased demand for his injections which he now called an “immunogen” instead of a vaccine. In June, Stine signed a Consent Decree with the Washington State Attorney General wherein he agreed not to promote or sell his COVID-19 vaccine.
Still, in August 2020, Stine again communicated with an undercover agent and traveled to Idaho to “vaccinate” the agent. Law enforcement contacted Stine in Idaho and seized the “vaccine.” Agents also executed a court-authorized search warrant on the Redmond warehouse where Stine claimed to conduct his research.
In asking for a custodial sentence prosecutors wrote to the court, “Mr. Stine is dangerously arrogant or overwhelmingly greedy, or both. Time and again, he placed his misguided confidence and personal interest ahead of the wellbeing of the people whose health he endangered by providing them unapproved, and most likely ineffective, medical treatment; medical treatment that dissuaded them from pursuing actual effective treatment and/or from acting in ways that would protect them from infection.”
“The FDA works tirelessly to identify and neutralize threats to consumers, including halting the sale of products with unproven claims to treat, prevent, or cure COVID-19 and other conditions, such as these unapproved injectable drugs that were purported to be ‘vaccines’,” said Special Agent in Charge Lisa L. Malinowski, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Los Angeles Field Office. “We will continue to investigate and bring to justice those whose actions threaten the public’s health in this time of heightened risks.”
“It’s important for consumers to know when someone is trying to take advantage of them, and the old adage that if it’s it too good to be true then it isn’t true certainly applies here,” said Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Robert Hammer, who oversees HSI operations in the Pacific Northwest. “Legitimate businesses do not evade law enforcement agencies and they do not evade consumer safety rules. HSI Seattle appreciates the work done by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Seattle Police Department, and we will continue utilizing all of our partnerships to ensure the health and safety of our communities.”
The case was investigated by the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Seattle Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Brian Werner and Andrew Friedman. Mr. Werner serves as the COVID-19 fraud coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Poca Man Pleads Guilty to Transporting Child PornographyRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Poca man pleaded guilty today to transportation of child pornography.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Keegan Shane Stanley, 31, uploaded videos of child pornography to Dropbox, an online file sharing website. A search of his residence revealed over 1,600 images of child pornography
Stanley is scheduled to be sentenced on June 16, 2022 and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department.
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie White is prosecuting the case.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:21-cr-00208.
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