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24 March 2022
Las Vegas Man Charged for Series of Armed RobberiesRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas man made his initial appearance in federal court yesterday for allegedly robbing two banks and seven other businesses at gunpoint over a two-month period.
Alcede Molyer Melonson Jr. (61) was arrested on February 28, 2022. He is charged in a criminal complaint with seven counts of interference with commerce by robbery, two counts of bank robbery, and nine counts of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Albregts ordered Melonson to be held in custody pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 6, 2022.
According to allegations in the complaint, from December 26, 2021 to February 24, 2022, Melonson robbed three gas station convenience stores, two department stores, two pharmacies, and two banks in the Las Vegas area. During each robbery, Melonson demanded money from the cashier or teller while displaying a .357 caliber revolver. In total, Melonson obtained approximately $5,238 from the nine armed robberies.
Melonson has multiple prior felony convictions, including convictions for robbery and burglary. At the time of the alleged robbery spree in Las Vegas, he was on parole after serving a 25-year prison sentence for robbery in California.
The statutory maximum penalty is 20 years in prison for each count of interference with commerce by robbery, and 20 years in prison for each count of bank robbery. The statutory minimum penalty is seven years in prison for each count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. In addition to imprisonment, Melonson also faces a period of supervised release, a fine, and restitution.
Acting U.S. Attorney Christopher Chiou for the District of Nevada and Acting Special Agent in Charge W.M. Herrington for the FBI made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bianca Pucci is prosecuting the case.
A complaint is merely an allegation, and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security Issue Rule to Efficiently and Fairly Process Asylum ClaimsRead the Press Release
Today, the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are issuing a rule to improve and expedite processing of asylum claims made by noncitizens subject to expedited removal, ensuring that those who are eligible for asylum are granted relief quickly, and those who are not are promptly removed.
The rule authorizes asylum officers within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to consider the asylum applications of individuals subject to expedited removal who assert a fear of persecution or torture and pass the required credible fear screening. Currently, such cases are decided only by immigration judges within the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).
Due to existing court backlogs, the process for hearing and deciding these asylum cases currently takes several years on average. When fully implemented, the reforms and new efficiencies will shorten the process to several months for most asylum applicants covered by this rule.
“This rule advances our efforts to ensure that asylum claims are processed fairly, expeditiously, and consistent with due process,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “It will help reduce the burden on our immigration courts, protect the rights of those fleeing persecution and violence, and enable immigration judges to issue removal orders when appropriate. We look forward to receiving additional input from stakeholders and the public on this important rule.”
“The current system for handling asylum claims at our borders has long needed repair,” said Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “Through this rule, we are building a more functional and sensible asylum system to ensure that individuals who are eligible will receive protection more swiftly, while those who are not eligible will be rapidly removed. We will process claims for asylum or other humanitarian protection in a timely and efficient manner while ensuring due process.”
Under the rule, individuals who receive a positive credible fear determination will receive a timely interview with an asylum officer to elicit all relevant and useful information about their asylum claim. Following an interview, USCIS will decide whether to grant asylum, and, if necessary, determine the applicant’s eligibility for withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).
Any individual who is not granted asylum by USCIS will be referred for a removal proceeding before an immigration judge. The rule establishes streamlined procedures for these removal proceedings, designed to promote efficient resolution of the case.
The rule will not apply to unaccompanied children, and it will only apply to individuals who are placed into expedited removal proceedings on or after its effective date. The rule will be implemented in phases, starting with a limited number of individuals and subsequently expanding as the USCIS Asylum Division receives additional resources and builds capacity.
This rule modifies the NPRM’s proposal in response to public comments received following the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) issued by DHS and the Department of Justice in August 2021. The rule will be effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. The Departments encourage further public comment on the rule during the 60-day comment period for the Departments to consider. Details for submitting public comments are in the rule.
Justice Department Files Voting Rights Lawsuit Against Galveston County, Texas to Challenge County Redistricting PlanRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act against Galveston County, Texas, challenging the redistricting plan for its county governing body, known as the Commissioners Court. The plan was adopted by the county on Nov. 12, 2021, after release of the data from the 2020 Census. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
“This action is the latest demonstration of the Justice Department’s commitment to protecting the voting rights of all Americans, particularly during the current redistricting cycle,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Our complaint alleges that Galveston County has violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by devising a redistricting plan that dismantles the only district in which Black and Hispanic voters had the opportunity to elect a candidate of choice to the county’s governing body. We will continue to use all available tools to challenge voting discrimination in our country.”
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas is committed to protecting the voting rights of all of our citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery for the Southern District of Texas. “We are pleased to join the Civil Rights Division in bringing this important lawsuit under the Voting Rights Act.”
The United States’ complaint contends that the 2021 redistricting plan for the county’s governing body violates Section 2 because it has the discriminatory result of denying Black and Hispanic citizens an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and because the new map was adopted, in part with a discriminatory purpose. The complaint alleges that the county deliberately reconfigured the Commissioners Court’s sole, longstanding minority opportunity-to-elect district to eliminate Black and Hispanic voters’ opportunity to elect a representative of their choice. The complaint also alleges that over the course of the past three decades, Galveston County has on several occasions sought to diminish or eliminate electoral opportunities for the county’s Black and Hispanic voters.
The United States’ complaint asks the court to prohibit Galveston County from conducting elections under the challenged plan and to order Galveston County to devise and implement a new redistricting plan that complies with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
More information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws is available on the Department of Justice’s website at https://www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section.
Complaints about discriminatory voting practices may be reported to the Civil Rights Division through the internet reporting portal at https://civilrights.justice.gov or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931.
For a list of the department’s actions to protect voting rights, click here.
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Iowa Man Sentenced to Another Term in Federal Prison for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced on March 17, 2022, in federal court in Sioux City.
Dustin Joe Martinez, 33, from Sutherland, Iowa, pled guilty on October 21, 2021, to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Martinez was previously convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on June 3, 2016, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. Martinez was on federal supervised release for this offense beginning on January 16, 2016.
At the plea and sentencing hearings, evidence showed that from 2019 and through March 2021, Martinez and others distributed methamphetamine. On two separate occasions, in March of 2020 and March of 2021, Martinez was found in possession of approximately one ounce of methamphetamine which he intended to distribute.
Sentencing was held before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Martinez was sentenced to 87 months’ imprisonment and must serve a term of five years of supervised release following imprisonment. Martinez was also sentenced to a consecutive term of 24 months’ imprisonment for violations of his previously imposed federal supervised release. Therefore, Martinez was sentenced to a total term of 111 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. Martinez remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Spencer Police Department, O’Brien County Sheriff’s Office, and Iowa DCI Laboratory.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-4032. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Illegal possession of firearm sends Hamilton man to prison for more than two yearsRead the Press Release
MISSOULA — A Hamilton man was sentenced today to 27 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after he admitted to illegally possessing a firearm after being found passed out in the driver’s seat of a running vehicle that was stopped at an intersection in Missoula, U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said.
Andrew David Golie, 35, pleaded guilty in December 2021 to prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided.
The government alleged in court documents that in October 2020, Golie was on state probation for a 2012 felony conviction of tampering with witnesses and informants. On Oct. 1, 2020, at approximately 4 a.m., Missoula police officers found Golie passed out in the driver’s seat of a running car that was stopped at an intersection in Missoula. The officers smelled marijuana and saw an unholstered firearm on the passenger seat next to Golie. The firearm, a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol, had a round loaded in the chamber and additional rounds of ammunition in the magazine. Officers also located two backpacks in the front passenger seat that contained methamphetamine and syringes.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee L. Peterson prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI, FBI’s Montana Regional Violent Crime Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Missoula Police Department.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative to reduce violent crime. Through PSN, federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement partners in Montana focus on violent crime driven by methamphetamine trafficking, armed robbers, firearms offenses and violent offenders with outstanding warrants.
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Ice Methamphetamine Dealer Sentenced to 78 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
PEORIA, Ill. –A Pekin, Illinois, man, Sean E. Ward, 49, of the 2200 block of Court Street, was sentenced on March 22, 2022, to six-and-a-half years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for distribution of methamphetamine.
At Ward’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge James E. Shadid found that Ward was responsible for distributing approximately 246.2 grams of methamphetamine. Judge Shadid noted that Ward’s criminal history was separated by periods of sobriety and that Ward appeared committed to working on his substance abuse and mental health issues.
At the sentencing hearing, the government presented evidence that Ward sold ice methamphetamine on three different occasions in the summer of 2021; the largest identified sale was 110.5 grams of pure methamphetamine, as confirmed by the Drug Enforcement Administration laboratory results.
Ward was indicted in August 2021 and pleaded guilty in October 2021. Ward has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals since his arrest but was permitted to attend residential substance abuse treatment prior to his sentencing.
The statutory penalties for distribution of methamphetamine are not less than ten years and up to life imprisonment, not more than a $10 million dollar fine, and a minimum five-year to a maximum life term of supervised release. Ward was eligible for a lower sentence because he was sentenced pursuant to the “safety-valve” provision of 18 U.S.C. §3553(f).
The Pekin Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine G. Legge represented the government in the prosecution, with assistance of the Tazewell County State’s Attorney’s Office.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF)’s National Methamphetamine Strategic Initiative, spearheaded locally out of the Pekin Police Department. The primary goal of this initiative is to address methamphetamine trafficking and its attendant consequences by using a coordinated, multi-agency approach targeting the highest levels of drug trafficking leadership. 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
Houston, Texas, Man Convicted of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to DistributeRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A federal jury returned a guilty verdict on March 23, 2022, against Muhammad Usama, 25, of the 13000 block of Bammel North Houston Road in Houston, Texas, for knowingly possessing 100 kilograms or more of a mixture and substance containing marijuana, a Schedule I controlled substance, with intent to distribute it. Sentencing for Usama has been scheduled for September 9, 2022, at the federal Courthouse in Springfield, Illinois.
Over three days of testimony, the government presented evidence to establish that Usama traveled from California across the country in a recreational vehicle full of almost 1000 pounds of marijuana. The trip was interrupted by law enforcement, who seized the marijuana and took Usama into custody in Jacksonville, Illinois.
Usama remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals. At sentencing, Usama faces statutory penalties of up to 40 years imprisonment, up to a life term of supervised release, and up to a $5,000,000 fine.
The case investigation was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, Drug Enforcement Administration, Illinois State Police, Morgan County Sheriff’s Department, South Jacksonville Police Department, and the Jacksonville Police Department. The Morgan County State’s Attorney’s Office also assisted in the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Z. Weir and Sarah E. Seberger represented the government at trial.
Houston man sent to prison for role in violent abductionRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 23-year-old Houston man has been ordered to federal prison for admitting his role in a brutal kidnapping of a woman from her residence in Katy, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Hipolito Gutierrez pleaded guilty Nov. 26, 2019.
Today, Judge Sim Lake sentenced Gutierrez to a 10-year-term of imprisonment to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.
At the hearing, the court heard details of the violent abduction in which Gutierrez and Nico Namitle-Morales kidnapped the female victim at gunpoint from her vehicle as she drove into her garage. Gutierrez and Namilte-Morales transported the victim to Dallas and held her captive for three days while demanding ransom payments.
Gutierrez is the last man to be sentenced for his role in the crime. In December 2021, the court ordered Namitle-Morales to serve a 20-year sentence for his role as the main gunman and mastermind of the kidnapping.
Gutierrez will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBIconducted the investigation with the assistance of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and Texarkana Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Peneguy prosecuted the case.
Helena man sentenced to prison for bank fraud in COVID-19 relief schemeRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS – A Helena man who admitted lying in a scheme to receive more than $400,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) for coronavirus relief aid and using the money instead for personal benefit was sentenced on March 23 to one year and one day in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said.
Kasey Jones Wilson, 29, pleaded guilty in November 2021 to bank fraud and to engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. Chief Judge Morris also ordered $125,000 restitution.
“Wilson tried to line his own pockets at the expense of small businesses that needed this federal aid to help make payroll and cover other expenses during a deadly pandemic. Such fraudsters will be fully investigated and prosecuted. I want to thank Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin M. Rubich, IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI and all of our law enforcement partners for their work on this case,” U.S. Attorney Johnson said.
“This sentencing is a victory for American citizens and the business owners the Paycheck Protection Program was designed to help,” said Andy Tsui, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge. “Through our partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our federal law enforcement partners, IRS Criminal Investigation agents will continue to aggressively pursue individuals who try to exploit federal relief programs for their personal gain.”
In court documents, the government alleged that on June 28, 2020, Wilson applied to Valley Bank of Helena for a Paycheck Protection Program loan seeking $416,400 on behalf of Step Above Management LLC, an entity he and codefendant, Trevor Lanius-McLeod, controlled. The loan was granted, and funds were sent to an account that Wilson controlled. Lanius-McLeod has pleaded guilty to charges and is pending sentencing.
The PPP program, which is part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, provided emergency assistance to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses.
Wilson and Lanius-McLeod made numerous false statements on the PPP loan application. Without the false statements, Wilson and Lanius-McLeod would not have qualified for a PPP loan. The defendants falsely stated that Step Above Management had paid payroll taxes and had 34 employees. The company never paid payroll taxes and had no employees besides Wilson and Lanius-McLeod. Wilson also represented on the loan application that he had not been convicted of a felony within the last five years, when he had been convicted of a felony in 2016.
The government further alleged that in a promissory note, the defendants agreed to use the funds for business-related expenses. None of the loan money was used for these purposes. Instead, the proceeds were spent on various personal expenses. Most of the loan funds went to Lanius-McLeod. Wilson purchased several cashier’s checks from Valley Bank of Helena payable to Lanius-McLeod.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin M. Rubich prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the IRS-Criminal Investigation and FBI, with assistance from the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and U.S. Secret Service.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
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Head of the Gulf Cartel indictedRead the Press Release
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Jose Alfredo Cardenas-Martinez aka El Contador has been indicted in the Southern District of Texas on various charges related to his position as the head of the Cardenas family drug trafficking operation known as the Cartel del Golfo, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
A federal grand jury sitting in Brownsville returned the nine-count indictment Nov. 10, 2021. Cardenas-Martinez is currently in custody in Mexico pending litigation on the U.S.’s extradition request.
According to the charges, Cardenas-Martinez, 42, has been the head of the Gulf Cartel aka Cartel del Golfo or CDG since 2015. He became CDG’s leader following the arrest and later conviction of Jorge Eduardo Costilla-Sanchez aka El Cos. Costilla-Sanchez was CDG’s leader following the arrest and conviction of Cardenas-Martinez’s uncle - Oziel Cardenas-Guillen. Cardenas-Guillen is currently in federal custody serving his sentence. Costilla-Sanchez was also convicted in the Southern District of Texas and is awaiting sentencing. The Gulf Cartel is headquartered in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
Cardenas-Martinez is charged in an international conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth, cocaine and fentanyl. The indictment also alleges he possessed with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of meth, five kilograms of cocaine and 400 grams or more of fentanyl.
As head of the CDG, Cardenas-Martinez allegedly coordinated the shipment of narcotics to the United States for illegal sale across the country. According to the charges, the conspiracy to transport cocaine, meth and fentanyl into the United States began in 2015 and continued through 2021.
“The arrest of Jose Alfredo Cardenas-Martinez serves a tough blow to the Gulf Cartel Organization,” said Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux. “It is the culmination of a successful international drug investigation which should disrupt the Gulf Cartel’s ability to smuggle drugs into Texas and other communities.”
“Through the joint investigation from our office in Harlingen, in coordination with our Attaché in Mexico and other partners, we were able to gather significant evidence that was instrumental in the case against “El Contador,” said Special Agent in Charge Shane Folden of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “HSI and our law enforcement partners will continue to coordinate to dismantle any suspected transnational criminal organizations that threaten public safety.”
If convicted, Cardenas-Martinez faces up to life in prison and a possible $10 million fine. The indictment also includes a notice of forfeiture of any proceeds he made and property used to facilitate his drug trafficking business.
This prosecution is part of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation Cold Blooded. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
The DEA and HSI conducted the joint investigation with the assistance of Border Patrol. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided substantial assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Betancourt 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.
Hartford Residents Charged with Trafficking Massive Quantity of FentanylRead the Press Release
Leonard C Boyle, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven has returned an eight-count indictment charging ERASMO ROSARIO-HERNANDEZ, also known as “Wally Rosario,” 38, and WILY ARIAS DE LA CRUZ, 38, both citizens of the Dominican Republic last residing in Hartford, with multiple offenses related to the distribution of fentanyl, heroin and crack cocaine. Rosario is also charged with a firearm offense stemming from his possession of several assault rifles and other firearms.
As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, a DEA investigation identified Rosario and De La Cruz as members of a drug trafficking organization that has been trafficking in large quantities of fentanyl. In the early morning of March 11, 2022, investigators, in Hartford, stopped a car in which De La Cruz was a passenger and seized two compressed bricks of fentanyl with a total weight of more than one kilogram. Later in the morning, a court authorized search of Rosario’s residence on Magnolia Street in Hartford revealed approximately one kilogram of fentanyl, approximately 16,000 fentanyl pills disguised as 30 milligram oxycodone pills, three high-capacity magazine, and a bump stock device for an automatic rifle. After a narcotics-detection canine alerted to Rosario’s Mercedes that was parked outside of the residence, investigators searched the car and seized approximately 14 kilograms of fentanyl, approximately 1,000 bags of prepackaged fentanyl, approximately 16,000 fentanyl pills, approximately 75 grams of heroin, 41 grams of cocaine base, a kilogram press, four assault-style rifles, two handguns, ammunition, multiple false identification cards with Rosario’s photo, and approximately $66,000 in counterfeit U.S. currency.
Rosario and De La Cruz have been detained since March 11.
The indictment, which was returned on March 22, charges Rosario and De La Cruz with conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, 400 grams or more of fentanyl, and with possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. Each of these offenses carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life. Rosario is also charged with offenses related to the distribution of heroin and cocaine base (“crack”), and with possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The firearm offense carries a mandatory consecutive prison term of at least five years.
“It is alleged that these defendants have been involved in a drug trafficking network that involved a massive amount of fentanyl and the production of thousands of fentanyl pills that could easily be mistaken for legitimate oxycodone pills,” said U.S. Attorney Boyle. “As fentanyl continues to be the leading cause of overdose deaths in Connecticut and around the country, we are determined to do everything to stop of the flow of this deadly drug into and around our state. This case represents one of the largest one-time seizures of fentanyl that we’ve seen in Connecticut, and I thank the DEA and its task force members for their excellent work. Their efforts in taking these dangerous drugs and guns off the streets have saved lives.”
“Fentanyl is causing deaths in record numbers and DEA’s top priority is to aggressively pursue anyone who distributes this poison in order to profit and destroy lives,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Boyle. “Illegal drug distribution ravages the very foundations of our families and communities so every time we take fentanyl off the streets, lives are saved. This investigation demonstrates the strength of collaborative local, county and state law enforcement efforts in Connecticut and our strong partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
U.S. Attorney Boyle stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This investigation is being conducted by the DEA’s Hartford Task Force, which includes personnel from the DEA Hartford Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police, and the Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Enfield, Manchester, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, Windsor Locks and Willimantic Police Departments. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey M. Stone through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program. 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.
Harrison County man sentenced for firearms chargeRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Chad Perkins, of Wallace, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 27 months of incarceration for a firearms charge, United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced.
Perkins, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of “Unlawful Possession of Firearm.” Perkins, a person prohibited from having a firearm because of prior convictions, admitted to having 41 rounds of .22 caliber ammunition in an AR conversion drum magazine in August 2021 in Harrison County.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer T. Conklin prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and West Virginia State Police investigated.
U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
Hanover Man Admits to Using Ghost Gun to Shoot at United States Secret Service Security GuardsRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – Jeremiah Peter Watson, age 24, of Hanover, Maryland, pleaded guilty yesterday to assault on a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon; and using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm in relation to a violent crime.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Acting Special Agent in Charge L.C. Cheeks of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Chief of Police Pamela A. Smith of the U.S. Park Police.
According to his guilty plea, on February 25, 2021, Watson drove to the entrance of a United States Secret Service facility, positioning his vehicle in a manner that blocked the driveway and prevented other drivers from passing through the entrance of the facility. When a security officer (Victim 1) approached Watson to ask him to move his vehicle, Watson became verbally combative and did not move his vehicle.
A second security officer (Victim 2) approached Watson and asked him to move his vehicle and informed him that if he did not move his vehicle, a United States Secret Service agent would arrest him. Watson continued to be combative towards the security. During the confrontation, Watson approached Victim 1 aggressively and lunged at Victim 2, putting his face within inches of Victim 2’s face.
When Watson lunged at Victim 2 and reached into his pocket, Victim 2 was startled and believed that Watson was armed. In response, Victim 2 began to pull out his firearm and Victim 1 sprayed pepper spray at Watson. Watson then retreated into his vehicle and drove away.
Before Watson drove away, the victims noted Watson’s distinctive colored cell phone case and license plate number. As Victim 1, Victim 2, another security guard (Victim 3) and a United States Secret Service agent (Victim 4), began to re-enter the facility building, the victims saw Watson’s vehicle return and saw a flash of a gunshot coming out of the driver-side window towards them. Watson did another U-turn and fired at least four additional shots before he drove away.
As stated in his guilty plea, United State Park Police officers responded to the scene where law enforcement recovered three 9mm ammunition shell casings and located a bullet fragment within a wall. Through the review of information associated with Watson’s license plate registration, law enforcement linked the vehicle to Watson’s Hanover, Maryland address and identified the vehicle at Watson’s residence later that night.
On February 26, 2021, law enforcement executed search warrants at Watson’s residence and recovered Watson’s cell phone, 9mm ammunition, two empty 9mm cartridge cases, and a privately made 9mm handgun without a serial number, also known as a “ghost gun”. Forensic examination concluded that the cartridge cases recovered from Watson’s vehicle had been fired from the recovered ghost gun and that the bullet fragment recovered from the scene was consistent with having been fired from the same ghost gun.
All four victims were acting in the course of their duties as federal officers or employees when Watson discharged his firearm at them.
Watson and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Watson will be sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has scheduled sentencing for July 5, 2022, at 10:00 a.m.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the ATF and the U.S. Park Police for their work in the investigation and thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Secret Service for their assistance. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Wright, who is prosecuting the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visithttps://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Group sent to prison for attempted meth distributionRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – Three Texas residents have been ordered to federal prison following their convictions of conspiracy to transport 30.1 kilograms of pure meth, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Jose Ramon Garcia, 41, and Jorge Armando Lozano, 39, both of Hebbronville, pleaded guilty July 16, 2020, while Rolando Cadena 46, Laredo, pleaded guilty Aug. 14, 2020.
Today, U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña ordered Cadena to serve a 235-month-term of imprisonment, while Garcia and Lozano received respective terms of 97 and 135 months. They each must also serve five years of supervised release after their term of imprisonment.
In handing down the sentence, the court noted that all three were not young men with poor judgment or drug addictions, but instead had good jobs with no reason to participate in narcotics smuggling. At the hearing, Cadena claimed he had been coerced into pleading guilty and completely denied involvement in the crime. Judge Saldaña reviewed the evidence and said she had “no doubt” he was guilty.
The investigation revealed Cadena, Garcia and Lozano had been discussing the transportation of meth. Ultimately, Lozano coordinated the transfer of 22 bundles of meth from Cadena to Garcia in Laredo.
Garcia then traveled east towards Hebbronville. Authorities subsequently stopped him for a traffic violation near Oilton. At that time, Garcia admitted he was transporting narcotics to Dallas and indicated where they were hidden inside of his vehicle.
Previously released on bond, Cadena was taken into custody following the sentencing today where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. Lozano and Garcia were permitted to voluntarily surrender in the near future.
Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Webb County Constables Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Harrison and April Ayers-Perez prosecuted the case.
Grand Jury - March 2022Read the Press Release
United States Attorney Jan W. Sharp announced the federal Grand Jury for the District of Nebraska has returned 14 unsealed Indictments charging 17 defendants. Indictments are charging documents that contain one or more individual counts that are merely accusations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
* Matthew Carlson, age 38, of Omaha, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I charges Carlson with receipt of child pornography with priors between on or about March 1, 2021 and continuing to on or about November 23, 2021. The penalty if convicted is not less than 10 years and up to 40 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a life term of supervised release, a $100 special assessment, and a $35,000 additional special assessment. Count II charges Carlson with possession of child pornography with priors between on or about November 23, 2021. The penalty if convicted is not less than 10 years and up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a life term of supervised release, a $100 special assessment, and a $17,000 additional special assessment.
* Tyler Denby, age 36, of Alliance, Nebraska, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I charges Denby with transport of child pornography on or about July 30, 2021. The penalty if convicted is not less than 5 years and up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a life term of supervised release, a $100 special assessment, and a $40,000 additional special assessment. Count II charges Denby with possession of child pornography on or about July 30, 2021. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a life term of supervised release, a $100 special assessment, and a $22,000 additional special assessment.
* Cynthia Diane Steele Gilchrist, age 47, of Lincoln, Nebraska, is charged with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine (actual) on or about April 14, 2021. The penalty if convicted is not less than 10 years and up to life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a five-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. There is also an allegation to forfeit United States currency seized on or about April 14, 2021.
* Darrian Grant, age 24, is charged with failure to register as a sex offender on or about December 19, 2021 and continuing to on or about February 11, 2022. The penalty if convicted is 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a life term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Jean Ferrer Leyva-Pazos, age 19, is charged with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine (mixture) on or about February 23, 2022. The penalty if convicted is not less than 5 years’ and not more than 40 years’ imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a four-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Juan Lorenzo-Felipe, age 25, is charged with illegal reentry after deportation on or about March 1, 2022. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a one-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Denis Perez Koh, age 35, is charged with illegal reentry after deportation on or about March 9, 2022. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a one-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Quincy Louis, a/k/a Quincy LaRue Louis, age 25, D’Juan Beverly, Jr., age 23, Adrionna La’Sha Leeper, age 22, and Faye-Lynne Hardesty, age 19, are charged in a thirty-count Indictment. Count I charges Louis, Beverly, Leeper, and Hardesty with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery beginning on or about February 24, 2022 and continuing to on or about March 1, 2022. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a three-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Counts II, III, V, VII, IX, XI, XIII, XV, XVII, XVIX XXIII, XXV, XXVII, XXIX charge the defendants with specific robberies beginning on or about February 24, 2022 and continuing to on or about March 1, 2022. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a three-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Counts IV, VI, VIII, X, XII, XIV, XVI, XVIII, XX, XXII, XXIV, XXVIII charge the defendants with brandishing a firearm during specific robberies on or about February 25, 2022 and continuing to on or about March 1, 2022. The penalty if convicted is not less than 7 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a five-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Counts XXVI and XXX charge the defendants with discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence on or about March 1, 2022. The penalty if convicted is not less than 10 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a five-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Each firearms count must run consecutive to other counts.
* Wesly Preister, age 52, of Omaha, is charged with possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine (actual) on or about January 11, 2022. The penalty if convicted is not less than 10 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $8,000,000 fine, an eight-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Rudy Ortega Raymundo, age 34, of Lexington, Nebraska, is charged with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine (mixture) and 50 grams or more of methamphetamine (actual) on or about October 3, 2021. The penalty if convicted is not less than 10 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a five-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Darell C. Richards, age 32, is charged with escape from custody on or about February 19, 2022. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a three-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Russell L. Rucks, Jr., age 29, of Lincoln, Nebraska is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I charges Rucks with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine on or about April 1, 2021 and continuing to on or about August 12, 2021. The penalty if convicted is not less than 5 years’ and not more than 40 years’ imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a four-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Rucks with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine on or about August 12, 2021. The penalty if convicted is not less than 5 years’ and not more than 40 years’ imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a four-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. There is also an allegation to forfeit United States currency seized on or about August 12, 2021.
* Jose Ramiro Segovia-Garcia, age 30, is charged with illegal reentry of a removed alien after a felony on or about March 9, 2022. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a three-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Joshua Sund, age 41, is charged in a five-count Indictment. Counts I - V charge Sund with production of child pornography between on or about September 17, 2018 and continuing to on or about January 9, 2020. The penalty if convicted is not less than 15 years’ and not more than 30 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a life term of supervised release, a $100 special assessment, and a $55,000 additional special assessment.
Georgia Man with Past Fraud Conviction Sentenced in CARES Act Fraud CaseRead the Press Release
VALDOSTA, Ga. – A Georgia man with a prior federal conviction for fraud was sentenced to federal prison for a scheme he orchestrated to claim government pandemic funds using identity theft and fraud.
Darrius Hollis, 28, of Quitman, Georgia, was sentenced to serve a total of 42 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Hugh Lawson on March 23, after pleading guilty to wire fraud. The sentence included 30 months on the wire fraud conviction and 12 additional months to serve consecutively on a revocation of the supervised release Hollis was still serving for the earlier bank and wire fraud conspiracy conviction. In addition, Judge Lawson ordered Hollis to pay $42,667 in restitution to the Georgia Department of Labor. There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court documents, a United States Secret Service Special Agent was contacted by an individual in Aug. 2020, who believed Hollis was involved with filing fraudulent unemployment insurance claims. Hollis was familiar to the agent because of his prior federal fraud conviction. The U.S. Department of Labor ran a query of its claims database and discovered that an unemployment insurance claim seeking federal and state pandemic assistance was electronically filed in Hollis’ name stating that he had been working at a Quitman business and lost his job due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, Hollis was in federal prison during most of that claimed time period serving a sentence for a previous conviction, having been released from federal custody in late April 2020. Further investigation discovered that Hollis used the identities of two victims to fraudulently apply for and receive unemployment insurance and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act money. Hollis admitted to the scheme and is responsible for a total of $42,337 in losses to the State of Georgia and the United States.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Georgia Department of Labor.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McCullers prosecuted the case.
Genesis Petroleum Resolves Federal Environmental Claims Involving 13 Gas Stations Located in Long Island and Westchester, New York and New JerseyRead the Press Release
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Lisa Garcia, Regional Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2, announced that the United States has entered into a Consent Judgment settling a civil lawsuit against Genesis Petroleum, Inc. and 20 associated companies (Defendants), for violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in connection with their ownership or operation of underground storage tanks (USTs) at 13 gas stations in New York and New Jersey. The Consent Judgment requires the Defendants to adequately detect leaks of petroleum product from USTs, and to implement other safety measures, across their facilities in New York and New Jersey. The settlement also requires Defendants to pay a civil penalty of $250,000.
“Genesis Petroleum flagrantly disregarded measures required by law that are designed to protect the health and safety of the communities in which it operates its gas stations. Leaks from underground storage tanks can contaminate drinking water supplies, pollute surrounding soil and surface waters as well as groundwater, and impact indoor airspaces,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This settlement reaffirms this Office's commitment to safeguarding public health, preserving the environment, and promoting environmental justice in partnership with the EPA.”
“This settlement protects communities across New York and New Jersey by significantly improving how these businesses manage underground storage tanks,” stated EPA Regional Administrator Garcia. “If underground storage tanks leak, they can pose a serious problem because they can contaminate groundwater, and the risk can be heightened when owners and operators of USTs fail to comply with EPA’s regulatory requirements. Underground storage tanks are important business infrastructure and are essential for fueling vehicles but when these tanks are not properly maintained or repaired, communities and the environment can be at risk from leaks of hazardous substances.”
Petroleum products such as gasoline contain chemical compounds that pose substantial threats to human health. Service stations typically store gasoline in USTs. When operated conscientiously and monitored closely, USTs are a safe and effective means to store gasoline. But when those tanks are not subjected to basic operational safeguards, they can endanger the public and the environment, for example by leaking the contents of their tanks into the water supply, discharging toxic vapors into the air, or even triggering fires or explosions.
EPA’s regulations under RCRA are designed to protect the public by requiring underground storage tank operators to reduce the likelihood of leaks, monitor for leaks so they can promptly be addressed, and maintain adequate insurance to conduct corrective action and compensate injured third parties should a leak occur.
The Consent Judgment, which is subject to public comment and approval by the district court, resolves a lawsuit filed by the United States in June 2019, which alleges that the Defendants repeatedly violated RCRA and related regulations at various times between 2012 and 2016 with respect to their ownership and/or operation of underground storage tanks at 13 gas stations. Twelve of the Defendants’ facilities covered by the Consent Judgment are located in low-income areas and communities of color that are exposed to disproportionate environmental burdens.
The United States alleges that the Defendants failed to perform required actions including:
- failure to install and use spill prevention equipment at three facilities;
- failure to use overfill prevention equipment at three facilities;
- failure to provide release detection for underground storage tanks at three facilities;
- failure to provide release detection for pressurized piping at six facilities;
- failure to test automatic line leak detectors at nine facilities;
- failure to report suspected releases at three facilities;
- failure to perform release detection for underground storage tanks that were temporarily closed but still contained more than three feet of petroleum products at one facility;
- failure to timely provide records of release detection monitoring at ten facilities;
- failure to timely respond to requests for information issued by EPA at 13 facilities; and
- failure to maintain financial responsibility and evidence of financial responsibility at seven facilities.
Pursuant to the Consent Judgment, Defendants are required to comply with the regulations applicable to USTs for all tanks at 29 facilities at which they currently own or operate underground storage tanks in New York and New Jersey. The Consent Judgment requires Defendants to implement significant measures to ensure such compliance, including undertaking inspections, maintaining and operating a federally approved release detection method at all underground storage tanks at the facilities, maintaining a properly functioning and operational overfill prevention system for new tanks and providing semi-annual reports to EPA.
The Consent Judgment will be lodged with the District Court for a period of at least 30 days and notice of the Consent Judgment will be published in the Federal Register before the Consent Judgement is submitted for the Court’s approval. This will afford members of the public the opportunity to submit comments on the Consent Judgement to the Department of Justice.
In June 2021, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York created an Environmental Justice Team within the Office’s Civil Division. The focus of the Environmental Justice Team is the protection of the rights of residents of the Eastern District of New York who are disproportionately burdened by environmental and health hazards.
This matter is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jolie Apicella and Paulina Stamatelos with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Mary Ellen Buntin of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, working with Lee Spielmann, Assistant Regional Counsel, EPA Region 2, and Hiep Tran, Enforcement Officer, EPA Region 2.
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CV-3340 (JS)
The Defendants:Genesis Petroleum, Inc.
Technic Management, Inc.
Gulden Inc.
2664 RT 112 Realty Corp.
607 Station Road Realty Inc.
1000 Motor Parkway Central Islip LLC
616 Broadway LLC
Freeport Realty LLC
199 E. Sunrise Highway Realty Corp.
465 Nassau Road Realty Corp.
Camlica, Inc.
Kucukbey Corp.
North Country Road Realty LLC
Elizabeth NJPO LLC
Elizabeth NJPG LLC
Perth Amboy NJPO LLC
Perth Amboy NJPG LLC
Newark NJPO LLC
Newark NJPG LLC
North Bergen NJPO LLC
North Bergen NJPG
Gas Stations in the Complaint:2664 Route 112, Medford, New York
607 Station Road, Bellport, New York
87 North Country Road, Miller Place, New York
616 Route 110, Amityville, New York
6077 Jericho Turnpike, Commack, New York
199 E. Sunrise Highway, Freeport, New York
131 West Merrick, Freeport, New York
465 Nassau Road, Roosevelt, New York
261 East Merrick Road, Freeport, New York
507 Bayway Avenue, Elizabeth, New Jersey
163 Fayette Street, Perth Amboy, New Jersey
66-80 Bloomfield Avenue, Newark, New Jersey
8012 Tonnelle Avenue, North Bergen, New Jersey
Gas Stations Subject to the Consent Judgment:2664 Route 112, Medford, NY
607 Station Road, Bellport, NY
87 North Country Road, Miller Place, NY
616 Route 110 (Broadway Road), Amityville, NY
199 East Sunrise Highway, Freeport, NY
131 West Merrick Road, Freeport, NY
465 Nassau Road, Roosevelt, NY
11 Station Road, Bellport, NY
315 Route 112, Port Jefferson, NY
1575 Route 112, Port Jefferson, NY
4290 Austin Blvd., Island Park, NY
303 Maple Avenue in Smithtown, NY
2394 Boston Post Road, Larchmont, NY
2149 Boston Post Road, Larchmont, NY
747 Main Street, New Rochelle, NY
8012 Tonnelle Avenue, North Bergen, NJ
2 Marlton Pike W, Cherry Hill, NJ
4915 Route 130 & Browning Road, Pennsauken, NJ
1422 W. Landis Avenue, Vineland, NJ
520 E. Commerce Street, Bridgeton, NJ
3731 Bay Shore Road, Lower Township, NJ
515 S. Pennsville-Auburn Road, Carneys Point, NJ
632 2nd Avenue, Long Branch, NJ
379 Quaker Church Road, Randolph, NJ
1839 Admiral Wilson Blvd., Camden, NJ
509 Route 47S, Cape May, NJ
1651 Route 38 & 464 Pine Street, Mount Holly, NJ
615 Pearl Street N., Bridgeton, NJ
3422 S. Delsea Drive, Vineland, NJ
Four Russian Government Employees Charged in Two Historical Hacking Campaigns Targeting Critical Infrastructure WorldwideRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice unsealed two indictments today charging four defendants, all Russian nationals who worked for the Russian government, with attempting, supporting and conducting computer intrusions that together, in two separate conspiracies, targeted the global energy sector between 2012 and 2018. In total, these hacking campaigns targeted thousands of computers, at hundreds of companies and organizations, in approximately 135 countries.
A June 2021 indictment returned in the District of Columbia, United States v. Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh, concerns the alleged efforts of an employee of a Russian Ministry of Defense research institute and his co-conspirators to damage critical infrastructure outside the United States, thereby causing two separate emergency shutdowns at a foreign targeted facility. The conspiracy subsequently attempted to hack the computers of a U.S. company that managed similar critical infrastructure entities in the United States.
An August 2021 indictment returned in the District of Kansas, United States v. Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov, et al., details allegations about a separate, two-phased campaign undertaken by three officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and their co-conspirators to target and compromise the computers of hundreds of entities related to the energy sector worldwide. Access to such systems would have provided the Russian government the ability to, among other things, disrupt and damage such computer systems at a future time of its choosing.
“Russian state-sponsored hackers pose a serious and persistent threat to critical infrastructure both in the United States and around the world,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Although the criminal charges unsealed today reflect past activity, they make crystal clear the urgent ongoing need for American businesses to harden their defenses and remain vigilant. Alongside our partners here at home and abroad, the Department of Justice is committed to exposing and holding accountable state-sponsored hackers who threaten our critical infrastructure with cyber-attacks.”
“The FBI, along with our federal and international partners, is laser-focused on countering the significant cyber threat Russia poses to our critical infrastructure,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “We will continue to identify and quickly direct response assets to victims of Russian cyber activity; to arm our partners with the information that they need to deploy their own tools against the adversary; and to attribute the misconduct and impose consequences both seen and unseen.”
“We face no greater cyber threat than actors seeking to compromise critical infrastructure, offenses which could harm those working at affected plants as well as the citizens who depend on them,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “The department and my office will ensure that those attacking operational technology will be identified and prosecuted.”
“The potential of cyberattacks to disrupt, if not paralyze, the delivery of critical energy services to hospitals, homes, businesses and other locations essential to sustaining our communities is a reality in today’s world,” said U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard for the District of Kansas. “We must acknowledge there are individuals actively seeking to wreak havoc on our nation’s vital infrastructure system, and we must remain vigilant in our effort to thwart such attacks. The Department of Justice is committed to the pursuit and prosecution of accused hackers as part of its mission to protect the safety and security of our nation.”
In addition to unsealing these charges, the U.S. government is taking action to enhance private sector network defense efforts and disrupt similar malicious activity.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has already released numerous Technical Alerts, ICS Alerts and Malware Analysis Reports regarding Russia’s malign cyber activities, including the campaigns discussed in the indictments. These are located at: https://www.cisa.gov/shields-up
- United States v. Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh – defendant installed backdoors and launched malware designed to compromise the safety of energy facilities
In June 2021, a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment charging Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh (Евгений Викторович Гладких), 36, a computer programmer employed by an institute affiliated with the Russian Ministry of Defense, for his role in a campaign to hack industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT) of global energy facilities using techniques designed to enable future physical damage with potentially catastrophic effects.
According to the indictment, between May and September 2017, the defendant and co-conspirators hacked the systems of a foreign refinery and installed malware, which cyber security researchers have referred to as “Triton” or “Trisis,” on a safety system produced by Schneider Electric, a multinational corporation. The conspirators designed the Triton malware to prevent the refinery’s safety systems from functioning (i.e., by causing the ICS to operate in an unsafe manner while appearing to be operating normally), granting the defendant and his co-conspirators the ability to cause damage to the refinery, injury to anyone nearby, and economic harm. However, when the defendant deployed the Triton malware, it caused a fault that led the refinery’s Schneider Electric safety systems to initiate two automatic emergency shutdowns of the refinery’s operations. Between February and July 2018, the conspirators researched similar refineries in the United States, which were owned by a U.S. company, and unsuccessfully attempted to hack the U.S. company’s computer systems.
The three-count indictment alleges that Gladkikh was an employee of the State Research Center of the Russian Federation FGUP Central Scientific Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics’ (Государственный научный центр Российской Федерации федеральное государственное унитарное предприятие Центральный научно-исследовательский институт химии и механики, hereinafter “TsNIIKhM”) Applied Developments Center (“Центр прикладных разработок,” hereinafter “ADC”). On its website, which was modified after the Triton attack became public, TsNIIKhM described itself as the Russian Ministry of Defense’s leading research organization. The ADC, in turn, publicly asserted that it engaged in research concerning information technology-related threats to critical infrastructure (i.e., that its research was defensive in nature).
The defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy to cause damage to an energy facility, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one count of attempt to cause damage to an energy facility, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher B. Brown and Luke Jones for the District of Columbia, in partnership with the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, are prosecuting this case. The FBI’s Washington Field Office conducted the investigation.
The U.S.-based targets of the conspiracy cooperated and provided valuable assistance in the investigation. The Department of Justice and the FBI also expressed appreciation to Schneider Electric for its assistance in the investigation, particularly noting the company’s public outreach and education efforts following the overseas Triton attack.
- United States v. Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gavrilov, and Marat Valeryevich Tyukov – defendants undertook years-long effort to target and compromise computer systems of energy sector companies
On Aug. 26, 2021, a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Kansas, returned an indictment charging three computer hackers, all of whom were residents and nationals of the Russian Federation (Russia) and officers in Military Unit 71330 or “Center 16” of the FSB, with violating U.S. laws related to computer fraud and abuse, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and causing damage to the property of an energy facility.
The FSB hackers, Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov (Павел Александрович Акулов), 36, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gavrilov (Михаил Михайлович Гаврилов), 42, and Marat Valeryevich Tyukov (Марат Валерьевич Тюков), 39, were members of a Center 16 operational unit known among cybersecurity researchers as “Dragonfly,” “Berzerk Bear,” “Energetic Bear,” and “Crouching Yeti.” The indictment alleges that, between 2012 and 2017, Akulov, Gavrilov, Tyukov and their co-conspirators, engaged in computer intrusions, including supply chain attacks, in furtherance of the Russian government’s efforts to maintain surreptitious, unauthorized and persistent access to the computer networks of companies and organizations in the international energy sector, including oil and gas firms, nuclear power plants, and utility and power transmission companies. Specifically, the conspirators targeted the software and hardware that controls equipment in power generation facilities, known as ICS or Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. Access to such systems would have provided the Russian government the ability to, among other things, disrupt and damage such computer systems at a future time of its choosing.
According to the indictment, the energy sector campaign involved two phases. In the first phase, which took place between 2012 and 2014 and is commonly referred to by cyber security researchers as “Dragonfly” or “Havex,” the conspirators engaged in a supply chain attack, compromising the computer networks of ICS/SCADA system manufacturers and software providers and then hiding malware – known publicly as “Havex” – inside legitimate software updates for such systems. After unsuspecting customers downloaded Havex-infected updates, the conspirators would use the malware to, among other things, create backdoors into infected systems and scan victims’ networks for additional ICS/SCADA devices. Through these and other efforts, including spearphishing and “watering hole” attacks, the conspirators installed malware on more than 17,000 unique devices in the United States and abroad, including ICS/SCADA controllers used by power and energy companies.
In the second phase, which took place between 2014 and 2017 and is commonly referred to as “Dragonfly 2.0,” the conspirators transitioned to more targeted compromises that focused on specific energy sector entities and individuals and engineers who worked with ICS/SCADA systems. As alleged in the indictment, the conspirators’ tactics included spearphishing attacks targeting more than 3,300 users at more than 500 U.S. and international companies and entities, in addition to U.S. government agencies such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In some cases, the spearphishing attacks were successful, including in the compromise of the business network (i.e., involving computers not directly connected to ICS/SCADA equipment) of the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation (Wolf Creek) in Burlington, Kansas, which operates a nuclear power plant. Moreover, after establishing an illegal foothold in a particular network, the conspirators typically used that foothold to penetrate further into the network by obtaining access to other computers and networks at the victim entity.
During the Dragonfly 2.0 phase, the conspirators also undertook a watering hole attack by compromising servers that hosted websites commonly visited by ICS/SCADA system and other energy sector engineers through publicly known vulnerabilities in content management software. When the engineers browsed to a compromised website, the conspirators’ hidden scripts deployed malware designed to capture login credentials onto their computers.
The conspiracy’s hacking campaign targeted victims in the United States and in more than 135 other countries.
Akulov, Gavrilov and Tyukov are charged with conspiracy to cause damage to the property of an energy facility and commit computer fraud and abuse, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Akulov and Gavrilov are also charged with substantive counts of wire fraud and computer fraud related to unlawfully obtaining information from computers and causing damage to computers. These offenses carry maximum sentences ranging from five to 20 years in prison. Finally, Akulov and Gavrilov are also charged with three counts of aggravated identity theft, each of which carry a minimum sentence of two years consecutive to any other sentence imposed.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Rask, Christopher Oakley and Ryan Huschka forthe District of Kansas, and Counsel for Cyber Investigations Ali Ahmad and Trial Attorney Christine Bonomo of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting this case. The FBI’s Portland and Richmond field offices conducted the investigation, with the assistance of the FBI’s Cyber Division.
Numerous victims, including Wolf Creek and its owners Evergy and the Kansas Electric Power Cooperative, cooperated and provided invaluable assistance in the investigation.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Note: View the concurrent announcement by the Department of State of a $10 million reward for information leading to the arrest of a defendant or identification of other conspirators as part of its Rewards for Justice program.
View the concurrent announcement by the FBI, Department of Energy and Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) of a Joint Cybersecurity Advisory containing technical details, indicators of compromise and mitigation measures.
Four Russian Government Employees Charged in Two Historical Hacking Campaigns Targeting Critical Infrastructure WorldwideRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - The Department of Justice unsealed two indictments today charging four defendants, all Russian nationals who worked for the Russian government, with attempting, supporting and conducting computer intrusions that together, in two separate conspiracies, targeted the global energy sector between 2012 and 2018. In total, these hacking campaigns targeted thousands of computers, at hundreds of companies and organizations, in approximately 135 countries.
A June 2021 indictment returned in the District of Columbia, United States v. Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh, concerns the alleged efforts of an employee of a Russian Ministry of Defense research institute and his co-conspirators to damage critical infrastructure outside the United States, thereby causing two separate emergency shutdowns at a foreign targeted facility. The conspiracy subsequently attempted to hack the computers of a U.S. company that managed similar critical infrastructure entities in the United States.
An August 2021 indictment returned in the District of Kansas, United States v. Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov, et al., details allegations about a separate, two-phased campaign undertaken by three officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and their co-conspirators to target and compromise the computers of hundreds of entities related to the energy sector worldwide. Access to such systems would have provided the Russian government the ability to, among other things, disrupt and damage such computer systems at a future time of its choosing.
“Russian state-sponsored hackers pose a serious and persistent threat to critical infrastructure both in the United States and around the world,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Although the criminal charges unsealed today reflect past activity, they make crystal clear the urgent ongoing need for American businesses to harden their defenses and remain vigilant. Alongside our partners here at home and abroad, the Department of Justice is committed to exposing and holding accountable state-sponsored hackers who threaten our critical infrastructure with cyber-attacks.”
“The FBI, along with our federal and international partners, is laser-focused on countering the significant cyber threat Russia poses to our critical infrastructure,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “We will continue to identify and quickly direct response assets to victims of Russian cyber activity; to arm our partners with the information that they need to deploy their own tools against the adversary; and to attribute the misconduct and impose consequences both seen and unseen.”
“We face no greater cyber threat than actors seeking to compromise critical infrastructure, offenses which could harm those working at affected plants as well as the citizens who depend on them,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “The department and my office will ensure that those attacking operational technology will be identified and prosecuted.”
“The potential of cyberattacks to disrupt, if not paralyze, the delivery of critical energy services to hospitals, homes, businesses and other locations essential to sustaining our communities is a reality in today’s world,” said U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard for the District of Kansas. “We must acknowledge there are individuals actively seeking to wreak havoc on our nation’s vital infrastructure system, and we must remain vigilant in our effort to thwart such attacks. The Department of Justice is committed to the pursuit and prosecution of accused hackers as part of its mission to protect the safety and security of our nation.”
In addition to unsealing these charges, the U.S. government is taking action to enhance private sector network defense efforts and disrupt similar malicious activity.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has already released numerous Technical Alerts, ICS Alerts and Malware Analysis Reports regarding Russia’s malign cyber activities, including the campaigns discussed in the indictments. These are located at: https://www.cisa.gov/shields-up
- United States v. Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh – defendant installed backdoors and launched malware designed to compromise the safety of energy facilities
In June 2021, a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment charging Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh (Евгений Викторович Гладких), 36, a computer programmer employed by an institute affiliated with the Russian Ministry of Defense, for his role in a campaign to hack industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT) of global energy facilities using techniques designed to enable future physical damage with potentially catastrophic effects.
According to the indictment, between May and September 2017, the defendant and co-conspirators hacked the systems of a foreign refinery and installed malware, which cyber security researchers have referred to as “Triton” or “Trisis,” on a safety system produced by Schneider Electric, a multinational corporation. The conspirators designed the Triton malware to prevent the refinery’s safety systems from functioning (i.e., by causing the ICS to operate in an unsafe manner while appearing to be operating normally), granting the defendant and his co-conspirators the ability to cause damage to the refinery, injury to anyone nearby, and economic harm. However, when the defendant deployed the Triton malware, it caused a fault that led the refinery’s Schneider Electric safety systems to initiate two automatic emergency shutdowns of the refinery’s operations. Between February and July 2018, the conspirators researched similar refineries in the United States, which were owned by a U.S. company, and unsuccessfully attempted to hack the U.S. company’s computer systems.
The three-count indictment alleges that Gladkikh was an employee of the State Research Center of the Russian Federation FGUP Central Scientific Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics’ (Государственный научный центр Российской Федерации федеральное государственное унитарное предприятие Центральный научно-исследовательский институт химии и механики, hereinafter “TsNIIKhM”) Applied Developments Center (“Центр прикладных разработок,” hereinafter “ADC”). On its website, which was modified after the Triton attack became public, TsNIIKhM described itself as the Russian Ministry of Defense’s leading research organization. The ADC, in turn, publicly asserted that it engaged in research concerning information technology-related threats to critical infrastructure (i.e., that its research was defensive in nature).
The defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy to cause damage to an energy facility, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one count of attempt to cause damage to an energy facility, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher B. Brown and Luke Jones for the District of Columbia, in partnership with the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, are prosecuting this case. The FBI’s Washington Field Office conducted the investigation.
The U.S.-based targets of the conspiracy cooperated and provided valuable assistance in the investigation. The Department of Justice and the FBI also expressed appreciation to Schneider Electric for its assistance in the investigation, particularly noting the company’s public outreach and education efforts following the overseas Triton attack.
- United States v. Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gavrilov, and Marat Valeryevich Tyukov – defendants undertook years-long effort to target and compromise computer systems of energy sector companies
On Aug. 26, 2021, a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Kansas, returned an indictment charging three computer hackers, all of whom were residents and nationals of the Russian Federation (Russia) and officers in Military Unit 71330 or “Center 16” of the FSB, with violating U.S. laws related to computer fraud and abuse, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and causing damage to the property of an energy facility.
The FSB hackers, Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov (Павел Александрович Акулов), 36, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gavrilov (Михаил Михайлович Гаврилов), 42, and Marat Valeryevich Tyukov (Марат Валерьевич Тюков), 39, were members of a Center 16 operational unit known among cybersecurity researchers as “Dragonfly,” “Berzerk Bear,” “Energetic Bear,” and “Crouching Yeti.” The indictment alleges that, between 2012 and 2017, Akulov, Gavrilov, Tyukov and their co-conspirators, engaged in computer intrusions, including supply chain attacks, in furtherance of the Russian government’s efforts to maintain surreptitious, unauthorized and persistent access to the computer networks of companies and organizations in the international energy sector, including oil and gas firms, nuclear power plants, and utility and power transmission companies. Specifically, the conspirators targeted the software and hardware that controls equipment in power generation facilities, known as ICS or Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. Access to such systems would have provided the Russian government the ability to, among other things, disrupt and damage such computer systems at a future time of its choosing.
According to the indictment, the energy sector campaign involved two phases. In the first phase, which took place between 2012 and 2014 and is commonly referred to by cyber security researchers as “Dragonfly” or “Havex,” the conspirators engaged in a supply chain attack, compromising the computer networks of ICS/SCADA system manufacturers and software providers and then hiding malware – known publicly as “Havex” – inside legitimate software updates for such systems. After unsuspecting customers downloaded Havex-infected updates, the conspirators would use the malware to, among other things, create backdoors into infected systems and scan victims’ networks for additional ICS/SCADA devices. Through these and other efforts, including spearphishing and “watering hole” attacks, the conspirators installed malware on more than 17,000 unique devices in the United States and abroad, including ICS/SCADA controllers used by power and energy companies.
In the second phase, which took place between 2014 and 2017 and is commonly referred to as “Dragonfly 2.0,” the conspirators transitioned to more targeted compromises that focused on specific energy sector entities and individuals and engineers who worked with ICS/SCADA systems. As alleged in the indictment, the conspirators’ tactics included spearphishing attacks targeting more than 3,300 users at more than 500 U.S. and international companies and entities, in addition to U.S. government agencies such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In some cases, the spearphishing attacks were successful, including in the compromise of the business network (i.e., involving computers not directly connected to ICS/SCADA equipment) of the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation (Wolf Creek) in Burlington, Kansas, which operates a nuclear power plant. Moreover, after establishing an illegal foothold in a particular network, the conspirators typically used that foothold to penetrate further into the network by obtaining access to other computers and networks at the victim entity.
During the Dragonfly 2.0 phase, the conspirators also undertook a watering hole attack by compromising servers that hosted websites commonly visited by ICS/SCADA system and other energy sector engineers through publicly known vulnerabilities in content management software. When the engineers browsed to a compromised website, the conspirators’ hidden scripts deployed malware designed to capture login credentials onto their computers.
The conspiracy’s hacking campaign targeted victims in the United States and in more than 135 other countries.
Akulov, Gavrilov and Tyukov are charged with conspiracy to cause damage to the property of an energy facility and commit computer fraud and abuse, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Akulov and Gavrilov are also charged with substantive counts of wire fraud and computer fraud related to unlawfully obtaining information from computers and causing damage to computers. These offenses carry maximum sentences ranging from five to 20 years in prison. Finally, Akulov and Gavrilov are also charged with three counts of aggravated identity theft, each of which carry a minimum sentence of two years consecutive to any other sentence imposed.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Rask, Christopher Oakley and Ryan Huschka for the District of Kansas, and Counsel for Cyber Investigations Ali Ahmad and Trial Attorney Christine Bonomo of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting this case. The FBI’s Portland and Richmond field offices conducted the investigation, with the assistance of the FBI’s Cyber Division.
Numerous victims, including Wolf Creek and its owners Evergy and the Kansas Electric Power Cooperative, cooperated and provided invaluable assistance in the investigation.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Former School Bus Driver Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Frederick J. Haresign, age 62, of Oswego, New York pled guilty yesterday to possessing child pornography. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Matthew Scarpino, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Buffalo Field Office.
As part of his guilty plea, Haresign, a school bus driver, admitted that, in 2017, he provided a minor child who rode on his bus with nicotine and other gifts in exchange for the child creating sexually explicit images and videos and providing those images and videos to Haresign. Haresign admitted that he possessed those images and videos in 2017 so that he could view them.
Sentencing is set for July 20, 2022, before Chief United States District Court Judge Glenn T. Suddaby. If the Court accepts the parties’ plea agreement, Haresign will be sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment to be followed by 20 years of supervised release. In addition, the court could impose a fine of up to $250,000 and order restitution to the victim. Haresign will have to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant violated, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
This case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the New York State Police: Fulton Bureau of Criminal Investigations, and Troop D Computer Crimes Unit. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael D. Gadarian in coordination with the Oswego County District Attorney’s Office as part of Project Safe Childhood.
Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States 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, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Former San Angelo Police Chief Convicted of BriberyRead the Press Release
San Angelo’s former Chief of Police has been convicted of accepting bribes, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.
After a three-day trial and about seven hours of deliberation, a federal jury found Timothy Ray Vasquez, 52, guilty of one count of receipt of a bribe by an agent of an organization receiving federal funds and three counts of honest services mail fraud. Mr. Vasquez – who was elected Chief of Police in 2004, then reelected in 2008 and 2012 – was first indicted in January 2020.
“Law enforcement officers, particularly those in leadership positions, should be bastions of integrity. By accepting bribes, Mr. Vasquez defiled his badge,” said U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham. “The Justice Department is determined to root out public corruption wherever we find it. Our citizens deserve honest public servants.”
“Mr. Vasquez will now be held accountable for using his official position for financial gain at the expense of the residents of San Angelo. Each act of greed and dishonor affected fundamental aspects of the government processes and procedures that were designed to benefit the people they serve,” said Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno. “Our communities should not have to question the integrity and trust of public officials, and today’s verdict is a step in restoring that confidence.”
According to evidence presented at trial, Mr. Vasquez used his official position to help Dailey & Wells Communications, Inc., a radio system vendor, land a $5.7-million-dollar contract with the City of San Angelo, Texas. In return, Dailey & Wells and its affiliates funneled Mr. Vasquez and his band, “Funky Munky,” more than $175,000. Dailey & Wells and its affiliates also provided him tickets for luxury suites at Dallas Cowboys and San Antonio Spurs games, tickets for a luxury suite at Journey concert, and free use of a luxury condominium at Alteza Condos in San Antonio.
Mr. Vasquez never disclosed to the City of San Angelo or the City Council that he had a business relationship with Dailey & Wells. The Texas Local Government Code, the City of San Angelo Employee Manual, and the San Angelo Purchasing Policy Manual all required Mr. Vasquez to disclose this relationship.
In February 2007, the City of San Angelo solicited bids for a new radio system for first responders, including the police department. In April, a committee recommended the city award the $5.6 million contract to Dailey & Wells, which was eventually selected for the contract.
Three months later, in July, Juniper Valley, L.P., an affiliate of Dailey & Wells, cut a $10,000 check to “Funky Munky Band.” Mr. Vasquez deposited the funds into his personal checking account. For the next eight years, Mr. Vasquez received yearly payments of approximately $8,000 from Dailey & Wells or its affiliates, Buster & Buddy and Trixie & Fini, either made out to Mr. Vasquez or his band. Testimony at trial revealed that Funky Munky’s average fee to play at an event was about $2,000. By June 2, 2015, Mr. Vasquez and Funky Munky had collected more than $84,000.
In 2014 and 2015, Dailey & Wells contacted the City of San Angelo about updating its radio system from a proprietary EDACS system, which was in the process of being phased out, to a P25 Phase II system. When the City’s IT Manager told Mr. Vasquez of the estimated cost of $6 million dollars and that it would have to go through the bidding process, Mr. Vasquez told the IT Manager they were not going through the bidding process and were going to continue to use Dailey & Wells. Mr. Vasquez suggested that the IT Manager use a public safety exception to avoid the bidding process and the IT Manager agreed. Ultimately, a purchasing cooperative was used to purchase the Dailey & Wells system.
Mr. Vasquez contacted a San Angelo City Councilmember and lobbied her to place the Dailey & Wells contract on the City Council’s agenda. Mr. Vasquez advocated for the Dailey & Wells contract before the City Council on December 16, 2014, and June 2, 2015.
Six people who were city council members at the time testified that Mr. Vasquez had significant influence with the City Council and it relied upon his advice in public safety matters. All six stated that they did not know Mr. Vasquez had a business relationship with Dailey & Wells before the vote on June 2, 2015. Five of those former city council members testified that if they had known that fact they would have voted against awarding the contract to Dailey & Wells. Two of the former city council members stated that if they had known of the payments then they would have disqualified Dailey & Wells from being a radio vendor to the city.
Following a presentation made by then-Chief Vasquez and another employee, San Angelo awarded a new $5.7 million contract to Dailey & Wells in late 2015.
In November 2016, Mr. Vasquez became aware that he was under investigation for the radio contract with Dailey & Wells. About one month later, Dailey & Wells wrote a $50,000 retainer check to “Funky Munky,” noting “Timothy R. Vasquez” in the check’s memo section. A few days later, Mr. Vasquez endorsed the $50,000 check and deposited the entire amount into his personal bank account.
In total, Mr. Vasquez, through Funky Munky, received at least $175,000 from Dailey & Wells and its affiliates.
The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service after the verdict. Mr. Vasquez faces up to 70 years in federal person.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office, and the Texas Rangers conducted the investigation with the full cooperation of the San Angelo Police Department and the City of San Angelo. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeff Haag, Sean Long, and Juanita Fielden are prosecuting the case.
Former Paraguayan Congresswoman Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for Role in International Money Laundering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A former member of Paraguay’s Congress was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for her role in an international money laundering conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Cynthia Elizabeth Tarrago Diaz, 42, pleaded guilty on Sept. 15, 2020, before Chief Judge Freda L. Wolfson to an information charging her with conspiracy to commit money laundering. Judge Wolfson imposed Tarrago’s sentence today by videoconference. Tarrago’s husband, Raimundo Va, 46, pleaded guilty on Sept. 16, 2020, before Judge Wolfson to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 14, 2022.
Tarrago and Va were arrested by the FBI on Nov. 21, 2019, after they arrived in Newark as part of their unlawful money laundering activities, and were charged in a criminal complaint along with a third individual, Rodrigo Alvarenga Paredes, who remains in Paraguay.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Until January 2019, Tarrago was a member of Paraguay’s Congress and, in late 2019, had publicly announced her intention to run for mayor of the capital district of Asunción. While in office, Tarrago and Va agreed to accept at least $2 million in United States currency from two individuals who represented themselves to be narcotics traffickers, believing the money to be proceeds of unlawful narcotics trafficking and to launder the funds through an international network of accounts in order to disguise the unlawful source of the proceeds. Tarrago and Va traveled to New Jersey and Florida on multiple occasions and accepted approximately $800,000 in United States currency from the purported drug traffickers. They then caused those funds to be laundered through the conspiracy’s network of accounts and ultimately to be transferred back to an account maintained by the purported drug traffickers. To disguise the illicit source of the funds, members of the conspiracy generated fraudulent invoices that stated legitimate business reasons for the transfers of laundered funds to the purported drug traffickers’ account. On multiple occasions during the purported drug dealers’ meetings with Tarrago and Va, Tarrago indicated that she would be able to assist the purported drug dealers with procuring large quantities of cocaine from Paraguay at an inexpensive price.
Unbeknownst to Tarrago and Va, the currency that they accepted from the purported drug traffickers and caused to be laundered was not actually illicit drug proceeds, but was provided to Tarrago and Va by two undercover FBI agents as part of an extensive investigation of the money laundering network. The undercover agents met with Tarrago and Va in the United States on numerous occasions and obtained substantial video and audio recordings of their interactions with Tarrago and Va, during which details of the money laundering network were discussed. The evidence obtained revealed that Alvarenga Paredes, operating through the auspices of a money-exchange company in Paraguay, coordinated the laundering of the funds that the undercover agents provided to Tarrago and Va.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Wolfson ordered Tarrago to forfeit $119,049.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, Newark Division, Trenton Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr., with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. He also thanked the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs for its assistance in the case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys R. Joseph Gribko of the Criminal Division in Trenton and J. Brendan Day, Attorney in Charge of the Trenton Office of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Former Manager at U.S. Auto Manufacturer Allegedly Accepted over $3.4 Million in Bribes from Foreign Parts Supplier Seeking ContractRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A former manager at a U.S.-based automobile manufacturing company was taken into custody this morning after being indicted this week on a federal bribery charge alleging he solicited a $5 million bribe from a South Korean company with promises of delivering a large contract for various car parts.
Hyoung Nam So, 46, of Irvine, who was also known as Brian So, surrendered this morning to federal authorities after a federal grand jury on Wednesday charged him in a bribery conspiracy. So is expected to be arraigned on the one-count indictment this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
The indictment alleges that the foreign parts supplier paid So a total of $3.45 million in cash. Homeland Security Investigations seized $3.19 million believed to be proceeds from the bribery scheme from a private vault in Los Altos, California in 2017, and HSI subsequently returned the money to South Korean authorities.
As a manager and team leader at the Michigan-based car manufacturer – referred to as “Company A” in the indictment – So oversaw the supply of parts used to build interiors for Company A automobiles in North America. In October 2015, the indictment alleges, So promised a contract to the owner of the South Korean parts company – “Company B” – in exchange for $5 million, which So demanded in cash.
The following month, the owner of Company B arranged to have $1 million in cash transferred to the United States through money brokers, which an accomplice then drove from Los Angeles to Michigan, according to the indictment. The owner of Company B allegedly flew to the United States in late November 2015 and personally delivered the cash to So in a meeting at a hotel in Troy, Michigan.
By the time the $1 million payment was made, So had learned that Company B was not the lowest bidder on the contract, and he arranged for information to be provided to Company B so it could revise its bid on the contract, according to the indictment. On December 8, 2015, So recommended to Company A executives that the contract be awarded to Company B, and the contract was awarded to Company B on the same day.
“So refrained from notifying Company B of the contract award, and continued to withhold the information until [Company B’s owner] paid the remaining portion of the bribe,” the indictment states. On December 20, 2015, the owner of Company B allegedly paid So another portion of the bribe at a restaurant in Detroit – $2.45 million that also had been driven from Los Angeles to Michigan. The following day, So arranged for Company B to be told it had won the contract.
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.
The indictment charges So with one count of conspiracy to commit federal funds bribery, a charge related to the fact that Company A received money through federal assistance programs. This offense carries a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison.
The owner of Company B was prosecuted for offenses related to the bribery scheme in South Korea.
The investigation into the bribery scheme was conducted by HSI’s Los Angeles El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force, a multi-agency task force comprised of federal and state investigators who are focused on financial crimes in Southern California. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance during the investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney Jeff Mitchell of the Major Frauds Section is prosecuting this case.
Former HP Planning Manager Pleads Guilty to $5+ Million Wire Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – Shelbee Szeto pleaded guilty today to wire fraud, money laundering, and a relate tax charge in a scheme to defraud her former employer out of more than five million dollars, announced United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Mark H. Pearson. The guilty plea was accepted by the Honorable Haywood S. Gilliam Jr., United States District Judge.
According to the plea agreement, Szeto, 30, of Fremont, was employed by HP, Inc. (HP) as an executive assistant and finance planning manager from approximately August 2017 until June of 2021. In these roles, Szeto was responsible for making payments to HP vendors and was issued multiple HP commercial credits cards to make the payments on HP’s behalf. Rather than make payments in accordance with the company’s policies, Szeto devised a fraudulent scheme whereby she sent approximately $4.8 million in unauthorized payments from her HP commercial credit cards to several Square, PayPal, and Stripe merchant accounts under her control.
The plea agreement provides several details of the scheme. For example, the agreement describes how, as part of her employment with HP, Szeto was issued multiple American Express commercial credit cards that were intended only for business expenses. Szeto then set up bogus merchant accounts with PayPal, Stripe, and Square that she maintained under her control, but represented were for legitimate vendors. Szeto then unlawfully sent payments from the credit cards to the bogus accounts. To further her plan, Szeto uploaded falsified invoices to HP’s internal system and falsely represented to HP that the payments were made to legitimate vendors. She also made false representations to Square that the payments sent from the credit cards were sent to HP’s approved vendors for legitimate business transactions and falsely represented to her bank that the money from HP was for legitimate business transactions.
According to the plea agreement, Szeto caused at least $4.8 million to be fraudulently from HP accounts to accounts she controlled and attempted to steal an additional approximately $330,000 from HP. Szeto acknowledged that the total loss and attempted loss from her scheme was at least $5.2 million.
Furthermore, the plea agreement contains a list of items for which Szeto has forfeited her interest. The list includes items such as the proceeds of a First Republic Bank account; a 2020 Tesla sedan; a 2021 Porsche sport utility vehicle; several bags and purses from Dior, Gucci, Hermes, and Chanel; and a collection of jewelry and timepieces including necklaces, rings, pendants, and watches from Rolex, Bulgari, Audemars Pignet, and Cartier. The list has 161 line items—some lines of which include multiple items such as “7 necklaces with clover-shaped design,” “6 gold necklaces with pendants,” and “26 pairs of earrings.”
On February 11, 2022, the Office of the United States Attorney filed an Information charging Szeto with two counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343; two counts of money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957; and one count of filing a false tax return, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1). According to today’s plea agreement, Szeto pleaded guilty to all five counts.
The maximum statutory sentence for the wire fraud counts is a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release, per count. The maximum statutory sentence for money laundering counts is ten years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and three years of supervised release per count. The maximum statutory sentence for the false tax return charge is three years in prison, a fine of up to $100,000, and one year of supervised release. However, any sentence following a conviction would be imposed by a court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Judge Gilliam scheduled Szeto’s sentencing for July 20, 2022.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Molly Priedeman is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Leeya Kekona. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the IRS-CI.
Former Charter School Board President Found Guilty of Embezzlement and Wire FraudRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – On March 23, 2022, following a week and half-long trial, a federal jury in Fort Lauderdale, Florida found Jimika I. Williams, a/k/a Jimika Mason, guilty of two counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and 18 counts of wire fraud.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Williams was the President of Advancement of Education in Scholars Corporation (AESC), a Florida non-profit corporation that operated Paramount Charter School (PCS), a charter school located in Broward County. PCS received federal funding through Title 1, which is only paid to a school if more than 50% of the students are eligible for free or reduced cost lunches. PCS also received state funding, and all funding was paid through the School Board of Broward County.
The trial evidence also established that Williams was the President of another Florida corporation, Florida Scholars Educational Services Corporation (FSESC). Between 2015 through and including June of 2017, Williams unlawfully enriched herself by making payments totaling approximately $389,857 from AESC’s business account, which was used to operate PCS, for no services to the charter school. The funds were transferred/deposited into an FSESC account and used for Williams’ personal purchases including payments for a vehicle, a private school, rent, and other personal expenses, and not for the benefit of PCS.
On June 7, 2022, the Honorable United States District Court Judge Rodney Smith will impose a sentence. Williams faces a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment for each of the theft of government programs charge and 20 years’ imprisonment for each of the wire fraud charges, as well as substantial monetary penalties and restitution.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, and Reginald J. France, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General, Southeastern Regional Office made the announcement.
FBI Miami and the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General, Southeastern Regional Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cynthia Wood and Eric Morales prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney William T. Zloch is handling asset forfeiture.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 20-cr-60135.
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Five Members of Violent Criminal Enterprise Indicted in Cocaine Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Five members of a violent criminal enterprise were indicted by a federal grand jury today in connection with a drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed large amounts of cocaine and cocaine base (crack cocaine) throughout Western Massachusetts.
Vicente Gonzalez, 41, of Springfield; Brigham Ocasio-Ramos, 44, of Springfield; Miguel Burgos, 45, of Holyoke; and Khristy Guzman, 37, of Holyoke; were indicted on conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine. Gonzalez and Ocasio-Ramos were also indicted on possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Willie Watkins, 42, of Springfield, was indicted for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. The defendants were arrested and charged on March 10, 2022.
According to court documents, Gonzalez was identified as the leader of a violent criminal enterprise operating in Hampden County. During the investigation, controlled purchases and intercepted communications between Gonzalez and his co-conspirators revealed that, beginning in or about July 2021, the defendants allegedly prepared and trafficked large amounts of cocaine and crack cocaine in the Holyoke and Springfield areas.
In furtherance of the trafficking activity, it is alleged that the enterprise used violence and threats of violence to control Gonzalez’s territory in Holyoke. For example, court documents allege that in July 2021, Gonzalez, Ocasio and other co-conspirators attempted a violent armed kidnapping at the enterprise’s drug sale location in Holyoke. During the incident, Gonzalez and Ocasio allegedly brandished and pointed firearms at the victim and, after the victim fled the building, chased and attempted to detain the victim with the firearms.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine provides for a sentence of at least five years and up to 20 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense provides for a sentence of at least five years and up to life in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Holyoke Police Chief David Pratt; and Cheryl C. Clapprood, Superintendent of the Springfield Police Department made the announcement today. The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Western Massachusetts Gang Task Force. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Hampden District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil L. Desroches of Rollins’ Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
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.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Five Arrested in Firearms Trafficking Conspiracy Involving 500+ Firearms Shipped from Georgia to California, Sold on Black Market in CaliforniaRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury indicted five individuals today charging them with a conspiracy to bring firearms from Georgia to California in order to sell them on the black market, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
On March 11, 2022, the five defendants were arrested. They are Jerrell Lawson, 31, of Sacramento; Aisha Hoggatt, 29, of Sacramento; Malek Williams, 28, of Atlanta, Georgia; Terrence Phillips, 39, of Union City; and James Gordley, 32, of Modesto.
All five defendants are charged with conspiracy to unlawfully deal in firearms and unlawful dealing in firearms for their part in this firearms trafficking scheme. Lawson, Hoggatt, Williams and Phillips are also charged with transferring a firearm to an out-of-state resident, and unlawful mailing of a firearm. Lawson is also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to the criminal complaint, between November 2019 and October 2021, Lawson and his co-conspirators purchased over 500 firearms for more than $162,000. Lawson would broker firearms transactions in Georgia over the internet, and Williams, a Georgia resident with a license to carry a concealed firearm, would pick up firearms in person and mail the firearms to various locations in California at Lawson’s direction. Some of the firearms went to individuals that are prohibited from possessing firearms due to prior felony convictions. Hoggatt worked with Lawson to coordinate the purchase, mailing, and distribution of the firearms. Phillips and Gordley also distributed the firearms in California.
The investigation began when a firearm used in a shooting in Sacramento was traced to the last known sale by a federally licensed dealer in Georgia. A subsequent sale of the firearm led to Lawson’s organization. Lawson and his co-conspirators used coded language to traffic firearms and moved money using a variety of financial institutions. During the investigation, interdicted packages destined for Lawson and other co-conspirators were found to contain firearms, ammunition, knives, and brass knuckles, among other things.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Sacramento Region/ San Francisco Bay Area Cross-Jurisdictional Firearms Trafficking Strike Force Initiative. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ross Pearson, Justin Lee, and Alexis Klein are prosecuting the case.
If convicted, the defendants face the following maximum penalties: five years in prison on each count for conspiracy to unlawfully deal in firearms, unlawful dealing in firearms and transferring a firearm to an out-of-state resident, and two years in prison on each count for unlawful mailing of a firearm. Lawson faces an additional maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Fitchburg Man Pleads Guilty in Wide-Ranging Fentanyl, Heroin, Crack and Cocaine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Fitchburg man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Worcester to his role in a wide-ranging fentanyl, heroin, crack and cocaine trafficking conspiracy.
Kevin Martinez, 42, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, 400 grams or more of fentanyl, 280 grams or more of cocaine base (commonly known as crack cocaine) and 500 grams or more of cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman scheduled sentencing for Sept. 16, 2022.
According to court documents, following a fatal fentanyl overdose in September 2018, law enforcement began an investigation into a drug trafficking organization (DTO) in the Fitchburg area led by co-conspirators Pedro Baez and Anthony Baez. Beginning in July 2019, electronic communications revealed that the Baez DTO distributed a fentanyl and heroin mixture, cocaine and crack cocaine on a regular basis to individuals in the Fitchburg area, who then redistributed the drugs to others.
Over the course of the investigation, over 1.8 kilograms of a heroin and fentanyl mixture, over 3.6 kilograms of cocaine and over 50 grams of crack cocaine, as well as a stolen, loaded handgun, drug manufacturing equipment and over $376,000 was seized. Martinez was responsible for distributing nearly 500 grams of cocaine.
Martinez was charged along with 17 others in July 2020. He is the 12th defendant to plead guilty in the case.
For the charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, 400 grams or more of fentanyl, 280 grams or more of cocaine base and 500 grams or more of cocaine, Martinez faces a sentence of up to life in prison, at least six years of supervised release and a fine of up to $20 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Commissioner Carol Mici of the Massachusetts Department of Correction; and Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement. The Fitchburg Police Department, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Lunenburg Police Department also provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alathea Porter of Rollins’ Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.
The operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Federal Jury Convicts Buffalo Man of Murder and Causing A Heroin Overdose That Led to A DeathRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that following a four-week week trial, a federal jury has convicted Donte Walker, a/k/a Slim, 30, of Buffalo, NY, of multiple charges including murder while engaged in a continuing criminal enterprise and narcotics conspiracy, tampering with a witness, discharge of firearms causing death in furtherance of crimes of violence and drug trafficking crimes, conspiracy to distribute heroin resulting in death, and several narcotics offenses. The charges carry a mandatory sentence of life in prison and a fine up to a $20,000,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meghan E. Leydecker, Nicholas T. Cooper, and Seth T. Molisani, who handled the prosecution of the case, stated that between 2012 and November 2018, Walker was a leader of a heroin and cocaine trafficking organization operating in the Buffalo area. Walker utilized various associates, including drug runners and lower-level drug dealers. At a peak in Walker’s heroin distribution enterprise in 2015 and 2016, he was responsible for the daily distribution of hundreds of grams of heroin, sometimes mixed with butyryl fentanyl or furanyl fentanyl. Over the years, Walker also regularly sold cocaine.
In 2013, as part of the ongoing narcotics conspiracy, Walker was responsible for the distribution of heroin to M.O., which resulted in M.O.’s death. In addition, on October 16, 2018, Walker lured Ryan Thurnherr to an area near the East Ferry Liquor Store in Buffalo under the auspices of engaging in a drug transaction. Shortly after shots were fired, and Thurnherr was found murdered in a vacant lot near the intersection of Winslow Avenue and Brooklyn Street. Walker believed Thurnherr was a witness or a threat to become a witness in the ongoing DEA investigation into the defendant’s drug-trafficking organization.
The verdict is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Timothy Foley, New York Field Division; the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia; the Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Chief James P. Stauffiger; the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief Brian Gould; and the Orchard Park Police Department, under the direction of Chief Patrick M. Fitzgerald.
Sentencing is scheduled for August 5, 2022, before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. who presided over the trial of the case.
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Federal Grand Jury Indicts Two Louisville Men for Carjackings as a Result of Joint Federal and Local Initiative in LouisvilleRead the Press Release
LOUISVILLE, KY – A federal grand jury in Louisville, Kentucky, returned two separate indictments on March 16, 2022, charging two Louisville men with carjackings and business robberies, including one carjacking resulting in a serious bodily injury.
According to court documents, on October 26, 2021, Eder Mayorga-Sanchez, 19, carjacked a vehicle in Louisville, and during the carjacking, shot and caused serious bodily injury to a minor, C.A. Thereafter, on November 8, 2021, he robbed The Home Depot on Preston Highway and a Valero convenience store on Terry Road, in Louisville, Kentucky, while brandishing a firearm.
Aries Taylor, 18, in a separate indictment, is also charged with carjacking a vehicle in Louisville on September 19, 2021.
Mayorga-Sanchez is currently detained on state charges and will be arraigned once he is transferred to federal custody. Mayorga-Sanchez was indicted on one count of carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury, two counts of interference with commerce by robbery, one count of discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and two counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
If convicted of carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury, Mayorga-Sanchez faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. If convicted of interference with commerce by robbery, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. If convicted of discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison to run consecutively with all other penalties. If convicted of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 7 years in prison for each count of conviction, to run consecutively with all other penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Taylor was indicted on one count of carjacking. He made his initial appearance in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky on March 23, 2022.
If convicted of carjacking, Taylor faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The charges were announced by Michael A. Bennett, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky.
The charges were the result of a joint federal and local initiative to investigate and prosecute carjackings in Louisville. The initiative includes the United States Attorney’s Office, the Jefferson County Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Marie Blaylock is prosecuting the Mayorga-Sanchez case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Gomez is prosecuting the Taylor 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.
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Ex-Savannah B&B manager sentenced to prison for embezzling more than half a million dollarsRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA: The former manager of a Savannah bed and breakfast has been sentenced to federal prison after admitting she embezzled more than $500,000 from her employer.
Chiquita Blake, 47, of Pooler, Ga., was sentenced to 51 months in prison after pleading guilty to Wire Fraud, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge William T. Moore Jr. also ordered her to pay $508,114.37 in restitution and to serve three years of supervised release and perform 40 hours of community service after completion of her prison term.
There is no parole in the federal system.
“Chiquita Blake was a trusted employee of a family owned business, and stole from her employer to fuel a lifestyle far beyond her means,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “She’s now being held accountable for her unbridled greed.”
As described in court documents and testimony, Blake was employed as a manager of a bed and breakfast in Savannah’s Historic District from 2005 to 2020. From around May 2015 through December 2020, Blake manipulated the inn’s reservation system to fraudulently transfer funds from the inn’s accounts and into bank and credit card accounts that she controlled. She then used those funds for personal use and to make payments to some of her nearly three dozen credit accounts.
After the inn’s owner noticed discrepancies in accounting, an investigation determined that Blake had illegally transferred $508,114.37 from the hotel and into her own accounts.
“The U.S. Secret Service is committed to investigating complex fraud schemes in Savannah,” said Craig Reno, Resident Agent in Charge of the Savannah Resident Office of the U.S. Secret Service. “This was a particularly insidious scheme because the defendant exploited a position of trust within the company. The Secret Service and our law enforcement partners will investigate and criminally prosecute such fraud to the fullest extent of the law.”
The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Bearden.
El Departamento de Justicia entabla un pleito de derechos electorales contra el Condado de Galveston, Texas con el fin de impugnar el plan para una nueva delimitación de distritos en el CondadoRead the Press Release
El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que ha entablado pleito en virtud de la Sección 2 de la ley de Derechos Electorales contra el Condado de Galveston, Texas, con el fin de impugnar el plan para una nueva delimitación de distritos para el órgano rector del Condado, el que se conoce como el Tribunal de Comisionados. El plan fue adoptado por el Condado el 12 de noviembre de 2021 después de la publicación de los datos del censo 2020. El caso fue presentado ante el Tribunal Federal de Distrito para el Distrito Sur de Texas.
«Esta acción es la demostración más reciente del compromiso del Departamento de Justicia con la protección de los derechos electorales de todo estadounidense, especialmente durante el ciclo actual de nueva delimitación de distritos», afirmó Kristen Clarke, la Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. «Nuestro caso alega que el Condado de Galveston ha vulnerado la Sección 2 de la ley de Derechos Electorales al desarrollar un plan para una nueva delimitación de distritos que elimina el único distrito en el cual electores negros e hispanos tenían la oportunidad de elegir a un candidato de su elección al órgano rector del Condado. Seguiremos empleando todas las herramientas a nuestra disposición para impugnar instancias de discriminación electoral en nuestro país».
«La Fiscalía Federal para el Distrito Sur de Texas se ha comprometido a proteger los derechos electorales de todos nuestros ciudadanos» declaró Jennifer B. Lowery, la Fiscal Federal para el Distrito Sur de Texas. «Nos complace unirnos a la División de Derechos Civiles para entablar este pleito tan importante al amparo de la ley de Derechos Electorales».
El caso de los Estados Unidos mantiene que el plan del 2021 para la nueva delimitación de distritos para el órgano rector del Condado vulnera la Sección 2 porque tiene el resultado discriminatorio de denegar a ciudadanos negros e hispanos la igualdad de oportunidades de participar en el proceso político y porque el nuevo mapa fue adoptado, en parte, con fines discriminatorios. El caso alega que el Condado, de manera deliberada, reconfiguró el único distrito del Tribunal de Comisionados con la oportunidad para elegir una minoría para eliminar la oportunidad de electores negros e hispanos de elegir un representante de su elección. Más aún, el caso alega que, a lo largo de las últimas tres décadas, el Condado de Galveston ha, en varias otras ocasiones, intentado disminuir o eliminar oportunidades electorales para electores negros e hispanos en el Condado.
El caso de los Estados Unidos pide que el tribunal prohíba que el Condado de Galveston celebre elecciones bajo el plan en cuestión y que instruya al Condado de Galveston que formule e implemente un nuevo plan de delimitación de distritos que cumpla con la Sección 2 de la ley de Derechos Electorales.
Hay más información sobre la ley de Derechos Electorales y otras leyes electorales federales en el sitio web del Departamento de Justicia en https://www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section.
Se puede presentar quejas de prácticas electorales discriminatorias ante la División de Derechos Civiles mediante el portal virtual de denuncias en https://civilrights.justice.gov o por teléfono al 1‑800-253-3931.
Para una lista de las acciones del Departamento para la protección de los derechos electorales.
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Dubuque Armed Career Criminal Convicted at Trial Sentenced to over 20 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A man who was found driving in Dubuque with baggies of cocaine was sentenced yesterday to more than twenty years in federal prison. A stolen loaded 9 mm pistol was later located in the ceiling of his shared hotel room.
Terrance Golden, age 45, from Dane County, Wisconsin, received the prison term after an October 13, 2021 jury verdict finding him guilty of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
Evidence at trial showed that on the evening of October 1, 2020, Golden was driving in Dubuque, Iowa, when he was pulled over for an expired registration. Golden matched the description of an individual who was reported to be selling narcotics at a nearby gas station. A drug-sniffing K9 alerted on his vehicle and he was found in possession of approximately 23 baggies of cocaine base and $1,867 in cash. Golden lied about his identity as a warrant was out for his arrest from the State of Wisconsin. A search of his shared hotel room revealed items used to package and sell narcotics and a stolen, loaded, 9mm firearm hidden inside the bathroom ceiling tile. In a recorded interview with the Dubuque Police Department, Golden stated, “I’ll save my bullshit for the judges.”
Golden was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Golden was sentenced to 262 months’ imprisonment and fined $200. He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Golden is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Liz Dupuich and Ashley Corkery and investigated by the Dubuque Police Department, the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-cr-1005.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Cumberland County Man Pleads Guilty to Health Care Fraud, Money Laundering, and Theft of Public MoneyRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on March 22, 2022, Rodney L. Yentzer, age 52, of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and theft of public money for defrauding Medicare, Medicaid, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services between 2016 and 2020. Yentzer also agreed to pay $3,869,571.55 in restitution for these offenses.
According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Yentzer agreed with others to defraud Medicare and Medicaid by submitting medically unnecessary urine drug tests for patients at clinics he controlled, including a group of pain clinics known as Pain Medicine of York or “PMY” (also known as All Better Wellness).
PMY billed Medicare for more than $10 million in urine drug tests from mid-2017 through the end of 2019. As a result, Medicare paid out over $4 million for these urine drug tests. Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program was also billed for urine drug tests during this same time period. The urine drug tests ordered by PMY were sent to an in-house laboratory at PMY whenever possible. As a result, when medically unnecessary tests were billed to Medicare, the proceeds from them went to PMY itself.
Search warrants were executed at PMY’s various locations in November 2019, and PMY ceased operations soon after that.
Thereafter, in a separate offense, Yentzer sought and received over $191,000 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services stimulus money that was intended for health care providers who had health care related expenses and lost revenues attributable to COVID-19. Yentzer obtained these funds in April 2020, even though he had resigned from PMY the prior month and PMY had been closed since late 2019. Yentzer used these funds on various things unrelated to COVID-19 relief, including personal expenses.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Romel Sharma and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Smultkis are prosecuting the case.
The maximum penalty under federal law for conspiracy to commit health care fraud is 10 years’ imprisonment. The maximum penalty law for conspiracy to commit money laundering is 20 years’ imprisonment. The maximum penalty law for theft of public money is 10 years’ imprisonment. These charges 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.
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Couple Indicted and Arrested for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Fraud and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, P.R. – On March 23, 2022, the Federal Grand Jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging Fernando Gallardo-Álvarez and his consensual partner Olga Rivera-Dávila with a conspiracy to commit mail, wire, and bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering violations related to fraudulently obtained funds from the Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Program, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (USDOL-OIG), U.S. Postal Inspector Service, Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG), the Puerto Rico Department of Labor (PRDL), and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau (PRPB).
According to the indictment, Fernando Gallardo-Álvarez and Olga Rivera-Dávila devised a conspiracy and scheme to defraud the United States and Puerto Rico’s state-federal Unemployment Insurance programs and financial institutions to obtain money for personal gain by making materially false and fraudulent representations to obtain and deposit UI/PUA funds. The defendants used the social security numbers and names of others to fraudulently obtain UI/PUA funds and then proceeded to alter the fraudulently obtained checks to list the defendant’s own names and personal identifying information. These falsified checks were then deposited into multiple accounts under the defendants’ control. The defendants also concealed the proceeds of the fraud scheme and structured subsequent financial transactions.
In a separate indictment, Fernando Gallardo-Álvarez is charged with fraudulently submitting false immigration documentation, mail fraud, misuse of social security numbers, and aggravated identity theft.
From approximately 2017 through August 2021, defendant Gallardo-Álvarez unlawfully enriched himself and obtained money from individuals, by preparing and filing Violence Against Woman Act (VAWA) petitions with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) containing false information using Form I-360 and accompanying forms for work authorization and fee waivers. Form I-360 is used by battered spouses, children, and parents to file an immigrant visa petition under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended by the VAWA.
According to the indictment, Gallardo-Álvarez made false representations to non-citizens that he was an attorney and collected thousands of dollars for legal services to assist them in resolving their immigration status. After collecting payment, Gallardo-Álvarez would file VAWA petitions containing false and incomplete information without the petitioners’ knowledge and consent. Gallardo-Álvarez knew the petitions he submitted to the USCIS contained false information and that he could not provide the needed documentation for the USCIS to adjudicate the petitions filed.
When USCIS did not receive enough information to fully adjudicate a VAWA petition utilizing Form I-360 submitted by the defendant, USCIS would ask Gallardo-Álvarez, for more information before ultimately denying the VAWA petition. While the VAWA petition was pending, USCIS would make a preliminary determination regarding eligibility for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD card), i.e., work authorization.
The EAD cards obtained by Gallardo-Álvarez for his clients were only valid for one year and many petitioners returned to him before the year was over to refile their petitions. Gallardo-Álvarez would charge these petitioners thousands of U.S. dollars to submit Form I-360s and associated immigration applications.
USCIS records suggest that Gallardo-Álvarez has filed at least 136 fraudulent I-360 VAWA applications for over 100 petitioners within the last four years.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSA) Victor Acevedo and Manuel Muñiz Lorenzi are in charge of the prosecution of the PUA fraud case. If convicted, the defendants are facing up to 30 years in prison for bank fraud, 20 years for mail and wire fraud, and a mandatory consecutive term of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft.
AUSAs Daynelle Álvarez-Lora and Daniel Olinghouse are in charge of the prosecution of the immigration fraud case. Gallardo-Álvarez is also facing up to 20 years in prison for mail fraud, up to 10 years for misuse of visa, up to five years for misuse of Social Security number, and a mandatory consecutive two-year term of prison for aggravated identity theft.
To report a COVID-19-related fraud scheme or suspicious activity, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) by calling the NCDF Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Connecticut Man Admits Role in a Murder for HireRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Connecticut man today admitted his role in a murder for hire scheme in which a New Jersey-based political consultant paid him and another man to kill a longtime associate, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
George Bratsenis, 73, of Monroe, Connecticut, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit murder for hire. Bratsenis’ conspirators – Sean Caddle and Bomani Africa – previously pleaded guilty before Judge Vazquez to their roles in the murder scheme.
“Eight years ago, these three individuals – Caddle, Bratsenis, and Africa – conspired to brutally murder the victim,” U.S. Attorney Sellinger said. “At Caddle’s direction, Bratsenis and Africa stabbed the victim to death in the victim’s apartment, and then set it ablaze. These guilty pleas bring a measure of justice to the victim’s memory and for his family. I commend the efforts of the FBI, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, and my Office for their determination over many years to bring this matter to resolution.”
“This defendant conspired in the ultimate crime – murder for money,” FBI Newark Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. said. “Those who devalue life – whether out of greed or animus – need to know that the FBI is dedicated to keeping our citizens safe, and nothing will stop us from accomplishing that mission. When you break the law, you will be brought to justice no matter how long it takes.”
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In April of 2014, Caddle solicited Bratsenis to commit a murder on Caddle’s behalf in exchange for thousands of dollars. Bratsenis recruited Africa, a longtime accomplice from Philadelphia, to join the plot. After Bratsenis confirmed his and Africa’s interest in the job, Caddle told Bratsenis that the target was a longtime associate who had worked for Caddle on various political campaigns.
On May 22, 2014, Bratsenis and Africa traveled from out of state to the victim’s apartment in Jersey City. After entering the apartment, Bratsenis and Africa stabbed the victim to death and then set fire to the victim’s apartment. After Caddle learned that the victim had been murdered, the following day, he met Bratsenis in the parking lot of a diner in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Caddle paid Bratsenis thousands of dollars in exchange for the murder, and Bratsenis shared a portion of those proceeds with Africa.
Bratsenis faces a maximum potential penalty of life imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 2, 2022.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Crouch in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office for its assistance.
The government is represented by Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee M. Cortes Jr. and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Farrell, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Cybercrime Unit.
Congressman Jeff Fortenberry Found Guilty of Concealing Facts and Lying to Investigators Probing Illegal Campaign ContributionsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – U.S. Representative Jeff Fortenberry, who represents Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District, was found guilty by a federal jury this evening of concealing information and making false statements to federal authorities who were investigating illegal contributions made by a foreign national to the congressman’s 2016 re-election campaign.
Fortenberry, 61, of Lincoln, Nebraska, who has served in Congress since 2005, was found guilty of one count of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators.
United States District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. scheduled a June 28 sentencing hearing. Each of the three felony charges carry a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.
“After learning of illegal contributions to his campaign, the congressman repeatedly chose to conceal the violations of federal law to protect his job, his reputation and his close associates,” said United States Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison. “The lies in this case threatened the integrity of the American electoral system and were designed to prevent investigators from learning the true source of campaign funds.”
“Today’s conviction highlights the FBI’s commitment to holding elected officials accountable,” said Kristi Johnson, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The verdict emphasizes the importance of being truthful to law enforcement and demonstrates the government’s dedication to keeping the nation’s interests free from foreign influence through illegal campaign contributions.”
“Jeff Fortenberry lied to federal agents in order to cover up illegal contributions to his re-election campaign,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Korner. “The guilty verdict today shows that no one is above the law, and IRS-CI and our law enforcement partners will continue to hold our public servants accountable.”
According to evidence presented during a seven-day trial, Fortenberry lied to and misled authorities during two interviews conducted by federal authorities who were looking into illegal contributions to Fortenberry’s re-election campaign made by a foreign billionaire in early 2016. Gilbert Chagoury, a foreign national prohibited by federal law from contributing to any U.S. elections, donated $30,000 of his money through “straw donors” who attended a Fortenberry campaign fundraiser held in Los Angeles.
It is illegal for foreign nationals to make contributions to a federal campaign. It also is illegal for the true source of campaign contributions to be disguised by funneling the money through third-party conduits.
Chagoury entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the United States Attorney’s Office in 2019 in which he admitted providing approximately $180,000 that was used to make illegal contributions to four different political candidates in U.S. elections. Chagoury paid a $1.8 million fine.
The co-host of the Fortenberry 2016 fundraiser, who is referred to in court papers as “Individual H,” began cooperating with federal authorities in September 2016 and informed special agents with the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation about the illegal contributions. In response, investigators began looking into whether the Fortenberry campaign received illegal conduit contributions, whether Fortenberry knew about illegal contributions – both foreign contributions and conduit contributions – at the 2016 fundraiser, whether Fortenberry knew about illegal foreign contributions from Chagoury, and whether Fortenberry had any communications with Chagoury in relation to the illegal contributions made at the 2016 fundraiser.
In the spring of 2018, Fortenberry contacted Individual H about hosting another fundraiser. In a June 2018 call, Individual H told the congressman on multiple occasions that a close associate of Chagoury and political ally of Fortenberry – Toufic Joseph Baaklini, who also entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with prosecutors – had provided him with $30,000 cash to route to Fortenberry’s campaign at the 2016 fundraiser. Individual H told Fortenberry that the money – which was distributed to other individuals at the fundraiser so the donations could be made under their names and avoid individual donor limits – “probably did come from Gilbert Chagoury.”
Despite learning of the illegal campaign contributions, Fortenberry did not file an amended report with the Federal Elections Commission.
Instead, after learning this information, Fortenberry made false and misleading statements during a March 23, 2019, interview with investigators who specifically told him it was a crime to lie to the federal government. Fortenberry falsely told investigators that he was not aware of Baaklini ever being involved in illegal campaign contributions, that the individuals who made contributions at the 2016 fundraiser were all publicly disclosed, and that he was not aware of any contributions to his campaign from a foreign national.
At a second interview on July 18, 2019, with federal investigators and prosecutors, Fortenberry made additional false statements, including denying he was aware of any illicit donations made during the 2016 fundraiser, denying that Individual H had told him Baaklini had provided the $30,000 cash at the 2016 fundraiser, and stating that he would have been “horrified” to learn about the illegal conduit contributions.
During this second interview, Fortenberry also misleadingly stated he ended the June 2018 call with Individual H after that person made a “concerning comment,” when in fact Fortenberry continued to ask Individual H to host another fundraiser for his campaign, according to court documents.
The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Mack E. Jenkins, Chief of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, and Assistant United States Attorneys Susan S. Har and J. Jamari Buxton, also of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, are prosecuting this case.
Clearbrook Treatment Centers and Andrew Brown’s Drug Store Agree to Pay the United States Civil Penalties for Violations of the Controlled Substances ActRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG, PA —The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Clearbrook Treatment Centers, located in Laurel Run, Pennsylvania, and Andrew Brown’s Drug Store, Inc., located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, have agreed to pay the United States civil penalties for their alleged failures to comply with dispensing, distribution, and recordkeeping requirements of the Controlled Substances Act. Clearbrook Treatment Centers will pay $300,000, and Andrew Brown’s Drug Store, Inc. will pay $250,000 in civil penalties.
The Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. sections 801 et seq. (CSA), was passed to combat illegal distribution and abuse of controlled substances, including prescription medications. The CSA’s registration, dispensing, distribution, and recordkeeping requirements are designed to prevent the diversion of controlled substances for illegal purposes. The CSA is enforced by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Diversion Control Division, whose mission is to prevent, detect, and investigate the diversion of controlled pharmaceuticals and listed chemicals from legitimate sources while ensuring adequate and uninterrupted supply for legitimate medical, commercial, and scientific needs.
The CSA regulates how medical facilities can stock and dispense, and how pharmacies can dispense and distribute, controlled substances. The CSA also requires the maintenance of complete and accurate records of each substance manufactured, received, sold, delivered, dispensed, or otherwise disposed of. These requirements play a vital role in ensuring the appropriate handling, accounting, and distribution of controlled substances. The CSA provides for civil monetary penalties for violation of these requirements.
According to Unites States Attorney John C. Gurganus, between December 2016 and April 2021, Andrew Brown’s Drug Store, Inc. dispensed prescriptions or made distributions of controlled substances to Clearbrook Treatment Centers in violation of the CSA. During that same time, Clearbrook Treatment Centers received distributions from Andrew Brown’s Drug Store, Inc. and maintained a general stock of controlled substances for dispensing without being properly registered with the DEA. Both Andrew Brown’s Drug Store, Inc. and Clearbrook Treatment Centers also allegedly failed to keep complete timely and accurate records of their respective distribution and dispensing of those controlled substances.
This settlement addresses the independent obligation of Clearbrook Treatment Centers and Andrew Brown’s Drug Store, Inc. to ensure they have adequate systems in place to prevent improper distribution, maintenance of a general stock, or dispensing of controlled substances, as required by 21 U.S.C. §§ 822, 829, 842, and associated regulations.
“Both Clearbrook Treatment Centers and Andrew Brown’s Drug Store, Inc. have fully cooperated with investigators and are working to enhance their internal compliance with the CSA,” said United States Attorney John C. Gurganus. “Fortunately, there are no allegations that any controlled substances were diverted for illegitimate use, and both companies are taking their responsibilities seriously and being proactive to strengthen their systems to protect the proper dispensing of drugs under their control from diversion.”
“Pharmacies and rehabilitation facilities such as Andrew Brown’s Drug Store and Clearbrook are businesses that are integral to the health and overall well-being of our communities. As such, they are also entrusted to properly distribute and keep track of the controlled substances they maintain,” said Thomas Hodnett, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division. “Civil penalties such as these help to insure adherence to the requirements of the Controlled Substances Act.”
This Settlement Agreement is neither an admission of liability by Clearbrook Treatment Centers or Andrew Brown’s Drug Store, Inc., nor is it a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded.
The investigation was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Richard D. Euliss, Tamara Haken, and the Affirmative Civil Enforcement (ACE) Unit within the U.S. Attorney’s Office, with the assistance of the DEA Philadelphia Field Division.
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Clarksburg man sentenced for carjacking and firearms chargesRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Christopher M. Vickers, of Clarksburg, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 104 months for carjacking and firearms charges, United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced.
Vickers, 32, pleaded guilty in June 2021 to one count of “Carjacking” and one count of “Use of Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence.”
On June 3, 2020, Vickers drove to a residence in Shinnston, West Virginia to take a motorcycle. Vickers admitted to grabbing a woman by her hair and holding a gun to her head, demanding the location of the motorcycle. Vickers admitted to attempting to take the motorcycle from the property.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher L. Bauer prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Shinnston Police Department investigated.
U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
Chicopee Businessman Sentenced in Cocaine and Heroin Conspiracy Sourced from MexicoRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Chicopee businessman and the former owner and operator of TWC Auto Body in Holyoke was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Springfield for his role in a cocaine and heroin conspiracy.
Jamil Roman, 44, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to seven months in prison and three years of supervised release, including a three-month period of home confinement. The government recommended a sentence of 46 months in prison and five years of supervised release. On Nov. 23, 2021, Roman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine.
On several occasions from January 2014 through March 2014, Roman acted as a trusted advisor to co-conspirator Javier Gonzalez – a large-scale drug dealer responsible for distributing vast amounts of drugs in Western Massachusetts. Roman, who owned TWC Auto Body in Holyoke, conspired with Gonzalez to collect a debt owed for four kilograms of cocaine, which was part of a larger load that Gonzalez obtained from a Mexican supply source. Specifically, Roman advised others on how to go about collecting drug debts and, in doing so, recalled his past experiences in selling large amounts of drugs.
In March 2014, Roman and Gonzalez conspired with others to obtain large quantities of heroin and cocaine from Texas, transport the drugs to Holyoke and distribute them in Western Massachusetts. In an attempt to conceal the cash payment and anticipated drugs, Roman helped to prepare a hidden compartment, which was loaded into the carrier of a tractor trailer that Gonzalez drove to Texas for the exchange. On March 25, 2014, Gonzalez was intercepted by law enforcement while enroute to Texas. Approximately $1.17 million in cash was seized from the trailer’s hidden compartment, as well as 14 kilograms of heroin and 42 kilograms of cocaine awaiting pickup by Gonzalez in Texas. In addition, more than $430,000 in drug proceeds was seized from Roman’s residence.
On Oct. 4, 2021, Gonzalez was sentenced by Judge Mastroianni to 30 months in prison and two years of supervised release. Gonzalez was also ordered to pay a fine of $20,000.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil L. Desroches of Rollins’ Springfield Branch Office prosecuted the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Centralia Man Sentenced to 78 Months for Illegal Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Chris Jamison, 19, of Centralia, Illinois, was sentenced today in federal court to 78 months in prison for Illegal Possession of a Firearm by a Felon. Upon his release, Jamison will be supervised by United States Probation for a period of three years. Additionally, Jamison must pay a $1000 fine and a $100 special assessment.
According to court documents, Jamison possessed a Smith and Wesson, 9mm pistol while on probation for Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm at an Occupied Vehicle through Marion County
Circuit Court.The case was investigated by the FBI - Springfield Division Safe Streets Task Force and assisted by the Centralia Police Department.
Cedar Rapids Man Receives Prison Term for Escape from Custody and Contempt of CourtRead the Press Release
A man who escaped from the Waterloo Residential Correctional Facility and later failed to appear in federal court pursuant to a subpoena was sentenced on March 22, 2022, to more than three years in federal prison.
Eugene Davis, age 43, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 28, 2021 guilty plea to an April 23, 2021 escape from federal custody at the Residential Correctional Center in Waterloo and for contempt of court by failing to appear in federal court on April 26, 2021, pursuant to a trial subpoena. Davis also admitted he violated terms of his supervised released for a 2009 federal firearm offense, and the terms of his federal probation imposed for illegally having a cellular telephone while in a federal prison in 2019.
In a plea agreement, Davis admitted that he was in the Waterloo Residential Correctional Center in Waterloo, Iowa, on April 23, 2021, as a condition of his term of supervised release in a 2009 federal firearm case. On April 23, 2021, Davis left the facility to go to work and never returned. Davis was later arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada. Prior to Davis’s escape, he was served with a subpoena that required him to appear in federal court in Cedar Rapids on April 26, 2021. Davis never appeared in court as required.
Davis was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. For the new crimes and his violations of supervision, Davis was sentenced to 45 months’ imprisonment, and he must also serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Davis is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Reinert and was investigated by the United States Marshal’s Service. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file numbers are CR-21-0041 (contempt of court), CR-21-2042 (escape), CR-09-0052 (possession of a firearm by a felon), and CR-21-0003 (possession of a cellular phone in a federal prison).
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Carrick Meth Dealer Gets 10-Year Prison SentenceRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA – A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 120 months of imprisonment to be followed by five years of supervised release on his conviction of federal narcotics laws related to a nine-month Title III wiretap investigation into drug trafficking in and around the counties of Jefferson, Clearfield, and Allegheny, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
United States District Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand imposed the sentence on Doug Austen, age 41, of the Carrick section of the City of Pittsburgh.
According to information presented to the court, on June 9, 2021, Austen sold another individual 84 grams of pure methamphetamine.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan D. Lusty and Michael R. Ball prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
The Drug Enforcement Administration led the multi-agency investigation of this case, which also included the United States Postal Service – Office of Inspector General, United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, Internal Revenue Services, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, and Pennsylvania State Police. Also assisting were the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, Clearfield County District Attorney’s Office, and the Clarion Borough Police Department. United States Attorney Chung commended all of the agencies for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Austen.
This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Carlisle Man Indicted on Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Craig Alan Hare, age 51, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, was indicted on March 23, 2022, by a federal grand jury on firearms charges.
According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, the indictment alleges that on January 14, 2022, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Hare unlawfully possessed a Sig Sauer M400 .223 AR 15 Rifle, and a Smith & Wesson 9mm Model, with ammunition and magazines for both firearms while having a previous conviction for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), and the Pennsylvania State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaime M. Keating is prosecuting the case.
This case was part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
If convicted, the maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 10 years 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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Career Offender Sentenced to nearly 18 Years in Prison for Drug Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal judge today sentenced a career offender to nearly 18 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Towanda Thorne-James.
U.S. District Court Judge Liles C. Burke sentenced Christopher Lane, 47, of Talladega, for conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. Lane pleaded guilty in September 2021. Lane is a career offender based on prior felony convictions. The sentence pronounced today reflected his status as a Career Offender.
In August 2019, a federal grand jury charged Lane and others in a multi-count indictment with participating in a drug trafficking organization that transported heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl from Mexico to Talladega, Alabama for distribution between May 2017 and July 2019.
DEA investigated the case along with the Talladega County Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Blake Milner and Austin Shutt prosecuted the case.
This investigation is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF is an independent component of the U.S. Department of Justice. Established in 1982, OCDETF is the centerpiece of the Attorney General’s strategy to combat transnational-organized-crime and to reduce the availability of illicit narcotics in the nation by using a prosecutor-led, multi-agency approach to enforcement. OCDETF leverages the resources and expertise of its partners in concentrated, coordinated, long-term enterprise investigations of transnational organized crime, money laundering, and major drug trafficking networks.
Canadian National Found Guilty of Leading Drug Trafficking Organization that Purchased Hundreds of Pounds of NarcoticsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Canadian national was found guilty by a jury today of federal criminal charges for leading a drug-trafficking organization that intended to export hundreds of pounds of cocaine and heroin from Southern California into Canada and imported MDMA (Ecstasy) into the United States using big-rig trucks and fully encrypted telephones to achieve their aims.
Vincent Yen Tek Chiu, 43, a.k.a. “El Chino,” “Tiger,” “TigerOfMexico,” “TigerOfSweden,” of Vancouver, Canada, was found guilty of five felonies: one count conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, one count of conspiracy to export controlled substances, one count of distribution of cocaine, one count of distribution of heroin, and one count of distribution of MDMA.
According to evidence presented at his seven-day trial, Chiu and other members of the drug trafficking organization obtained multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine, and less frequently, heroin from Los Angeles and passed the drugs to couriers who intended to transport them to Canada for further distribution. Big-rig trucks were used to try and export some of the cocaine into Canada.
Chiu arranged the purchase of bulk quantities of cocaine in the United States for importation into Canada for resale in exchange for cash or bulk quantities of MDMA. Chiu also arranged for the transportation of MDMA from Canada into the United States in exchange for cocaine. Chiu and his co-conspirators used modified cellular devices with military-grade end-to-end encryption to talk to each other about the drug buys and transportation of narcotics.
At trial, prosecutors presented evidence regarding four drug loads Chiu purchased, totaling approximately 90 kilograms (198.4 pounds) of cocaine and 8 kilograms (17.6 pounds) of heroin – with an estimated wholesale value of $4.5 million – that he intended to export to Canada.
Federal agents intercepted several of the drug deliveries in 2018 and 2019. Law enforcement seized more than $800,000 in Canadian currency during this investigation.
United States District Judge John A. Kronstadt has scheduled an August 4 sentencing hearing, at which time Chiu will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Chiu has been in federal custody since his arrest in July 2019.
The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigated this matter. Critical support was provided by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the California Highway Patrol, and the West Covina Police Department. This investigation is part of the Justice Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).
Assistant United States Attorneys Brittney M. Harris and MiRi Song of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section are prosecuting this case.
California Man Going to Prison for Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.- U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Jorge Alvarez, 28, of Los Angeles, CA, who was convicted of receipt of child pornography, was sentenced to serve 10 years in prison by U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron J. Mango, Douglas A. C. Penrose, and Caitlin M. Higgins, who handled the case, stated that between June 18 and July 23, 2018, Alvarez engaged in sexually explicit conversations via Instagram and text message with a 14-year-old female (Minor Victim) who told Alvarez that she was 14 years-old. During those conversations, Alvarez sent the Minor Victim naked pictures of himself and discussed having sexual contact with the Minor Victim. The Minor Victim sent Alvarez photographs of herself at his request.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Depew Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jerome Miller; the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief Brian Gould; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia.
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Broward County Women Sentenced for Using Patient Information in Real Estate SchemeRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – Samantha Johnson, 57, of Pompano Beach, and her wife, Sandra Shea, 56, of Cooper City, were sentenced on Tuesday by the Honorable United States District Court Judge Roy K. Altman to 30 and 24 months’ imprisonment, respectively. Both defendants must serve a term of supervised release of 3 years and pay a fine of $10,000. A restitution hearing is set for June 15, 2022.
In January, Johnson and Shea pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States. Both defendants admitted that they conspired to obtain and utilize patient information from a large local healthcare provider in Hollywood, Florida, where Shea was employed. According to the factual proffer, Shea improperly accessed 22 patient files from the healthcare provider. In court documents, the defendants admitted that they intended to use the personal information of these patients to acquire distressed, abandoned, foreclosed and probated real property.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Joseph W. Cronin, Inspector in Charge, Miami Division, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and Gregory Tony, Sheriff, Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO), made the announcement.
The case against Johnson and Shea is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Broward County Property Appraisers Office.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas P. Lanigan and Matthew J. Feeley.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-60184.
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Bronx Man Charged with Shooting at Off-Duty NYPD OfficerRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Keechant L. Sewell, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the filing of a criminal complaint today charging JAMAR BAKER with illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition. BAKER, who is on federal supervised release for a prior conviction, was arrested yesterday and was presented today before the Honorable Barbara C. Moses.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “For no apparent reason, Jamar Baker allegedly decided to pick a fight with an innocent driver heading to work. Little did he know, the victim we allege he harassed and shot at is an NYPD officer who was on his way to the precinct to begin his shift. The random attack and senseless criminal behavior not only put the officer in danger, but we also allege Mr. Baker hid the weapon inside a child’s toy, and put it back in the child’s crib. Mr. Baker will now face federal justice for his reckless actions.”
NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said: “Gun violence impacts all New Yorkers – including NYPD police officers, both on and off duty. The NYPD and our law enforcement partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York vow to use every resource available to ensure that criminals are always held fully accountable for their reckless actions.”
As alleged in the Complaint filed in Manhattan federal court[1]:
Shortly after 6:30 a.m. on March 23, 2022, an off-duty NYPD Officer (“Victim-1”) was driving his personal vehicle to his NYPD precinct in Manhattan to begin his shift. While crossing from the Bronx into Manhattan on the Macombs Dam Bridge, BAKER’s vehicle struck Victim‑1’s vehicle multiple times. BAKER then pulled his vehicle alongside Victim-1’s vehicle, spit towards Victim-1, and shouted a slur at Victim-1. As the vehicles continued driving, BAKER fired a gun at Victim-1, striking the front bumper and tire of Victim‑1’s vehicle. Officers later recovered two .380-caliber shell casings from the road where the vehicles had traveled.
Law enforcement identified BAKER’s vehicle using license plate reader photographs. When officers searched an apartment to which BAKER had gone immediately after the shooting, officers found a .380-caliber pistol concealed inside a teddy bear in a child’s crib. BAKER is currently on federal supervised release in connection with a 2014 robbery conspiracy conviction, for which he served approximately five years in prison.
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BAKER, 26, of Bronx, New York, was charged with one count of possessing a firearm after having been convicted of a felony, and one count of possessing ammunition after having been convicted of a felony. Each count carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. The maximum potential penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD’s 32nd Precinct Detective Unit, the NYPD’s Firearm Suppression Section, and the Special Agents of the United States Attorney’s Office.
The case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Patrick R. Moroney is in charge of the prosecution.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint, and the description of the Complaint set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described herein should be treated as an allegation.
Bridgeport Gang Member Involved in Courthouse Shootings Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
DIOMIE BLACKWELL, also known as “Yamo,” 25, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 180 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for participating in gang-related shootings, including a shooting in front of a state courthouse in Bridgeport in January 2020.
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. Blackwell has been a member of the “Greene Homes Boyz” (“GHB/Hotz”), a gang based in the Charles F. Greene Homes Housing Complex in Bridgeport’s North End, whose members and associates distributed heroin, crack cocaine, marijuana and Percocet pills; committed numerous acts of violence against rival gang members and other individuals, and celebrated their criminal conduct on social media websites such as Facebook and YouTube. GHB/Hotz members and associates also committed acts of intimidation and made threats to deter potential witnesses to their crimes and to protect gang members and associates from detection and prosecution by law enforcement authorities. From approximately 2017 until August 2020, GHB/Hotz members were aligned with members of the “Original North End” (“O.N.E.”), a gang based in the Trumbull Gardens area of Bridgeport, 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.
The investigation revealed that on February 7, 2018, Blackwell and an associate shot and attempted to kill “MJ,” a member or associate of the 150 gang in a residential neighborhood. On January 27, 2020, Blackwell and others attempted to kill members and associates of the East End gang in a brazen afternoon shooting in front of a Bridgeport courthouse. At 12:11 p.m. on that date, 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.
Blackwell also appears in YouTube videos and in social media posts, where firearms are present, promoting the gang. In addition, he engaged in gang-related drug trafficking activities.
Blackwell has been detained since August 6, 2020. On October 4, 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 Stephanie T. Levick, Rahul Kale, Karen L. Peck and Jocelyn C. Kaoutzanis.
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.