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Friday 17 December 2021
Statement from Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta Regarding Settlement between U.S. Postal Service and NAACPRead the Press Release
Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta issued the following statement regarding the settlement reached between the U.S. Postal Service and the NAACP:
“The right to vote and ability to access the ballot is the cornerstone of our democracy. The department is pleased we could facilitate a resolution that reflects the commitment of all of the parties to appropriately handling and prioritizing election mail.”
St. Francis Man Sentenced for Assaulting, Resisting, and Impeding a Federal OfficerRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a St. Francis, South Dakota, man convicted of Assaulting, Resisting, and Impeding a Federal Officer was sentenced on December 13, 2021, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.
Willard Henry, Jr., age 41, was sentenced to two months in federal prison, followed by six months of home confinement, two years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Henry was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 9, 2021. He pled guilty on September 23, 2021.
The conviction stemmed from an incident that occurred on February 3, 2021, in Todd County, South Dakota. On that date, Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services officers responded to multiple calls of a pickup truck being driven recklessly near St. Francis. Officers located the vehicle in a field and made contact with Henry, the driver and sole occupant. Henry refused to exit the vehicle and placed his hand on a rifle that was in the vehicle. Officers subsequently removed the rifle, a Winchester 30-30 caliber long rifle, from the vehicle and placed Henry under arrest. Multiple rounds of ammunition were also located in the vehicle. Henry will forfeit ownership of the rifle and ammunition to the United States.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.
Henry was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Southwest Georgia Armed Career Criminal Sentenced in Federal Gun CaseRead the Press Release
ALBANY, Ga. – An Albany resident with several prior felony convictions was sentenced as an armed career criminal this week for a federal firearms violation resulting from a Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) investigation.
Lenwood Thomas, 40, of Albany, previously pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. On Thursday, Dec. 16, U.S. District Judge Leslie Gardner sentenced him on each conviction to serve 180 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, both sentences to be served concurrently. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Armed career criminals face steep federal penalties when they choose to repeatedly break the law while possessing guns,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “Under Project Safe Neighborhoods, our office is aligning with locals in the communities we serve and our law enforcement partners at every level to make strategic decisions aimed at decreasing violent crime across Southwest Georgia and the entire Middle District of Georgia.”
According to court documents, Thomas was on parole when officers with the Department of Community Supervision (DCS) and Dougherty County Police Department conducted a search of his home on Feb. 28, 2020, based on evidence that Thomas was conducting illegal drug sales. Officers found a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol in the home, along with illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia. At the time the firearm was found in his possession, Thomas had numerous felony convictions. Following that incident, Thomas was arrested on an unrelated matter on June 14, 2021. At the time, Thomas had outstanding arrest warrants and was spotted by an investigator with the Albany-Dougherty Drug Unit. During the attempted stop, Thomas drove away from the officers, committing numerous traffic violations in an attempt to escape but eventually lost control of his vehicle. When his vehicle came to rest in a ditch, Thomas ran away from the scene and was chased by an officer. During the foot chase, Thomas threw items of out a bag he was carrying, including illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia and a BMW key fob. When he was in custody at the Dougherty County Jail, Thomas was recorded telling a family member that he had “5 ½ outfits” in the trunk of his BMW and asked the family member to get in touch with someone who would know what to do with them. Officers sought and obtained a search warrant for the BMW, finding 167.4 grams of cocaine in the trunk and a 9mm pistol.
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.
The case was investigated by the Georgia Department of Community Supervision, Dougherty County Police Department and Albany-Dougherty Drug Unit.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Melody Ellis is prosecuting the case for the Government.
Sioux Falls Man Charged with Transportation of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for two counts of Transportation of Child Pornography.
Terry Zoppe, age 45, was indicted on December 7, 2021. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy on December 13, 2021, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 20 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, life of supervised release, and up to $200 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that between September 19, 2017, and March 23, 2021, and again between April 18, 2020, and March 23, 2021, Zoppe knowingly transported child pornography using the Internet. Zoppe uploaded graphic images and video files depicting one or more minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct into his Google Photos account.
The charges are merely accusations and Zoppe is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper is prosecuting the case.
Zoppe was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Sioux Falls Man Charged with Transportation of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for two counts of Transportation of Child Pornography.
Herbert Sittingcrow, age 45, was indicted on December 7, 2021. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy on December 9, 2021, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 40 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, life of supervised release, and up to $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that between March 19, 2021, and October 21, 2021, Sittingcrow knowingly transported child pornography using the Internet. Sittingcrow uploaded graphic images and video files depicting one or more minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct into his Kik Messenger user account and Google email account.
The charges are merely accusations and Sittingcrow is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper is prosecuting the case.
Sittingcrow was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Sioux City Man to Federal Prison for Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced December 16, 2021, to four years in federal prison.
Lawrence Parmelee, 43, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 29, 2021, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Evidence showed that Parmelee was involved in a conspiracy from March 2019 through December 2019 that distributed more than 1,300 grams of methamphetamine in the Sioux City area. On August 14, 2019, Parmelee distributed over 26 grams of actual (pure) methamphetamine to an individual cooperating with law enforcement. Parmelee would obtain distribution quantities of methamphetamine for use/redistribution and also assisted others (by driving/ transporting them to/from drug transactions) for which Parmelee was compensated with methamphetamine for use/re-distribution.
Parmelee was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Parmelee was sentenced to 48 months’ imprisonment. Parmelee must also serve a four-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Parmelee is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and investigated by Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-4038.
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Seven-Time Felon Convicted in Connection with Armed Robbery at Labelle PawnshopRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, FL – A federal jury has found Raynaldo Ray Quiroga (37, LaBelle) guilty of Hobbs Act robbery, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, possessing stolen firearms, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, related to an armed robbery of a pawnshop in LaBelle in May 2021. As a result, Quiroga faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 21, 2022.
Quiroga had been indicted on July 14, 2021.
According to evidence presented at trial, Quiroga, a seven-time convicted felon, entered Capital Pawn in LaBelle on the morning of May 19, 2021, falsely impersonating a law enforcement officer by wearing a green sheriff’s deputy uniform, a black tactical vest, a badge, and a duty belt equipped with a firearm. While in the shop, Quiroga brandished his firearm and zip-tied the store’s two employees before stealing six guns and fleeing the scene. Law enforcement agents quickly identified Quiroga as a suspect and later found multiple pieces of evidence at his residence and in his car connecting him to the robbery.
This case was investigated by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted Assistant United States Attorneys Jesus M. Casas and Simon Eth.
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.
Seattle man sentenced to prison for creation of images of sexual molestation of young childRead the Press Release
Seattle – A 53-year-old Seattle man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison with 15 years of supervised release for three federal felonies connected to his creation and possession of sexually explicit images of children, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Cameron Bennett Scott, pleaded guilty in May 2021, to enticement of a minor, possession of child pornography, and receipt of child pornography. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik ordered Scott to serve ten years in prison with 15 years of supervised release.
“This case demonstrates how critical it is for tech companies to report images of child sexual abuse that pass through their networks,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “Thanks to the quick work of Seattle Police and Homeland Security Investigation, children both here and in Canada were rescued from abuse.”
According to the plea agreement, Scott came to the attention of law enforcement in December 2018 when an internet service provider reported an internet address to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) for uploading suspected images of child pornography. An investigation by the Seattle Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force traced the images to Scott. The investigation revealed that he had been communicating with a woman in British Columbia, Canada, about sexually molesting her children—both under the age of ten and he received files depicting their abuse.
Law enforcement served a search warrant at Scott’s residence in August 2019, seizing two computers and his mobile devices. An examination of his mobile device revealed that he had taken sexually explicit photos of a minor child in his residence in July 2019.
“Creating and disseminating images of children being harmed is the worst kind of crime,” Seattle Police Department Chief Adrian Diaz said after Scott’s sentencing. “The sexual exploitation of children not only destroys lives as the images are recorded, but those images continue to victimize children every time they are viewed. I am grateful the dedicated members of SPD’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit were able to help investigate this case and help send this defendant to prison.”
“The online nature of these heinous crimes adheres to no border,” said Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Robert Hammer, who oversees HSI operations in the Pacific Northwest. “We are proud of the collaborative relationship with our Canadian and local partners which resulted in two individuals being prosecuted and hopefully the end of the victimization for these two young children.”
The woman in British Columbia is being prosecuted in Canada for the sexual abuse and exploitation of two minor children, as a result of the Seattle Police Department and Homeland Security investigation. Her case will be resolved in Canada following today’s proceeding.
The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department and Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) as part of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Sayre Woman Sentenced to 37 Months’ Imprisonment for Laundering $1.89 Million in Fraud ProceedsRead the Press Release
WILLIAMSPORT- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Christine Bradley Okpako, age 54, of Sayre, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on December 15, 2021, to 37 months’ imprisonment by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Matthew W. Brann for conspiring to launder approximately $1.89 million in mail and wire fraud proceeds.
According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Okpako and her husband, codefendant Jabin Godspower Okpako, age 36, of Nigeria, received approximately $1,898,046 million in proceeds from a mail and wire fraud scheme, laundered the funds through numerous bank and wire transactions in multiple states, and transferred the funds out of the United States to three separate bank accounts in Nigeria.
The mail and wire fraud scheme sought to defraud multiple female victims throughout the United States, ranging in age from 55 to 85. The victims had visited online game, relationship and dating web sites, including Instagram, Facebook, Words with Friends, and What’s App. The conspirators, located in the United States and West Africa, befriended the victims through interaction and exchanges of photos on the web sites via text and instant messaging. After cultivating online relationships with the victims, the conspirators fraudulently induced the victims to send and transmit funds for various fictitious reasons and purposes, including to assist a worker in Alaska who fell from a tower, to purchase an apartment in Washington, D.C., to assist the United Nations, to repair machinery and equipment on an oil drilling rig, to pay for medicine, to recover a $6 million inheritance, and to make an investment in gold. After fraudulently inducing the victims to provide funds for these fictitious reasons, the unindicted conspirators instructed the victims to transmit checks and cash to Okpako and Bradley at their residence in Sayre, Pennsylvania.
Chief Judge Brann sentenced Jabin Godspower Okpako on November 23, 2021, to 87 months’ imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney George J. Rocktashel prosecuted the case.
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Safety of Airline Passengers, Flight Crews and Flight Attendants High PriorityRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, Iowa – As the holiday travel season continues, local, state and federal agencies within the Southern District of Iowa are working together to ensure the safety of commercial airline passengers, flight crews and flight attendants.
Federal law prohibits assaults, intimidation and threats of violence that interfere with flight crews and flight attendants, as well as other enumerated criminal acts that occur during flight. Passengers who commit assaults against other passengers are also subject to federal prosecution.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland directed United States Attorneys to prioritize the prosecution of federal crimes occurring on commercial aircraft. To assist in the investigation and prosecution of in-air crimes, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Justice have created an information-sharing protocol, resulting nationally in the referral of numerous incidents by the FAA to the FBI for investigation.
A statement from the Des Moines Police Department indicated that officers from the Des Moines Police Department’s Community Outreach and Protective Services Airport Section will be available throughout the holiday season to support and collaborate with federal partners to provide for the safest travel experience for all.
“Holiday travel should be accomplished in the same spirit as celebration of the holiday itself. We support our federal, state, city and airport security partners in assuring safety for passengers, flight crews, and flight attendants, in the air and on the ground. In assistance to these partners, and for those crimes that have singular federal jurisdiction, we are committed to hold accountable those who engage in criminal behavior during air travel,” stated United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal.
FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel stated, “The FBI continues to work with the FAA and other partners to combat violence aboard commercial flights and ensure the safety of all passengers. We remain committed to investigating all incidents that meet the threshold of a federal crime and fall within FBI jurisdiction.”
Riverside Man Arrested on Federal Charges Alleging He Sold Fentanyl-Laced Pills that Led to Student’s Fatal OverdoseRead the Press Release
RIVERSIDE, California – Authorities this morning arrested a Riverside man who allegedly sold counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl that caused the fatal overdose of a college student who was visiting her family for the holidays two years ago.
Brandon Michael McDowell, 22, was arrested at his residence without incident, and he is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in Riverside.
McDowell was named in a grand jury indictment filed Wednesday that charges him with one count of distributing fentanyl resulting in death. The fentanyl-distribution charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a maximum possible sentence of life without parole.
McDowell allegedly distributed fentanyl in the form of counterfeit oxycodone M30 pills on December 22, 2019. The 19-year-old victim in this case, who is identified in the indictment as “A.C.,” died after ingesting the drug at her Temecula home. Investigators believe she crushed at least one of the pills and snorted the drug shortly before succumbing to the powerful opioid in the pills.
The investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Homeland Security Investigations and the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office found evidence that the victim ordered the pills from McDowell on Snapchat.
“This is another incredibly sad case that demonstrates the deadly threat of fentanyl that is now seen in a wide array of drugs sold on the street,” said United States Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison. “My office and our law enforcement partners will continue to investigate fatal overdose cases to identify and bring to justice every individual involved in the trafficking of fentanyl.”
Assistant United States Attorney John Balla and Special Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Merrill of the Riverside Branch Office are prosecuting this case. SAUSA Merrill is a Riverside County deputy district attorney assigned by his office to work with the Justice Department.
“The Riverside County DA’s Office is grateful for the hard work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in this collaborative effort with our federal partners to get justice for the victim in this case,” said Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to 50 Years in Prison for Producing and Using Facebook to Distribute Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – An Indiana man was sentenced today to 50 years in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for using social media to produce child pornography.
Lorenzo Johnson, 33, of Hammond, was convicted on Aug. 16 by a federal jury of three counts of conspiring to produce child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Johnson used Facebook accounts in the names of others to identify women with access to children who appeared to be experiencing financial difficulties. Johnson, a registered sex offender, offered those women money to take sexually explicit photos of infants and prepubescent children whom they knew, and successfully persuaded three such women, who were subsequently charged with child pornography offenses, to send him photos depicting the sexual abuse of infants and prepubescent children. One such woman subsequently pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing, a second is scheduled to plead guilty on Dec. 21, both in the Northern District of Illinois, and charges against a third woman were dismissed in the Northern District of Indiana because she died during the course of the prosecution.
In an interview with the FBI, Johnson admitted that he had also solicited the production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) from other Facebook users as a means of blackmail. Evidence presented at trial showed Johnson asked one woman to produce CSAM so he could “hold something over her head.” In addition, Facebook records admitted into evidence showed Johnson discussing the sexual abuse of children with his co-conspirators and threatening to “expose” them if they did not agree to produce CSAM.
Johnson was previously convicted in 2009 in Illinois of aggravated sexual abuse involving a minor.
“As the jury unanimously found, Lorenzo Johnson repeatedly persuaded vulnerable women to sexually exploit infants and young children,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s sentence sends a strong message that offenders who target vulnerable members of our society, and especially children, will be brought to justice.”
“Lorenzo Johnson’s criminal conduct merits the lengthy sentence that the judge imposed today,” said U.S. Attorney Clifford D. Johnson for the Northern District of Indiana. “Manipulating vulnerable women into producing pornographic images of voiceless children is despicable criminal behavior. I want to thank all our law enforcement partners for their hard work rendering justice in this case.”
“This sentence demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to identifying sexual predators and investigating these type of cases with a sense of urgency to ensure those who victimize our most vulnerable members of society pay the price with time in prison,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Gregory Nelsen of the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office. “As a result of the tireless work of the FBI and our law enforcement partners, Johnson no longer poses a threat to the community.”
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Trial Attorney Eduardo Palomo of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Molly Kelley and Abizer Zanzi of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana prosecuted the case, with valuable assistance provided by former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, Jill Koster.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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21-1268
Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to 50 Years in Prison for Producing and Using Facebook to Distribute Child PornographyRead the Press Release
An Indiana man was sentenced today to 50 years in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for using social media to produce child pornography.
Lorenzo Johnson, 33, of Hammond, was convicted on Aug. 16 by a federal jury of three counts of conspiring to produce child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Johnson used Facebook accounts in the names of others to identify women with access to children who appeared to be experiencing financial difficulties. Johnson, a registered sex offender, offered those women money to take sexually explicit photos of infants and prepubescent children whom they knew, and successfully persuaded three such women, who were subsequently charged with child pornography offenses, to send him photos depicting the sexual abuse of infants and prepubescent children. One such woman subsequently pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. A second is scheduled to plead guilty on Dec. 21. Both women are pleading guilty in the Northern District of Illinois, and charges against a third woman were dismissed in the Northern District of Indiana because she died during the course of the prosecution.
In an interview with the FBI, Johnson admitted that he had also solicited the production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) from other Facebook users as a means of blackmail. Evidence presented at trial showed Johnson asked one woman to produce CSAM so he could “hold something over her head.” In addition, Facebook records admitted into evidence showed Johnson discussing the sexual abuse of children with his co-conspirators and threatening to “expose” them if they did not agree to produce CSAM.
Johnson was previously convicted in 2009 in Illinois of aggravated sexual abuse involving a minor.
“As the jury unanimously found, Lorenzo Johnson repeatedly persuaded vulnerable women to sexually exploit infants and young children,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s sentence sends a strong message that offenders who target vulnerable members of our society, and especially children, will be brought to justice.”
“Lorenzo Johnson’s criminal conduct merits the lengthy sentence that the judge imposed today,” said U.S. Attorney Clifford D. Johnson for the Northern District of Indiana. “Manipulating vulnerable women into producing pornographic images of voiceless children is despicable criminal behavior. I want to thank all our law enforcement partners for their hard work rendering justice in this case.”
“This sentence demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to identifying sexual predators and investigating these type of cases with a sense of urgency to ensure those who victimize our most vulnerable members of society pay the price with time in prison,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Gregory Nelsen of the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office. “As a result of the tireless work of the FBI and our law enforcement partners, Johnson no longer poses a threat to the community.”
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Trial Attorney Eduardo Palomo of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Molly Kelley and Abizer Zanzi of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana prosecuted the case, with valuable assistance provided by Jill Koster, former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Quincy Real Estate Broker Pleads Guilty to Real Estate Deposit ScamRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Quincy real estate broker pleaded guilty today to operating a scheme in which he falsely marketed properties that were not for sale, or had already been sold, and then stole the buyers’ real estate deposits.
Michael P. Flavin, 38, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled sentencing for April 12, 2022.
Between 2017 and April 2020, Flavin solicited deposits on real estate transactions by marketing numerous real estate properties that were not actually for sale. In each case, Flavin executed purchase and sale agreements and received deposit checks from or on behalf of the potential buyers, even though the actual owners of the properties had not agreed to sell their properties or to sell them to those buyers. Flavin forged the signatures of the sellers on the purported purchase and sale agreements. Over this period of approximately three years, Flavin cashed more than 60 deposit checks totaling approximately $1.8 million.
The charges of wire fraud each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charges of aggravated identity theft each provide for a mandatory sentence of two years in prison to be served consecutive to any other sentence imposed, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel Mendell and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Victor A. Wild and Sara Miron Bloom of Mendell’s Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case.
Queens Man Who Wanted to Attack Times Square Pleads Guilty to Receiving Firearm with Obliterated Serial NumberRead the Press Release
Ashiqul Alam pleaded guilty today to knowingly receiving a firearm with an obliterated serial number in Brooklyn, New York. The proceeding was held before United States Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy. When sentenced, Alam faces 60 months’ imprisonment pursuant to the terms of his plea agreement with the government. As part of his plea agreement, Alam, a citizen of Bangladesh, agreed to the entry of an order of removal so he will be deported after completing his sentence.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Dermot F. Shea, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the guilty plea.
“With today’s guilty plea, Alam has admitted to purchasing a firearm for use in a full-scale, mass-casualty attack in Times Square,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Protecting our national security and the residents of this city, state and nation from the threat of terrorist attacks at home or abroad continues to be one of the highest priorities of this Office and its law enforcement partners.”
As set forth in court filings, between August 2018 and the June 2019, Alam repeatedly expressed a desire to purchase firearms for use in a mass-casualty attack. Alam identified two targets, either Times Square or Washington, D.C., in order to kill a senior government official. In January 2019, Alam conducted several reconnaissance trips to Times Square, using his cellular telephone to make a video recording of the area as he searched for potential targets.
Alam conducted research about firearms on the internet and discussed purchasing firearms with an undercover law enforcement officer (“UC-1”). In March 2019, Alam told UC-1 that he would be interested in buying a Glock 9mm pistol. UC-1 introduced Alam to an “associate,” who offered to help Alam procure two illegal Glock G19 pistols. In April 2019, Alam underwent Lasik eye surgery, a procedure whose value he explained: “Let’s say we are in an attack, right, say that my glasses fall off. What if I accidentally shoot you? You know what I mean. Imagine what the news channel would call me the ‘Looney Tunes Terrorist’ or the ‘Blind Terrorist.’”
In May 2019, Alam was told by “UC-1” that the firearms he wanted to buy would have obliterated serial numbers, and he replied “Oh, that’s good man.” On June 6, 2019, Alam met the individual he believed was going to sell him firearms and was shown two Glock 19 semiautomatic pistols with obliterated serial numbers. Alam provided $400 towards the purchase of the two pistols and asked whether the Glock 19 pistol he had just purchased was compatible with a silencer. Alam was arrested shortly thereafter.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security & Cybercrime Section. Assistant United States Attorneys David K. Kessler and Jonathan E. Algor are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance provided by Trial Attorney Stephanie Sweeten of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
The Defendant:
ASHIQUL ALAM
Age: 25
Queens, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-0280 (LDH)
Providence Man Admits to Defrauding Food Suppliers, Assaulting Federal OfficersRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A Providence man arrested nine days after he assaulted and fled federal agents and task force officers as they attempted to arrest him on charges that he defrauded businesses of more than $800,000, pled guilty in federal court today to charges of wire fraud and assault of a federal officer, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.
Paul Diogenes, a/k/a Paul Dejullio, 49, admitted to the court that he created a fictitious catering company, listing his alias as president, to obtain credit from food distributors that he used to purchase more than $831,760 in luxury foods, including hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of lobster, sea bass, shrimp, scallops, filet, rib eye steak, and wild boar.
Diogenes admitted that he resold much of the product, in some instances to the same business whose stolen banking information he used to gain credit from the food distributors. In furtherance of the scheme, Diogenes fraudulently claimed that the food he was selling was from a restaurant that he recently closed.
On August 3, 2021, FBI agents, FBI task force officers, and Rhode Island State Police surveilled and followed Diogenes as he drove into a parking lot behind an East Providence business. Diogenes admitted to the court that as the agents and task force officers converged to arrest him, he fled. In the course of his escape, Diogenes rammed his car into an FBI task force vehicle, with a task force officer and State Police trooper still inside; drove his vehicle toward an FBI agent who quickly jumped out of the way to avoid being hit; rammed his car into a delivery van; and then rammed a second FBI task force vehicle that had just been vacated by an FBI agent and a Providence Police officer.
Nine days after fleeing law enforcement, Diogenes was located by the U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI at a Middleborough, MA., hotel. At the time of his arrest, Diogenes was in possession of a briefcase containing $116,404 in cash.
Diogenes is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., on March 29, 2022.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee H. Vilker.
Diogenes’s fraud was investigated by the FBI’s Rhode Island Complex Financial Crimes Task Force, with the assistance of Rhode Island State Police and the Providence, Woonsocket, East Providence, Bourne, and Fall River Police Departments.
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Prolific Thoroughbred Trainer Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Doping CaseRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that defendants JORGE NAVARRO received a sentence of sixty months’ imprisonment today for his leading role in the felony drug misbranding and adulteration charges arising from this Office’s investigation of the abuse of animals through the use of performance enhancing drugs and as charged in United States v. Navarro et al., 20 Cr. 160 (MKV). NAVARRO was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, who furthered ordered that NAVARRO pay $26,860,514 in restitution for the fraud perpetrated through his doping program.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Jorge Navarro’s case reflects failings, greed, and corruption at virtually every level of the world of professional horse racing. For money and fame, corrupt trainers went to increasing extremes to dope horses under their care. Unscrupulous owners, who stood to profit directly, encouraged and pressured trainers to win at any cost. Veterinarians sworn to the care and protection of their patients routinely violated their oaths in service of corrupt trainers and to line their own pockets. Assistants and grooms all witnessed animal abuse in the service of greed, but did little to stop such conduct, and engaged in myriad ways to support notoriously corrupt trainers. Structures designed for the protection of the horses abused in this case failed repeatedly; fixtures of the industry – owners, veterinarians, and trainers – flouted rules and disregarded their animals’ health while hypocritically incanting a love for the horses under their control and ostensible protection. Standing as the keystone for this structure of abuse, corruption, and duplicity was Jorge Navarro, a trainer who treated his animals as expendable commodities in the service of his ‘sport.’ Today’s sentence appropriately condemns the danger inherent in Navarro’s crime and reflects the seriousness with which this Office takes the kind of abuse that Navarro practiced.”
According to the allegations contained in the Superseding Indictment, prior charging instruments and other filings in this case[1], and statements during court proceedings:
The charges in the Navarro case arise from an investigation of widespread schemes by racehorse trainers, veterinarians, PED distributors, and others to manufacture, distribute, and receive adulterated and misbranded PEDs and to secretly administer those PEDs to racehorses competing at all levels of professional horseracing. By evading PED prohibitions and deceiving regulators and horse racing officials, participants in these schemes sought to improve race performance and obtain prize money from racetracks throughout the United States and other countries, including in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky, and the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”), all to the detriment and risk of the health and well-being of the racehorses. Trainers, like NAVARRO, who participated in the schemes stood to profit from the success of racehorses under their control by earning a share of their horses’ winnings, and by improving their horses’ racing records, thereby yielding higher trainer fees and increasing the number of racehorses under their control. Veterinarians, including those whom NAVARRO directed in the corrupt administration of illegal substances, profited from the sale and administration of these medically unnecessary, misbranded, and adulterated substances.
NAVARRO operated his doping scheme covertly, importing misbranded “clenbuterol” that he both used and distributed to others, avoiding explicit discussion of PEDs during telephone calls, and working with others to coordinate the administration of PEDs at times that racing officials would not detect such cheating. Among the horses that NAVARRO trained and doped was XY Jet, a thoroughbred horse that won the 2019 Golden Shaheen race in Dubai. Among NAVARRO’s preferred PEDs were various “blood building” drugs, which, when administered before intense physical exertion, can lead to cardiac issues or death.
NAVARRO’s crime was far from a single lapse in judgment. Rather, NAVARRO engaged in repeated and persistent efforts to cheat over the course of years, cycling through various sources of supply, and pursuing aggressively new means to illegally dope horses. Throughout, NAVARRO maintained a flippant attitude towards his dangerous and illegal conduct. NAVARRO, notoriously known in the horse racing world as the “Juice Man” due to his routine doping, kept a pair of customized shoes in his barn with the words “#JUICE MAN” emblazoned across the front:
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In addition to the prison sentence, NAVARRO was ordered to payment of restitution in the amount of $26,860,514, reflecting winnings obtained through his fraudulent doping scheme.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI New York Office’s Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force and its support of the Bureau’s Integrity in Sports and Gaming Initiative. This case is being handled by the Office’s Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Sarah Mortazavi, Andrew C. Adams, Benet Kearney, and Anden Chow are in charge of the prosecution.
[1] As to Navarro co-defendants, the entirety of the texts of the Indictments and the descriptions of the Indictments set forth herein constitute only allegations and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Prison inmate pleads guilty to large scale methamphetamine conspiracyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge Matthew T. Schelp accepted a plea of guilty from Tarik Mazhar on today’s date. Mazhar pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Judge Schelp set sentencing for March 18, 2022.
According to the plea agreement, on or about January 1, 2019, and continuing until on or about July 29, 2020, in Franklin County, Missouri, within the Eastern District of Missouri, Tarik Mazhar did knowingly and intentionally combine, conspire, confederate, and agree together with a co-defendant, and others known and unknown, to intentionally distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and knowingly acted in some way for the purpose of aiding the commission of the offense.
Mazhar was an inmate serving a previous sentence for Attempted Armed Bank Robbery, and Armed Bank Robbery at the Bureau of Prisons-Great Plains Correctional Institution in Hinton, Oklahoma. While confined, Mazhar utilized a cell phone that was smuggled into the Bureau of Prisons facility to facilitate a bulk purchase of methamphetamine from an undercover agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Between June 24, 2020, and July 29, 2020, Mazhar, a co-defendant and the undercover agent conducted frequent conversations by phone to negotiate the methamphetamine deal. Mazhar and the undercover agent eventually agreed that the co-defendant and Mazhar would pay the undercover agent $120,000.00 in U.S. currency, and—in exchange—the undercover agent would provide the co-defendant with 40 pounds (approximately 18 kilograms) of methamphetamine.
The maximum possible penalty provided by law for the crimes to which the defendant is pleading guilty is imprisonment of not more than life, a fine of not more than $10,000,000, or both such imprisonment and fine. The Court shall also impose a period of supervised release of not less than 10 years.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations.
Postal Service Employee IndictedRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that JAVONTE RICHARD, age 29, of New Orleans, Louisiana, was indicted on December 16, 2021 for Theft of Mail by a Postal Service employee in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1709.
According to the indictment, on November 14, 2019, RICHARD removed a package entrusted to her and which came into her possession to be conveyed by mail, while performing her assigned duties as an employee of the United States Postal Service.
If convicted, RICHARD faces a maximum penalty of up to five (5) years imprisonment, followed by up to three (3) years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
United States Attorney Evans reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the United States Postal Inspection Service, Office of the Inspector General in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Maestri is in charge of the prosecution.
Pocatello Man Sentenced to 7.5 Years for Unlawfully Possessing a FirearmRead the Press Release
POCATELLO – A Pocatello man was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison for unlawful possession of a firearm.
According to court records, on December 9, 2020, officers with the Pocatello Police Department observed Jimmy D. Martin, 44, of Pocatello, who had active warrants for his arrest, leaving his residence on a motorcycle. Officers tried to initiate a traffic stop. Martin failed to yield and engaged police in a pursuit that ended when Martin crashed his motorcycle near the intersection of East Alameda and Franklin in Pocatello. Martin was apprehended after attempting to run away on foot. Police officers located two firearms and a significant quantity of methamphetamine in Martin’s possession after placing him under arrest. One of the firearms had previously been reported stolen. Martin had numerous prior felony convictions and was prohibited from possessing firearms.
Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Martin to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Martin pleaded guilty to the charge on September 23, 2021.
Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr., of the District of Idaho made the announcement and commended the cooperative efforts of the Pocatello Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which led to charges.
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.
This case was handled by the U.S. Attorney Office’s specially deputized Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA), funded by the Eastern Idaho Partnership (EIP) and the State of Idaho. The EIP is a coalition of local city and county officials in eastern Idaho as well as the Idaho Department of Correction.
The EIP SAUSA program allows law enforcement to utilize the federal criminal justice system – through the EIP SAUSA – to prosecute, convict, and sentence violent, armed criminals and drug traffickers. These criminals often receive stiffer penalties than they might in state courts.
This program was created in January 2016. Since that time, approximately 188 defendants have been indicted by the EIP SAUSA. Of these defendants, 41 have been indicted on prohibited possession of firearms or ammunition charges. The defendants indicted under the program have been sentenced to 7,857 months (approximately 655 years) in federal prison, representing an average prison sentence of 53.09 (4.42 years). Defendants indicted for offenses involving firearms or ammunition serve, on average, approximately 42.13 months (3.5 years) in federal prison.
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Pittsburgh Man Found Guilty of Threatening Communications and Impeding and Obstructing FBI InvestigationRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – Khaled Miah, 28, a former resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and former student at the University of Pittsburgh, has been found guilty by a federal jury after deliberating for three hours of five counts of making interstate threatening communications, one count of influencing, impeding or retaliating against a Federal law enforcement officer, and one count of destruction of records in a federal investigation, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
The jury found that from on or about December 27, 2020 through on or about December 31, 2020, Miah posted threats directed at individual FBI agents who were investigating him, as well as the FBI generally. In December 2020, FBI personnel identified a publicly visible Twitter account created by Miah. From the date of its creation to on or about January 1, 2021, Miah used this Twitter account to threaten, intimidate and harass FBI Pittsburgh Agents and the FBI. In addition, after posting the threatening statements, and with full knowledge of the FBI investigation into his conduct, Miah subsequently deleted those posts which impeded, obstructed, and influenced the FBI investigation. The trial lasted approximately two weeks and was before Judge W. Scott Hardy.
Judge Hardy scheduled sentencing for April 21, 2022 at 10 a.m. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force who were directly involved in this investigation include: FBI and the University of Pittsburgh Police Department.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Lieber Smolar and Nicole Ann Stockey of the Western District of Pennsylvania and Department of Justice Trial Attorney Dmitriy Slavin.
Philadelphia Man Charged with Robbing Nine West Philadelphia-Area Convenience Stores in One WeekRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Tyeed Henson, 22, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged by Indictment with nine counts of Hobbs Act robbery stemming from a rash of late-2020 armed robberies of Philadelphia-area convenience stores over the course of one week.
According to the Indictment, from October 30 through November 5, 2020, the defendant is alleged to have robbed seven convenience stores in West and Southwest Philadelphia of money and store merchandise at gunpoint. Following an investigation by the Philadelphia Police Department, investigators learned of two additional alleged robberies in Yeadon and Bala Cynwyd with fact patterns that were consistent with the Philadelphia robberies.
“The complete disregard that this defendant is charged to have demonstrated for the safety and well-being of others is appalling,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “As alleged, in just seven days, Henson terrorized the employees of nine area businesses who were simply doing their jobs. Through our multi-pronged approach - including strategic use of recently announced grant funding for the PSN program - we will continue our coordination with the Philadelphia Police Department and federal agencies to make the community safer by removing criminals like this from our streets.”
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
If convicted of all charges, Henson faces a total possible maximum sentence of 180 years in prison and three years of supervised release, a $2.25 million fine, and a $100 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department, Yeadon Police Department, Lower Merion Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Martin Howley.
An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Philadelphia Felon Charged with Illegally Possessing Narcotics and A Loaded FirearmRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Edward Holloway, 34, of Philadelphia, PA was charged by Indictment with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, all stemming from a vehicle search conducted during traffic stop earlier this year.
In January 2021, Philadelphia Police Department officers initiated a traffic stop of the defendant’s vehicle. A subsequent search of the vehicle is alleged to have uncovered a large quantity of cocaine and additional packets of crack cocaine in a void under the vehicle’s center console. Investigators are also alleged to have recovered a loaded semiautomatic firearm from the same location.
“Drugs and firearms are a very dangerous combination, especially in Philadelphia where the violent crime rate has reached record-breaking levels,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “Through the initiatives we launched this year like #AllHandsOnDeck and DOJ-OJP Public Safety Partnership, and the recently announced grant funding for the PSN program, we will continue our coordination with the Philadelphia Police Department and federal agencies to make the community safer by removing criminals like this from our streets.”
“This investigation is a result of our outstanding partnership with the Philadelphia Police Department and the Pennsylvania State Police,” said Matthew Varisco, Special Agent in charge of ATF’s Philadelphia Field Division. “Convicted felons who carry firearms pose a serious risk to public safety. ATF will continue to aggressively pursue these investigations and work with our law enforcement partners to remove these violent criminals from our communities.”
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
If convicted of all charges, the defendant faces a total possible maximum sentence of lifetime imprisonment, a 15-year mandatory minimum term of imprisonment, at least three years of supervised release, a fine of $1.5 million, and a $300 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Martin Howley.
An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Owner of Maryland Export Business Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges of Attempting to Smuggle Items Out of the U.S. Without the Required Export LicenseRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Jorge Orencel, age 65, of Silver Spring, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to federal charges of attempting to smuggle goods out of the United States without the required export license. Orencel owned and operated Sumtech, an export business located in Fulton, Maryland.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agents in Charge Jonathan Carson and Nasir Khan of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry Security, Office of Export Enforcement, New York and Washington Field Offices, respectively.
According to his guilty plea, Orencel owned and operated Sumtech, which advertised itself on the Internet as specializing in the distribution of American merchandise, including “high technology laboratory devices,” to South America, Asia, and the Middle East.
As detailed in the plea agreement, in October 2016, Orencel began communicating with Co-conspirator 1, an individual representing herself as an employee of a company in Hong Kong, regarding Co-conspirator 1’s desire to purchase five ionization chambers and one fission chamber from Company A, which manufactured gas-filled nuclear radiation detectors. Co-conspirator 1 advised that Company A, located in New York, required an end user statement and export license if they knew the goods were to be shipped to other countries, and suggested to Orencel that he not mention that the goods would be shipped to Hong Kong. Orencel agreed and got a quote from Company A for prices on the items requested by Co-conspirator 1, falsely telling officials from Company A that the request was from a customer in Argentina, South America.
After communicating with Co-conspirator 1, on October 26, 2016, Orencel sent a Sumtech purchase order to Company A for the ionization chambers and the fission chamber, along with an End User Statement on Sumtech letterhead and a Statement by Ultimate Consignee and Purchaser, which falsely indicated that the end user and ultimate destination was a company in Argentina. On February 7, 2017, Orencel emailed Co-conspirator 1 that he had received the ionization chambers but not the fission chamber. Orencel stated that although Company A had indicated that the fission chamber was regulated because it contained nuclear material, Orencel had obtained a ruling from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the item was not barred from export due to the small amount of nuclear material contained within the chamber. The following day, Orencel sent an email to Co-conspirator 1 advising that Company A had not built the fission chamber and would not do so until Orencel agreed that the fission chamber would be transported via UPS SCS, a shipping service provided by the United Parcel Service (UPS) which would pick an item up directly from the seller, such as Company A, and ship it directly to the user. Orencel stated to Co-conspirator 1, “This is a very difficult vendor…seems like they are a little suspicious and of course we have not said that the unit is for Hong Kong.”
As detailed in the plea agreement, on February 24, 2017, law enforcement agents from the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry Security, Office of Export Enforcement visited Orencel at Sumtech. The agents provided Orencel copies of reference materials regarding export rules and regulations and reviewed the materials with Orencel. Orencel told the agents that he was very familiar with U.S. export laws and his company always obtained export licenses when required.
Shortly after that visit, on March 3, 2017, Orencel shipped the ionization chambers to an address in Hong Kong, despite his statements to Company A that the items were destined for Argentina and would not be re-exported.
On August 22, 2017, shortly after Company A advised Orencel that the fission chamber was completed and ready for pickup by UPS for shipment to the end user, Orencel executed a Shipper’s Letter of Instruction falsely certifying that the fission chamber was detection equipment with a value of $930 and the ultimate consignee and destination was in Argentina. In fact, Orencel knew that the fission chamber was valued at $9,300 and that he planned to export the item to Hong Kong. If Orencel had correctly stated the value of the item, which was more than $2,500, he would have been required to file a Shipper’s Export Declaration, which, in turn, would have alerted the Department of Commerce and other authorities to the existence of the shipment and allowed them to track the export and confirm compliance with licensing and other export requirements.
On August 25, 2017, Orencel emailed Co-conspirator 1 that UPS had picked up the fission chamber from Company A and discussed how to get the item shipped to Hong Kong, since the paperwork was issued with the name of a fake end-user. Co-conspirator 1 suggested contacting a freight forwarder in California, that had previously assisted in a similar situation. Orencel advised that he was trying to convince the shipper in New York to move the package to Maryland so he could pick it up and export it to Co-conspirator 1. Law enforcement authorities detained the package at the UPS facility in New York before it could be shipped any further.
Orencel admitted to law enforcement in a voluntary interview on October 30, 2017, that he never intended to ship the fission chamber to Argentina and had only listed Argentina as the final destination to convince Company A to release the fission chamber for shipment. Further, Orencel stated that he planned to contact UPS after it had picked up the fission chamber from Company A and direct UPS to change the shipping address to Hong Kong. Orencel admitted that he also knew he was required to file a Shipper’s Export Declaration and export information in the Automated Export System, since the value of the fission chamber was more than $2,500.
Orencel faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for attempted smuggling of goods. U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III has scheduled sentencing for February 22, 2022 at 9:30 a.m.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry Security, Office of Export Enforcement for its work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen O. Gavin and Abigail Ticse, who are prosecuting the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Organizer of Conspiracy that Defrauded Cares Act of over $1.5 Million in Unemployment Benefits Sentenced to 10 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va. – A Jonesville, Virginia woman, who admitted to heading a conspiracy that defrauded the government of more than $1.5 million in pandemic-related unemployment benefits, was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution.
Farren Gaddis Ricketts, 31, and her co-conspirators concocted a scheme to gather personal identification information and then submit unemployment claims to the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC)] website for individuals who were known to be ineligible to receive pandemic unemployment benefits, including various inmates in Virginia Department of Corrections facilities.
According to court documents, Ricketts developed a business entity called “Ricketts Advisory, LLC,” registered it with the Virginia State Corporation Commission, and advertised as a financial services company that helped with filing pandemic unemployment claims.
In addition to receiving unemployment benefits herself, Ricketts charged fees to over 120 of her co-conspirator “clients” for the service of filing their fraudulent claims.
Between May 2020 and February 2021, Ricketts and her co-conspirators filed more than 150 fraudulent claims for pandemic unemployment benefits. For many of these filings, Ricketts created fraudulent documents to support the claims, including fraudulent IRS forms purporting to show pre-pandemic income.
“When Congress provided much needed financial assistance for those impacted by COVID-19, Farren Ricketts led a criminal conspiracy to steal more than $1.5 million in pandemic-related unemployment benefits,” U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh said today. “My Office will continue to lead the effort to prosecute those who stole money intended for those in legitimate need, and today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of this offense and the impact it had on our communities. I am thankful to the IRS, DOL-OIG, the Russell County Sheriff’s Office and the Norton Police Department for their work on this important investigation.”
“Ricketts not only defrauded taxpayers herself, but she also helped dozens more criminals line their pockets with unemployment benefits meant for those truly in need,” said Darrell Waldon, IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge, Washington DC Field Office. “Our special agents will continue to pursue COVID-19 related fraud and ensure those who commit it are brought to justice.”
“Farren Ricketts and her co-conspirators profited from fraudulent claims for pandemic unemployment assistance (PUA) they filed for individuals they knew to be ineligible for PUA benefits. In furtherance of the scheme, Ricketts utilized her financial services business, Ricketts Advisory, LLC., to manage the filing of the fraudulent claims and to create fraudulent documentation to support the claims. The U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General is grateful for our partnerships with the Virginia Employment Commission and our many law-enforcement partners. We also thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their continued efforts to prosecute those who violate public benefit programs and commit fraud,” stated Syreeta Scott, Special Agent-in-Charge, Philadelphia Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.
The ongoing investigation is being conducted by The Department of Labor - Office of the Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the Russell County Sheriff’s Office, and the Norton Police Department in Wise County are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Murphy is prosecuting the case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Operator of Westport Tree Service Company Pleads Guilty to Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Joleen D. Simpson, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, today announced that ROBERTO PORZIO, 48, of Westport, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to one count of tax evasion.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Porzio, who operates Bert’s Tree Service, Inc., deposited numerous customers’ checks into personal bank accounts, transferred a significant portion of the funds into a personal investment account, and kept from the corporation’s bookkeeper his receipt of the additional payments. These diverted payments were not reported either on his individual federal tax returns as additional salary or on the corporation’s tax returns as additional receipts.
For the 2012 through 2016 tax years, Porzio failed to report a total of more than $900,000 in additional income. The underreporting of Porzio’s income tax liability and the company’s payroll tax obligations resulted in a loss of $331,388 to the IRS.
Judge Underhill scheduled sentencing for March 10, 2022, at which time Porzio faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.
Porzio is released on a $50,000 bond pending sentencing.
This matter has been investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anastasia King.
Omaha Man Selling Methamphetamine from Mother’s Basement Sentenced to 144 MonthsRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Kenneth Becker, age 51, was sentenced in federal court on Thursday, December 16, 2021, in Omaha, Nebraska, for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Senior United States District Court Judge Joseph F. Bataillon sentenced Becker to 144 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After completing his term of imprisonment, Becker will begin a 5-year term of supervised release.
On January 15, 2020, Becker sold a confidential informant two ounces of methamphetamine from his mother’s basement. Within hours, officers executed a search warrant at his mother’s residence and located more than 370 grams of actual methamphetamine, $3,833 in cash, drug packaging materials, a drug ledger, a drug scale, oxycodone pills, and drug paraphernalia in the basement where Becker resided. Officers interviewed Becker who admitted to being a drug dealer. Becker’s criminal history dates back to the 1990s and contains several convictions for drug-related and violent offenses.
The case was investigated by the Omaha Police Department.
Oacoma Man Sentenced for Failure to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis Holmes announced that an Oacoma, South Dakota, man convicted of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender was sentenced on December 13, 2021, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.
Darrell Bear Robe, age 32, was sentenced to twelve months and one day in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Bear Robe was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 11, 2021. He pled guilty on September 23, 2021.
Bear Robe was convicted in 2008 for Abusive Sexual Contact. As a result of this conviction, he is required to register as a sex offender and to update his registration under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. Between October 25, 2020, and November 25, 2020, Bear Robe moved out of his previously registered address and failed to update his registration with a new address.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Lyman County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy R. Morley prosecuted the case.
Bear Robe was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Nine Indicted for Payment Protection Program FraudRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Last week, Jason Coleman, 40, and Kimberly Coleman, 38, of Mesa, Arizona, made their initial appearance in federal court on a 62-count indictment charging them with Conspiracy, Bank Fraud, Wire Fraud, and Transactional Money Laundering. A federal grand jury previously indicted the Colemans and seven other individuals in connection with a fraudulent scheme to obtain approximately $23 million in Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans. The nine defendants are accused of then using those PPP funds to purchase vehicles, properties, and other luxurious items.
According to the indictments, from April 2020 through April 2021, the conspirators in this scheme submitted or assisted in submitting PPP loan applications on behalf of 18 businesses, seeking loans between $100,000 and $2.2 million for each company.
In the loan applications, the defendants certified that each business was in operation and had employees for whom it paid salaries and payroll taxes, that the funds would be used to retain workers or make mortgage, lease, or utility payments, and that the information provided in the loan applications was true and accurate.
According to the indictment charging Jason and Kimberly Coleman, the married couple conspired to prepare and submit approximately two dozen false and fraudulent PPP loan applications in an attempt to receive more than $30 million in PPP funds. The Colemans were successful in ten of those submissions and fraudulently obtained more than $13 million in PPP funds.
According to the eight other connected indictments, seven defendants conspired to submit eight false and fraudulent PPP loan applications and received more than $10 million in PPP funds. The individuals named in the indictments include:
- Willie Mitchell aka Blu Mitchell, 40, of Phoenix, Arizona.
- Jason Nolte, 39, of Phoenix, Arizona.
- Sean Swaringer, 56, of Peoria, Arizona.
- Vanessa Swaringer, 54, of Peoria, Arizona.
- Toni Richardson, 52, of Phoenix, Arizona.
- Keenya Williams, 40, of Phoenix, Arizona.
- Darrell Lieteau, 56, of Phoenix, Arizona.
Indictments are only accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
These cases were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigation, and the Small Business Administration-Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from the District of Arizona, Phoenix, are handling the prosecutions.
To learn more about the Justice Department’s COVID response, visit: https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
For further information on the Criminal Division’s enforcement efforts on PPP fraud, including court documents from significant cases, visit the following website: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.
CASE NUMBERS: 21-00975-PHX-SPL; 21-00976-PHX-JJT; 21-00977-PHX-GMS;
21-00978-PHX-DLR; 21-00979-PHX-SMB; 21-00980-PHX-SPL;
21-00981-PHX-SPL; 21-00982-PHX-SPL; 21-00983-PHX-GMSRELEASE NUMBER: 2021-094_Coleman, et al.
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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.Nicholas County Man Sentenced to 56 Months for Extensive Crop Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky.— A Carlisle, Ky., man, Earl Lee Planck, Jr., 62, was sentenced to 56 months in federal prison on Friday, by U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell, after previously pleading guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States, crop insurance fraud, and tax evasion.
According to his guilty plea agreement, between March 2010 and December 2015, Planck obtained federal crop insurance and private crop-hail insurance covering his own crops in his own name, his business’s name, and in the names of family members and neighbors. During that time, he falsified documentation claiming losses by misrepresenting the amount of tobacco he produced. He did so, in part, by obtaining crop insurance under nominee names, selling crop production under the names of fake and real people, and obtaining and submitting fake bills of sale and grade sheets. Further, in agreement with insurers and adjusters, Planck obtained crop insurance covering crop on land that was incapable of growing crops. Evidence at his sentencing established that he obtained federal crop insurance covering a wooded tract of land, almost every year from 2006 and 2013, often in the names of his friends and family members. In total, Planck obtained $3,250,365 in federal crop insurance payments, which are funded by the taxpayers, and $2,815,821.69 in private crop insurance payments, for policies in his name, the name of his business, and the names of his family members and neighbors. According to testimony at the sentencing, Planck also assisted other neighbors and family members in conducting their own crop insurance fraud, for a kickback. In total, the Court found that Planck caused a total loss of more than $9 million, with more than $5.5 million of that from the United States.
In addition, Planck admitted that in 2014 when filing taxes, he reported his crop insurance proceeds, but he failed to report any income from sales of tobacco, when he was aware that he had substantial income from the sale of tobacco in the that year. Planck admitted to signing his tax return under penalties of perjury, even though he knew his income was underreported on the tax return. Records provided to the Court demonstrated that he underreported his income by nearly $1.9 million across Tax Years 2013 to 2015, resulting in an additional tax due and owing of $613,265.
Planck pleaded guilty in June 2021.
“This was a brazen and wide-ranging scheme that cost the taxpayers and private insurers millions of dollars,” said Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “Not only did he commit massive fraud, over the course of many years, he corruptly obtained the assistance of insurers and adjusters, he assisted others to perpetrate their own fraud, and he evaded his income taxes. Protecting the invaluable resources of crop insurance programs is absolutely critical, and this prosecution would not have been possible without the painstaking efforts of our law enforcement partners.”
Under federal law, Planck must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 3 years.
United States Attorney Shier; Jason M. Williams, Special Agent in Charge, United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Louisville Field Office; Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; and Juan Garrett, Director, Kentucky Department of Insurance Fraud Investigation Division, jointly made the announcement.
The investigations were conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, United States Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency Special Investigations Staff, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and Kentucky Department of Insurance. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorneys Erin Roth and Kathryn Anderson.
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Nicaraguan Man Charged with Illegally Using Social Security Number to Obtain EmploymentRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that SANTOS MENDOZA-OSORIO, age 25, a native of Nicaragua, was charged on December 16, 2021 in a one-count indictment with illegal use of a Social Security number in order to obtain employment, in violation of Title 42, United States Code, Section 408(a)(7)(B).
MENDOZA faces a maximum term of imprisonment of not more than five (5) years, up to three (3) years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000.00, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00.
U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that an indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of Homeland Security Investigations and Social Security Administration agents in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jon Maestri is in charge of the prosecution.
New York Man Sentenced to 37 Months for Passing Altered Postal Money Orders and TheftRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that ANTHONY SMALLS, age 33, of New York, New York, was sentenced on December 16, 2021 by U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Barbier of the Eastern District of Louisiana to 37 months of incarceration for conspiracy to pass altered U.S. Postal money orders, passing altered U.S. Postal money orders and possessing stolen U.S. government property.
According to court records, SMALLS and a co-defendant, Antoine Merchant, travelled from New York to Louisiana in October of 2019 to cash stolen U.S. Postal money orders that had been altered to show amounts worth hundreds of dollars. SMALLS and Merchant cashed two such postal money orders in Kenner and Metairie, LA. When arrested, the defendants also possessed 58 U.S. Postal money orders that they had stolen from an Ascension Parish U.S. Post Office the day before.
In addition to incarceration, SMALLS was sentenced to three years of supervised release following incarceration, ordered to pay restitution to the U.S. Postal Service in the amount of $5,675.00, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $400.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the United States Postal Inspection Service, along with assistance from the Louisiana State Police - Criminal Investigations Department, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office, in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Rivera was in charge of the prosecution.
New Orleans Man Sentenced for Violating the Federal Controlled Substances ActRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LA – United States District Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced JON YOUNG, age 36, of New Orleans, Louisiana, on December 15, 2021 for violating the Federal Controlled Substances Act, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.
According to the court records, YOUNG conspired to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute 100 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of heroin.
District Judge Vance sentenced YOUNG to sixty (60) months imprisonment to be followed by four (4) years of supervised release. District Judge Vance also ordered that YOUNG pay a $200 mandatory special assessment fee.
This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney David Haller.
New Mexico Man Sentenced for Unlawful Possession of Ammunition After Standoff with Bannock County Sheriff’s DeputiesRead the Press Release
POCATELLO – An Albuquerque, New Mexico man was sentenced to 71 months in federal prison for possession of ammunition by a prohibited person.
According to court records, Jason Richard Sandoval, 46, of Albuquerque, was contacted by Bannock County Sheriffs deputies on May 7, 2020 near Yoxall Road in Downey, Idaho. Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call that Sandoval was claiming to have a bomb and acting erratically. Deputies attempted to contact Sandoval, however Sandoval barricaded himself in a nearby pumphouse. Sandoval discharged a firearm during the standoff with law enforcement. Eventually, Sandoval surrendered himself to authorities. Deputies recovered ammunition and what appeared to be a personally made firearm, commonly known as a “ghost gun,” in Sandoval’s possession. Sandoval had previously been convicted of multiple felony offenses and was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.
Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Sandoval to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Sandoval pleaded guilty to the charge on May 11, 2021.
Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr., of the District of Idaho made the announcement and commended the cooperative efforts of the Bannock County Sheriff's Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which led to charges.
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.
This case was handled by the U.S. Attorney Office’s specially deputized Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA), funded by the Eastern Idaho Partnership (EIP) and the State of Idaho. The EIP is a coalition of local city and county officials in eastern Idaho as well as the Idaho Department of Correction.
The EIP SAUSA program allows law enforcement to utilize the federal criminal justice system – through the EIP SAUSA – to prosecute, convict, and sentence violent, armed criminals and drug traffickers. These criminals often receive stiffer penalties than they might in state courts.
This program was created in January 2016. Since that time, approximately 188 defendants have been indicted by the EIP SAUSA. Of these defendants, 41 have been indicted on prohibited possession of firearms or ammunition charges. The defendants indicted under the program have been sentenced to 7,857 months (approximately 655 years) in federal prison, representing an average prison sentence of 53.09 (4.42 years). Defendants indicted for offenses involving firearms or ammunition serve, on average, approximately 42.13 months (3.5 years) in federal prison.
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New Jersey Man Going to Prison for 20 Years for Producing Child Pornography and CyberstalkingRead 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 Timothy Myers, 37, of Freehold, NJ, who was convicted of production of child pornography and cyberstalking, was sentenced to serve 240 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles M. Kruly, who handled the case, stated that between December 2016 and August 2017, Myers, using the names “CJ Mikowski” and “Colin James,” communicated via Facebook with five minor girls, who ranged in age from 13-16 years old and lived in the Western District of New York. Myers, who pretended to be a boy close in age to the minor girls, coerced or attempted to coerce, each of the minor girls into sending sexually explicit visual depictions of themselves. Myers also transported one victim from New York State to New Jersey and engaged in sexual intercourse with her, and distributed sexually explicit images of the victim over Facebook.
Between March and August 2017, Myers, while residing in New Jersey, contacted four of the victims, made the victims believe that he was in a relationship with them and requested that they produce additional sexually explicit images of themselves. Myers told the victims that if they did not send him these images, he would distribute previously sent images of the victims. This caused the victims to suffer substantial emotional distress as a result of repeated and sustained harassment.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by New York State Police, under the direction of Major James Hall, and Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Scarpino.
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Nassau County Repeat Offender Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug OffenseRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – Shawn Andrew Wilson (47, Fernandina Beach) has pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. Wilson faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 5 years, and up to, 40 years in federal prison.
According to the plea agreement, on September 2, 2021, at approximately 2:00 a.m., in Jacksonville, Florida, Wilson was riding a motorcycle with the license plate folded up and not visible – a traffic violation. When a police officer signaled him to stop, Wilson made a U-turn and appeared to pull over but then accelerated and fled, racing through a red traffic light and then crashing. Officers then arrested Wilson and, during a subsequent search, found in his backpack a jacket, the linings of which concealed four plastic bags containing over 100 grams of methamphetamine.
Wilson committed this offense while serving a term of supervised release for a previous federal offense. Specifically, in July 2019, a federal court convicted Wilson of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and sentenced him to 40 months’ imprisonment followed by a three-year term of supervised release, which term he began serving in April 2021.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican.
Morris County Attorney and Settlement Agent Admits Role in Reverse Mortgage Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Morris County, New Jersey, man today admitted his role in a reverse mortgage fraud scheme that exploited several elderly homeowners, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Martin D. Eagan, 50, of Montville, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Eagan, principal of the Martin D. Eagan Law Firm, was an attorney licensed by the state of New Jersey with a practice in Morristown, New Jersey, that primarily focused on real estate transactions, such as loan originations, reverse mortgages and the refinancing of residential homes.
From 2007 through 2010, Eagan, acting as a settlement agent, was required to comply with instructions established by financial institutions that provided loan funds to borrowers. As part of the lending process, Eagan was required to generate and certify HUD-1 settlement statements that Eagan submitted to lenders. The HUD-1 settlement statement itemized the receipt and disbursement of all funds for each real estate closing. HUD-1 settlement statements were required to be approved by a lender before a settlement agent could disburse funds. The disbursement of funds had to mirror the representations made on the lender-approved HUD-1.
Eagan and his conspirators submitted fraudulent documentation to lenders to persuade lenders to approve and fund reverse mortgages and the refinancing of existing mortgages. Fraudulent documentation submitted included false HUD-1s that concealed from the lenders the fact that disbursements of loan proceeds went to conspirators, or entities the conspirators owned or controlled, and false appraisals that overstated the value of homes.
Eagan, his conspirators, and others controlled the loan application process from the time the homeowners applied for loans to the disbursement of loan funds, and ultimately through the diversion of loan proceeds to conspirators.
The conspiracy to commit bank fraud carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for April 14, 2022.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, and special agents of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Robert Manchak, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Di Gregory and Charlie L. Divine of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General.
Montgomery Man Sentenced to Seven Years in Federal Prison for Being a Felon in Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama – On December 16, 2021, Taurus Lebron Green, 40, from Montgomery, Alabama, was sentenced to 84 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, announced Acting United States Attorney Sandra J. Stewart. There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court records, in early 2019, investigators suspected that Green and co-defendant, Daryl Tyrone Gray, were engaging in the sale of illegal drugs. Then, on April 11, 2019, agents discovered that Green and Gray had made arrangements to purchase cocaine in the parking lot of a Montgomery restaurant. Both men were arrested immediately after the illegal transaction took place. When law enforcement searched the vehicle Green and Gray were travelling in, they found two handguns. Green has multiple felony convictions and is prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm. Green pleaded guilty to possession of the firearms on January 14, 2021.
This case was investigated by the Montgomery Police Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Assistant United States Attorneys Russell T. Duraski and Chelsea Phillips prosecuted the case.
Monongalia County man sentenced for firearms chargeRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Reynaldo Millan, of Morgantown, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 19 months and 21 days of incarceration for a firearms charge, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II announced.
Millan, age 30, pleaded guilty in July 2021 to one count of “Possession of a Firearm by a Person Under Felony Indictment.” Millan, prohibited from having a firearm, admitted to having a .223/5.56mm rifle and a .38 caliber revolver in December 2018 in Monongalia County.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Wagner prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Mon Metro Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
Mission Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute MethRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Mission, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on December 13, 2021, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.
Thomas Pacheco, Sr., age 30, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, $1,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Pacheco was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury on August 11, 2020. He pled guilty on June 21, 2021.
Between January 1, 2015, and January 1, 2020, Pacheco was involved in a conspiracy with several members of his family and others to distribute methamphetamine in and around the Rosebud Reservation in central South Dakota. Pacheco was involved with the distribution of 500 to 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine.
This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.
Pacheco was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Mission Man Sentenced for CarjackingRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Mission, South Dakota, man convicted of Carjacking was sentenced on December 13, 2021, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.
Eurico Da Silva-Roubideaux, a/k/a Eurico Roubideaux, age 20, was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Da Silva-Roubideaux was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 9, 2021. He pled guilty on September 23, 2021.
The conviction stemmed from an incident that occurred on February 7, 2021 in Todd County, South Dakota. On that date, Da Silva-Roubideaux was walking and was offered a ride by the victim as it was cold outside. Once the two men arrived at a destination and exited the vehicle, Da Silva-Roubideaux struck the victim repeatedly with a hammer. At that point, the victim ran away and Da-Silva Roubideaux got into the victim’s vehicle and drove away.
This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.
Da-Silva Roubideaux was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Mexican Man Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Reentering the United States After Being Twice DeportedRead the Press Release
A man who illegally returned to the United States after being deported was sentenced today to 12 months in federal prison.
Gabriel Marceleno-Lopez, age 29, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States and residing in Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a guilty plea on July 28, 2021, to one count of illegal reentry into the United States after having been deported following a conviction for an aggravated felony.
At the guilty plea, Marceleno-Lopez admitted he had previously been deported from the United States and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government. Marceleno-Lopez was deported in April 2012 following a February 2012 conviction in the District Court of Ford County, Kansas, in State v. Gabriel Marceleno-Lopez, Case No. 10-CR-579, for aggravated robbery, an aggravated felony. He was deported a second time in March 2017 following a July 2014 felony conviction in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas, in United States v. Gabriel Marceleno-Lopez, Case No. 6:14-CR-10032, for illegal reentry after an aggravated felony conviction.
In May 2021, Marceleno-Lopez came to the attention of immigration agents following his arrest for Harassment of a Public Official and Interference with Official Acts in Black Hawk County, Iowa. These charges are still pending in state court.
Marceleno-Lopez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Marceleno-Lopez was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Marceleno-Lopez is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-CR-2035.
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Medical doctor, pharmacists, and 11 others charged with operating illegal pill millsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – An Atlanta-area gynecologist, two pharmacists, and ten other individual accomplices or pill “sponsors” have been indicted, charged with the alleged illegal sale and distribution of controlled substances to addicts and drug dealers.
“When medical professionals allegedly abuse their credentials to divert dangerous prescriptions pills to the streets for personal profit, the toll on our communities is devastating,” said U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “The opioid crisis is far from over, and we continue our work with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to pursue those who traffic in these dangerous drugs.”
“While in the midst of this country’s prescription opioid epidemic, removing and ultimately eliminating physicians who recklessly overprescribe pharmaceutical pills (particularly prescribed opioids) for non-medical reasons, is an important part of DEA’s mission,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “This pill peddling gynecologist allegedly distributed large quantities of opiate-based pills to scores of drug-seeking patients. He, and his accomplices, will no longer be able to commit such unlawful acts thanks to spirited law enforcement cooperation.”
“This indictment should serve as a warning to any medical professional considering operating a pill mill,” said James E. Dorsey, Special Agent in Charge IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “IRS-CI remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to bring those seeking to illegally enrich themselves at the expense of our communities, to justice.”
According to U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges, and other information presented in court: Anthony Mills, M.D., was a licensed physician with a specialty listed with the Georgia Composite Medical Board of Gynecology. Mills, however, did not maintain a gynecology practice at any address listed with Medical Board or the DEA. Instead, he allegedly operated a pill mill out of his Atlanta-area home, where he allegedly sold prescriptions to addicts and drug-dealing sponsors in exchange for cash payments.
Despite Mills’s specialization in gynecology, many of the “patients” to whom Mills provided prescriptions were male. A large number of the prescriptions allegedly were provided to sponsors, including defendants Thomika Riley, Brittany Tinker, Natalie Jackson, Keandre Bates, Jeana Alston, Javon Hamilton, Chafulumisa Lisbon, Marcena Jordan, and Travious Polain, in the names of third parties that Mills had never evaluated, and in many cases had never met. Some of the prescriptions that Mills issued to sponsors were for individuals whose identities had been stolen, who were incarcerated at the time of the prescription, or who were deceased at the time of the prescription. Mills also allegedly allowed Rogerick Smith and Natalie Jackson, who were not medical professionals, to sell prescriptions they wrote using Mills’ name and DEA registration number.
The indictment also alleges that Raphael Ogunsusi operated two pharmacies – Evansmill Pharmacy and Retox Pharmacy – for the purpose of unlawfully dispensing and distributing controlled substances. Ogunsusi, as well as pharmacist Moses Kirigwi, dispensed a large number of prescriptions issued by Mills and others, that were presented by sponsors in the names of third parties. Ogunsusi and Kirigwi dispensed these prescriptions despite the fact that they were in excess of medically appropriate dosages and combinations and despite obvious signs that the pills were being abused, sold, or otherwise diverted. Most of the controlled substance prescriptions dispensed at Evansmill Pharmacy and Retox Pharmacy were written by Mills, including prescriptions filled by sponsors in the names of individuals were not present, and in many cases, whose identities had been stolen. Ogunsusi and Kirigwi often charged over $900 to fill a single prescription for oxycodone and $500 to fill a prescription of Percocet, well above the market value for legitimate prescriptions.
To disguise the significantly inflated prices that he charged for the illegal controlled substance prescriptions, Ogunsusi allegedly falsified the pricing information on his pharmacy computers to give the appearance that he had charged market prices for the controlled substances. Ogunsusi and Kirigwi also required sponsors to purchase additional non-controlled substances that the sponsors neither wanted or needed, which further maximized Ogunsusi’s profits for the illegal dispensing and distributing of controlled substances.
The following have been arrested and arraigned on federal drug charges for their respective roles in operating “pill mills:”
- Anthony Mills, 55, of Atlanta, Georgia,
- Raphael Ogunsusi, 69, of Conyers, Georgia,
- Moses Kirigwi, 29, of Brookhaven, Georgia,
- Thomika Riley, a/k/a TJ, 48, of McDonough, Georgia,
- Brittany Tinker, 28, of Lithonia, Georgia,
- Natalie Jackson, 37, of Stone Mountain, Georgia,
- Rogerick Smith, a/k/a Fasho, 43, of Douglasville, Georgia,
- Keandre Bates, 29, of Decatur, Georgia,
- Chafulumisa Lisbon, a/k/a Chafu, 31, of Atlanta, Georgia,
- Javon Hamilton, 32, of Bluffton, South Carolina,
- Marcena Jordan, 28, of Forrest Park, Georgia.
Raphael Ogunsusi was also indicted individually on money laundering charges. Defendants Jeana Alston, a/k/a Tina, 41, of Atlanta, Georgia, and Travious Polain, a/k/a Magic, 30, of Decatur, Georgia, who are also charged in the indictment, remain fugitives.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys David A. O’Neal and Laurel Boatright Milam are prosecuting the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.gov.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
McAllen man guilty of selling child pornographyRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A 34-year-old south Texan has admitted he spoke to people who were interested in buying images of child pornography, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Astro Rey De Leon admitted to possessing child pornography with the intent to sell it on the internet.
Authorities had learned a computer was receiving child pornography. They were able to trace it to De Leon at his residence. He admitted he was actively involved in speaking with individuals who were interested in buying child pornography via applications on his cell phone.
Authorities conducted a search of his phone and discovered he had tried to sell child pornography as recently as a month prior to their arrival at his residence.
U.S. District Judge Crane accepted the plea and set sentencing for March 1, 2022. At that time, De Leon faces a minimum of five and up to 20 years in federal prison as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
De Leon has been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.
Homeland Security Investigations - Rio Grande Valley Child Exploitation Task Force conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Eliza Carmen Rodriguez is prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources link on that page.
Martinsburg man admits to drug chargeRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – James Curtis Taylor, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, has admitted to a drug charge, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II announced.
Taylor, 54, pleaded guilty today to one count of “Unlawful Use of Communication Facility.” Taylor admitted to using a phone to distribute Eutylone in November 2020 in Berkeley County.
Taylor faces up to four years of incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Mon Metro Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.
Man Sentenced to Prison for Attempting to Burn Sweepstakes Business in Spring LakeRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, N.C. – An Autryville man was sentenced yesterday to 30 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to make restitution on a charge of Malicious Damage to Property Used in Commerce, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 844(i).
According to the indictment and statements at the sentencing hearing, Joshua Ray Powell, 27, of Autryville, and his brother Justin Powell, aiding and abetting each other, attempted to destroy by fire the Skills Gaming Center, located at 14260 NC 210 South, in Spring Lake, North Carolina. Joshua Powell jumped a fence and doused the exterior of the building with gasoline. After making a gasoline trail from the building, he ignited the fire. Despite these efforts, the building was not ultimately destroyed. When confronted later, Joshua Powell admitted to his role in the fire.
The charges against Justin Powell remain pending. An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Michael F. Easley, Jr., the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement. The investigation was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney William M. Gilmore represents the United States.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-CR-245-1D(2).
Malden Man Charged with Armed RobberyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Malden man was charged yesterday in federal court in Boston in connection with the armed robbery of a market in Malden on Dec. 12, 2021.
John Schurko, 56, was charged with one count of interference with commerce by robbery. Following an initial appearance today before U.S. District Court Chief Magistrate Judge M. Page Kelley, Schurko was detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for December 30, 2021.
It is alleged that on Dec. 12, 2021 at about 8 p.m., Schurko entered the Harvard Market in Malden, displayed what appeared to be a black handgun, went behind the counter and demanded money from the clerk. According to the charging documents, on Dec. 16, 2021, Schurko’s getaway vehicle was located in a hotel parking lot in Medford where he was subsequently arrested. A search of the vehicle recovered, among other things, a black Airsoft gun that resembled a real firearm.
The charge of interference with commerce by robbery provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Malden Police Chief Kevin Molis; Medford Police Chief Jack Buckley; Billerica Police Chief Daniel Rosa; and Woburn Police Chief Robert F. Rufo Jr. made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert E. Richardson of Mendell’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Macon Probationer with Violent Criminal Record, Girlfriend Plead Guilty in “Lying and Buying” Gun CaseRead the Press Release
MACON, Ga. – A Macon man who was arrested with a loaded firearm purchased for him by his girlfriend soon after he was released from prison for aggravated assault pleaded guilty to a federal firearms charge today.
Logan Riley Nettles aka Carrot Top, 23, of Macon, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a person under a felony indictment before U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell on Thursday, Dec. 16. Nettles faces a maximum ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for March 9, 2022. Co-defendant Ansley Nicole Hunt, 22, of Savannah, Georgia, pleaded guilty to making false statements on Nov. 4, and is facing a maximum five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Hunt’s sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 12, 2022. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Individuals with violent criminal histories who con their way into illegal possession of firearms face the possibility of federal prosecution,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “Furthermore, lying in order to buy a firearm for a prohibited prison is a federal offense that carries serious penalties.”
According to court documents, ATF was conducting undercover surveillance in Macon in May as part of Operation United Front when they spotted Nettles, who had been released from prison on March 8 and was serving probation. Nettles, who was wearing a blue backpack, got into Hunt’s car. Officers stopped Nettles and conducted a search pursuant to his probation. Inside Nettle’s backpack was a 9mm handgun with a loaded, extended 30-round magazine. Although Nettles told officers Hunt had “nothing to do with it,” Hunt asserted that the weapon was hers. Hunt later admitted that she purchased the gun for Nettles and Nettles admitted he was with her when she bought the gun. In addition, when Hunt bought the firearm for Nettles, she made false statements on the ATF Form 4473 she signed at the time of purchase, knowing the firearm was for Nettles, a prohibited person. Nettles was convicted of aggravated assault and gang activity in the Superior Court of Bibb County, Georgia, in 2019.
Operation United Front is an ongoing ATF-led investigation into illegal gun possession and drug distribution centered in the Macon, Georgia, community using data gathered from the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). Agents used NIBIN data to plot shooting incidents in the Macon area on a map. When areas of high density relating to these shootings were identified, confidential informants and undercover agents were directed to these areas of criminal activity. NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic
evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms. NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles. For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin.
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.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joy Odom is prosecuting the case for the Government.
Lying on Form in Order to Buy Guns for a Felon Results in Probation for Waterloo WomanRead the Press Release
A woman who falsified an ATF form to purchase two guns for a felon was sentenced today to five years of federal probation.
Jamie Marie Graham, age 23, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 25, 2021 guilty plea to one count of making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm.
Court records reflect that Graham met Dmontrey Redmond in late October 2020. Redmond was a felon and could not legally possess or purchase firearms, but Graham agreed to purchase two guns for him in early December 2020. Graham and Redmond entered a gun store in Waterloo, where Redmond selected two pistols and Graham purchased them, using a cash card provided to her by Redmond. After she purchased the pistols, Graham gave them to Redmond. One of the pistols was eventually given to, or purchased by, individuals in Cedar Rapids. Those individuals left the pistol loaded and unsecured inside their home. On December 23, 2020, their four-year-old child found the loaded firearm and accidentally discharged the weapon. The fired round struck the child through the chin and head area and caused significant injuries. The child survived the injuries. The other firearm Graham purchased has not been recovered. Redmond has pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and is awaiting sentencing.
Graham was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Graham was sentenced to five years’ probation.
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.
The case was investigated by the Cedar Rapids Safe Streets Task Force and Waterloo Police Department. The task force is composed of representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cedar Rapids Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 20-CR-115-CJW.
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Long Island MS-13 Associate Pleads Guilty to Racketeering in Connection with the Murders of Four Young Men in a Central Islip Park in 2017Read the Press Release
Earlier today, Alexis Hernandez, an associate of the Guanacos Li’l Cycos Salvatruchas (“Guanacos”) clique of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13, a transnational criminal organization, pleaded guilty in federal court in Central Islip to racketeering charges in connection with his participation in the April 11, 2017 murders of Justin Llivicura, Michael Lopez, Jorge Tigre, and Jefferson Villalobos. The defendant was arrested on July 13, 2017 at his home in Central Islip. When sentenced, Hernandez faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Upon completion of his sentence, he faces deportation from the United States. Today’s proceeding was held before United States District Judge Gary R. Brown.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Stuart Cameron, Acting Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), announced the guilty plea.
“With today’s guilty plea, the defendant acknowledges his role in the brutal and senseless murders of four young men he believed had disrespected the MS-13. I hope our efforts to bring these killers to justice provides some measure of comfort to the families of the victims, although no criminal case will replace their loved ones,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office and its law enforcement partners remain steadfast in their commitment to seek justice for the victims of this terrible crime and to end the MS-13’s destructive reign of premeditated violence in our communities.”
“This was one of the most gruesome murders in Suffolk County’s history,” stated SCPD Acting Commissioner Cameron said. “I commend the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and our law enforcement partners for ensuring Alexis Hernandez will be held accountable for his role in this brutal crime.”
According to court filings and statements by the defendant at the guilty plea proceeding, on the evening of April 11, 2017, two female associates of the MS-13 lured five young men, including the four victims, to a community park in Central Islip where they were attacked and killed. The MS-13 members and associates believed the victims to be members of a rival gang who had disrespected the MS-13. Hernandez and several other MS-13 members and associates met in a wooded area behind the park where weapons were distributed and the plan to kill the victims was discussed. The female associates arrived at the park, led the victims to a predetermined wooded area and sent the MS-13 members a text message notifying them of their arrival. Hernandez and the other MS-13 members and associates proceeded to the designated location and encircled the victims under the cover of darkness. One of the intended victims immediately fled and was able to escape. Llivicura, Lopez, Tigre and Villalobos were surrounded by Hernandez and others, who prevented their escape. Hernandez, who was armed with a wooden club, helped to lead the victims deeper into the woods where other MS-13 members brutally murdered them with machetes, knives and wooden clubs. After the attack, the MS-13 members dragged the victims’ bodies to a more secluded spot in the woods and then fled. The victims’ bodies were discovered the following evening.
More than a dozen MS-13 members and associates have been charged in connection with the April 11, 2017 murders.
Today’s conviction is the latest in a series of federal prosecutions by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York targeting members of the MS-13, a violent, transnational criminal organization. The MS-13’s leadership is based in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico, but the gang has thousands of members across the United States. With numerous branches, or “cliques,” the MS-13 is the most violent criminal organization on Long Island. Since 2003, hundreds of MS-13 members, including dozens of clique leaders, have been convicted on federal felony charges in the Eastern District of New York. A majority of those MS-13 members have been convicted on federal racketeering charges for participating in murders, attempted murders and assaults. Since 2010, this Office has obtained indictments charging MS-13 members with carrying out more than 60 murders in the Eastern District of New York, resulting in the convictions of dozens of MS-13 leaders and members in connection with those murders. These prosecutions are the product of investigations led by the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force, which is comprised of agents and officers of the FBI, SCPD, Nassau County Police Department, Nassau County Sheriff’s Department, Suffolk County Probation Office, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, the New York State Police, the Hempstead Police Department, the Rockville Centre Police Department and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Paul G. Scotti, Justina L. Geraci and Megan E. Farrell are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
ALEXIS HERNANDEZ
Age: 25
Central Islip, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 16-CR-403 (GRB)