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Wednesday 8 December 2021
Logan Man Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Defrauding Investors in his Fraudulent Business SchemesRead the Press Release
SALT LAKE CITY- Ryan R. West, 45, of Logan, was sentenced to five years in federal prison today for defrauding numerous individuals involved in his business venture investment schemes. West previously pled guilty in August of 2021 to four counts of wire fraud connected to his fraudulent schemes. In total, West defrauded his victims of a cumulative amount of over $5.4 million between 2011 and 2016.
In addition to the five-year prison term, West was ordered to be on supervised release for three years after prison and was ordered to pay $5,420,206.98 in restitution to his victims and to forfeit $5,261,755.73 in proceeds and a 4-carat diamond.
West’s first fraudulent scheme involved soliciting investments from an individual for a business venture involved in operating a gravel quarry in West Texas. Instead of using the investor’s money for the business venture, West used the money for personal expenses, including payments on a 4-carat diamond, and unrelated business expenses, and did not return any of the victim’s money. West also borrowed money for the quarry operations against the equity in the home of an individual he met through church. Most of the money was used to pay West’s personal expenses and not for the quarry. West defaulted on the loans and the individual lost his home in foreclosure.
Another of West’s schemes involved soliciting investments in a commercial property flipping venture in North Dakota. West borrowed approximately $650,000 from several victims. Only $150,000 of $350,00 invested was ever used for the real estate venture. The rest of the money was used for other business ventures that West did not tell the investors about, or for West’s personal expenses. West sold the North Dakota property without telling his investors and netted $190,000 which he kept for himself. Only one investor was ever repaid a $350,000 investment; the others each lost $100,000.
West’s co-defendant in the fraud, Gary Alan Gygi, 57, of Holladay, also pled guilty in August and is scheduled to be sentenced on December 16, 2021.
“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to prosecuting fraudsters who prey on vulnerable members of our community,” said Acting United States Attorney Andrea T. Martinez. “Our thoughts are with the victims of this case, some of whom were elderly, vulnerable and met West through church, business and family connections.”
“Driven by greed, Mr. West and Mr. Gygi’s criminal misconduct devastated their victims, some of whom were seniors and vulnerable adults," said Special Agent in Charge Dennis Rice of the Salt Lake City FBI. "To those who make false claims to steal people’s money, know that there are serious consequences. We also urge the public to do their due diligence when approached about investment opportunities, understanding that there are unscrupulous fraudsters who stand at the ready to separate you from your hard-earned money and property."
Assistant United States Attorneys prosecuted the cases against West and Gygi. Special Agents from the FBI conducted the investigation.
Leader in Synthetic Identity Fraud Ring Sentenced to Prison for Bank FraudRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – A Knightdale man was sentenced to 100 months in prison, and 5 years of supervised release and ordered to make restitution in the amount of $412,885.17, on a charge of Bank Fraud and Aiding and Abetting, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1344 and 2.
United States Attorney Michael F. Easley, Jr. stated, “Defendant Michael Griffin was the leader of an organized scheme to use stolen and synthetic identities to defraud numerous banks. As a part of his scheme, the defendant roped in and used many of his family members and clients, who are now paying the price for their involvement. This case is a cautionary tale to the public: If someone offers to get you an alternate social security number, credit profile number, (‘CPN’) so that you can open credit lines or obtain loans – they are inviting you to participate in a crime. Don’t do it. It could land you in federal prison.”
The indictment charged that defendant Michael Griffin (“Griffin”), operating from his business location in Raleigh and home in Knightdale, accepted fees from clients for alleged credit repair services. The indictment alleged that, in reality, Griffin was creating fictitious credit profiles and fraudulently altering client credit data through the use of fictitious police reports.
The indictment further charged that various defendants, many of whom were family, conspired with Griffin to defraud Synchrony Bank, a Lowe’s credit card provider, by opening credit accounts in the name of fraudulent identities, cashing out the accounts through prepaid card purchases, and then defaulting on the credit accounts. The indictment also charged various defendants with similar frauds against other banks, including Capital One and Discover.
On August 24, 2021, Griffin pled guilty to Count 14 of the Second Superseding Indictment, which charged that the defendant, in cooperation with codefendant Jasper Goodman, defrauded Synchrony Bank on a credit account in the name of Michael Jones. Count 14 further alleged that the defendant and Goodman created the identity using a stolen social security number, and that the two used the fraudulent credit account between February and November of 2018.
Although Griffin pled guilty to only one count, at the sentencing today, Griffin was held accountable under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines for intended losses and fraudulent gains of more than $3.4 Million. He was also ordered to make restitution for identifiable losses totaling $412,885.17.
In connection with this case, many of Michael Griffin’s codefendants were sentenced by the court earlier this year. These included Regina Griffin (Griffin’s sister), Sharon Annita Edmond (Griffin’s sister), Creshun Alexandria Griffin (Griffin’s daughter), Katina Griffin Perry (Griffin’s sister), Harvey Griffin (Griffin’s brother), Angela Griffin (Griffin’s wife), Melvin Griffin (Griffin’s brother), Jasmine Mariah Davis (Griffin’s client); Tyrone Edmonds (Griffin’s client), and Shawn Allen Farmer (Griffin’s business associate).
Codefendant Jasper Deonta Goodman will be sentenced for his role in the fraud tomorrow, December 9, 2021. Goodman previously pled guilty to Bank Fraud. The maximum punishment for Bank Fraud, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344, is not more than 30 years imprisonment.
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 United States Marshals Service and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorney William M. Gilmore represented 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).
Las Vegas Man Sentenced to Prison for Stealing Credit and Debit Card Account Numbers to Purchase Show TicketsRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas man was sentenced today to 78 months in prison for stealing credit and debit card account numbers and profile information to spend on Las Vegas Strip show tickets and gift certificates, totaling over $500,000.
According to court documents, from about October 25, 2016 to September 30, 2017, Shaun Patrick Anderson (39) stole credit and debit card account numbers and victims’ personal identifying information. He used the stolen account numbers to purchase approximately $503,842.30 in Las Vegas Strip show tickets and gift certificates.
Anderson pleaded guilty on November 1, 2019 to one count of possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices, one count of use or trafficking of unauthorized access devices, and three counts of aggravated identity theft. In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon ordered Anderson to pay $503,842.30 in restitution.
During the course of the investigation in this case, law enforcement discovered nearly 1,300 files of child pornography on Anderson’s devices. In October 2021, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. The statutory maximum penalty that Anderson faces for the child pornography charge is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Anderson is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan in February 2022.
Acting U.S. Attorney Christopher Chiou for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Aaron C. Rouse for the FBI made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Simon Kung prosecuted the case.
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La Crosse Man Sentenced to 72 Months for Distributing MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Cody Stough, 33, La Crosse, Wisconsin was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 72 months in prison for distributing methamphetamine. Stough pleaded guilty to this charge on September 15, 2021.
On November 19, 2020, a confidential informant contacted the Richland-Iowa-Grant Drug Task Force and explained that Stough was willing to sell the informant a quarter pound of methamphetamine. Investigators gave the informant a recording device and prerecorded currency.
Investigators watched as the informant met with Stough in a parking lot in Dodgeville, Wisconsin. As the informant walked away, officers detained Stough, searched his vehicle, and found the prerecorded currency. The informant gave investigators a plastic sandwich bag containing a “glass crystal substance,” that weighed 77 grams. The substance tested positive for methamphetamine.
During a post-arrest interview, Stough admitted to selling methamphetamine to the informant.
The charge against Stough was the result of an investigation conducted by the Richland-Iowa-Grant Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chadwick M. Elgersma prosecuted this case.
Justice Department and Department of Labor Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Protect the Employment Rights of Servicemembers and VeteransRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) today signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enshrine the collaboration between the agencies to protect the employment rights provided to servicemembers by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). The Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Justice seek to enhance the cooperative efforts of the two agencies in the investigation, litigation and resolution of employment and reemployment related claims brought by our nations servicemembers and veterans under USERRA.
The new MOU between DOL and Department of Justice is the first between the two agencies since 2004. It updates investigative and referral protocols and procedures, updates information sharing protocols and procedures, and if preliminary investigation of a charge reveals that immediate action is needed to prevent further harm, permits VETS to expedite the referral of a USERRA claim. In those cases, VETS will provide the Department of Justice with the investigative file and preliminary determination and the Department of Justice and VETS will work collaboratively to obtain a prompt and fair resolution of the complaint.
“Servicemembers and veterans have made great sacrifices to guarantee the freedoms and liberties that all Americans enjoy,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “They are guaranteed the right to civilian employment free from discrimination based on their military service and prompt reemployment following their military deployments. Through our strong partnership with the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service we will continue to identify USERRA claims, prosecute employers who violate the law, seek relief for victims and fight to eliminate discrimination based on military service from the workplace.”
“The Department of Labor’s Veterans Employment and Training Service has worked collaboratively with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division for a long time to protect service members’ and veterans’ employment and reemployment rights under USERRA,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary James Rodriguez for Policy for Veterans’ Employment and Training Service. “This Memorandum of Understanding further cements our long-standing relationship with the Department of Justice to ensure that service members, veterans and employers fully understand their respective rights and obligations under the law. Together, we will continue to act swiftly if and when those rights are compromised to make them whole.”
USERRA entitles servicemembers to return to their civilian employment upon completion of their military service with the seniority, status and rate of pay that they would have obtained had they remained continuously employed by their civilian employer. USERRA also prohibits discrimination based on present, past and future military service. The Attorney General has authority to bring lawsuits against private, state and local government employers for violations of USERRA only upon receiving complaint referrals from VETS. Prior to referral, VETS investigates and attempts to resolve servicemember complaints. If the Attorney General is reasonably satisfied that the servicemember is entitled to relief, the Attorney General may commence an action in federal court on behalf of the servicemember. Since the Civil Rights Division assumed USERRA enforcement authority in 2004, it has filed 105 lawsuits and favorably resolved 193 complaints through consent decrees or private settlements.
The Department of Justice gives high priority to the enforcement of servicemembers’ rights under USERRA. The MOU and additional information about USERRA can be found on the Justice Department’s websites at www.justice.gov/crt-military/employment-rights-userra and www.justice.gov/servicemembers as well as on the Department of Labor’s (DOL) website at www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra.
Justice Department Solicits Public Comments on Possible Regulatory Modifications to Foreign Agents Registration ActRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice is issuing an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) in the Federal Register to seek public comment to help inform the Department’s decision-making prior to its issuance of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). Through this process, the Department is seeking preliminary input from the public on the regulations as a whole and in response to 19 specific questions set forth in the ANPRM.
FARA requires persons in the United States who are acting as agents of foreign principals and engaged in certain specified activities to make periodic public disclosures of their relationship with the foreign principal, as well as activities, receipts and disbursements in support of those activities. Disclosure of the required information facilitates evaluation by the government and the American people of the activities of such persons in light of their function as foreign agents. The act gives the Attorney General the authority to issue regulations, which were last amended in 2007.
“The effective and efficient enforcement of FARA is critical to facilitate transparency about foreign influence efforts and to support our democracy,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “We are pleased to begin the rulemaking process by soliciting input from the wide array of stakeholders in FARA, including public interest groups that rely on disclosures under FARA to support their mission.”
The Department is considering changes to key regulations, including those relating to the scope of agency; the commercial exemption; and exemptions for persons qualified to practice law as well as for those engaged only in religious, scholastic or scientific pursuits. The Department is also considering changes that would modernize its regulations relating to labeling informational materials in light of the significant technological changes that have occurred since the regulations were last amended more than a decade ago. Modernization of FARA’s implementing regulations will further facilitate the Department’s focus on FARA enforcement to ensure transparency in U.S. democratic processes.
The Department welcomes comments from attorneys practicing law in this area, public interest and transparency groups, and anyone else with an interest in the proper administration and enforcement of FARA’s disclosure and labeling requirements.
Please note: The text of the ANPRM, as signed by the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, has been posted to FARA.gov, but the official version of the ANPRM will be as it is published in the Federal Register.
Justice Department Finds State of Iowa Unnecessarily Segregates People with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities in State Resource CentersRead the Press Release
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division announced today that it has concluded an investigation into whether the State of Iowa subjects residents of Glenwood and Woodward Resource Centers, two state-run institutions for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) in Glenwood and Woodward, Iowa, respectively, to unnecessary institutionalization in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The Justice Department determined that there is reasonable cause to believe Iowa fails to provide services to residents of the Resource Centers, or those at serious risk of institutionalization, in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs. Iowa’s system of care for people with IDD is heavily biased toward institutions. Critical services and support that would allow Resource Center residents to live in their own homes and communities, such as behavioral, crisis and physical health supports, are often unavailable outside the Resource Centers. Iowa also fails to provide Resource Center residents and their guardians with sufficient information about community options. Consequently, many Resource Center residents who could receive, and do not oppose the receipt of, services in the community are needlessly segregated in institutions.
“People with disabilities should not be unlawfully isolated and unreasonably denied access to the community-based services they need,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division will actively defend the rights of individuals with disabilities to participate fully in community life.”
The department’s investigation was conducted under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) and Title II of the ADA. Consistent with CRIPA’s statutory requirements and Title II’s regulations, the department provided the state with a written notice setting out the department’s conclusions and the supporting facts. The department also notified the state of the minimum remedial measures necessary to address the alleged violations.
The department’s investigation involved extensive review and analysis of documents; interviews of staff and management at the Resource Centers, Iowa’s Department of Human Services, and stakeholders; and observation of support planning meetings. The department also conducted tours of Glenwood Resource Center (Glenwood).
Today’s announcement concludes the second, and final, phase of the department’s investigation. The department initiated the investigation in November 2019. The first phase was conducted by the Civil Rights Division and the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa and focused on conditions at Glenwood. On Dec. 22, 2020, the department notified the State that the department had reasonable cause to believe that these conditions violate the federal rights of the people living there and that these violations are pursuant to a pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment of rights protected by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Additional information about the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt.
Justice Department Awards More Than $17.5 Million to Support Project Safe NeighborhoodsRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE – The Department of Justice announced today that it has awarded more than $17.5 million in grants to support the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program. Funding will support efforts across the country to address violent crime, including the gun violence that is often at its core. The Rhode Island Department of Public Safety has been awarded funding totaling $84,102 in this most recent round of grants, bringing the total of Justice Department funds channeled to Rhode Island this year to nearly three million dollars.
The Bureau of Justice Assistance, part of the department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), will administer the 88 grant awards, which are being made to designated fiscal agents to support local PSN projects that work in partnership with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices.
“This latest Project Safe Neighborhoods grant is critical to addressing the violent crime threatening cities and towns all across our country,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Ensuring the safety of all Americans is the highest priority for the Department of Justice, but when it comes to violent crime, there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. We have to work closely with local public safety agencies as well as community organizations to craft individual strategies unique to each community’s needs. Programs like Project Safe Neighborhoods and the funding it provides allow us to do just that.”
“In the past year our Project Safe Neighborhoods law enforcement and community partners in Rhode Island have received more than $2.75 million dollars in Justice Department grants,” noted Acting United States Attorney Richard B. Myrus. “I am grateful for all of the hard work, innovative ideas, and constant collaboration of our PSN partners, and their partnership in this Department’s innovative, intelligence-driven efforts to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in our communities and develop well rounded, comprehensive solutions.”
“Investing in our communities, supporting victims and building a justice system that both keeps people safe and earns their trust – these are mutually reinforcing goals that stand at the heart of Project Safe Neighborhoods,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Amy L. Solomon for OJP. “The Office of Justice Programs is pleased to join with our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, and with jurisdictions across the country, as we work together to meet the challenges of crime and violence and achieve our shared aspirations of public safety and community trust.”
In May 2021, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced a new effort to reduce violent crime, including the gun violence that is often at its core. Integral to that effort was the reinvigoration of PSN, a two-decade old evidence-based and community-oriented program focused on reducing violent crime. The updated PSN approach, outlined in the department’s Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime issued by Deputy Attorney General Monaco, is guided by four key principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities and measuring the results of our efforts. The fundamental goal is to reduce violent crime, not simply to increase the number of arrests or prosecutions.
This fall, U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country have enhanced their violent crime reduction efforts to ensure alignment with the department’s comprehensive violent crime reduction strategy. U.S. Attorneys’ Offices have engaged in outreach to law enforcement and other agencies and organizations serving communities to identify the most significant drivers of violence in their districts. Working together with a broad coalition of stakeholders, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices are addressing the most pressing violent crime issues in their district to make our neighborhoods safer for all.
PSN programs are led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in collaboration with local public safety agencies, community stakeholders and other agencies and organizations that work to reduce violent crime.
Click here for more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office led Project Safe Neighborhoods program in Rhode Island.
The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and enhance the rule of law. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.
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Judge sentences former St. Louis resident for possession of child pornographyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Mark R. Driscoll of Hayden, Idaho appeared before United States District Court Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on today’s date. Driscoll pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release for possession of child pornography. Driscoll was previously indicted by a federal grand jury on March 3, 2021.
According to the plea agreement, on or about March 4, 2017, Driscoll, utilizing a peer-to-peer program, distributed at least one video file containing child pornography to an investigative detective with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
A search warrant was obtained by law enforcement for Driscoll’s residence and executed on June 22, 2017. Electronic items belonging to the Driscoll were seized into evidence. An examination of the seized items revealed Driscoll possessed on various electronics over fourteen hundred images and over twenty videos of minors engaged in a lascivious display of their genitals and/or engaged in sexual acts which he had downloaded from the internet via computers and electronic devices.
This case was investigated by an FBI St. Louis Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force member from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
Iowa Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Misbranded Vitamin B12 InjectablesRead the Press Release
An Iowa man pleaded guilty today to a felony charge related to the sale of misbranded vitamin B12 injectable drugs, the Department of Justice announced.
Brady Tomlinson, 46, of Des Moines, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa to one count of introducing a misbranded drug into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud or mislead. According to court documents, Tomlinson sold injectable vitamin B12 solutions online beginning in May 2015. Tomlinson marketed the injections as weight loss drugs. According to court documents, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) informed Tomlinson during a December 2016 inspection that dispensing the drugs without valid prescriptions violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). Tomlinson closed his business for a week following the inspection, but then created a new website and continued selling the same kinds of misbranded B12 injections from December 2016 until April 2019.
“Dispensing drugs such as these without a prescription or the involvement of a medical professional endangers consumers and violates the law,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will continue to work hand-in-hand with the FDA to investigate and prosecute the illegal dispensing of prescription drugs.”
“Selling prescription drugs online – with no medical supervision – can cause serious harm and put consumers’ health at risk,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles L. Grinstead of the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Kansas City Field Office. “We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who jeopardize U.S. consumers’ health and safety.”
U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen H. Locher set sentencing for Tomlinson for April 15, 2022.
The FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam J. Kerndt of the Southern District of Iowa and Trial Attorneys Ross Goldstein and Marcus P. Smith of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch prosecuted the case.
Iowa City Felon Who Threw Crack and Loaded Gun from Car Sentenced to over 15 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A man who threw a loaded handgun and crack cocaine from a car while being pulled over by police was sentenced today to more than 15 years in federal prison.
Donte Kent, age 33, from Iowa City, Iowa, received the prison term after a May 7, 2021 guilty plea to one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance after a prior felony drug conviction and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
In a plea agreement Kent admitted that on June 27, 2020, he was the passenger in a car involved in a traffic stop in Linn County, Iowa. When the officer activated lights to initiate the traffic stop, Kent began throwing items, including a loaded Ruger 9mm pistol, out of the passenger side window. Kent also threw a bag containing 28 individually wrapped quantities of crack cocaine and a scale. Kent had prior convictions for four domestic abuse assaults, a felony crack cocaine distribution, and another conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
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.
Kent was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Kent was sentenced to 188 total months’ imprisonment, with 188 months for the drug crime and 120 concurrent months for the firearm crime. He must also serve a six-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Kent is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated by the was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA; the Linn County Sheriff's Office; the Cedar Rapids Police Department; the Marion Police Department; and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jacob Schunk and Dan Chatham.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-CR-00013‑CJW‑MAR.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Inmate and Visitor Plead Guilty to Introducing Buprenorphine at USP LeeRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va. – An inmate at United States Penitentiary (USP) Lee in Jonesville, Virginia and his visitor pleaded guilty this week for their roles in introducing Buprenorphine into the prison.
Deborah Townsend, 36, of Jonesborough, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to knowingly and intentionally distributing, and possessing with the intent to distribute, Buprenorphine, a Schedule III narcotic.
Co-defendant Michael Selvidge, 37, an inmate at USP Lee, pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited object (Buprenorphine), possession with the intent to distribute Buprenorphine, and conspiracy to provide an inmate a prohibited object.
United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh announced the guilty pleas today.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Special Assistant United States Attorney Debbie Stevens prosecuted the case for the United States.
Guatemalan man who was extradited to Ohio sentenced to 140 months in prison for Colombia-to-United States cocaine conspiracyRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Guatemalan man was sentenced in federal court here for distributing at least five kilograms or more of cocaine on the high seas.
In March 2020, Jose Luis DeLeon-Baltazar, 40, was sentenced to 140 months in prison. He was extradited to Columbus from Bogota, Colombia. DeLeon-Baltazar is the second defendant to be extradited to the United States in this case.
DeLeon-Baltazar conspired with others to ship hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, via sea and land, through Central America and Mexico to the United States.
DeLeon-Baltazar, also known as “Enano,” was indicted in September 2018.
According to court documents, as part of the conspiracy individuals would use “load” coordinators to assist with logistics of cocaine shipments, locate drivers and boat operators for narcotic-laden vehicles and vessels, and secure shared investments from multiple co-conspirators in specific cocaine shipments. Fishermen and other commercial maritime laborers were allegedly recruited by conspirators to transport cocaine and refueling vessels.
Conspirators paid a “tax” or “fee” to send cocaine through areas controlled by a different drug trafficking organization or cartel.
Members of the conspiracy shared information on the activities and locations of law enforcement and military personnel assigned to interdict narcotics shipments. Co-conspirators also sheltered individuals who were at risk of extradition to other countries.
Low-level co-conspirators would take responsibility for an entire load of seized cocaine to free higher-level members.
DeLeon-Baltazar received multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine transported on go-fast speed boats from Colombia into Guatemala. Once the cocaine arrived in Guatemala, DeLeon-Baltazar hid the cocaine in buildings in Tecun Uman, Guatemala until the cocaine was transported across Guatemala’s northern border into Mexico. On May 19, 2016, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted a go-fast boat that contained 880 kilograms of cocaine approximately 400 miles south of the Guatemala- Mexico border. That shipment was to be received by DeLeon-Baltazar in Guatemala where he would store it until it was to be transported to Mexico.
Additional cocaine shipments seized in this case thus far include:
- 720 kilograms of cocaine seized by the United States Coast Guard northwest of the Galapagos Islands on Aug. 18, 2017; and
- 34 kilograms of cocaine seized by the Guatemalan Policia National Civil in San Marcos, Guatemala on or about Nov. 26, 2017.
Four defendants were transported to Ohio for prosecution in September 2017, following the 720 kilogram seizure near the Galapagos Islands. That seizure alone included more than 1,584 pounds of cocaine, equaling an approximate street value of $25 million. In total, six defendants have now been convicted in the Southern District of Ohio.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Keith Martin, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); and Ohio State Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. Richard S. Fambro announced the sentence imposed on Dec. 7 by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson. Elizabeth R. Rabe, now a Trial Attorney at the Department of Justice’s Money Laundering Asset Recovery Section and Assistant United States Attorney Kelly A. Norris represented the United States in this case. The case was charged and prosecuted as part of OCDETF, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in securing DeLeon-Baltazar’s extradition from Colombia.
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Greene County Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion ConspiracyRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Joseph D. Radcliffe, age 74, of Elka Park, New York, pled guilty today to conspiring with others to evade taxes on personal income earned from stock sales.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Thomas Fattorusso, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Office, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”).
Radcliffe, a former Wall Street stockbroker, admitted that from at least 2013 through 2019, he conspired with two family members to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars that went unreported to the IRS, allowing him to defraud the IRS and evade the assessment and payment of taxes on approximately $500,000 in unreported income.
The unreported income originated from capital gains earned in brokerage accounts standing in the names of Crackerjack Classics LLC and Universal Consulting LLC. These companies made payments to Radcliffe, and for his benefit, including the following:
- $128,147 in mortgage payments and interest that the companies paid, from 2014 through 2019, to the bank that held the mortgage on Radcliffe’s house in Elka Park;
- $109,022 that the companies paid to a New Jersey law firm, in 2014, 2015 and 2017, to settle Radcliffe’s unpaid bills; and
- $99,675 that the companies paid, in 2015 and 2016, in checks made out to “Cash” and which Radcliffe negotiated for himself or had others negotiate for his benefit.
Radcliffe further admitted that he did not file a tax return for himself, or otherwise report his income to the IRS, for the tax years 2013 through 2019. He did not maintain any bank or brokerage accounts in his name, and he did not hold or trade any securities in his own name.
Radcliffe faces up to 5 years in prison, and a maximum $250,000 fine, when Chief U.S. District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby sentences him on April 28, 2022. He will also be ordered to pay restitution to the IRS. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
This case was investigated by IRS-CI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.
Grand Rapids Dentist Surrenders DEA Registration and Agrees to Pay $200,000 for Allegedly Forging and Issuing Illegitimate Narcotic PrescriptionsRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS – Joseph H. Kirkwood, D.D.S., a Grand Rapids dentist, has agreed to pay $200,000 to resolve allegations that he violated the Controlled Substances Act by forging and issuing illegitimate prescriptions for narcotics. As part of the settlement, Dr. Kirkwood also surrendered his Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) registration that enabled him to write prescriptions for controlled substances, and he agreed not to reapply for a new registration for four years.
This settlement resolves allegations that Dr. Kirkwood wrote illegitimate prescriptions for controlled substances for other individuals and then collected the drugs for his own personal use. It also resolves allegations that Dr. Kirkwood forged controlled substance prescriptions using the signatures and DEA registration numbers of two other dentists, also for the purpose of collecting these drugs for himself.
“This resolution demonstrates that my office takes seriously all allegations that a healthcare provider evaded safeguards in the law by forging prescriptions and issuing illegitimate prescriptions, including when the allegation is that the drugs were for their own use,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew B. Birge.
“Medical and dental professionals must not abuse the privilege of prescribing controlled substances,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Keith Martin, Detroit Field Division. “DEA will continue to work with all levels of law enforcement to investigate allegations of unlawful prescribing.”
This case was investigated by the DEA and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew J. Hull represented the United States.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
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Giovanni Joseph Sentenced for Stolen Mail Bank Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
The Acting United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Giovanni Joseph, 34, formerly of Dix Hills, New York, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Rutland to time served following his guilty plea to one count of bank fraud. Chief U.S. District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford also ordered Joseph to pay a total of $2,590 in restitution to three banks which sustained losses as a result of the bank fraud scheme Joseph executed. Joseph had been detained in federal custody since his arraignment in this case on October 6, 2021. Following his federal sentencing, he will be returned to the custody of Pennsylvania authorities to complete a state sentence for an unrelated narcotics offense.
According to court records, Joseph presented stolen checks at five banks around central Vermont in March of 2020. The checks had been stolen from U.S. Postal Service mail collection boxes in Montpelier, East Montpelier, and Wilmington. On four occasions, the stolen checks had been modified to change the original payee’s name to Joseph’s name. Attempting to cash the fifth stolen check, Joseph presented a forged identification document to impersonate the check’s legitimate payee.
The United States Postal Inspection Service investigated this case.
Joseph is represented by Assistant Federal Public Defenders David L. McColgin and Sara M. Puls. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Spencer Willig.
Fort Wayne Man Sentenced to 15 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
FORT WAYNE – Larson Wuest, 30 years old, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Holly A. Brady after pleading guilty to production of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Wuest was sentenced to 180 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.
According to documents in this case, in February of 2019, Wuest began chatting with an FBI Online Covert Employee (OCE) using various social media platforms. During their communications, Wuest sent nude photographs of a twelve-year-old girl to the OCE. The investigation later revealed that Wuest previously met this girl on another social media platform and had persuaded and enticed her to take the photographs and send them to him.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Fort Wayne Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lesley J. Miller Lowery.
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Former West Plains School Employee Sentenced to 17 Years for Sexually Exploiting Children, Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A former employee of the West Plains, Missouri, R-7 School District was sentenced in federal court today with soliciting children to send him sexually explicit photos and videos through Snapchat and Instagram.
Cody Ashton Ary, 31, of West Plains, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to 17 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Ary to pay $6,000 in restitution.
Ary was employed at the time of the offense with the West Plains R-7 School District as a paraprofessional who commonly assisted with special need students. He was a site director for the Boys and Girls Town Club.
Ary, who has been in federal custody since his arrest on May 20, 2020, pleaded guilty on March 23, 2021, to one count of the sexual exploitation of a child and one count of receiving and distributing child pornography.
According to court documents, Instagram initiated a CyberTip with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on Dec. 3, 2019, after Ary uploaded a sexually explicit video of an 8-to-10-year-old boy to his account. Investigators found a total of 92 chat conversations between Ary and other Instagram users. Ary used the screen name “15anime_boy” and identified himself as a 15-year-old male to other users. He solicited sexually explicit videos and images from other users who identified to be minor males. Ary received dozens of images and videos of child pornography through his Instagram account. Ary asked the child victims to send him videos and images of them stripping in exchange for Ary providing Internet links to folders that contained child pornography.
An FBI task force officer in Buffalo, New York, was investigating a separate case in October 2019 in which Ary used a different Snapchat account to solicit and receive child pornography from other users reporting to be minors.
Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Ary’s residence on May 20, 2020, where he was arrested. Ary admitted to investigators that he searched for minor males on Instagram and asked them for videos and images of themselves nude. Ary stated he would receive images and videos from the users, which depicted minor males engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Ary also admitted that he also used Snapchat, chat-avenue, and other internet mediums to distribute links to child pornography folders and to contact minor males. Investigators found images of child pornography on Ary’s cell phone.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the West Plains, Mo., Police Department, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crime Task Force, and Homeland Security Investigations.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Former Mexican police officer gets 30 years for sexually exploiting childRead the Press Release
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 38-year-old resident of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, has been ordered to federal prison for producing child pornography, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Jose Alfredo Fernandez-Martinez pleaded guilty Aug. 4.
Today, U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera Jr. ordered him to serve a 360-month sentence. At the hearing, the court heard additional information including the victim impact statement from the victim’s mother. Following the sentence, Fernandez-Martinez will serve 10 years on supervised release, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Fernandez-Martinez will also be ordered to register as a sex offender and must pay a total of $55,000 in special assessments.
From on our about Aug. 2, 2020, to Jan. 6, 2021, Fernandez-Martinez caused an eight-year-old female to engage in sexually-explicit conduct. He recorded it with his cellphone.
Fernandez-Martinez attempted to enter the country, at which time authorities found the videos. A forensic examination of the phone determined he possessed approximately 141 videos and 82 images of child pornography. Fernandez-Martinez created five of the videos with the phone.
Fernandez-Martinez has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Homeland Security Investigations - Rio Grande Valley Child Exploitation Task Force conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ana C. Cano prosecuted 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 tab on that page.
Former Finance Executive Sentenced to 138 Months in Prison for Orchestrating Massive Market Manipulation SchemeRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Abraxas J. Discala, also known as “AJ Discala,” the former Chief Executive Officer of OmniView Capital Advisors LLC (“OmniView”), was sentenced by United States District Judge Eric N. Vitaliano to 138 months’ imprisonment for orchestrating a multi-million dollar market manipulation scheme. The Court also ordered Discala to pay $2,484,873 in forfeiture. The amount of restitution will be determined by the Court at a later date. Discala was convicted by a federal jury in May 2018 following a five-week trial of two counts of securities and wire fraud conspiracy, two counts of securities fraud, and four counts of wire fraud relating to his manipulation of stocks of multiple microcap or “penny” stocks, including the stock of CodeSmart Holding, Inc. (“CodeSmart”), Cubed, Inc. (“Cubed”), and others, (collectively the “Manipulated Public Companies”).
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the sentence.
“Discala conspired to manipulate trading activity in penny stocks in furtherance of a scheme to defraud the securities market and investing public of millions of dollars,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “With today’s sentence, Discala has been held accountable for his crimes and the harm he caused to investors.” Mr. Peace thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, New York Regional Office, for their invaluable efforts in the case.
Discala purported to raise capital for start-up private companies and offered to take them public through reverse mergers with public shell companies in exchange for obtaining control of a large portion of the free trading or unrestricted stock. Discala and his co-conspirators, including co-defendants Ira Shapiro, Marc Wexler, Matthew Bell, Craig Josephberg, Victor Azrak, Darren Goodrich, Darren Ofsink and Michael Morris, then artificially inflated the stock through manipulative trading and promotional campaigns, generating large profits for themselves at the expense of unwitting investors.
As part of the fraud, Discala orchestrated a scheme to manipulate the stock price of CodeSmart and Cubed, two of the Manipulated Public Companies.
The CodeSmart Scheme
In early May 2013, Discala and his co-conspirators, including attorney Ofsink, engineered a reverse merger of CodeSmart, a private company, with a shell public company. After gaining control of CodeSmart’s unrestricted shares, Discala and his co-conspirators fraudulently inflated CodeSmart’s share price and trading volume on two occasions and then sold the unrestricted CodeSmart stock at a profit when the share price reached desirable levels. Shapiro, the Chief Executive Officer of CodeSmart, issued numerous press releases with false information to facilitate inflating CodeSmart’s stock price.
Discala and his co-conspirators, including Wexler, profited by selling CodeSmart stock, issued to them for pennies, to clients and customers of Bell, an investment advisor, and Josephberg, a registered broker. On some occasions, the CodeSmart shares were sold to Bell’s clients and Josephberg’s customers without their clients’ and customers’ knowledge and consent. Additionally, Bell and Josephberg sold CodeSmart shares in their personal trading accounts at the same time that they purchased CodeSmart stock in their clients’ and customers’ accounts.
Discala, Wexler, Bell, Josephberg, Ofsink and Morris made more than $6 million in illicit trading profits from the CodeSmart scheme, and the co-conspirators caused more than $12 million in losses to approximately 800 CodeSmart investors who purchased the publicly traded stock.
The Cubed Scheme
In March 2014, Discala and his co-conspirators took Cubed public through an asset purchase agreement by a shell public company. After gaining control of all of Cubed’s unrestricted shares, between April 22, 2014 and April 30, 2014, Discala and his co-defendants, including Wexler, Bell, Josephberg, Goodrich and Azrak, concocted trading volume in the stock and were able to successfully control the price and volume of Cubed’s stock. On June 23, 2014, Cubed reached its highest closing price of $6.75 per share, resulting in a market capitalization of approximately $200 million. Investors who bought publicly traded Cubed stock lost over $400,000. In addition, Cubed was able to raise over $2 million in a private offering of stock to investors who were deceived by how Cubed stock was performing in the market. Discala and Wexler also made over $1 million worth of illegal private sales of Cubed stock to over three dozen investors. Discala and his co-conspirators caused more than $4 million in total losses to approximately 100 Cubed investors.
Goodrich, a broker who participated in the scheme to manipulate the stock of Cubed, was previously sentenced to 41-months after pleading guilty to securities fraud conspiracy. Shapiro, Wexler, Bell, Josephberg, Azrak, Ofsink and Morris also pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Shannon C. Jones and Patrick T. Hein are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant United States Attorney Claire Kedeshian of the Office’s Asset Recovery Section is handling forfeiture matters.
The Defendant:
ABRAXAS J. DISCALA (also known as “AJ Discala”)
Age: 50
Darien, ConnecticutE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 14-CR-399 (S-1)(ENV)
Florida Woman Sentenced in Multi-Million Dollar Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Florida woman was sentenced today in connection with a multi-million-dollar Medicare fraud scheme.
Talia Alexandre, 30, of Palm Springs, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. to three years of supervised release with the first year spent in home detention. Alexandre was also ordered to pay a fine of $5,000 and restitution in the amount of $1.47 million. On Feb. 24, 2021, Alexandre pleaded guilty to one count of receiving kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program.
Alexandre and co-conspirator Nathan LaParl sold Medicare patients’ personal and medical data to Juan Camilo Perez Buitrago. Alexandre and LaParl worked with foreign call centers to contact Medicare patients to ask if they were interested in durable medical equipment (DME) such as arm, back, knee and shoulder braces “at little to no cost.” The call centers collected demographic and insurance information from Medicare patients, which Alexandre and LaParl sold to Perez Buitrago. Alexandre received more than $1.4 million from Perez Buitrago for the patient data. Perez Buitrago used that patient data to submit more than $109 million in false and fraudulent claims, submitting claims for DME that was not prescribed, not necessary, and, in many instances, never requested or received.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Johnnie Sharp Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Birmingham Field Division; Phillip M. Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, Boston Division; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elysa Q. Wan of Mendell’s Health Care Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.
Essex Man Sentenced to Four Years in Federal Prison for His Role in a Bank Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Babatunde Ajibawo, age 55, of Essex, United Kingdom to four years in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Judge Blake has also ordered Ajibawo to pay $262,653.87 in restitution.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; and Special Agent in Charge Andrew McKay of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
According to his plea agreement, from February 2017 to February 2020, Ajibawo, Oyekanmi Oworu, age 35, of Hyattsville, Maryland and others conspired to fraudulently obtain checks made out to legitimate businesses, then fraudulently register shell companies to obtain state business certificates in the identical or similar name of the legitimate businesses to which the checks were made payable. The conspiracy also used the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Modernized Internet Employer Identification Number (EIN) and the fraudulently obtained social security numbers of real individuals to obtain an EIN for the fraudulent business.
In the effort to defraud, Ajibawo personally opened fraudulent bank accounts, deposited stolen checks into the fraudulent accounts, and withdrew the stolen funds on numerous occasions.
Specifically, in October 2018 Ajibawo opened a fraudulent account in the name of a real business, Business 1, using the identifying information of a real person, C.B. After opening the account, Ajibawo deposited a stolen check made payable to Business 1 in the amount of $18,150.66 into the fraudulent account.
Additionally, from November 2018 to April 2019, Ajibawo opened and accessed a fraudulent account in the name of another real business, Business 2, using the identifying information of a real person, B.R. After opening the account, Ajibawo deposited a stolen check made payable to Business 2 in the amount of $168,500. Surveillance footage captured Ajibawo opening and accessing the fraudulent account on numerous occasions.
Throughout the scheme to defraud, Ajibawo sent personally identifying information of victims to co-conspirators, directed that co-conspirators withdraw money from fraudulent accounts in which stolen checks had been deposited, and facilitated the distribution of stolen funds obtained from the scheme.
Additionally, in an effort to conceal their criminal activity and evade detection from law enforcement, Ajibawo and his co-conspirators attempted to relocate the fraud scheme to other jurisdictions. A substantial part of a fraudulent scheme was committed from outside the United States, specifically Nigeria.
Further, Ajibawo and his co-conspirators attempted to conceal their criminal actions and evade law enforcement by relocating the fraud scheme to other jurisdictions. A substantial part of a fraudulent scheme was committed from outside the United States, specifically Nigeria.
In total, Ajibawo and his co-conspirators created 50 fraudulent shell entities, caused an actual loss of at least $606,598.08, and compromised the identifying information of more than 50 individual victims.
Co-defendant Oyekanmi Oworu pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft on December 2, 2021. Oworu faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison followed by up to five of supervised release for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and a mandatory two years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence for aggravated identity theft. As part of his plea agreement, Oworu will also be required to pay restitution. U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has scheduled sentencing for March 10, 2022 at 9:15 a.m.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mary W. Setzer and Judson T. Mihok, who are prosecuting the case.
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Dublin, Virginia Man Sentenced on Drug, Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va.– A Dublin, Virginia man, who illegally possessed a pair of firearms and methamphetamine, was sentenced this week to 81 months in federal prison.
Dezmon Harmon, 28, pleaded guilty in August to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, two counts of possession of a firearm which has had the serial number removed, one count of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of possession of a firearm which is not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
According to court documents, on April 29, 2020, authorities attempted to initiate a traffic stop of Harmon in Wythe County, Virginia, but he sped off in his vehicle before exiting and fleeing on foot. Harmon was eventually apprehended by Wythe County deputies and found to be in possession of methamphetamine, a loaded, sawed-off shotgun, and a loaded .40 caliber pistol.
United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia and Charlie J. Patterson, Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Washington Field Division made the announcement.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Wythe County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Murphy prosecuted the case.
Drug User and Felon Sent Back to Federal Prison for Possessing FirearmRead the Press Release
A Cedar Rapids man who possessed an AR-15 style rifle was sentenced December 7, 2021, to two years in federal prison.
John Douglas Clark, age 61, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 9, 2021 guilty plea to one-count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
Information at sentencing showed that, in April 2020, Clark kept a Palmetto State Armory PA-15 rifle in a gun safe located in his basement. On April 4, 2020, Clark brought the rifle to his place of employment, where he was observed on security camera with a co-worker possessing and handling the firearm, even kissing it. Clark was prohibited from possessing firearms because he was a methamphetamine user and a felon. Clark had previously been convicted in federal court of manufacturing and attempting to manufacture fifty grams or more of methamphetamine.
Clark was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Clark was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Clark was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dillan Edwards and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 20-CR-00086.
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Drug Trafficking Co-Conspirators Receive Federal Prison SentencesRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that two co-conspirators, Roderick Lamont Stills, a.k.a. “Scooter,” 45, of Shreveport, Louisiana, and Myron Keith Carter, a.k.a. “Cali Red,” 38, of Ontario, California, have been sentenced by Chief United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr., for their involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy. Stills was sentenced to 168 months (14 years) in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and Carter was sentenced to 78 months (6 years, 2 months) in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
The charges in this case stem from an investigation conducted by agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) into shipments of methamphetamine that were being sent to individuals in the Shreveport area from Southern California. On July 31, 2019, DEA and U.S. Postal Inspection Service agents learned about the arrival of packages from California into the Western District of Louisiana. The next day, agents observed a postal carrier deliver one of the packages to an address on Line Avenue in Shreveport. Agents observed Stills obtain the package and move it to his vehicle. Stills was detained by agents and when they retrieved the package from his vehicle, found heat-sealed packages containing approximately 1,647 gross grams of methamphetamine. Stills admitted that the package was his and further admitted that he had received at least two dozen packages of methamphetamine to the Shreveport area. He further admitted that he would have individuals pick up the packages from him on occasion and that he would also distribute the drugs to others to sell.
During their investigation, law enforcement agents learned that Carter would mail methamphetamine to an address in Shreveport, then fly to Dallas, rent a car, drive to Shreveport, and retrieve the package. He would then arrange meetings with individuals in Shreveport to sell the methamphetamine in large quantities for them to sell. On September 18, 2019, Carter arranged such a meeting and sold methamphetamine for $3,700 to an individual. The methamphetamine was later tested at the DEA crime lab and determined to be methamphetamine and weighed 375.4 grams.
The case was investigated by DEA and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford.
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Dr. Jeffrey M. Gallups and Entellus Medical agree to pay $4.2 million to resolve False Claims Act lawsuit alleging kick-back arrangementsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Dr. Jeffrey M. Gallups (founder, owner, medical director and past-CEO of Milton Hall Surgical Associates (“MHSA”) a/k/a The Ear, Nose & Throat Institute) and Entellus Medical have agreed to pay approximately $3 million and $1.2 million, respectively, to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by entering into unlawful kickback arrangements.
“Gallups abused his position by accepting unlawful kickbacks in exchange for directing MHSA physicians – often over their objections – to order devices or administer procedures and tests that were not medically necessary,” said U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine. “In his role, Gallups was uniquely situated to benefit his community. Instead, he chose to put his personal financial interests above the interests of his colleagues and MHSA’s patients.”
“The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits individuals who participate in federal health care programs from knowingly and willfully offering, paying or receiving any remuneration in order to encourage recommendation of any item covered under a federal health care program,” stated Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “We will continue to pursue providers who engage in kickbacks or bill for baseless procedures.”
“The False Claims Act settlement in this case will be a deterrent to those who selfishly profit from dishonest medical treatment rather than upholding their oath as a health care provider to do what is best for their patients,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI and our partners will always make it a priority to protect companies and individuals from anyone who would seek to profit from false claims.”
"Georgia's Medicaid program relies upon the independent judgement of medical professionals to make appropriate treatment decisions for their patients. Financial relationships that undercut this independence diminish public trust and unnecessarily drive up health care costs for our citizens. We remain dedicated to working with our state and federal partners to maintain the integrity of public programs and protect taxpayers dollars,” said Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr
“Our trusted medical professionals who engage in kickback schemes to maximize profits undermine the integrity of our Department of Defense health care system,” stated Special Agent in Charge Cynthia A. Bruce, Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office. “DCIS and our investigative partners will continue to protect DoD personnel and their dependents by holding companies accountable that engage in unlawful activities.”
Between 2014 and 2018, Gallups was a non-practicing physician, and devoted his time to acting as the CEO and medical director of MHSA, which employed approximately 12-18 physicians in various locations throughout North Georgia. The government alleges that Gallups controlled these physicians in his capacity as CEO and medical director of MHSA and directed these physicians, in exchange for the kickbacks described herein, to (1) utilize sinuplasty related medical devises exclusively from Entellus; as well as to (2) order toxicology and genetic testing from NextHealth.
First, with respect to Entellus and Gallups, it is alleged that Entellus provided Gallups several forms of remuneration, including cash payments and all-expense paid trips, in return for Gallups requiring MHSA physicians to use Entellus’s sinuplasty medical devices and increase the number of sinuplasty procedures conducted on MHSA patients.
Second, with respect to Gallups and a Dallas, Texas based medical laboratory called NextHeath, LLC (“NextHealth”), it is alleged that NextHealth made payments to Gallups in the form of supposed “commissions” in return for Gallups requiring MHSA physicians to order medical tests from NextHealth, regardless of medical necessity, and despite objections from MHSA physicians that such tests were not medically necessary.
Gallups/Entellus Kick-Back Scheme
Entellus is a medical device company that manufactures, inter-alia, products used to perform sinus surgery. The government alleges that Entellus provided kickbacks to Gallups to induce him to direct MHSA physicians to (1) utilize Entellus sinuplasty medical devices (as opposed to those of Entellus’ competitors); and (2) increase the volume sinus surgeries performed at MHSA, thereby increasing the number of supplies ordered from Entellus. On December 7, 2017, Entellus was acquired by Stryker Corporation (“Stryker”), and Stryker’s compliance personnel flagged and elected not to renew the consulting arrangement that existed between Entellus and Gallups. On September 21, 2000, Stryker agreed to pay $1.2 million to resolve claims arising from the alleged Gallups/Entellus kickback arrangement.
Gallups/NextHealth Kick-Back Scheme
The government alleges that, in or around January 2016, Gallups entered into a kickback arrangement with a now defunct medical testing laboratory called NextHealth, pursuant to which Gallups directed MHSA physicians to order toxicology and genetic tests from NextHealth, despite physician objections that the tests were not medically necessary. In return, NextHealth paid Gallups 50% of the revenue generated from such tests as “commissions.” The government contends the scheme ended in or around February 2017 due to increasing complaints from MHSA physicians that the tests were not medically necessary.
The civil settlement resolves claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Myron Jones, M.D., who is a former physician-employee of MHSA. The False Claims Act permits private parties to sue for false claims on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Myron Jones, M.D., et al. v. Milton Hall Surgical Associates, LLC d/b/a The ENT Institute and a/k/a the Ear, Nose & Throat Institute, Jeffrey M. Gallups, M.D., et al., Civil Action. No. 1:17-cv-2472 (NDGA). Jones will receive approximately $614,000.00 from the settlement.
The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability. With respect to the allegations concerning NextHealth, LLC, on October 21, 2021, before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Gallups pleaded guilty to health care fraud in case number 1:21-cr-00370.
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, the Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service of the U.S. Department of Defense – Office of Inspector General.
The civil settlement was reached by Assistant U.S Attorney Paris A. Wynn and Georgia Assistant Attorney General James Mooney.
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 home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://wwws.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Domestic Violence Offender Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing GunsRead the Press Release
DURANGO – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Dennis Yarbrough, 49, of Durango, Colorado, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for illegally possessing six firearms following a misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence.
According to the plea agreement and public filings, in 2019, Yarbrough was convicted of a physical domestic violence misdemeanor in La Plata County Court. In March 2021, law enforcement found Yarbrough in possession of six firearms, including a semi-automatic firearm capable of accepting a large capacity magazine.
On April 8, 2021, a federal grand jury returned a one count-indictment against the defendant for possession of a firearm following a domestic violence conviction, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(9). After his arrest on the indictment, Yarbrough violated a federal no-contact order by contacting the victim of domestic violence to unlawfully influence her testimony in this case.
“Victims of domestic violence need protection, safety, and support,” said United States Attorney Cole Finegan. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecutes abusers who place victims of domestic violence at risk by illegally possessing firearms.”
“Convicted criminals who seek to acquire firearms and threaten victims will be held accountable as this sentence shows,” said Ryan L. Spradlin, Special Agent in Charge, HSI Denver. “Given that Yarbrough violated an order of protection in an effort to influence testimony shows his disregard for the law, and we’re gratified he will be behind bars. We are pleased to work with the Durango Police and U.S. Attorney’s office to see justice served in this case.”
United States District Court Judge Robert Blackburn issued the sentence on December 8, 2021. The defendant pleaded guilty on September 9, 2021.
This case was investigated by HSI, working partnership with the Durango Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey K. Graves handled the prosecution.
Case number: 21-cr-00118-REB-JMC
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District Heights Man Sentenced to 45 Years in Federal Prison for the Sexual Abuse of a Two-Year-Old and Seven-Year-Old Child in Order to Produce Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm today sentenced Brian Anthony Gilbert, age 34, of District Heights, Maryland to 45 years in federal prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for two counts of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Judge Grimm also ordered that, upon his release from prison, Gilbert must continue to register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr.; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.
“There are no words to adequately express how disturbing this case truly is,” said United States Attorney Erek L. Barron. “This sentence sends a clear message that we will bring to justice those who victimize innocent children.”
“Not only did the defendant commit egregious acts of abuse against two children in his community, but he also recorded and exploited the abuse and trauma of young victims on the Dark Web,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s sentence demonstrates our commitment to protecting children from threats. I commend the professionalism of our agents and law enforcement partners in bringing Brian Gilbert to justice.”
“When the most vulnerable of our citizens – our children – are victimized we will do everything in our power to hold the perpetrators accountable and to protect others from harm,” said Thomas J. Sobocinski, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “Not only did the abuser harm two innocent children, but he furthered their victimization by distributing heinous materials online. Mr. Gilbert will now spend a significant time behind bars.”
According to his guilty plea, in August 2020, Gilbert uploaded and advertised at least two video files of child pornography depicting an approximately seven-year-old female victim (Victim 1) on an online bulletin board dedicated to child pornography hosted on the Tor network. The Tor network is a computer network that is specifically designed to facilitate anonymous communication over the Internet. The videos were approximately 10 minutes and 15 minutes in length and depicted sexual acts between Gilbert and Victim 1. In Gilbert’s posts on the online bulletin board, Gilbert admits to having produced both videos.
As detailed in his plea agreement, on September 11, 2020, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Gilbert’s residence, Gilbert was present at the time. During the execution of the search warrant, Gilbert waived his rights and informed law enforcement that he video recorded sexual acts between himself and Victim 1 in his bedroom and at Victim 1’s residence approximately five times between January 2019 and August 2020. He also stated that he had video recorded sexual acts between himself and another victim, who was approximately two-years old (“Victim 2”) at the time. Gilbert told law enforcement that he distributed the child sex abuse material that he produced on the Tor network.
During the execution of the search warrant, law enforcement also seized a number of electronic devices from Gilbert’s bedroom. A subsequent forensic analysis of Gilbert’s electronic devices revealed over 2,000 files depicting child pornography. Among those files were six videos of Gilbert engaging in sexual acts with Victim 1 and Victim 2 in Gilbert’s bedroom or in Victim 1’s residence. Some of the child pornography located on Gilbert’s devices included prepubescent children under the age of 12 as well as sadistic or masochistic conduct, including the use of instruments or tools on children, and sexual acts between adults and children.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron and Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite commended the FBI and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron and Mr. Polite thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph R. Baldwin and Trial Attorneys Jessica Urban and Alicia Bove from the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section who are prosecuting federal 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/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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District Court Judge Orders Unsealing of DocumentsRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – Today, at the request of the United States Department of Justice, U.S. District Chief Judge Raúl Arias-Marxuach unsealed Informations and Plea Agreements for Oscar Santamaría-Torres and Raymond Rodríguez-Santos, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. Copies of the pertinent documents are attached to this press release. The public is reminded that if they have information regarding other criminal activity, they should contact the FBI at 787-987-6500.
The cases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Ryan R. Crosswell of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott H. Anderson and Nicholas W. Cannon of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico. The investigations are being conducted by the FBI’s San Juan Field Office.
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Cuyahoga Falls Man Sentenced to Prison for Attempting to Attack a Local High School and Making Threats to a Kansas Elementary SchoolRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Brennan announced that Allen Martin Kenna, 20, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, was sentenced today to five years in prison by Judge Patricia A. Gaughan after Kenna pleaded guilty earlier this year to attempted use of an explosive device and interstate communication of threats.
“This defendant openly threatened to attack children while they attended classes at a local high school,” said U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Brennan. “That he also engaged in reconnaissance efforts to prepare for such an attack and possessed the components, including ammunition, to construct the improvised explosive device he intended to use, demonstrates how very real this threat was for the children he targeted. The exceptional work of our local, state and federal partners prevented this attack. We remain grateful for their selfless dedication to protecting the residents of this District.”
"Mr. Kenna will now serve time behind bars for threatening two schools,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric B. Smith. “Thanks to the awareness of private citizens and the hard work of our law enforcement partners, what could have been a horrific and tragic day was stopped. Law enforcement has no higher priority than protecting others. The FBI and our law enforcement partners urge parents, relatives and friends to report suspicious and troubling behavior to authorities immediately.”
According to court documents, on January 8, 2020, law enforcement officers searched the known residence of Defendant Allen Martin Kenna after an individual informed police that Kenna had made threats to carry out an attack at Cuyahoga Falls High School (CFHS). Kenna had previously been identified entering CFHS after normal school hours, filming inside school hallways and asking others specific questions concerning school operations, facilities and resource officers.
During the search of the Kenna residence, officers obtained multiple electronic devices, several knives, firearm magazines, ammunition and various items intended to be used as components in the creation of an improvised explosive device.
Investigators then searched Kenna’s laptop and discovered numerous digital journal entries made by Kenna discussing plans, desires and research to carry out an attack at CFHS using explosives and firearms. In addition, officers found internet search history on a cell phone belonging to Kenna for topics including active shooters, firearms and weapons handling tactics, timed explosives, the search term “isis time bomb” and more.
Furthermore, investigators found multiple internet search inquiries for Lee Elementary School in Manhattan, Kansas. Investigators determined that on or about November 13, 2019, Kenna placed phone calls to law enforcement officials in Manhattan, Kansas, claiming to be an active shooter inside the elementary school. In response to this call, SWAT officers from the Riley County Sheriff’s Department deployed, and after several hours of speaking with Kenna posing as the alleged gunman, the SWAT team entered the school and discovered the event was a hoax. Journal entries found on Kenna’s laptop discussed his role in the hoax.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Cuyahoga Falls Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Duncan T. Brown.
Cincinnati man who sex trafficked teen sentenced to more than 15 years in prisonRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI – A Cincinnati man who was charged with his half-brother for conspiring to sex traffic minor females was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 188 months in prison and 20 years of supervised release.
William Pierce Washington, 40, was charged by a federal grand jury in 2017 with co-defendant William Pierce Washington, Jr., 51.
According to court documents, William Pierce Washington, also known as “Bam,” sex trafficked a minor female for at least four months. Washington would routinely get the victim high on drugs, including forcibly injecting the victim with heroin on at least one occasion.
Washington would then traffic the teenager to engage in sexual conduct for money. He beat and raped the victim.
Court documents in this case detail that Sharonville Police Department officers responded to a motel in Sharonville on April 18, 2017 following the report of a distraught female in the business’s parking lot. The female, a 16-year-old, told officers she had spent several hours in a motel room smoking crack cocaine and engaged in oral sex with an adult male who physically assaulted her.
Contact with the adult male and search of his cell phone revealed sexually explicit photos with the victim and text conversations with Washington about arrangements to coordinate the sexual activity for payment to Washington.
As part of his sentence, Washington was ordered to pay more than $229,000 in restitution to the victim and to a local county Job and Family Services agency.
Washington, Jr. has pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Sharonville Acting Police Chief Mark Preuss and other members of the FBI’s child exploitation task force announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Black. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle J. Healey is representing the United States in this case.
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Chicago-Area Physician Charged with Unlawfully Using Veterinary Catheters During Intrauterine Inseminations on PatientsRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A Chicago-area physician unlawfully used veterinary catheters to perform intrauterine inseminations on his patients, according to a federal criminal charge filed today.
A criminal information filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago accuses JOEL G. BRASCH of unlawfully using the veterinary catheter devices on his patients from 2016 to 2018. The devices were considered adulterated in that they had not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use on human patients.
Dr. Brasch, 61, of Skokie, Ill., is charged with receipt in interstate commerce and delivery of an adulterated device. The charge is punishable by a maximum sentence of a year in federal prison and a fine of up to $100,000. Arraignment in federal court has not yet been scheduled.
The charge was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Lynda M. Burdelik, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management provided valuable assistance. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah E. Streicker and Corey B. Rubenstein.
“The use of a veterinary device in a medical procedure like IUI poses a danger to the health and safety of patients,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who endanger the public health through the use of adulterated medical devices.”
“In procedures such as IUI, every step should strictly follow protocols in order to protect the patient’s health and safety and ensure the efficacy of the procedure,” said FDA SAC Burdelik. “Utilizing instruments designed for animal use in humans can put patients at risk. We will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who use unapproved devices on their human patients.”
“Our citizens place an immense amount of trust in healthcare professionals and the public should feel confident in the knowledge that the FBI works tirelessly with our partners to ensure that that trust is not misplaced,” said FBI SAC Buie.
The public is reminded that an information is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Chicago Man Sentenced to 5 Years on Cocaine ChargeRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Marcus Catchings, 43, Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to five years in prison for possessing 500 grams or more of cocaine with intent to distribute. Catchings pleaded guilty to this charge on September 14, 2021.
On April 9, 2021, a Wisconsin Dells police officer pulled over a black Lexus SUV for excessively dark window tint. Marcus Catchings was the passenger in the Lexus and his wife was driving. After a positive K-9 alert, officers searched the Lexus and found a grocery bag containing approximately 381 grams of cocaine behind the driver’s seat. In the same area, officers found a cereal box containing approximately 533 grams of cocaine. During his plea hearing in September, Catchings admitted that he intended to distribute the 914 grams of cocaine in the Wisconsin Dells area.
At the sentencing hearing, Judge Conley noted that Catchings had previously been convicted of murder and had served over 20 years in prison as a result. Judge Conley also noted that Catchings was released from prison for the murder conviction in 2019 and was on parole at the time of his arrest.
The charge against Catchings was a result of an investigation conducted by the Wisconsin Dells Police Department, the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Wegner handled the prosecution.
Carthage Couple Sentenced for Embezzling from Joplin BusinessesRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Carthage, Missouri, husband and wife were sentenced in federal court today for their involvement in a five-year-long scheme to embezzle more than $235,000 from a Joplin, Mo., business owner.
Jeanine A. Poe, 52, and William Poe, 58, were sentenced in separate appearances before U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips. Jeanine Poe was sentenced to two years in federal prison without parole. William Poe was sentenced to five years of probation. The court also ordered Jeanine and William Poe to pay $235,744 in restitution to the victim of their thefts.
On June 30, 2020, Jeanine Poe pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and William Poe pleaded guilty to one count of misprision of a felony.
Jeanine Poe was hired by a friend in 2014 to manage two Doc Stop convenience stores in Joplin, for which she was paid more than $50,000 per year. The owner had little to do with the businesses, according to court documents, except to invest his money into both to ensure their financial success. In 2015, Jeanine Poe told the owner the businesses weren’t doing well financially and asked him to invest even more money. The owner invested much of his salary to financially support the businesses.
According to court documents, Jeanine Poe’s criminal activity over a five-year period included hundreds, if not thousands, of individual instances of theft and fraud.
In October 2019, after the businesses continued to lose money, the owner asked a friend to review the financial affairs of the businesses and learned that Jeanine Poe was embezzling money from his businesses. She had obtained at least seven credit cards in the name of the businesses, conducted transactions on the credit cards, and paid for such transactions with funds from the businesses. All of the credit cards opened by Jeanine Poe had reached their maximum allowable credit limit, and many times were used by Jeanine and William Poe for expenses that were entirely unrelated to the operation of the businesses (such as trips and personal expenses). One of the credit cards was in William Poe’s name. The owner also discovered that large amounts of cash were being fraudulently electronically transferred from his businesses’ bank account to Jeanine Poe’s personal bank account.
The two convenience stores were intended to become the victim’s retirement plan and source of future income. However, the business owner had to file for bankruptcy and actually lost one of his two businesses due to the embezzlement scheme.
William Poe admitted that he was aware of his wife’s embezzlement. He concealed these thefts by convincing the owner his wife was not embezzling, when he knew she was stealing from him. His concealment allowed Jeanine Poe to continue to conduct fraudulent credit card transactions and withdrawals from the business accounts.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the FBI.
Canadian Citizen Sentenced to 78 Months in Prison for Illegal Possession of FirearmsRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Canadian man was sentenced to 78 months for possessing a firearm as an alien unlawfully in the United States, announced Acting United States Attorney Charles J. Kovats.
According to court documents, on January 10, 2021, Dayne Adrian Sitladeen, 29, and co-defendant Muzamil Aden Addow, 29, were stopped by a Minnesota State Patrol Trooper near Fergus Falls, Minnesota. The defendants were traveling between 95-100 miles per hour in a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck with Texas license plates. When the Trooper approached the vehicle, Muzamil Aden Addow, the driver, provided an Ontario, Canada, driver’s license with a false name.
According to court documents, after detecting the odor of marijuana in the vehicle and receiving suspicious and inconsistent statements from Sitladeen, the Trooper searched the vehicle. As a result of the search, law enforcement officers recovered a total of 67 firearms and numerous magazines, including 15 high-capacity magazines, from four bags in the truck—one magazine was partially loaded with live ammunition rounds. Law enforcement later discovered a provisional federal arrest warrant from the United States Marshals Service for Sitladeen, which was based on a 2019 Canadian arrest warrant for first degree homicide, fentanyl distribution, and possession of proceeds of crime.
Sitladeen, who pleaded guilty on June 23, 2021 to one count of aiding and abetting firearm possession by aliens unlawfully in the United States, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Nancy E. Brasel.
Co-defendant, Muzamil Aden Addow, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 14, 2021 at 10:00 am.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Minnesota State Patrol.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Samantha Bates.
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CEO of Private Jet Charter Company Convicted of Bankruptcy FraudRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal judge convicted a Reston businessman yesterday on a series of fraud charges relating to a bankruptcy case in which he discharged over $6 million in personal debt.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on July 13, 2017, President and CEO of Metropolitan Aviation, Alan Russell Cook, Sr., 64, filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in his individual capacity. In anticipation of the filing, Cook transferred over $350,000 to his former girlfriend. He directed her to open accounts in her name and in the name of a fake company, Metro Aire, to receive his personal property and revenue from Metropolitan Aviation.
In connection with his bankruptcy case, Cook failed to disclose several bank accounts and over $50,000 in casino cash-outs. In addition, at the meeting of his creditors, Cook made several false statements under oath, including that his company was shut down for four to five months and generated no money in 2017. In actuality, Metropolitan Aviation generated revenue every month of 2017, totaling more than $1 million. Cook further failed to disclose making payments for his girlfriend’s luxury vehicle and his access to the fraudulent entity’s bank account, including writing checks for personal expenses, withdrawing cash, and paying for hotel stays.
Cook faces a maximum of 20 years in prison when sentenced on April 22, 2022. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Greg Thompson, Mid-Atlantic Region Acting Special Agent-In-Charge, U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton accepted the verdict.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jamar K. Walker and Alexander E. Blanchard are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:21-cr-72.
Brooklyn Park Man Sentenced to 96 Months in Prison for Illegal Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Brooklyn Park man was sentenced today to 96 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for illegal possession of a firearm.
According to court records, on March 6, 2020, Tyaireon Martez West-Porter, 24, was found to be in possession of a .40 caliber Glock 22 Gen 4 semi-automatic pistol. Because West-Porter has prior felony convictions in Hennepin County, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
Acting United States Attorney Charles Kovats made the announcement after West-Porter was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Richard Nelson.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Minneapolis Police Department and the FBI.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin A. Wesley prosecuted the case.
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Bloomfield Man Sentenced to More Than 7 Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking HeroinRead the Press Release
Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DANNY RHODES, also known as “Big D,” 63, of Bloomfield, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 87 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for trafficking heroin.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2018, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force began investigating a Hartford area narcotics trafficking operation that involved the use of the U.S. Mail to ship parcels of drugs and drug proceeds. Investigators determined that Israel Mendoza, also known as “D-Nice,” supplied Michael Copeland with large quantities of cocaine, and that Copeland, at Mendoza’s direction, mailed parcels containing cash to individuals in California. In September and October, U.S. Postal Inspectors in California intercepted and seized two parcels, each containing approximately $13,000 in cash, that Copeland mailed in Connecticut to addresses in the Fresno area. Investigators analyzed postal records and identified dozens of additional parcels connected to this drug trafficking network that are suspected to have contained narcotics or drug proceeds.
The investigation further revealed that Mendoza worked with others, including Rhodes and Neliobet DeJesus, also known as “Colorado,” in the Hartford area to distribute narcotics. In late 2018 and early 2019, investigators made controlled purchases of heroin, totaling nearly 1.7 kilograms, from Rhodes.
Rhodes’ criminal history includes numerous felony convictions, including a federal firearm conviction that resulted in a 10-year prison sentence.
Rhodes has been detained since his arrest on November 13, 2019. On May 21, 2021, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, heroin.
Copeland, of Bloomfield, and DeJesus, now residing in Orlando, Florida, have pleaded guilty and await sentencing. Mendoza, last residing in Reading, Pennsylvania, is being sought by law enforcement.
Acting U.S. Attorney Boyle stressed that, as to Mendoza, charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter has been investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force, which includes members from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Postal Service – Office of the Inspector General, the Connecticut Army National Guard, and the Hartford, New Britain, Meriden and Town of Groton Police Departments. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Connecticut State Police and Hartford Police Department assisted the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey M. Stone.
Bergen County Man Sentenced to 63 Months in Prison for Distributing and Conspiring to Distribute Crystal MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 63 months in prison for distributing and conspiring to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Henry Nieves, 45, of Rutherford, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine and one count of distributing and possessing with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Judge Hayden imposed the sentence today by videoconference.
According to documents filed in these cases and statements made in court:
In September 2019, Nieves distributed and conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute crystal methamphetamine in New Jersey. In September 2019, law enforcement officers conducted a controlled purchase of methamphetamine from Nieves. Subsequent laboratory testing showed that the substance contained 55.9 grams of pure methamphetamine. This high purity indicates that Nieves distributed crystal methamphetamine, or “ice,” which is a particularly dangerous form of methamphetamine. In September 2019, law enforcement officers observed Nieves engage in other apparent narcotics transactions, and later seized additional amounts of methamphetamine from Nieves’ belongings, vehicle, and apartment. In all, law enforcement seized approximately 86 grams of methamphetamine from Nieves during the investigation.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Hayden sentenced Nieves to three years of supervised release.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents and task force officers of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Pesce of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s OCDETF/Narcotics Unit in Newark.
Bergen County Company Admits Price Gouging KN95 Masks During COVID-19 PandemicRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County, New Jersey, company today admitted its role in price gouging a chain of New Jersey grocery stores in connection with the sale of KN95 masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
TSC Agency LLC (TSC), a logistics and freight forwarding company based in Mahwah, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jessica S. Allen to an information charging it with price gouging in violation of the Defense Production Act.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In March 2020, TSC and two partners purchased 250,000 KN95 filtering facepiece respirators from a foreign manufacturer. TSC and one of those partners then sold 100,000 masks to a chain of New Jersey grocery stores at prices in excess of prevailing market prices. TSC sold the masks at a price of $5.25 per mask, which amounted to a markup of more than 400 percent from its acquisition cost. Prior to the spread of COVID-19, TSC had no history of selling personal protective equipment.
A violation of the Defense Production Act carries a maximum fine of $200,000, or twice the gross pecuniary gain derived from the offense, or twice the gross pecuniary loss sustained by any victims of the offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing for TSC Agency is scheduled for April 13, 2022.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Peter Fitzhugh in New York, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney David V. Simunovich of the Government Fraud Unit in Newark and Nicholas P. Grippo, Chief of the Criminal Division in Newark.
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.
Belgrade meth trafficker sentenced to eight years in prisonRead the Press Release
BILLINGS — A Belgrade man who admitted to supplying methamphetamine to a local dealer was sentenced today to eight years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said.
Buddy Jonathan Shaw, Jr., 49, pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.
In court documents filed in the case, the government alleged that in May 2020, U.S. Probation officers and agents with the Missouri River Drug Task Force went to Shaw’s residence after receiving complaints that Shaw was distributing meth. After knocking for several minutes, the probation officers breached the door because they had an arrest warrant for Shaw. Shaw told the officers where his meth was hidden, and officers found approximately 230 grams of meth and $1,700. Shaw admitted that he had sold meth for the past year and sold most of it to a local dealer. When Shaw received meth, it was kilograms at a time.
The Bozeman Missouri River Drug Task Force, FBI, Bozeman Police Department, Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Probation Office investigated the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative to reduce violent crime. Through PSN, federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement partners in Montana focus on violent crime driven by methamphetamine trafficking, armed robbers, firearms offenses and violent offenders with outstanding warrants.
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Atlanta man sentenced for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraudRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Brandon Ridge has been sentenced for obtaining a $160,000 fraudulent loan from the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), a portion of which he then used to purchase a Range Rover.
“Ridge thought he could unjustly enrich himself by defrauding a program designed to support struggling businesses during an international pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “His sentence should serve as a warning to others that there are serious consequences for engaging in this type of fraud.”
“Ridge’s personal greed affects every tax paying citizen in this country and takes away from government funds intended to provide relief to small business and employees who desperately need it during this pandemic”, said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “This sentence serves as a message that the FBI and our federal partners remain vigilant during this pandemic to make sure funds provided by programs like PPP are used as intended.”
“It’s unfortunate that criminals continue to abuse the funds set aside to aid those impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic. IRS-CI will continue to use our financial expertise to identify fraud, trace the funds, and bring the criminals to justice,” said IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge James E. Dorsey. “Hopefully the continued prosecution of individuals seeking to abuse funds intended to help those most impacted by the pandemic, will serve as a deterrent to others.”
According to U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges and other information presented in court: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES”) is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020. It is designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the PPP. In April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding. Additional funding was authorized by Congress in December 2020.
The PPP allows qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of one percent. PPP loan proceeds must be used by businesses on payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spend the proceeds on these expenses within eight weeks of receipt and use at least 75 percent of the forgiven amount for payroll.
Ridge submitted two false PPP loan applications for his business, “Barking Rose Solutions,” requesting loan amounts totaling $449,917.50. The applications contained materially false information, including fabricated banking statements that inflated the company’s deposits and expenditures to make it appear that the company qualified for PPP relief. One of these loan applications was accepted and the defendant received $162,467.50 in fraudulent loan proceeds. The defendant then used the proceeds for his own personal benefit, which included purchasing a Range Rover.
Brandon Ridge, 37, of Decatur, Georgia, was sentenced to serve two years of incarceration, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and to forfeit his interest in the Range Rover and over $100,000 seized from his bank accounts. Ridge previously entered a plea of guilty to bank fraud. As part of his plea agreement, he agreed to forfeit his interest in the Range Rover as well as over $100,000 seized from his bank accounts.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas J. Krepp and Tiffany R. Dillingham prosecuted the case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
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.
Arizona Man Sentenced to 211 Months for Drug and Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Eric Neville, age 40, of Arizona, was sentenced today in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, felon in possession of a firearm, and using a firearm during a drug trafficking offense. United States District Court Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Neville to 211 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After completing his term of imprisonment, Neville will begin a 5-year term of supervised release.
On February 28, 2020, officers executed a search warrant at Neville’s hotel room in Omaha. Officers located 399 grams of methamphetamine, heroin, an AR-15 rifle, more than $6,645, drug packaging, and a drug scale. Officers searched a Mercedes related to the trafficking and located another 304 grams of methamphetamine. Neville and others were trafficking narcotics in the Omaha area. Prior to this narcotics trafficking in Omaha, Neville had a conviction in Arizona for aggravated assault (2009) and a conviction for possession of heroin for sale and misconduct involving weapons (2014). His 2014 Arizona drug and firearm conviction resulted in a 3.5 year prison sentence.
This case was 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.
The case was investigated by the Omaha Police Department.
Acting U.S. Attorney Warns of Increasing Danger of Counterfeit Prescription Opioids Containing FentanylRead the Press Release
BOISE – Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr. and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Frank A. Tarentino III today highlighted the danger that counterfeit prescription pills pose to our community. They seek to warn of the significant nationwide surge in counterfeit pills that are mass-produced by criminal drug networks in labs, deceptively marketed as legitimate prescription pills, and are killing unsuspecting Americans, and Idahoans, at an unprecedented rate.
An estimated 100,306 people died as the result of a drug overdose in the United States from April 2020 through April 2021 and more than 75 percent of those deaths involved an opioid. This is an increase of nearly 28.5 percent year over year. Idaho overdose deaths increased for the third year in a row to 280 with the incidents of overdose nearly 20 times the number of deaths.
Historically, the opioid epidemic began with a rapid increase in the prescribing of opioids starting in the 1990s. It continued when those addicted to opioids began to use heroin because it was cheaper and more readily available. Now, the most recent part of this epidemic is the increase in availability of counterfeit pills. Counterfeit pills are illicitly manufactured in clandestine labs, mostly using fentanyl as the active ingredient, and are made to look like legitimate prescription opioids commonly prescribed to alleviate pain or anxiety. These counterfeit pills are then illegally sold by street drug dealers as Oxycodone, Xanax, Percocet, or other similar drugs. Counterfeit pills are also being sold over the internet and delivered by mail. It is important to note that there is no concern of counterfeit pills entering the legitimate prescription supply chain.
“Prescription opioid abuse has already taken a devastating toll on our community,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gonzalez. “But we have also seen a terrifying rise in the prevalence of counterfeit prescription pills being sold on the street and online. The public must be aware that while these pills may look like prescription drugs, they likely contain the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl.” He went on to emphasize that, “a lethal dosage of fentanyl is just two milligrams, equivalent in size to a few grains of salt, as compared to a lethal dose of heroin at 30 milligrams, and that’s why communities everywhere have tragically experienced more fatal overdoses. That pill you bought off the street could be the last one you ever take.”
Counterfeit pills are incredibly dangerous because these imitation pills often look exactly like prescription Oxycodone in size, shape, color, and markings. In other words, there is no way to tell whether a pill purchased illicitly on the internet or the street is actually Oxycodone or a more powerful drug. The picture below on the left is an image of a legitimate Oxycodone pill. The picture on the right is an image of counterfeit Oxycodone pills.
These counterfeit pills have been seized by DEA in every U.S. state in unprecedented quantities. More than 9.5 million counterfeit pills were seized so far this year, which is more than the last two years combined. DEA laboratory testing reveals a dramatic rise in the number of counterfeit pills containing at least two milligrams of fentanyl, which is considered a lethal dose. A deadly dose of fentanyl is small enough to fit on the tip of a pencil. “Frankly, if it weren’t for the outstanding work of first responders administering naloxone (an opioid antagonist that rapidly reverse opioid overdose) and saving lives of those who have overdosed, the number of deaths would be much, much higher,” said Gonzalez.
“The availability and seizure of fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills has exploded in the region,” said Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent In Charge of DEA’s Seattle Field Division. “Criminal drug networks in Mexico are mass-producing fentanyl which is driving the increase in overdose deaths. The DEA and our law enforcement partners are committed to stemming the tide of this surge of lethal pills on our city streets by targeting the criminal networks who are profiteering while causing death in our communities.”
Unless prescription drugs are obtained from an authorized medical provider or pharmacy, the public should not consume or even handle these pills. The synthetic opioids contained in them are often lethal if consumed even if in the smallest amounts. All Idahoans are urged to only use prescription drugs prescribed to them by legitimate health care providers and obtained from their pharmacy. “I’m urging you to share this potentially life-saving message with friends and family today. Help us save a life,” concluded Gonzalez.
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A Las Cruces, New Mexico, Drug Leader Sentenced to 270 Months in Prison for Drug Trafficking in Sitka, AlaskaRead the Press Release
JUNEAU – A Las Cruces, New Mexico woman was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess today to 270 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release on drug trafficking and firearms charges.
According to the plea agreement, Christina Quintana aka “Lete,” 35, conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute quantities of methamphetamine and heroin in Sitka, Alaska and she possessed and discharged a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Beginning about May 2, 2017, and continuing until April 3, 2018, Quintana, along with her co-conspirators Andrea Avalos, Peter Krovina, Porter Treadway, Holly Chambers, Aaron Didrickson and Eric Morisky distributed methamphetamine and heroin in Sitka. Quintana and Avalos, who did not reside in Alaska, were responsible for the transportation and distribution of methamphetamine and heroin as well as coordinating and collecting drug debts. The other members of the conspiracy assisted Quintana and Avalos in their illicit activities. All member of the drug organization possessed firearms to facilitate their drug trafficking activities, as well as to extract retribution against members who owed drug debts. For example, the defendants organized and perpetrated a violent home invasion and robbery where Quintana shot an individual in both legs and Treadway attacked another individual with a claw hammer, to collect a drug debt owed to them. In issuing today’s sentence Chief Judge Burgess said Quintana’s conduct was beyond the pale on that day.
“Illicit narcotics are a cancer in our society and many Southeast Alaska communities have suffered at the hands of this epidemic for years,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bryan Wilson of the District of Alaska. “The violence committed in this case has shaken the community of Sitka and is one of the worst drug offenses committed in Southeast Alaska in the last few decades.”
“The defendant came to Alaska for the sole financial motivation of trafficking illicit narcotics,” said Special Agent in Charge Antony Jung of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. “Drug traffickers who believe they can operate with impunity, while bringing poison and violence to Alaska’s communities, will be held accountable by the FBI and our local, state, federal, and tribal law enforcement partners.”
“The brazenness of Quintana’s actions clearly warrant this significant sentence,” said ATF Seattle Field Division Acting Special Agent in Charge Matthew Olson. “She showed a complete disregard for the law and jeopardized the community as a whole. The removal of Quintana and her co-conspirators from the streets will help make our communities safer.”
Quintana’s co-conspirators also pleaded guilty and have been sentenced:
- Andrea Avalos, aka “Josie,” 25, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
- Peter Krovina, aka, “Lil’ Pete,” 42, of Sitka pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy and firearms charges and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
- Holly Chambers, 28, of Sitka pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charge and was sentenced to time served.
- Aaron Didrickson, 32 of Sitka pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charge and was sentenced to time served.
- Eric Morisky, aka “Curly,” 33, of Juneau pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge and was sentenced to four years in prison.
- Porter Treadway, 39, of Sitka pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge and is scheduled to be sentenced in January 2022.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Sitka Police Department investigated the case with assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS).
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Schmidt prosecuted the case.
This case is part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Alaska Rural Alaska Anti-Violence Enforcement Network (RAAVEN) initiative’s ongoing efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in Alaska Native communities. The case is also part of Alaska’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program and the South East Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD) task force. HIDTA was established in 2018 to enhance and coordinate efforts among local state and federal law enforcement agencies, providing equipment, technology and additional resources to combat drug trafficking and its harmful consequences in critical regions of Alaska.
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Tuesday 7 December 2021
Watertown Man Sentenced to 68 Months for Drug Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK – Kavon Mason, age 33, of Watertown, New York, was sentenced today in federal court in Binghamton to 68 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to distributing and conspiring to distribute illegal drugs in Central New York, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Matthew J. Scarpino, Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), SAC Buffalo, New York, and Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward, Boston Division, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).
In pleading guilty previously, Mason admitted that between January 2019 and July 2020, he conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine in and around Watertown, New York. Mason would travel to Arizona and other locations to purchase the drugs, and he and others would mail the drugs back to central New York using the U.S. Postal Service. The packages were sent to various addresses, often using false names, and Mason and others would retrieve the packages and distribute the drugs.
In addition to his term of imprisonment, Mason was ordered to serve four years of supervised release and to pay a money judgment of $42,000, representing Mason’s proceeds from the drug trafficking conspiracy. He was also sentenced to pay a $5,000.00 fine. The sentence was pronounced by Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy.
This case was investigated by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), with Assistance from the Metro-Jefferson Drug Task Force (“Met-Jeff”), and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Perry.
United States Prevails in Actions to Seize and Forfeit Iranian Terror Group’s Missiles and PetroleumRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced the successful forfeiture of two large caches of Iranian arms, including 171 surface-to-air missiles and eight anti-tank missiles, as well as approximately 1.1 million barrels of Iranian petroleum products. The U.S. Navy seized the weapons from two vessels in the Arabian Sea while conducting routine maritime security operations. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated foreign terrorist organization, orchestrated the arms shipments, which were destined for Houthi militants in Yemen. The U.S. government similarly seized the Iranian petroleum products from four foreign-flagged tankers in or around the Arabian Sea while en route to Venezuela. These actions represent the government’s largest-ever forfeitures of fuel and weapons shipments from Iran.
The U.S. government sold the seized petroleum products pursuant to a court order. The net proceeds of that sale, $26,681,397.67 before interest, may be directed, in whole or in part, to the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund now that the case has concluded.
“The actions of the United States in these two cases strike a resounding blow to the Government of Iran and to the criminal networks supporting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to use all available tools to combat the threats posed by terrorist organizations and all those who seek to harm the United States and its allies.”
“These two cases demonstrate that not only can we disrupt the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ ability to finance its operations through petroleum sales, but we can also thwart its ability to use the proceeds of such sales to arm its terrorist proxies and export terrorism abroad,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “Given our expertise and special statutory authority, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia is uniquely positioned to support its law enforcement partners in such terrorism cases. We are deeply committed to this mission.”
“The combined efforts of the FBI and our partners to seize missiles and over a million barrels of petroleum demonstrate our commitment to defend against foreign terrorist organizations and enforce U.S. sanctions,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “The Government of Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism has left innocent victims in its wake and its attempts to support regimes dangerous to the United States and our allies will be met with the full force of the law. The FBI has a continued resolve to hold the Government of Iran accountable for its illegal actions, and we urge anyone with information about violations of sanctions on Iran to contact the FBI.”
“This case is a success because of the hard work and dedication of a joint agency team including agents, analysts and prosecutors who, by securing illegal petroleum, have helped curtail Iran’s campaign of violence and unrest throughout the Middle East,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael Paul of the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office.
“The results announced today by the Department of Justice represent another significant victory for HSI in its ongoing efforts to thwart the nefarious criminal activities of the Iranian regime and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” said Special Agent in Charge Ray Villanueva of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington. “Protecting our homeland from transnational threats of any kind remains a top priority for HSI. The actions conducted by HSI and our partner organizations, both at home and abroad, demonstrate that no matter where in the world Iran attempts to violate sanctions and arm dangerous entities, HSI stands ready to disrupt their activities and defend the national security of the United States.”
“The illegal transfer of Iranian-made weapons poses a significant and immediate threat to our national security,” said Director Kelly P. Mayo of the Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General’s criminal investigative arm, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS). “The judgement announced today is an important step in our efforts to identify, disrupt, and bring to justice those who imperil resources vital to our safety.”
U.S. Navy Central Command (NAVCENT) seized the weapons from two flagless vessels in the Arabian Sea on Nov. 25, 2019 and Feb. 9, 2020, respectively. The weapons included 171 guided anti-tank missiles, eight surface-to-air missiles, land attack cruise missile components, anti-ship cruise missile components, thermal weapons optics, and other components for missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles.
On Aug. 20, 2020, the Justice Department filed a complaint seeking to forfeit the seized weapons in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The complaint alleged that the arms shipments were part of an IRGC trafficking network designed to distribute illicit weapons to the Houthi movement in Yemen. The court granted the government’s motion for default judgment and entered a final order of forfeiture on Nov. 15. In its opinion, the court found that the government had adequately alleged that the weapons belonged to the IRGC and that the IRGC constitutes an entity engaged in planning or perpetrating a federal crime of terrorism against the United States.
On Feb. 9, 2020, U.S. authorities seized three type “358” surface-to-air missiles. On Feb. 9, 2020, U.S. authorities seized 150 “Dehlavieh” anti-tank guided missiles.On July 2, 2020, the United States also filed a complaint in the District of Columbia seeking to forfeit all petroleum-product cargo aboard four foreign-flagged oil tankers. The complaint alleged that the petroleum originated in Iran, and the sale of that petroleum benefitted the IRGC, a sanctioned Iranian entity. On Oct. 1, the court granted the government’s motion for default judgment and entered an order of forfeiture. In its opinion, the court found that the United States had sufficiently alleged that the petroleum products provided a source of influence over the IRGC because those properties were critical to furthering the affairs of the terrorist group’s enterprise.
These successful forfeiture actions are a product of the U.S. government’s coordinated efforts to enforce U.S. sanctions against the IRGC and the Iranian regime.
HSI’s Washington Field Office and DCIS’s Mid-Atlantic Field Office led the investigation of the IRGC weapons smuggling network, with substantial assistance from NAVCENT in conducting the seizures. HSI Denver and FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office led the investigation of the Iranian petroleum sales, again with substantial assistance from NAVCENT during the seizures.
Both cases were prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Justice Department’s National Security Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian P. Hudak, Stuart D. Allen, and Michael P. Grady for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney David Lim of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the cases, with support from Paralegal Specialist Brian Rickers and Legal Assistant Jessica McCormick. The Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division provided extensive assistance in the forfeiture and sale of the seized petroleum.
The cases are United States v. All Petroleum-Product Cargo Aboard the Bella, et al., 1:20-cv-1791-JEB, and United States v. 171 “Dehlavieh” Anti-Tank Guided Missiles, et al., 20-cv-2299-JEB.
United States Prevails in Actions to Seize and Forfeit Iranian Terror Group’s Missiles and PetroleumRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today announced the successful forfeiture of two large caches of Iranian arms, including 171 surface-to-air missiles and eight anti-tank missiles, as well as approximately 1.1 million barrels of Iranian petroleum products. The U.S. Navy seized the weapons from two vessels in the Arabian Sea while conducting routine maritime security operations. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated foreign terrorist organization, orchestrated the arms shipments, which were destined for Houthi militants in Yemen. The U.S. government similarly seized the Iranian petroleum products from four foreign-flagged tankers in or around the Arabian Sea while en route to Venezuela. These actions represent the government’s largest-ever forfeitures of fuel and weapons shipments from Iran.
The U.S. government sold the seized petroleum products pursuant to a court order. The net proceeds of that sale, $26,681,397.67 before interest, may be directed, in whole or in part, to the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund now that the case has concluded.
“The actions of the United States in these two cases strike a resounding blow to the Government of Iran and to the criminal networks supporting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to use all available tools to combat the threats posed by terrorist organizations and all those who seek to harm the United States and its allies.”
“These two cases demonstrate that not only can we disrupt the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ ability to finance its operations through petroleum sales, but we can also thwart its ability to use the proceeds of such sales to arm its terrorist proxies and export terrorism abroad,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “Given our expertise and special statutory authority, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia is uniquely positioned to support its law enforcement partners in such terrorism cases. We are deeply committed to this mission.”
“The combined efforts of the FBI and our partners to seize missiles and over a million barrels of petroleum demonstrate our commitment to defend against foreign terrorist organizations and enforce U.S. sanctions,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “The Government of Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism has left innocent victims in its wake and its attempts to support regimes dangerous to the United States and our allies will be met with the full force of the law. The FBI has a continued resolve to hold the Government of Iran accountable for its illegal actions, and we urge anyone with information about violations of sanctions on Iran to contact the FBI.”
“This case is a success because of the hard work and dedication of a joint agency team including agents, analysts and prosecutors who, by securing illegal petroleum, have helped curtail Iran’s campaign of violence and unrest throughout the Middle East,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael Paul of the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office.
“The results announced today by the Department of Justice represent another significant victory for HSI in its ongoing efforts to thwart the nefarious criminal activities of the Iranian regime and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” said Special Agent in Charge Ray Villanueva of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington. “Protecting our homeland from transnational threats of any kind remains a top priority for HSI. The actions conducted by HSI and our partner organizations, both at home and abroad, demonstrate that no matter where in the world Iran attempts to violate sanctions and arm dangerous entities, HSI stands ready to disrupt their activities and defend the national security of the United States.”
“The illegal transfer of Iranian-made weapons poses a significant and immediate threat to our national security,” said Director Kelly P. Mayo of the Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General’s criminal investigative arm, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS). “The judgment announced today is an important step in our efforts to identify, disrupt, and bring to justice those who imperil resources vital to our safety.”
U.S. Navy Central Command (NAVCENT) seized the weapons from two flagless vessels in the Arabian Sea on Nov. 25, 2019, and Feb. 9, 2020, respectively. The weapons included 171 guided anti-tank missiles, eight surface-to-air missiles, land attack cruise missile components, anti-ship cruise missile components, thermal weapons optics and other components for missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles.
On Aug. 20, 2020, the Justice Department filed a complaint seeking to forfeit the seized weapons in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The complaint alleged that the arms shipments were part of an IRGC trafficking network designed to distribute illicit weapons to the Houthi movement in Yemen. The court granted the government’s motion for default judgment and entered a final order of forfeiture on Nov. 15. In its opinion, the court found that the government had adequately alleged that the weapons belonged to the IRGC and that the IRGC constitutes an entity engaged in planning or perpetrating a federal crime of terrorism against the United States.
On Feb. 9, 2020, U.S. authorities seized three type “358” surface-to-air missiles (above) and 150 “Dehlavieh” anti-tank guided missiles (below).
On July 2, 2020, the United States also filed a complaint in the District of Columbia seeking to forfeit all petroleum-product cargo aboard four foreign-flagged oil tankers. The complaint alleged that the petroleum originated in Iran, and the sale of that petroleum benefitted the IRGC, a sanctioned Iranian entity. On Oct. 1, 2021, the court granted the government’s motion for default judgment and entered an order of forfeiture. In its opinion, the court found that the United States had sufficiently alleged that the petroleum products provided a source of influence over the IRGC because those properties were critical to furthering the affairs of the terrorist group’s enterprise.
These successful forfeiture actions are a product of the U.S. government’s coordinated efforts to enforce U.S. sanctions against the IRGC and the Iranian regime.
HSI’s Washington Field Office and DCIS’s Mid-Atlantic Field Office led the investigation of the IRGC weapons smuggling network, with substantial assistance from NAVCENT in conducting the seizures. HSI Denver and FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office led the investigation of the Iranian petroleum sales, again with substantial assistance from NAVCENT during the seizures.
Both cases were prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Justice Department’s National Security Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian P. Hudak, Stuart D. Allen, and Michael P. Grady for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney David Lim of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the cases, with support from Paralegal Specialist Brian Rickers and Legal Assistant Jessica McCormick. The Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division provided extensive assistance in the forfeiture and sale of the seized petroleum.
The cases are United States v. All Petroleum-Product Cargo Aboard the Bella, et al., 1:20-cv-1791-JEB, and United States v. 171 “Dehlavieh” Anti-Tank Guided Missiles, et al., 20-cv-2299-JEB.
Two Influential Members of the Universal Aryan Brotherhood Admit to Participating in a Racketeering Enterprise and Drug Conspiracy from PrisonRead the Press Release
Two Universal Aryan Brotherhood influential gang members pleaded guilty Tuesday for conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise that committed acts of murder, kidnapping, the trafficking of methamphetamine and firearms, money laundering, assault, and robbery throughout the State of Oklahoma, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
The UAB is a “whites only” prison-based gang with members operating inside and outside of state prisons throughout Oklahoma.
Christopher K. Baldwin, 42, and Robert W. Zeidler, 47, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise and to drug conspiracy, but both men refused to cooperate with the government.
The plea agreements, if accepted by U.S. District Judge Claire V. Eagan, stipulate that Baldwin and Zeidler will each serve 22 years in federal prison. The men will be sentenced April 6, 2022.
“The Universal Aryan Brotherhood is a criminal enterprise responsible for countless violent crimes and narcotics distribution throughout Oklahoma. The gang orchestrates a prolific drug trafficking operation responsible for distributing an estimated 2,500 kilograms of methamphetamine per year,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “My office and our local, state, federal, and tribal partners will continue to pursue and prosecute criminal organizations, like the UAB, who wreak havoc in northeastern Oklahoma. Baldwin and Zeidler’s guilty pleas are another step forward in dismantling this criminal organization and ensuring justice for victims.”
Baldwin and Zeidler were key players involved in UAB operations while imprisoned in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester. Incarcerated UAB members used contraband cell phones, social media and “kites” to carry out their operations. Kites are written communications, or notes, passed to intended recipients.
In their plea agreements, Baldwin and Zeidler stated that when joining the UAB they understood that members took part in racketeering activities to further the gang’s enterprise.
Baldwin admitted to being part of the gang from at least 1999 to 2017 and that during part of that time, he sat on the “Main Council,” the UAB’s highest governing body. Baldwin stated that he was involved directly or indirectly as a coconspirator in crimes of drug dealing, witness intimidation, money laundering and other crimes of violence.
Zeidler admitted to joining the gang and to committing or causing to be committed crimes related to the racketeering enterprise and drug conspiracy. Zeidler helped lead the gang’s methamphetamine operation.
Both men also admitted to knowingly and willfully agreeing with others to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 500 grams of methamphetamine. As part of the UAB’s operations, members and associates participated in a significant and widespread methamphetamine distribution scheme directed by incarcerated UAB leaders.
In conjunction with the gang’s large-scale methamphetamine operation, members also laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal drug proceeds for the benefit of the UAB enterprise, using cash transfers, stored value cards, PayPal, Green Dot, and Walmart money transfers. Investigators from the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) helped trace the money trail.
According to court documents, multiple kidnappings were also ordered in an effort to leverage and expand the UAB’s power and operations throughout Oklahoma. Members and associates of the enterprise used kidnapping as a way to enforce discipline, recoup drugs and other debts, and to ensure the individuals were not cooperating with law enforcement. Additionally, nine individuals were murdered as part of the UAB’s racketeering operations, often upon the orders of the Main Council.
“The guilty plea of these conspirators sends a strong message that those involved in criminal enterprises committing heinous acts of violence and drug trafficking will face swift prosecution,” said Christopher Miller, acting Special Agent in Charge HSI Dallas. “Working in conjunction with our law enforcement partners, our agency is relentless in the pursuit of dismantling transnational criminal organizations wherever they operate.”
Both men were charged in an indictment along with 16 other members and associates of the UAB in December 2018. You can find the press release announcing charges in February 2019 here.
The UAB was established in 1993 within the Oklahoma Department of Corrections and modeled itself after the principles and ideology of the Aryan Brotherhood, a California-based prison gang that formed in the 1960s.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and IRS-Criminal Investigation led the investigation with assistance from the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Tulsa and Enid Police Departments, Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis A. Fries is prosecuting this case.
Two Defendants Charged with Unemployment Insurance Benefit Fraud Combined Actual Losses in Excess of $3.2 MillionRead the Press Release
DETROIT - Two defendants have been charged in criminal complaints for their roles in unemployment insurance benefit fraud schemes, announced Acting United States Attorney Saima Mohsin.
Joining in this announcement are Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge, Chicago Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, Sarah Kull, Special Agent-in-Charge Internal Revenue Service Detroit and Julia Dale, Director, Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency.
Tauheed Salik Wilder, 39, of Detroit, MI, and Shuqueni Renee Franklin, 30, of Shelby Township, MI are charged in separate complaints with mail fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering. Wilder and Franklin were arrested today.
Between them, according to the complaints, Wilder and Franklin are responsible for filing at least 470 claims for fraudulent unemployment insurance benefits in at least 5 States, including Michigan. Their illegal activity caused actual losses of over $4 million and attempted losses of over $13 million. It is alleged that both Wilder and Franklin filed numerous false claims using their own names and false social security numbers. Wilder and Franklin also used the stolen identity of other individuals to file false claims for unemployment insurance benefits. Both Wilder and Franklin were caught on bank surveillance cameras using ATM cards in names of individuals whose identity they had stolen to withdraw the illegally obtained unemployment benefits.
“The funds stolen by these defendants were intended to be used to ease the burden of unemployment suffered by residents of Michigan and other States. Those who steal unemployment benefits steal from all taxpayers and jeopardize the safety net Congress enacted to protect employees who lost jobs during the pandemic. These arrests reflect our ongoing commitment to investigating these schemes and bringing the people who commit these crimes to justice,” stated Acting US Attorney Saima M. Mohsin.
"An important part of the mission of the Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations involving unemployment insurance fraud. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate these types of allegations,” stated Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge, Chicago Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.
“When someone loses their job, they trust that help will be there to get them through rough times. Thieves jeopardize that trust and threaten the safety net for those truly in need. We won’t let that happen,” said Juila Dale, Director of the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency. “Through the tireless work of the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Fraud Task Force, we are bringing these criminals to justice and the Task Force partners should be commended for their efforts. I would also urge anyone who knows of any UI fraud scheme to go to Michigan.gov/UIA and click on the Report Fraud link.”
"Unemployment insurance was designed to provide much needed financial assistance to those in need during a global pandemic. IRS-CI and our law enforcement partners are committed to investigating those who steal government assistance for their personal benefit,” stated Special Agent in Charge Sarah Kull, IRS-CI Detroit Field Office.
A complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Trial cannot be held on felony charges in a complaint. When the investigations are completed, determinations will be made whether to seek felony indictments.