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Tuesday 7 December 2021
Torrington Man Charged with Kidnapping MinorRead the Press Release
Leonard C Boyle, Acting U.S. Attorney of the District of Connecticut, today announced that CHRISTOPHER JESUS CONSTANZO, 19, of Torrington, has been charged by a federal criminal complaint issued in the District of Connecticut with kidnapping a minor.
Constanzo was originally charged with this offense in the District of Vermont. He appeared today via videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle in Vermont and agreed to remain in custody pending his transfer to the District of Connecticut for further prosecution.
As alleged in court documents, on December 2, 2021, at approximately 7:27 a.m., Constanzo and a minor female (“minor victim”) arrived by car at the U.S. Port of Entry at Highgate Springs, Vermont. Just prior to their arrival, officials at the St-Armand/Philipsburg Border Crossing in Canada had refused Constanzo and the minor victim entry into Canada. After U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers separated Constanzo from the minor victim, the victim reported that she met Constanzo the night before at Stillwater Pond State Park in Torrington. Constanzo then sexually assaulted the minor victim, forced her into the trunk of the minor victim’s car, restrained her with a shoelace, and then began driving. At some point during the night, Constanzo removed the minor victim from the trunk and sexually assaulted her again. As they neared the Canadian border, Constanzo has the minor victim sit in the front passenger seat of the car. Constanzo instructed her to “act normal” and “go along with the story.” Constanzo then told Canadian Border Services Agency officials that the minor victim was his sister and they intended to go into Canada for four days to visit friends. However, due to their lack of COVID tests, Constanzo and the minor victim were denied entry into Canada.
The complaint alleges that Constanzo is the subject of a pending sexual assault investigation in Connecticut for another incident that occurred earlier this year.
The complaint charges Constanzo with kidnapping, which carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 25 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life. The penalties this matter are enhanced because the victim is a minor.
Acting U.S. Attorney Boyle stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Vermont State Police and the Torrington Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Neeraj N. Patel and Nancy V. Gifford in the District of Connecticut, with the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Lasher in the District of Vermont.
This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.
St. Petersburg Postal Clerk Sentenced to Federal Prison for Stealing Mail and Passport Applications to Commit Bank FraudRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington has sentenced Jasmine Wynne (31, Ruskin) to 33 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and theft of a postal key.
According to court documents, Wynne, a Postal Clerk with the United States Postal Service (USPS) at the St. Petersburg Retail Post Office location, conspired with others to defraud federally insured financial institutions. Wynne used her status and the special access she had as a USPS employee to open First-Class mail and to photograph personal identifying information (“PII”) and bank account information. Wynne then forwarded the photographs to co-conspirators for use in a bank fraud scheme. Wynne also photographed United States Passport applications that were processed at her post office location to gain applicants’ PII and bank account information. She then forwarded that information to co-conspirators.
In addition, Wynne used her position as a USPS employee to access and steal restricted postal arrow keys – special master keys that open USPS collection boxes, banks of mailboxes at apartment complexes, and any other mailbox keyed with an arrow lock. Wynne then provided the postal arrow keys to co-conspirators for use in the charged conspiracy.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Craig Gestring.
St. Albans Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A St. Albans man pleaded guilty today to a federal drug crime.
According to statements made in court, on August 14, 2021, Austin Nathaniel Miller, 24, was stopped by an officer with the St. Albans Police Department for riding a dirt bike on a city street. Miller admitted to possessing a gun and the officer recovered a loaded Ruger 9mm handgun from Miller’s waistband. In searching Miller’s backpack, the officer found two packages of suspected methamphetamine with a combined approximate weight of 238.22 grams. Drug lab analysis determined that the methamphetamine was approximately 98% pure.
Miller pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced on April 7, 2022.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the St. Albans Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick Miller is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-00204.
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South Charleston Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Trafficking CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A South Charleston man pleaded guilty today to a federal drug trafficking crime.
According to statements made in court, Marquise Culbreath-Claytor, 26, was a passenger in a vehicle stopped in Boone County by a trooper with the West Virginia State Police on April 1, 2021. Culbreath-Claytor possessed 134 grams of methamphetamine, which he admitted he intended to sell.
Culbreath-Claytor pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine and faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison when he is sentenced on February 3, 2022.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the West Virginia State Police.
Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. presided over the hearing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nowles Heinrich is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-00190.
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Six Mexican Nationals Charged with Participating in Cross-Border Kidnap-for-Ransom Conspiracy Responsible for Six MurdersRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A federal grand jury today returned an indictment against six members of a Tijuana, Mexico-based hostage-taking organization that allegedly kidnapped nine victims and murdered six of them – including three United States citizens – some of them after their families paid ransom for their release.
The five-count indictment charges all six defendants with one count of conspiracy to commit hostage taking resulting in death, one count of conspiracy to commit extortion, and one count of extortion. The charged defendants, all Mexican nationals, are:
- German Garcia Yera Hernandez, 37, the indictment’s lead defendant and the alleged ringleader of the hostage-for-ransom organization;
- Gilberto Omar Avila Lopez, 27, a.k.a. “Luis Enrique Avila Moreno” and “Omar;”
- Aylin Estrada Reyes, 24;
- Joel Eduardo Mascorro Delgado, 22;
- Victoria Camila Espinoza Ballardo, 22; and
- Oscar Bautista Valencia, 30
Yera, Lopez and Ballardo each face an additional count of hostage taking resulting in death and extortion. All six defendants are in custody in Mexico facing charges filed by authorities there.
According to the indictment, from January 2020 to April 2020, Yera led the hostage-taking organization that extorted money from victims by taking hostage and holding for ransom United States nationals and Mexican nationals with relatives in the United States.
The hostage-taking group generally lured their victims into meetings under false pretenses and took them hostage, the indictment states. The group allegedly held the victims at gunpoint, tied them up, and often brutally beat them. Members of the group then called victims’ family members in the United States and demanded money and vehicles as ransom in return for the release of their loved ones, according to the indictment. If victims did not have family members who could pay ransom, they were murdered, as happened with what the indictment calls “Victim A,” “Victim B” and “Victim I.”
In other instances outlined in the indictment in which ransoms were paid, Yera and other conspirators allegedly killed the victims to protect the conspiracy. Other members of the organization traveled from Mexico into the United States to locations selected by Yera and others to collect the ransom payments made by the victims’ family members. For example, on March 28, 2020, a co-conspirator traveled to collect ransom payment on Yera’s behalf at a McDonald’s in San Ysidro. After the murder of this victim, the indictment alleges that Yera sent Lopez a message depicting a large amount of cash and wrote “this was good job done.”
On April 11, 2020, Yera and co-conspirators allegedly orchestrated the hostage taking of a victim identified in court documents as “Victim E,” a United States national who resided in Norwalk and who was at the time visiting a family member in Tijuana. Victim E was forced to call his mother, say he was in trouble and instruct her to call an individual to pay $25,000 for his release. The victim’s mother struggled to obtain the ransom money but agreed to pay the hostage takers $1,000 and Victim E’s vehicle in exchange for Victim E’s release and met up with a ransom collector in Norwalk on April 13, 2020 – the same day Victim E was murdered. His body was recovered in Mexico the next day.
On April 22, 2020, a Pasadena woman called law enforcement to report a family member, identified in the indictment as “Victim H,” had been kidnapped in Mexico with a ransom demand of $20,000. One of the kidnappers, calling from a Mexican phone number, informed the victim’s family that a woman would pick up the ransom money at a Food 4 Less parking lot in Lynwood. That same day, law enforcement in Mexico rescued the victim, who was being held hostage at a Tijuana hotel.
If convicted of all charges, the defendants would face a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment or the death penalty.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The FBI is investigating this matter and believes there may be victims who have not yet been identified. The FBI asks that anyone contacted by the defendants relative to a kidnapping or a ransom payment call the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office at (310) 477-6565.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey M. Chemerinsky and Joseph D. Axelrad of the Violent and Organized Crime Section are prosecuting this case.
Sibley Man Pleads Guilty to Illegal Possession of FirearmsRead the Press Release
A man who illegally possessed guns pled guilty December 2, 2021, in federal court in Sioux City.
Levi Dimmitt, 34, from Sibley, Iowa, was convicted of being a prohibited person in possession of multiple firearms.
At the plea hearing, Dimmitt admitted that he was a user of marijuana and methamphetamine while possessing the guns. As a user of controlled substances, Dimmitt is prohibited from possessing guns. Reports show that law enforcement executed a search warrant on April 24, 2021, at Dimmitt’s residence. Officers searched the residence and located drug paraphernalia, a drug ledger, marijuana, methamphetamine, and four guns.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Dimmitt remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Dimmitt faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Sibley Police Department, Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-4062. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Schenectady Woman Sentenced for Unlawfully Possessing a Defaced Firearm and Distributing HeroinRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Nakia Barber, age 46, of Schenectady, New York, was sentenced today to time served (approximately 3 months), followed by 3 years of supervised release, for unlawfully possessing a defaced firearm and possessing with intent to distribute and distributing heroin.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and John B. DeVito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF).
Barber previously pled guilty to unlawfully possessing a defaced Walther P22 .22 caliber pistol and to possessing and distributing heroin on October 30, 2018. She had been in custody on unrelated New York State charges since September 2020.
This case was investigated by the ATF and the Schenectady County Sheriff’s Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alexander P. Wentworth-Ping.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Rochester Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
CONCORD - Michael A Clemence, 36, of Rochester, pleaded guilty in federal court to possession of child pornography, Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced today.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in February of 2020, the Homeland Security Investigations New Hampshire office received information that on April 28, 2019, an individual originating from an IP address at a Rochester residence had accessed a website known for sharing child sexual abuse and exploitation material. Clemence was identified as the subscriber of the target IP address.
On May 26, 2021, agents conducted a consensual interview with Clemence. They advised him they were investigating internet activity associated with child exploitation material and that some of the activity occurred in April of 2019 from the IP address associated with his previous address. Clemence made no admissions but volunteered that his wife had previously found disturbing material on their home computer and that they subsequently wiped the computer’s hard drive and gave the computer away. Clemence’s wife later confirmed that in May of 2019, she discovered thousands of images of what appeared to be child exploitation material on Clemence’s laptop computer.
After further investigation, a search warrant was executed at Clemence’s residence, which resulted in the seizure of numerous electronic devices. Forensic examination of the devices confirmed the presence of child exploitation material. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children identified 1,351 images as depicting known minor victims.
Clemence is scheduled to be sentenced on March 21, 2022.
“Protecting vulnerable young people from exploitation is among the most significant duties of law enforcement,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Farley. “Those who possess or distribute sexually explicit images of children are further exploiting the innocent youths who were abused during the creation of these images. To protect young children from exploitation, we work closely with our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute those who commit crimes related to child pornography.”
“Child exploitation material is an enduring record of the terrible abuse of children. Those who seek out and collect that material create a market for its production and the continued exploitation of children,” said Matthew Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge for the Homeland Security Investigations’ Boston Field Office. “Homeland Security Investigations will continue our work alongside our partners at the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children task force to ensure those like this individual face the consequences for their participation in these horrible crimes.”
This matter was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations and the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, with assistance from the Rochester Police Department and Merrimack County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kasey Weiland.
In February 2006, the Department of Justice introduced Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Repeat Offender Admits Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – An Ocean County, New Jersey, man today admitted possessing thousands of images and videos depicting child sexual abuse, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Andrew Ramey, 34, of Brick, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti to an information charging him with one count of possession of child pornography.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From March 13, 2020, through June 8, 2020, Ramey downloaded and shared material containing images of child sexual abuse, via the BitTorrent Network, a publicly available online peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing network of linked computers. Users must download P2P software, which is widely available for free on the Internet. The software allows the user to place files into a designated “shared” folder on his or her hard drive, from which other BitTorrent users can then download those files directly to the “shared” folders of their own computers. Users can then search, select, and directly download, those files.
Law enforcement used investigative software to access the BitTorrent Network and downloaded video files containing images of child sexual abuse from a device or devices assigned to an IP address at Ramey’s residence. On Nov. 13, 2020, law enforcement searched Ramey’s residence and seized mobile phones belonging to Ramey. Analysis revealed the phones contained thousands of images and videos containing images of child sexual abuse, as well as BitTorrent software.
In a prior federal prosecution in 2018, Ramey was convicted of one count of possession of child pornography in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. For a repeat offender, the possession charge in the information carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, along with a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentencing is scheduled for April 12, 2022.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, Atlantic City, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jason J. Molina in Newark; detectives of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer; the Brick Police Department, under the direction of Chief James Riccio; and the Mount Laurel Police Department, under the direction of Chief Stephen Riedener, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander E. Ramey of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
Queens Pharmacist Indicted for Conspiring to Accept Kickbacks and Making False StatementsRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, an indictment was unsealed charging Bruce Snipas, the owner and pharmacist-in-charge of B&E Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“B&E”) in Rego Park, New York, with conspiracy to make false statements in health care matters, making false statements in health care matters and conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. Snipas was arrested this morning and arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy. The defendant was released on a $150,000 bond.
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 arrest and charges.
“As alleged, the defendant, a pharmacist and health care professional, engaged in a fraudulent scheme to take advantage of the Medicaid program and profit by accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office is committed to protecting the integrity of government programs, including health insurance programs like Medicaid that benefit the district’s most vulnerable residents.” United States Attorney Peace also thanked the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General.
“Snipas, as alleged, received hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks while helping a health care company cover up their processing of fraudulent claims totaling more than $30 million. The FBI will continue our efforts to protect government-sponsored programs that exist to serve the interests of those within our community who need them most and private insurance programs that are adversely affected by this type of fraud,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll.
As alleged in the indictment, from approximately April 2015 to February 2018, Snipas conspired with a Florida-based health care company (the “Health Care Company”) to conceal the Health Care Company’s involvement in processing over $30 million in fraudulently obtained prescription claims by B&E from various health care programs, including New York Medicaid. Snipas repeatedly made false claims to Federal and State regulators and pharmacy boards concealing the Health Care Company’s involvement in the operations of B&E. In exchange for assisting the Health Care Company in processing the prescriptions through B&E, Snipas received approximately $650,000 in kickbacks from the Health Care Company.
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Health Care Fraud Task Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Erin E. Argo and Brian Morris are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
BRUCE SNIPAS
Age: 68
West Islip, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-CR-605 (MKB)
Pennsylvania State Prison Inmate Charged with Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA – An inmate of SCI - Pine Grove, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of obstruction of justice, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.
The one-count Indictment named Dhaque Jones, 25, incarcerated in Indiana, PA, as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment presented to the court, beginning on or about February 14, 2020 and continuing thereafter until on or about July 13, 2021, the defendant did obstruct justice during a federal civil case by submitting materially false documents submitted as exhibits to Jones’ habeas petition with the federal court.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and a term of supervised release of not more than 3 years. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin J. Risacher is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Pennsylvania Doctor Sentenced for Unlawfully Distributing OxycodoneRead the Press Release
A Pennsylvania man was sentenced today to three years in prison for his unlawful distribution of controlled substances.
According to court documents, Timothy F. Shawl, M.D., 62, of Garnet Valley, wrote prescriptions for controlled substances totaling approximately 20,811 oxycodone pills for certain patients without seeing, treating, or examining them. One patient overdosed and died on Jan. 7, 2019, just three days after Shawl last prescribed oxycodone for her despite not treating or examining her in at least five years. Shawl pleaded guilty to five counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances on Jan. 21, 2020.
“By prescribing controlled substances to patients without any medical oversight, the defendant violated his professional and moral obligation to his patients,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The defendant’s conduct had devastating consequences including to at least one patient who suffered an overdose and death as a result of the defendant’s prescriptions. The Department of Justice is committed to combating the opioid epidemic and that includes prosecuting the people who enable it.”
“The defendant in today’s case neglected his sworn responsibility to do no harm and recklessly contributed to the nation’s opioid epidemic,” said Acting Assistant Director Jay Greenberg of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The human consequences in these cases are tragic, and the FBI is devoted to investigating doctors who prescribe controlled substances without legitimate medical reason to do so. Rest assured, the FBI will work tirelessly with our partners to bring justice to victims and those who have tragically lost loved ones because of unlawful distribution.”
The FBI’s Philadelphia Division investigated the case, with assistance from Health Care Fraud Task Force officers from the Philadelphia Police Department and Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General.
Trial Attorney Debra Jaroslawicz of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
Pathology Practice Agrees to Pay $2.4 Million to Resolve False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A New Jersey pathology practice will pay $2.4 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by making false representations in connection with submissions to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced today.
According to the government’s contentions in the settlement agreement:
Princeton Pathology Services P.A. (Princeton Pathology) submitted claims to Medicare under Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code 85390-26 from Jan. 1, 2015, through Dec. 31, 2020. This CPT code requires written analysis by a pathologist, but Princeton Pathology submitted claims using this code without written substantiation in medical records. As a result, Princeton Pathology billed Medicare for analysis of tests that did not require analysis, causing Medicare to significantly overpay.
Contemporaneous with the civil settlement, Princeton Pathology also entered into a three-year Integrity Agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), which requires, among other things, training, auditing, and monitoring designed to address the conduct at issue in the case as well as evolving compliance risks on an ongoing basis.
“Federal health care programs rely on practitioners to accurately bill for services they perform,” Acting U.S. Attorney Honig said. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey will hold accountable physician practices that seek payment for unnecessary or unsubstantiated services.”
“Submitting claims for unsubstantiated services threatens the integrity of the Medicare program and will not be tolerated,” Scott J. Lampert, HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge said. “We will continue to protect patients and taxpayers by holding accountable providers who endanger the integrity of federal health care programs and the beneficiaries they serve.”
The allegations arose from a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Jayant Barai M.D. The False Claims Act permits private parties to sue for false claims on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery. Dr. Barai will receive $456,000 from the federal share of the settlement.
The government’s pursuit of this lawsuit illustrates its efforts to combat healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800‑HHS‑TIPS (800-447-8477).
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the HHS-OIG, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Lampert; and special agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas Mahoney, with the investigation leading to the settlement.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Meyler of the Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark.
The lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Barai v. Princeton Pathology Services, P.A., et al. (D.N.J.). The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Omaha Man Sentenced for Impersonating a Federal OfficerRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Jeffrey Thomas Ostdiek, 56, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced today in federal court in Omaha for impersonating a federal officer. The Honorable Robert F. Rossiter, Jr., sentenced Ostdiek to 17 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal prison system. After his release from prison, Ostdiek will serve a 1-year term of supervised release.
Between October 2016 and at least January 2017, Ostdiek went to multiple locations in the Omaha area claiming to be a Postal Inspector or Postmaster General. Ostdiek wore identification that he made from Postal Service receipts along with a body-worn video camera. On one of these occasions, Ostdiek convinced an actual United States Postal Service employee to accompany him to the Douglas County Courthouse where he demanded to meet with a government official, all under the pretense of being a Postal Inspector investigating a legal matter concerning his brother.
In September 2020, Ostdiek went to multiple locations in the Omaha area claiming to be a United States Marshal. Ostdiek wore a six-pointed star belt buckle along with a body-worn video camera. On one of these occasions, Ostdiek went to a business in Omaha seeking contact information for a former employee. Ostdiek left a note to pass on to the former employee asking her to call “Marshal Thomas.”
“This defendant impersonated a Postal Inspector, a U.S. Marshal, and the Postmaster General, but Postal Inspectors in Nebraska worked with their local and federal partners to bring him to justice,” said Ruth Mendonça, Inspector in Charge of the Denver Division, which includes Nebraska. “Today’s sentence affirms the importance of the law enforcement oath to protect and serve. All Postal Inspectors carry badges and credentials which identify them as federal agents. Postal Inspectors have immense authority entrusted to them by the American Public. If an individual has concerns, a call can be placed to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service or their local law enforcement agency to verify that a person is a Postal Inspector on official business,” said Mendonça.
The United States Marshal Service also noted that their agency is seeing an increase in impersonation investigations and urged the public to continue to report such incidents.
This case was investigated by the Omaha Police Department, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office, United States Marshal Service, and United States Postal Inspection Service.
Nurse Pleads Guilty to Tampering with Morphine at Moses Lake ClinicRead the Press Release
Spokane, Washington – Esther Rae Tuller, age 40, of Moses Lake, Washington, has pleaded guilty to tampering with morphine medication while working as a registered nurse. Chief United States District Judge Stanley A. Bastian accepted Tuller’s guilty plea and scheduled a sentencing hearing for March 17, 2022, in Spokane.
According to court documents and information disclosed during Tuller’s change of plea hearing, between August 2019 and April 2020, Tuller was a Washington-licensed registered nurse employed at the Confluence Health Clinic in Moses Lake. Her position as a nurse provided her with access to medications, including opioid narcotics such as morphine, an opioid derivative commonly prescribed by hospitals and health care facilities to relieve pain.
While working at Confluence Health, Tuller used syringes to remove morphine from at least 17 vials, and then ingested that morphine as part of her own opioid addiction. She then replaced the morphine with a saline solution that was essentially salt dissolved in water, and attempted to glue the caps back onto the vials to make them appear intact. Before Tuller was apprehended by law enforcement, at least one Confluence Health patient who was prescribed morphine had to be rushed to the emergency room; that patient continued to be in excruciating pain after receiving only saline from what was supposed to be morphine vials.
United States Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref emphasized that part of her mission to ensure a safe and strong community in Eastern Washington includes addressing the opioid epidemic in all of its forms. “While Ms. Tuller’s addiction to opioids is both tragic and far too common, her decision to take advantage of her access to medical-grade morphine was an egregious breach of trust. It is deeply troubling that she compounded her misconduct by secretly replacing that morphine with saline in vials that she knew would be distributed to patients. She recklessly and seriously endangered the safety of patients who rely on the judgment and integrity of health care professionals every day.”
The drug tampering charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and up to 3 years of court supervision after release.
United States Attorney Waldref underscored how important it is to detect crimes like these. “I commend the outstanding investigative work by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Diversion Group as well as the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations. This case demonstrates that DEA, FDA, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office will work tirelessly to protect and strengthen our communities both by combatting opioid abuse wherever it occurs, and by holding accountable anyone who abuses a position of trust to access dangerous drugs or put vulnerable patients at risk.”
Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge of DEA’s Seattle Field Division, highlighted DEA’s ongoing work against the abuse of opioids. “Ms. Tuller’s reckless actions violated her oath as a medical professional, and undermined the trust and confidence of the public. During this national opioid crisis, people are depending on health care and law enforcement professionals to keep our communities safe from anyone who seeks to exploit the system designed to provide care and treatment for those in need.”
“The FDA oversees the U.S. drug supply to ensure that it is safe and effective, and those who knowingly tamper with medicines put patients’ health at risk,” added Special Agent in Charge Lisa L. Malinowski of the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Los Angeles Field Office. “We will continue to protect public health and bring to justice any health care professionals who take advantage of their unique positions or compromise their patients’ health and comfort by tampering with needed drugs.”
This investigation was conducted by the DEA’s Diversion Group in the Seattle Field Office, and the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, Seattle Domicile. Assistant United States Attorneys Dan Fruchter and Tyler H.L. Tornabene are prosecuting this matter on behalf of the United States.
New York Man Indicted in Credit Card ‘Bust Out’ Scheme to Defraud BanksRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A New York man was indicted today by a federal grand jury in connection with a scheme to defraud banks by using stolen and altered identities to fraudulently obtain credit cards and then using those cards to make millions of dollars in charges that were never repaid, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Mohammad Mushtaq, 56, of Valley Stream, New York, is charged with one count of conspiring to defraud financial institutions, five counts of bank fraud, one count of access device fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Mushtaq and his conspirators engaged in a scheme to use stolen and altered identities to obtain credit cards from financial institutions and then use those credit cards to make purchases that they had no intention to repay, leaving the financial institutions to bear the losses.
Mushtaq and his conspirators used the personal identifying information of people, including dates of birth, drivers’ license numbers, and Social Security numbers, to create “synthetic identities,” sometimes by pairing the name and Social Security number of actual persons with a fictitious birthdate, and sometimes by pairing the person’s Social Security number with a fictitious name and birthdate. They often used the name and Social Security number of a minor and altered the birthdate to make the identity appear to be that of an adult. Mushtaq altered the personally identifying information of his own spouse and minor child in this fashion to create fraudulent identities that were then used in furtherance of the scheme.
Mushtaq and his conspirators used the stolen and synthetic identities to obtain lines of credit, primarily through opening credit card accounts at financial institutions (the “fraud cards”). The fraud cards were maintained in good standing with the financial institutions long enough to establish the creditworthiness of the stolen and synthetic identities. Mushtaq and his conspirators then “busted out” the fraud cards by making large purchases and never repaying the debts.
Mushtaq’s conspirator, Asif Ali, also established numerous purported companies that did little or no legitimate business (the “sham companies”). Mushtaq and Ali used these sham companies to make hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of charges to the fraud cards, which were then deposited in bank accounts opened in the sham companies’ names.
The charge of conspiring to defraud financial institutions and the bank fraud charges each carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. The access device fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory penalty of two years in prison, which must be served consecutively to any other term of imprisonment imposed.
Asif Ali, Tassadiq Hussain, and Shahid Akhtar previously pleaded guilty in connection with their roles in this and related schemes. Ali is awaiting sentencing before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson. Hussain and Akhtar were sentenced by Judge Thompson to 41 months and a sentence of time served, respectively.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Raimundo Marrero, with the investigation leading to today’s indictment.
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until convicted.
The government is represented by Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig.
New Orleans Man Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for December 2019 Uptown Home Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane Evans announced today that JOSEPH HERBERT BARLOW Jr. (BARLOW), age 52, was sentenced to serve 60 months in prison. He pleaded guilty to a one-count Indictment for bank robbery in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2113(a) before U.S. District Judge Wendy Vitter on July 27, 2021.
In papers filed in open court, BARLOW admitted to robbing the Home Bank located on Magazine Street New Orleans, Louisiana on December 19, 2019, stealing approximately $6,676.00.
BARLOW entered the bank and told the teller “I am here to rob this bank. Do not press any button or notify the police. I have a gun so give me all the money.”
Judge Vitter ordered BARLOW to pay $6,676.00 in restitution, serve three (3) years supervised release after his prison term and pay a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the New Orleans Police Department in investigating this matter. Assistant U. S. Attorney Carter K. D. Guice Jr. is in charge of the prosecution.
New Castle Felon Charged with Illegal Gun PossessionRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA – A resident of New Castle, Pennsylvania has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on two charges of violating federal firearm laws, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
The two-count Superseding Indictment named Angel Cruz II, age 32, as the sole defendant.
According to the Superseding Indictment, on or about June 16, 2021 and on or about November 4, 2021, Cruz possessed a firearm and/or ammunition by a convicted felon. It is prohibited under federal law for a convicted felon to be in possession of a firearm and/or ammunition.
The law provides for a term of imprisonment not more than ten years, a fine not to exceed $250,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Brendan J. McKenna is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Lawrence County District Attorney’s Drug Task Force conducted the investigation leading to the Superseding Indictment in this case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proved 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.
A superseding indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Montgomery Resident Sentenced to 37 Months for Financial Fraud CrimesRead the Press Release
MOBILE, AL – A Montgomery woman was sentenced to 37 months in prison for embezzlement, bank fraud, and wire fraud convictions.
According to court documents and evidence presented at a federal jury trial in June 2021, Tiffany Culliver Franklin, 41, committed a series of financial fraud crimes over a period of several years. In particular, between June 2015 and July 2017, Franklin embezzled $202,000 from Branch Banking and Trust Company (BB&T), where she was employed as a vault teller. Franklin gave a written statement to a BB&T investigator admitting that she stole the money from a local branch in Montgomery and gambled with it at casinos.
Before embezzling money from BB&T, Franklin also worked as a banker at a Wells Fargo branch in Montgomery from January 2012 to December 2014. In that capacity, Franklin used her Wells Fargo credentials to create and obtain a debit card linked to an elderly customer’s account. Franklin then used the debit card to deposit worthless checks into and immediately withdraw cash from the elderly customer’s account, causing a financial loss to Wells Fargo.
Finally, between September 2017 and June 2018, Franklin worked as a bookkeeper for Goodwyn Middle School (GMS) in Montgomery. During that period, Franklin stole more than $13,000 in money and property belonging to GMS, including funds taken in from classroom teachers and proceeds from school athletic events. Franklin also used a GMS-issued store credit card to buy various unauthorized personal items. Franklin admitted to state investigators that she used the money she stole from GMS to gamble at casinos.Chief United States District Judge L. Scott Coogler ordered Franklin to serve a five-year term of supervised release upon her release from prison, during which time she will be subject to credit restrictions and prohibited from working in the financial-services industry. The court also ordered Franklin to pay $216,416 in victim restitution and $600 in special assessments.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.
The United States Secret Service and the Alabama Attorney General’s Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sinan Kalayoglu and Justin Roller prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
Montgomery Man Sentenced for Committing a String of Bank Robberies in Central AlabamaRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama – On Friday, December 3, 2021, Jamie Josuhnta Ryans, 27, from Montgomery, Alabama, was sentenced to 92 months in federal prison, announced Acting United States Attorney Sandra J. Stewart.
In September of this year, Ryans pleaded guilty to robbing banks in four different counties in central Alabama, including: BB&T Bank in Montgomery, Alabama, robbed on October 17, 2019; BanccorpSouth Bank in Hayneville, Alabama, robbed on October 25, 2019; Community Neighbor Bank in Greenville, Alabama, robbed on November 6, 2019; and First National Bank of Dozier in Dozier, Alabama, robbed on December 11, 2019.
During each of the robberies, Ryans entered the bank and gave the teller a note demanding money but did not produce a firearm or show that he had one. However, during the December 11throbbery, Ryans did imply to the teller that he had a gun in his pocket. While investigating the robberies, law enforcement learned that during the First National Bank robbery in Dozier, Ryans was assisted by Kendrick Deantay Flynn, a 31-year-old also from Montgomery, who served as Ryan’s getaway driver. Flynn was previously sentenced to 38 months for his role in that robbery.
Ryans’ prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release. The judge also ordered that Ryans pay $7,853.70 in restitution to the banks.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Montgomery Police Department, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the Hayneville Police Department, the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, the Greenville Police Department, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, and the Crenshaw County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA). Assistant United States Attorney Russell Duraski prosecuted the case.
Mobile Woman Sentenced in Firearms CaseRead the Press Release
MOBILE, AL – A Mobile woman was sentenced today to 37 months in prison for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents, Sheedah Majeedah Carson, 25, was a passenger in a car driven by her codefendant, Michael Campbell, who led police on a chase after refusing to yield for a traffic stop. Campbell eventually drove the car to a parking lot behind a church and ran into a nearby wooded area. Meanwhile, as security footage from the church showed, Carson got out of the passenger seat of the car and dropped a stolen .40-caliber pistol over a nearby fence before police arrived and arrested her. Police also found a .40-caliber magazine in the car, which had a young child in the backseat. Carson had previously been convicted of felony offenses, including chemical endangerment of a child, which made it illegal for her to possess firearms or ammunition under federal law.
Senior United States District Judge William H. Steele ordered Carson to serve a three-year term of supervised release upon her release from prison, during which time she will undergo testing and treatment for substance abuse. The court did not impose a fine, but Judge Steele ordered Carson to pay $100 in special assessments. Campbell’s case is pending in federal court.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Mobile Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Oliver McDonald and Deborah Griffin prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
Mexican Sentenced to 16 Months in Prison for Illegally Reentering the U.S. after RemovalRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A former resident of Morelia, Mexico pleaded guilty and was sentenced in federal court to 16 months in jail on his conviction of illegal reentry of a removed alien, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
Senior United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Miguel Castillo-Lara, 44.
According to information presented to the court, on or about October 20, 2020, Castillo-Lara was found to be unlawfully present within the United States. Castillo-Lara had been previously ordered deported and removed from the United States on March 14, 2012 and was removed from the United States on April 16, 2012. The defendant subsequently reentered the United States and was found to be present in this country without the permission of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Chung commended the United States Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations and the Pennsylvania State Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Castillo-Lara.
Mexican Businessman Arrested for $30M Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
SAN ANTONIO – A Mexican businessman was arrested yesterday in Houston and a Mexican businesswoman is in federal custody on criminal charges related to their alleged involvement in a fraud scheme.
According to court documents, Juan Carlos Martinez Cecias Rodriguez (Martinez), 51, is the owner of Mobile Coatings Management (MCM) and part owner and president of Uberwurx, doing business as RhinoPro, a spray-on truck bedliner and truck accessory company. Karina Hernandez, 41, is part owner of Texas Franchise and Business Consulting (TFBC). TFBC mainly targets and markets to Mexican nationals interested in starting businesses in Texas.
Martinez marketed himself and Uberwurx as providing a mechanism for investors to gain E-2 visas for legal entry into the U.S. An E-2 visa is reserved for foreign entrepreneurs that allows them to work inside of the U.S. based on a substantial investment in a bona fide enterprise.
Martinez worked with Hernandez to market and sell the Uberwurx franchise to Mexican national investors but failed to make many guaranteed payments to investors. Martinez’s company, MCM, managed the Uberwurx franchises instead of the investors doing so in violation of E2 visa requirements. Martinez instructed investors to omit from their E2 visa applications the fact that MCM managed the franchises.
Martinez and Hernandez perpetrated this scheme on at least 120 different investors between January 2017 and December 2021 with a loss of more than $30 million.
Rodriguez and Hernandez are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, four counts of wire fraud, and four counts of encouraging and inducing illegal immigration for private gain. If convicted, Rodriguez and Hernandez face up to 20 years in prison on each of the wire fraud counts and up to 10 years in prison on each of the encouraging illegal immigration counts. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff of the Western District of Texas and FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs made the announcement.
The FBI is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daphne Newaz is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Manchester Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing FentanylRead the Press Release
CONCORD - Antwone Francis, 31, of Manchester, pleaded guilty in federal court to distributing fentanyl, Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced today.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on September 15, 2020, a cooperating source told a Nashua police detective that Francis was selling fentanyl in Nashua and provided pricing and a telephone number. On October 7, 2020, an undercover law enforcement officer called Francis and arranged to purchase fentanyl from Francis at a fast food restaurant in Merrimack.
Francis is scheduled to be sentenced on March 14, 2021.
“Fentanyl is a deadly substance that continues to cause grave damage in communities throughout New Hampshire,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Farley. “By identifying and prosecuting the drug dealers who are selling fentanyl and other dangerous drugs, we are seeking to improve public safety in the Granite State.”
This matter was investigated by the Nashua Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joachim H. Barth.
This case is part of Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (S.O.S.). In July of 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the creation of S.O.S., which is being implemented in the District of New Hampshire and nine other federal districts. The goal of S.O.S. is to combat the large number of overdoses and deaths associated with fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. In New Hampshire, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is focusing its efforts on prosecuting synthetic opioid trafficking cases arising in Hillsborough County, which includes Manchester and Nashua.
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Man from Albuquerque pleads guilty to federal firearm chargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQERQUE, N.M. – Juan Torres Flores, 23, of Albuquerque, pleaded guilty in federal court on Nov. 23 to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Torres will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.
According to the plea agreement and other court records, on March 2, Torres entered an Albuquerque laundromat and pointed his gun at a victim while chasing him around the building. Torres fled the scene and was shortly apprehended by law enforcement after absconding from a high-risk traffic stop. During the arrest, law enforcement discovered a loaded firearm.
As a previously convicted felon, Torres cannot legally possess a firearm or ammunition. By the terms of the plea agreement, Torres faces up to 10 years in prison.
The FBI Violent Crime Task Force investigated this case with assistance from the Albuquerque Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Raquel Ruiz-Velez is prosecuting the case.
Man Who Robbed a Sand Springs Gas Station and Assaulted the Owner Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
A Sand Springs man pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court for robbing and assaulting a gas station owner, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
Camaran Blake Breazeale, 29, pleaded guilty to robbery in Indian Country and carrying, using, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. The defendant will be sentenced on May 25, 2022.
“Camaran Breazeale maliciously assaulted a gas station owner, hospitalizing the man,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “My thoughts are with the victim as he continues his long-term recovery following Breazeale’s violent attack. Individuals who commit acts of violence against community members will be held accountable.”
Breazeale admitted in his plea agreement that he entered A&S Fuels gas station in Sand Springs and demanded money from the cash register. When the victim didn’t give Breazeale the money, he punched him, grabbed a shotgun from under the counter, and repeatedly struck the victim with the shot gun. He then took the money from the register and fled.
On July 13, the Sand Springs Police Department responded to a male loitering at a gas station. An officer arrived and notified Breazeale to leave the property’s premises.
Approximately twenty minutes later, the defendant returned to the gas station and said to the owner, “This is my land. Give me everything now.” According to the affidavit, video footage showed Breazeale striking the defendant with his fist multiple times and knocking him down. Then, he grabbed a shotgun and used the butt of the firearm to strike the victim repeatedly in the head saying, “Stop don’t move, or I will shoot you.” Breazeale then took cash from the register and exited the station.
The same police officer who responded to the initial loitering call was in the area when he heard a driver in a parked car yell at Breazeale on the north side of the store. As he approached Breazeale, a customer came running out to the store saying a man was on the floor covered in blood.
Breazeale then allegedly walked up to the officer and handed over the money saying “he gave me that.” His right hand appeared to have blood on it. The officer secured the defendant and rendered aid to the victim who was unconscious in the store with multiple injuries. The victim was transported by ambulance to an area hospital.
Breazeale is a Cherokee Nation citizen, and the crime occurred within the Muscogee Nation Reservation.
The FBI and Sand Springs Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas E. Buscemi and Victor A.S. Régal are prosecuting the case.
Las Vegas Man Sentenced to Prison for Role in Gas Pump Skimming Fraud Scheme in Nevada and CaliforniaRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas man was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for his role in a fraud scheme to steal thousands of credit and debit card numbers from victims at gas pumps in Nevada and California.
According to court documents, between November 2018 and June 2019, Francisco Rodriguez Gonzalez was personally involved in installing at least ten skimmer devices at several gas stations, and also assisted co-conspirators in acquiring skimmer devices. After obtaining the stolen account information, Rodriguez Gonzalez and his co-conspirators re-encoded that information onto counterfeit cards to fraudulently make purchases and ATM cash withdrawals. Collectively, Rodriguez Gonzalez and his co-conspirators obtained at least 3,120 stolen credit and debit card account numbers and caused a loss of at least $157,695.51.
Rodriguez Gonzalez pleaded guilty in July 2021 to one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, one count of use of unauthorized access devices, and one count of aggravated identity theft. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey sentenced Rodriguez Gonzalez to three years of supervised release.
Co-conspirators Juan Luis Sosa Tamayo and Adrian Leyva Tamayo await a jury trial on July 12, 2022. Danyer Manuel Alarcon Rodriguez was sentenced to 61 months in prison in November 2021 for his role in the conspiracy.
Acting U.S. Attorney Christopher Chiou for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Brian Spellacy for the U.S. Secret Service made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Schmale prosecuted the case.
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Justice Department, Federal Trade Commission and the European Commission Issue Joint Statement Following the Inaugural EU-U.S. Joint Technology Competition Policy DialogueRead the Press Release
Today, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the European Commission launched the EU-U.S. Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue (Joint Dialogue) to reaffirm a longstanding tradition of close cooperation in antitrust enforcement and policy.
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan and Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager of the European Commission issued a joint statement at the conclusion of the inaugural EU-U.S. Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue. Through the Joint Dialogue, and other cooperation efforts, the agencies are committed to ensuring and promoting fair competition and vigorous enforcement which benefits consumers, businesses and workers on both sides of the Atlantic.
Justice Department Settles with Microsoft to Resolve Immigration-Related Discrimination ClaimsRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice today announced it has reached a settlement agreement with Microsoft Corporation resolving allegations that the company discriminated against non-U.S. citizens based on their citizenship status during the early stages of Microsoft’s hiring process by asking them for unnecessary, specific immigration documents to prove they could work for the company without needing its sponsorship for work visas. The settlement also resolves claims that the company discriminated against lawful permanent residents whom the company asked for more or different documents than legally required, to reverify their continuing permission to work in the United States.
The department’s independent investigation began after a Microsoft applicant’s spouse called IER’s hotline to report that the company asked her husband for his Permanent Resident Card while he was applying for a job at Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington, facility. The investigation found evidence that the company repeatedly asked lawful permanent residents, refugees and asylees to undergo an evaluation of their need for Microsoft to sponsor them for an employment-based visa even though they do not require sponsorship to work in the United States. The investigation determined that the company discriminated against at least six lawful permanent residents based on their immigration status during this visa evaluation process, by asking them to show a Permanent Resident Card to prove they had permission to work without employer sponsorship. The investigation also determined that from at least June 2019 until at least January 2020, Microsoft routinely sent emails to lawful permanent residents asking them for documents to confirm their continued work authorization even though they had already provided documents showing permanent work authorization.
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) requires employers to verify a worker’s permission to work in the United States. But the law also prohibits employers from asking for documents when not required or from limiting or specifying the types of valid documentation a worker is allowed to show to prove permission to work, because of a worker’s citizenship, immigration status, or national origin. Under the settlement, Microsoft will overhaul parts of its hiring process to ensure the company is not unlawfully requiring non-U.S. citizen job applicants, including those with permanent authorization to work, to provide specific immigration documents to prove they do not require sponsorship for a work visa. The settlement also requires the company to stop sending emails requesting documents to reverify work authorization to workers whose work authorization should not be reverified. Additionally, the settlement requires the company to allow workers who need to show their continued work authorization to provide their choice of documentation that is acceptable for that purpose. Microsoft also must pay civil penalties to the United States and train its employees who are responsible for verifying and reverifying workers’ permission to work in the United States. The settlement also requires Microsoft to be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements.
“The Department of Justice will continue, through investigations and settlements such as this one, to ensure that all non-U.S. citizens who are authorized to work can pursue job opportunities without facing unlawful discrimination,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The department also hopes that this settlement will inspire other employers to ensure that their own policies and practices are not discriminatory.”
The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The statute prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status and national origin in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; and retaliation and intimidation.
Learn more about IER’s work and how to get assistance through this brief video. More information on how employers can avoid unfair documentary practices is available here. Applicants or employees who believe they were discriminated against based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment or during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify) or subjected to retaliation, may file a charge. The public can also call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); email [email protected]; sign up for a free webinar; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Subscribe to GovDelivery to receive updates from IER. View the Spanish translation of this press release here.
Jersey City Gang Member Admits Gang-Related ShootingRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A member of a neighborhood street gang that identifies as “300” operating in Hudson County, New Jersey, today admitted his role in a gang-related shooting, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Marc Taylor, aka “Bando,” 20, of Jersey City, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering and one count of discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On the July 7, 2020, Taylor and two others, all of whom are associated with violent street gangs in Jersey City, drove to rival gang territory and approached a group of individuals standing on a sidewalk. Taylor fired numerous rounds with a .45 caliber handgun through the front passenger seat window while another individual simultaneously attempted to fire a Tec-9 assault pistol through the sunroof. A 12-year-old was shot in the leg. This targeted assault in rival gang territory was a retaliation for prior gang violence.
The count of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering activity is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison. The count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life, which must run consecutively to any term of imprisonment imposed on any other charges.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director James Shea; the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Esther Suarez; and special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Matthews in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
This investigation was conducted as part of the Jersey City Violent Crime Initiative (VCI). The VCI was formed in 2018 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Jersey City Police Department, for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Jersey City. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate to strategize and prioritize the prosecution of violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Jersey Division, the U.S. Marshals, the Jersey City Police Department, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Parole, the Hudson County Jail, and the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center.
The government is represented by Desiree Grace, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey
Jefferson County Agencies Awarded Cold Case Homicide Investigation GrantRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The District Attorney’s Office of Jefferson County (Birmingham Division) and the Jefferson County Memorial Project (JCMP) have been awarded $498,933 of funding through the Department of Justice’s Emmett Till Cold Case Investigations and Training and Technical Assistance Program. The grant will support cold case homicide investigations by the District Attorney’s Office, as well as a community education and truth and reconciliation process implemented by JCMP.
The Emmett Till Cold Case Investigations Program was launched in 2020 to provide support to law enforcement and prosecutors in their investigations and prosecutions of cold case murders associated with civil rights violations occurring no later than December 31, 1979. The Emmett Till Cold Case program complements the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Acts, which have led to the closing of 118 homicide investigations by federal and local law enforcement and prosecutor agencies across the country. Ten of the civil rights era homicides closed through the earlier acts are from Alabama and can be found at Civil Rights Division Emmett Till Act (Cold Case Closing Memoranda).
“The people and communities of Jefferson County are forever shaped by the crime and terror that occurred here to prevent the full equality of all people before the law. The legacy of that era, including possible unresolved crimes, deserve the full sunlight of day and a comprehensive review”, said District Attorney Danny Carr. “I’m grateful for the resources that can assist my office’s efforts to bring healing and justice in our time to the families of victims and our community that were forever harmed by the hate, terror, and violence that once lived among and around us.”
“For most of Jefferson County’s existence, racial terror and violence pervaded our community. Lynchings, bombings, violence, and terror were the means that criminals brazenly wielded with impunity”, said Joi Brown, Executive Director of the Jefferson County Memorial Project. “The telling of this history of violence and harm will and should make us uncomfortable. It was reprehensible and an abomination to every value that our society says it holds dear”, added Brown. “However, we still have in our community the decedents and surviving family members of victims of this violence. JCMP will care for the victims of violence, their families, and our community by ensuring that their story is told, so that our community will never forget and will never go back to being the place of hate, violence, and terror that it once was.”
“The mission of law enforcement and prosecutors to seek justice for the victims of homicides and their families does not have an expiration date. We will ardently partner with and support efforts of the District Attorney’s Office and our federal and local law enforcement partners to bring relief to families of victims and our community,” said United States Attorney Prim Escalona. “The Department of Justice was founded in 1870 for the express purpose of combatting civil rights terror and violence. That mission and charge have never left the Department of Justice or federal law enforcement. The support brought by the Emmett Till program is a sobering reminder both of the cruel harm once done in our community and our charge to endlessly seek justice in response to it.”
The Jefferson County Memorial Project will partner with Northeastern University’s Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ) to provide technical and training assistance to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, as well as community-oriented truth and reconciliation conversations related to the Emmett Till Project. Founded in 2018, the Jefferson County Memorial Project is a grassroots multi-racial, multi-faith, multi-sector, multi-generational coalition working toward educating the public on the difficult history of racial terror and placing markers in memory of Jefferson County’s lynching victims. Northeastern University’s Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project was founded by and is led by Birmingham native Margaret Burnham. The CRRJ supports the academic and teaching projects of scholars within and beyond Northeastern University, and the restorative justice efforts in communities to honor this history.
Houston Man Pleads Guilty to Heroin ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that PATRICK DADE, age 27, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced on December 2, 2021 by United States Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon after previously pleading guilty to violations of the Federal Controlled Substances Act.
Specifically, DADE previously pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(B), and 846. According to court documents, DADE conspired to distribute over 100 grams of heroin, and was arrested in Kenner, Louisiana on May 6, 2019 in possession of over 600 grams of heroin.
In total, Judge Lemmon sentenced Dade to 120 months of imprisonment, followed by 8 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment fee.
U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans praised the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Kenner Police Department in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan L. Shih is in charge of the prosecution.
Greensburg Doctor Sentenced to Nearly Five Years in Prison for Accepting Kickbacks in Exchange for Prescribing FentanylRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – A resident of Westmoreland County, PA, was sentenced in federal court following his convictions for conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, health care fraud, and conspiracy to distribute Schedule IV controlled substances, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
United States District Judge William S. Stickman sentenced Thomas Whitten, age 71, of Greensburg, PA, to 57 months of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release.
Whitten pled guilty on July 22, 2021. During the change of plea hearing, Whitten admitted that, from May 2013 to November 2015, he conspired to receive kickbacks from pharmaceutical company Insys Therapeutics in exchange for prescribing Subsys, a powerful painkiller approximately 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. The FDA approved Subsys only for the management of breakthrough pain in cancer patients. Whitten prescribed Subsys to patients for whom the drug was not medically indicated and received more than $100,000 as well as other benefits from Insys in exchange for writing those prescriptions. Prescriptions for Subsys typically cost thousands of dollars each month, and Medicare and Medicaid, as well as commercial insurers, including Highmark, paid millions of dollars to cover illegitimate Subsys prescriptions written by Whitten.
In addition, from November 2017 through December 12, 2019, Whitten conspired to unlawfully distribute Schedule IV controlled substances, phentermine hydrochloride and diethylpropion, to patients at five weight loss clinics. Based on an agreement between Whitten and the owner of those clinics, Schedule IV controlled substances were dispensed to patients under Whitten’s DEA registration numbers, including to new patients and patients who had not been seen at the clinics for years, without any physical examination by Whitten or another appropriately trained licensed medical professional.
As part of his sentence, Whitten must pay restitution totaling over $8 million to the victim insurers, and forfeit both his medical license and DEA registration.
United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung and Assistant United States Attorney Karen Gal-Or prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
The investigation leading to the filing of charges in this case was conducted by the Western Pennsylvania Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit (OFADU). The Western Pennsylvania OFADU, led by federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, combines the expertise and resources of federal and state law enforcement to address the role played by unethical medical professionals in the opioid epidemic.
The agencies which comprise the Western Pennsylvania OFADU include: Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney
General - Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General – Bureau of Narcotic Investigations, United States Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Attorney’s Office – Criminal Division, Civil Division and Asset Forfeiture Unit, Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General, Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigations, U.S. Office of Personnel Management – Office of Inspector General and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Licensing.
Green Bay Man Sentenced for Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Richard G. Frohling of the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced that on December 3, 2021, Dakota P. Van Frachen (age: 26) of Green Bay, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison by Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach.
Van Frachen possessed and distributed numerous digital images and videos of child pornography. Van Frachen’s indictment and subsequent conviction were the result of a referral from a similar investigation in the District of New Jersey.
In handing down the sentence, Judge Griesbach noted the serious nature of the charge, the effect these crimes have on their victims, and the need for just punishment. Following his release from prison, Van Frachen will spend five years on supervised release. Van Frachen was also ordered to pay a $5,000 special assessment. He will be required to register as a sexual offender.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Green Bay and Newark Offices. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006, by the U.S. Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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For Additional Information Contact:
Public Information Officer Kenneth Gales 414-297-1700
Fort Wayne Man Sentenced to 90 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
FORT WAYNE – Fredrick J. Morgan, Sr., 65 years old, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Holly A. Brady after pleading guilty to distribution of cocaine, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Morgan Sr. was sentenced to 90 months in prison followed by 4 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, on or about August 30, 2019, Morgan Sr. distributed 28 grams or more of crack cocaine to assist his co-defendant, son (Fredrick Morgan II) who was on home detention at the time.
Co-defendant, Fredrick Morgan II, was sentenced on November 9, 2021, to 30 years in prison.
This case was the result of a joint investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration, with the assistance of multiple local law enforcement agencies, including the Indiana State Police, Allen County Sheriff’s Department, Allen County Drug Task Force, Adams County Sheriff’s Office, Huntington Police Department, Auburn Police Department, and the Fort Wayne Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Stacey R. Speith and Brent A. Ecenbarger.
This case was being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
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Fort Bragg Soldier and Marriage Fraud Beneficiary Sentenced for Visa Fraud, False Statements in Immigration ProceedingsRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – A soldier from Fayetteville who engaged in a sham marriage with a United States citizen was sentenced today to time served in prison. On October 20, 2021, Maryam Movsum Hasanova pled guilty to one count of visa fraud. She was also ordered to be promptly deported from the United States and to pay $41,511.06 in restitution to the United States Army.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, Hasanova, 35, a citizen of Azerbaijan, entered the United States as an exchange visitor. Shortly after that status expired in March 2014, Hasanova was introduced to a United States citizen, who was paid approximately $15,000 to marry Hasanova in exchange for her lawful permanent resident card (“green card”). Hasanova and the United States citizen were married in New York in October of 2015.
Thereafter, Hasanova and the United States citizen submitted fraudulent applications to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requesting Hasanova’s adjustment of status as a lawful permanent resident in the United States. Hasanova and the U.S. citizen were interviewed at the USCIS office in New York, NY. Both attested under oath they were married in good faith. As a result of the interview, USCIS approved the application and granted Hasanova lawful permanent residency. Once Hasanova obtained her green card and joined the U.S. Military, she began collecting U.S. Military Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) at the married rate.
Michael F. Easley, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle.
“Hasanova’s schemes to circumvent the law have failed and now she will face accountability for her actions,” said Special Agent In Charge Ronnie Martinez, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in North Carolina and South Carolina. “Protecting the integrity of the nation’s immigration system is of vital importance and HSI prioritizes this mission.”
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Joint Terrorism Task Force, in Fayetteville, NC, and was assisted by US Army Criminal Investigation Division, and the Fraud Detection and National Security unit of USCIS.
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.5:21CR00236-BO.
Former insurance agent sentenced to prison for wire fraud scheme that defrauded clients across the U.S.Read the Press Release
Seattle - A 58-year-old Snohomish, Washington, insurance agent was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 2 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release for wire fraud for her theft of premium payments from various insurance clients, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Vicki Boser, owned and operated InsuranceTek, Inc., and pocketed premium payments from insurance clients and provided fake certificates of insurance to some of those companies. Boser used the money to support her gambling habit at area casinos. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge James L. Robart likened the conduct to a Ponzi scheme saying, “The conduct is classic in terms of embezzling from clients.”
Boser pleaded guilty to wire fraud in August 2021. Boser founded InsuranceTek, Inc., in 2003, and specialized in assisting small businesses that work in high-risk fields in securing insurance policies to cover their business operations. The clients included private investigators, process servers, mortgage and field service companies, and security guard companies. Between 2014 and 2016, Boser defrauded various clients. Boser would find companies willing to insure the high-risk companies, and if necessary, find a company to finance the premium payments. Boser was required by law to collect the premium payments from the clients and pay them over to the insurance companies. Instead, she pocketed some of the payments, created false insurance certificates, and led the high-risk companies to believe they were insured. In some instances, the insurance companies cancelled the insurance for lack of payment, but Boser received the notices and hid them from the insured. The insurance premiums were tens of thousands of dollars‑‑in one case more than $100,000.
Today, Boser was ordered to pay restitution of $273,137 to 8 different companies or insurance brokers who she defrauded.
Boser had clients across the country including many small family-owned businesses that placed a great deal of trust in Boser. Court records detail the frauds regarding an Illinois-based property inspection business, and Ohio-, Tennessee-, and Texas-based businesses that maintain foreclosed homes. Some of the clients only learned their insurance policies had been cancelled when they contacted the companies directly about renewing the policies. The investigation was triggered when the Washington State Insurance Commissioner’s Office received complaints from the customers.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Criminal Investigative Division of the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lyndsie Schmalz.
Former Ft. Bragg Employee Pleads Guilty to BriberyRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Sanford man pleaded guilty today for receiving bribes in his role as a flooring technician while employed at Ft. Bragg.
According to court documents, Edward Wade Crisco was a flooring technician assigned to the Operations and Maintenance Division, Directorate of Public Works (DPW) at Fort Bragg, NC. To obtain services, a Ft. Bragg facilities user submits a request for a repair or service of a facility, such as a roof leak, damaged floor, or plumbing issue to the DPW. The request creates a Demand Maintenance Order (DMO) that is forwarded to the appropriate commodity section. The DMO is assigned to a DPW technician that specializes in a certain trade, such as roofing, flooring, plumbing, or carpentry. The DPW technician assesses the issue to determine if they can complete the repair or service themselves within the time allotted, or certifies that because of manpower, needed expertise, or particular equipment needs a contractor should undertake the work. If a contractor is to be used for the work, the technician submits a request for a Contract to the work leader. If the work is estimated to cost under $2,500, the approved Contract is forwarded to a DPW purchasing agent who hires a contractor to complete the work. The technician who requested the Contract would inspect and certify the work upon completion. Once the technician inspected and certified the contractor’s work, the purchasing agent would pay the contractor using a government purchase card.
From 2011 into 2019, Crisco received bribes ranging from $20 to $100 per DMO from various vendors contracting with DPW, Ft. Bragg, to request contracts be assigned to those specific vendors and to approve and sign off favorably on their work once completed.
“Any ‘pay-to-play’ culture encouraged by government employees at Ft. Bragg stops now,” Michael F. Easley, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, said. “The public is well-served by solid investigative work by law enforcement, combined with our prosecutorial resources, in bringing this to an end.”
"The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) is committed to protecting the integrity of the Department of Defense (DoD) procurement system," said Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard, DCIS, Mid-Atlantic Field Office. "Today’s guilty plea demonstrates our determination, alongside our law enforcement partners, to bring swift action against those who subvert the DoD contracting process for their own gain, violating the trust of the American taxpayer."
"The defendant made a bad choice to engage in a bribery scheme," said Frank Robey, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division's Major Procurement Fraud Unit. "MPFU, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to use every available tool to combat and prevent people from exploiting the government contracting system for their personal benefit."
Crisco pleaded guilty to receiving bribes, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 201. Tentatively set for sentencing in March 2021, Crisco faces a maximum penalty of 180 months in prison. He agreed to forfeit $150,000 proceeds from his crime.
Michael F. Easley, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after Chief United States Judge Richard E. Myers II, accepted the plea. Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Division, Major Procurement Fraud Unit, are investigating the case.
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. 5:19-CR-328-FL.
Former Executive Officer of the Southern Ute Tribe Sentenced to 13.5 Years in Prison for Sexually Assaulting a ChildRead the Press Release
DURANGO – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that McKean Walton, age 52, of Ignacio, Colorado, was sentenced to 13.5 years in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, and a $5,000 special assessment. Walton is the former Executive Officer of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, headquartered in Ignacio, Colorado. Walton resigned from his position in September 2020, following his arrest in this matter.
According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, Walton sexually assaulted a twelve-year-old child in his care on multiple occasions in Fall of 2010 and Summer of 2011. Walton committed the sexual assaults by using force, while in the living room of a home on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation.
“Our office will enforce the law against all offenders, no matter what position of authority they hold,” said United States Attorney Cole Finegan. “While justice may have been long in coming in this case, thanks to the courage of the victim and the tenacity of our law enforcement partners, justice has finally arrived.”
“This sentence rightly holds Mr. Walton accountable for his deplorable conduct in this case,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider of the FBI Denver Division. “The FBI remains steadfast in our commitment to thoroughly investigative crimes against the most vulnerable members of our community, regardless of how many years have passed since the time of the incident.”
United States District Court Judge Robert Blackburn issued the sentence on December 7, 2021. Walton pleaded guilty on July 30, 2021.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey K. Graves handled the prosecution.
Case number: 20-cr-00260-REB-JMC
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Former Enforcer for Massachusetts Latin Kings Sentenced for Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former member of the New Bedford Chapter of the Massachusetts Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (“Latin Kings”) was sentenced today on racketeering charges.
Michael Marrero, a/k/a “King Clumsy,” 41, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel to three years in prison and three years of supervised release. On March 30, 2021, Marrero pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO conspiracy.
The Latin Kings are a violent criminal enterprise comprised of thousands of members across the United States. The Latin Kings adhere to a national manifesto, employ an internal judiciary and use a sophisticated system of communication to maintain the hierarchy of the organization. As alleged in court documents, the gang uses drug distribution to generate revenue, and engages in violence against witnesses and rival gangs to further its influence and to protect its turf.
According to court documents, Marrero served as the Inca, or leader, of the Springfield Chapter of the Latin Kings until 2019, when he was appointed as Enforcer for the State of Massachusetts. In these leadership roles, Marrero attended meetings of the gang and state leadership where the business of the gang was discussed and decisions concerning members and operation of the gang were decided. In August 2019, Marrero was captured on a recording in the basement of a Latin Kings controlled trap house in New Bedford bagging and preparing 62 grams of cocaine base for distribution.
In December 2019, a federal grand jury returned an indictment alleging racketeering conspiracy, drug conspiracy and firearms charges against 62 leaders, members and associates of the Latin Kings. Marrero is the 40th defendant to be sentenced in the case.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Commissioner Carol Mici of the Massachusetts Department of Correction; and New Bedford Police Chief Paul Oliveira made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was also provided by the FBI North Shore Gang Task Force and the Bristol County and Suffolk County District Attorney’s Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip A. Mallard of Mendell’s Organized Crime Gang Unit prosecuted the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Former East Helena police chief admits distributing child pornographyRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS – The former East Helena chief of police today admitted allegations that he distributed child pornography in 2019 using social media, U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said.
William Daly Harrington, 43, pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography. Harrington faces a mandatory minimum five years to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years to a lifetime of supervised release.
A plea agreement in the case calls for the government to seek the dismissal of three other counts in an indictment if the court accepts the agreement.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided and set sentencing for April 13, 2022. Chief Judge Morris will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Harrington was released pending further proceedings.
The government alleged in court documents that in September 2020, a Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s deputy, who is a member of the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, investigated a tip that Facebook Messenger had reported one of its accounts distributed child pornography to another account. The investigation determined that the Facebook Messenger account distributing child pornography belonged to Harrington. Account records showed that on Dec. 17, 2019, Harrington sent 11 images using Messenger to another account. Some of the images depicted child pornography. On Jan. 27, 2021, a search warrant was served on Harrington’s residence in Lewis and Clark County. Law enforcement seized Harrington’s cellular phone, which was analyzed and found to contain images and videos of child pornography. Harrington admitted that he owned and used the Facebook Messenger account that distributed child pornography.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cyndee L. Peterson and Wendy A. Johnson are prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Bozeman Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations.
This case was initiated under the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative, which was launched in 2006 to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children. Through a network of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and advocacy organizations, Project Safe Childhood attempts to protect children by investigating and prosecuting offenders involved in child sexual exploitation. It is implemented through partnerships including the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The ICAC Task Force Program was created to assist state and local law enforcement agencies by enhancing their investigative response to technology facilitated crimes against children.
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Former Chief Deputy Nassau County Executive Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Obstructing JusticeRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Richard “Rob” Walker, the former Chief Deputy County Executive under former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack to 18 months in prison for obstruction of justice. The Court also ordered Walker to pay $5,000 in forfeiture, imposed a $5,500 fine and perform 2,000 hours of community service as part of his sentence. Walker pleaded guilty to the charge in May 2019.
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.
“While occupying an important position of public trust, Walker accepted illicit payments from a contractor, encouraged the contractor to commit perjury before a federal grand jury, and lied to the FBI to cover up his crimes,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office will prosecute corrupt officials like Walker who seek to obstruct justice and abuse the public trust.” Mr. Peace also expressed his thanks to Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation for its help during the investigation.
“Public officials have a great responsibility to uphold the public’s trust and make legal and ethical decisions that serve to benefit their communities. Rob Walker did just the opposite when he accepted illicit payments from a contractor working for Nassau County and later attempted to cover his tracks and change his story once he realized the FBI was onto him. As we’ve said in the past, there’s no way to undo what’s already been done—a lesson that’s surely been reinforced today,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll.
In 2014, Walker, who was then the Chief Deputy Nassau County Executive, accepted a $5,000 cash payment from a contractor who was performing work pursuant to a contract for Nassau County. In 2017, Walker learned that the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the FBI had opened a grand jury investigation of potential corruption in Nassau County government, including the circumstances surrounding the $5,000 payment made by the contractor to the defendant. Walker spoke to the contractor on several occasions and attempted to persuade him to conceal the existence of the $5,000 payment from the grand jury, or to provide a false explanation to the grand jury concerning the transaction, for example, saying it was repayment of a loan. Walker arranged to meet the contractor in a park in Hicksville, New York, and at that meeting, gave the contractor an envelope containing $5,000 in an effort to make it appear as if the payment Walker accepted “never happened.” Later, when he was interviewed by the FBI concerning the payment, Walker denied ever having received any cash payments from the contractor.
As recounted in consensually recorded conversations, Walker repeatedly claimed that the payment did not have to be disclosed to the grand jury if he returned it to the contractor. On one occasion, Walker said, “you [the contractor] only borrowed it and I gave it back to you…there was never a quid pro quo,” and if he returned the money, “it doesn’t exist…wouldn’t you rather it not existing?”
In another recorded conversation, Walker untruthfully stated, “[j]ust be honest. I borrowed the money from you. I gave it back to you…My mother-in-law was sick…it’s over.” During the exchange, which was recorded by law enforcement, Walker stated, “it [the money] doesn’t exist. That’s it.” When the contractor asked if he is “not saying a word [to the grand jury]?” Walker confirmed, “[n]ope, doesn’t exist.”
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Artie McConnell and Catherine M. Mirabile are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
RICHARD WALKER (also known as “Rob Walker”)
Age: 43
Hicksville, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-087 (JMA)
Federal Officials Close Cold Case Re-Investigation of Murder of Emmett TillRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi announced today that it has closed its investigation into a witness’s alleged recantation of her account of the events leading up to the murder of Emmett Till. The investigation was conducted in conjunction with the Mississippi District Attorney’s Office, Fourth District. Till’s murder is one of the most infamous acts of racial violence in our country’s history.
Today, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, Acting U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner, District Attorney W. Dewayne Richardson and career attorneys and employees from the Civil Rights Division and the FBI met with members of Till’s family, including a family member who had been a witness to the events preceding Till’s abduction and murder. The purpose of the meeting was to explain the reasons for closing the investigation and to give the family an opportunity to ask questions about the department’s investigation and conclusions.
The department conducted the investigation as part of its Cold Case Initiative and pursuant to the passage of the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act (Till Act). The Cold Case Initiative is a comprehensive effort to identify and investigate racially motivated murders committed decades ago. As in all federal cases, the department may only bring a case with laws that were enacted at the time of the crime and are still within the statute of limitations. However, under the Till Act, the federal government is authorized to assist state and local jurisdictions with investigating and, where possible, prosecuting such crimes.
Because there were no federal hate crime statutes at the time of Till’s death, the case was not then opened for federal investigation. In 2004, the department opened an investigation into Till’s murder as part of its Cold Case Initiative, but determined after a thorough review that it lacked jurisdiction to bring federal charges.
The department reopened the matter in 2017 after a professor alleged in a book he had written that a white woman, who was a witness to crucial events leading up to Till’s abduction and murder, had recanted her previous accounts of those events. In response, the department and the FBI examined whether the woman had recanted and, if so, whether she had information that would allow prosecution of any living person.
In the summer of 1955, the 14-year-old Till traveled from Chicago to Money, Mississippi, to visit relatives. He stayed with family members in their home just east of Money. On Aug. 24, 1955, Till and approximately six other youths drove to a store in Money. A witness indicated that, contrary to long-standing belief about the events in and near the store, no one challenged Till to speak to or flirt with a white woman who was at the store. Nor did Till show a photo of a white girl to the men standing outside the store. Rather, Till bought some items in the store and left with one of his companions without incident. According to this witness, the woman then left the store, unhurried and undisturbed, at which time Till whistled at her. Till’s companions, aware of the dangers posed to Black men perceived to have violated the unwritten, racist code prevalent in the Jim Crow South, hurried to get Till away from the store.
A few days later, in the early morning hours of Aug. 28, Roy Bryant, his half-brother John William (J.W.) Milam, and at least one other person abducted Till from the home of his relatives. Three days later, a teenager fishing in the Tallahatchie River discovered Till’s brutally beaten body floating in the river. Till’s assailants had weighed him down with a 75-pound cotton gin fan, which they tied to his body with barbed wire.
State officials charged Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam with murder; they were tried the following month and acquitted by an all-white jury. During the trial, the woman at the store testified under oath, but not in front of the jury, that Till had propositioned her and physically touched her hand, arm and waist while they were both inside the store. Following their acquittals, both Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam confessed to kidnapping and murdering Till in an account published in Look magazine in January 1956.
In early 2017, new information emerged suggesting that the woman may have confessed to a professor, who later wrote a book about Till’s murder, that the account she provided to the state court in 1955 was untrue. Specifically, the professor asserted that, during a 2008 interview with the woman, she handed him a transcript of her sworn 1955 testimony and said, “[t]hat part’s not true.” If credible, the professor’s assertion suggests that the woman lied in state court and confessed to having done so. The alleged recantation raised questions about whether the woman would be willing to acknowledge to federal authorities that her prior versions of events had been untruthful and whether she now would provide new and accurate information relating to the abduction and murder of Till.
The woman however, when asked about the alleged recantation, denied to the FBI that she ever recanted her testimony and provided no information beyond what was uncovered during the previous federal investigation. Although lying to the FBI is a federal offense, there is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she lied to the FBI when she denied having recanted to the professor. There is insufficient evidence to prove that she ever told the professor that any part of her testimony was untrue. Although the professor represented that he had recorded two interviews with her, he provided the FBI with only one recording, which did not contain any recantation. In addition, although an assistant transcribed the two recordings, neither transcript contained the alleged recantation. The professor also provided inconsistent explanations about whether the missing recording included the alleged recantation or whether, instead, the woman made the key admission before he began recording the interview.
A federal prosecution of the woman would be complicated by the fact that, according to the professor’s account, when she said “that part’s not true,” she did not expressly reference her state court testimony or refer to any specific part of that testimony. Rather, the professor stated that he understood her to be referring to her allegation that Till physically accosted her in the store from the context of their conversation. It would thus be impossible for prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the woman intentionally recanted all or part of her state court testimony, and that she then lied to the FBI when she denied having done so.
Even if the government could prove that she recanted her prior state court testimony, the federal government could not prosecute her for perjury for her 1955 testimony. Perjury in state court is not a federal offense. Moreover, the statute of limitations, a deadline for bringing a prosecution, expired in 1960 on any state perjury offense. Similarly, the five-year statute of limitations has expired on any claim that she lied to the FBI during the 2004 investigation. However, in closing this matter without prosecution, the government does not take the position that the state court testimony the woman gave in 1955 was truthful or accurate. There remains considerable doubt as to the credibility of her version of events, which is contradicted by others who were with Till at the time, including the account of a living witness.
The government’s re-investigation found no new evidence suggesting that either the woman or any other living person was involved in Till’s abduction and murder. Even if such evidence could be developed, no federal hate crime laws existed in 1955, and the statute of limitations has run on the only civil rights statutes that were in effect at that time. As such, even if a living suspect could now be identified, a federal prosecution for Till’s abduction and murder would not be possible. A copy of the memorandum explaining the reasons for closing the investigation is available at: Emmett Till | CRT | Department of Justice.
The Department of Justice remains committed to identifying and investigating racially motivated crimes of violence committed decades ago through its Cold Case Initiative, and through the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act and its reauthorization. Those who have information related to an unsolved or un-vindicated cold case that occurred on or before Dec. 31, 1979, and have reason to believe are hate crimes or crimes that would violate other civil rights law should contact the Civil Rights Division’s Cold Case Unit.
Federal Indictment Charges Two Thomson Penitentiary Inmates with Murder and Hate Crime in Connection with Death of Fellow InmateRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — Two inmates at Thomson Penitentiary in Thompson, Ill., were indicted today by a federal grand jury on murder and hate crime charges relating to the beating death of a fellow inmate.
BRANDON C. SIMONSON, 37, also known as “Whitey,” and KRISTOPHER S. MARTIN, 39, also known as “No Luck,” were each charged with conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree murder, hate crime, and assault resulting in serious bodily injury, according to an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Rockford. Arraignments have not yet been scheduled.
The four-count indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vincenza L. Tomlinson.
“Hatred and violence on the basis of religion have no place in our society,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch. “We will continue to work with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to protect the civil rights of all Americans.”
“All Americans have the right to live their lives without fear of race or religion-based violence, and FBI Chicago takes very seriously its responsibility to uphold the civil rights of Illinoisans,” said FBI SAC Buie.
According to the indictment, Martin and Simonson were members of a white supremacist group called the Valhalla Bound Skinheads. On March 2, 2020, Martin and Simonson conspired to assault fellow inmate Matthew Phillips because of Phillips’s actual and perceived race and religion, namely Jewish, the indictment states. Martin and Simonson continuously struck Phillips in the upper body, face, and head even after Phillips became defenseless, the charges allege.
Conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree murder, and hate crime each carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, while the maximum sentence for the assault charge is ten years. If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and 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.
Fargo, ND, Man Sentenced to Six Years in Federal Prison for His Involvement in a String of Violent RobberiesRead the Press Release
FARGO - Acting United States Attorney Nicholas W. Chase announced that U.S. District Court Chief Judge Peter D. Welte sentenced Zachary Ronzell Mitchell, age 30, Fargo, ND, to 72 months in federal prison for Interfere with Commerce by Threats and Violence – Hobbs Act Robbery. Chief Judge Welte also sentenced Mitchell to 3 years supervised release and a $100 Special Assessment.
On June 6, 2019, Mitchell and a group of young males and one female robbed a customer of commercial sex. Mitchell’s co-defendants posted an advertisement on "Skip the Games" promoting prostitution with adult women. The victim arranged to meet an individual for the purpose of commercial sex at an apartment building in Fargo. Using dangerous weapons, Mitchell and his co-defendants robbed the commercial sex customer by threats of force and actual force after he arrived at the apartment building just after midnight. The defendants sought to take advantage of a customer of commercial sex whom they believed would be unwilling to go to law enforcement if he was robbed, but fortunately the victim called 911 immediately following the robbery. Several of Mitchell’s co-defendants were indicted in North Dakota and pleaded guilty:
• JORDAN DANIEL KRAFT, age 21, Fargo, ND: Pleaded guilty to One Count Conspiracy to Commit Robbery and Robbery, pending sentencing.
• SHELTON LEE MOSEBY, IV, age 19, Fargo, ND: Pleaded guilty to One Count of Interfere with Commerce by Threats and Violence – Hobbs Act Robbery, sentenced to 51 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years supervised release.
• TEAJAHA SHANETTE LAYSHA GRANDER, age 24, Fargo, ND: Pleaded guilty to One Count of Interfere with Commerce by Threats and Violence – Hobbs Act Robbery, sentenced to 2 years in federal prison, followed by 3 years supervised release.
• TATYANNA DESHUAN GRANDER, age 21, Fargo, ND: Pleaded guilty to One Count of Interfere with Commerce by Threats and Violence – Hobbs Act Robbery, sentenced to 30 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years supervised release.
• TEON TYRIK BERRY, age 19, Fargo, ND: Pleaded guilty to One Count of Interfere with Commerce by Threats and Violence – Hobbs Act Robbery, sentenced to 57 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years supervised release.
• JACOBY RASHAWN LEE, age 19, Fargo, ND: Pleaded guilty to One Count of Interference with Commerce by Threats or Violence—Hobbs Act Robbery, sentenced to 7 years in federal prison, followed by 3 years supervised release.
• HARLEIGH JOSETTE HAUGEN, age 21, Fargo, ND: Pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Robbery and Robbery, sentenced to 45 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Fargo Police Department and the Homeland Security Investigation and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s office, with Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Puhl assigned to the case.
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Employees of Mechanical Contractors Charged with Conspiracy and Fraud OffensesRead the Press Release
Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that a New Hampshire resident and a Connecticut resident have been charged in separate criminal complaints with conspiracy and fraud offenses stemming from their alleged involvement in construction project fraud schemes.
WILLIAM SACCO, 48, of Pelham, New Hampshire, was arrested on November 22. He appeared today via videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish in Hartford and is released on a $50,000 bond.
As alleged in the criminal complaint, Sacco was a project manager for a Massachusetts-based mechanical contractor. From June 2014 through December 2018, Sacco conspired to defraud his employer and the owners of certain projects he managed by inflating change orders on the projects. As part of the conspiracy, a co-conspirator subcontractor made payments to Sacco and also for Sacco’s benefit, including payments for Sacco’s children’s college tuition, a graduation party, a Mac laptop, airline tickets, hotels and Sacco’s rent. Sacco and the co-conspirator submitted inflated change orders to Sacco’s employer to offset some of the costs of the payments the co-conspirator made to Sacco.
In a separate case, DON RICHARDS, 53, of Milford, Connecticut, was arrested on October 19, 2021, on a criminal complaint. Richards was a senior project manager at a Massachusetts-based mechanical contractor. It is alleged that from November 2014 through February 2018, Richards also conspired to defraud his employer and project owners by inflating change orders on certain projects he was managing. As part of this separate conspiracy, a co-conspirator subcontractor made payments to Richards and also for Richards’s benefit, including gift cards and funds for a golf club membership. Richards and the co-conspirator submitted inflated change orders to Richards’s employer to offset some of the costs of the payments the co-conspirator made to Richards.
Sacco and Richards are each charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. Each offense carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.
Richards is released on a $100,000 bond.
Acting U.S. Attorney Boyle stressed that each complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
These investigations are being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Huang, with assistance from the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, New York Office.
El Departamento de Justicia llega a un acuerdo con Microsoft que resuelve unas denuncias de discriminación relacionada con la inmigraciónRead the Press Release
El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que ha llegado a un acuerdo conciliatorio con Microsoft Corporation que resuelve alegatos de que la compañía había discriminado a no ciudadanos de los EE. UU. por motivos de su estatus de ciudadanía en las fases iniciales del proceso de contratación de Microsoft al pedirles documentos migratorios específicos e innecesarios para demostrar que podían trabajar para la compañía sin que la compañía tuviera que patrocinar una visa laboral. Asimismo, el acuerdo resuelve acusaciones de que la compañía había discriminado a residentes permanentes legales al pedirles documentos adicionales o diferentes a los que por ley deben pedir para fines relacionados con la reverificación de su permiso continuo para trabajar en los Estados Unidos.
La investigación independiente del Departamento comenzó después de que la mujer de un postulante de Microsoft llamó a la línea directa de la IER para informarle que la compañía le había pedido a su marido su Tarjeta de Residente Permanente al solicitar un puesto en las oficinas de Microsoft en Redmond, Washington. La investigación halló pruebas de que la compañía había pedido, en repetidas ocasiones, que residentes permanentes legales, refugiados y asilados se sometieran a una evaluación de su necesidad de patrocinio de una visa laboral por parte de Microsoft, a pesar de que ellos no requieren ningún tipo de patrocinio para poder trabajar en los Estados Unidos. La investigación determinó que la compañía discriminó al menos a seis residentes permanentes legales por motivos de su estatus migratorio durante este proceso de evaluación de visas cuando les pidió que presentasen su Tarjeta de Residente Permanente para demostrar que tenían permiso para trabajar sin la necesidad ser patrocinados por el empleador. Más aún, la investigación determinó que, desde al menos junio del 2019 hasta al menos enero del 2020, Microsoft envió, de forma habitual, correos electrónicos a residentes permanentes legales para pedirles documentos para confirmar que disponían de una autorización continua para trabajar, a pesar de que ya habían presentado documentos que demostraban una autorización permanente para trabajar.
La Ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad (INA, por sus siglas en inglés) requiere que los empleadores verifiquen el permiso del trabajador para trabajar en los Estados Unidos. Por otra parte, la ley también prohíbe que los empleadores pidan documentos cuando no tienen el requisito de pedirlos o que restrinjan o especifiquen los tipos de documentación válida que se le permite al trabajador presentar para demostrar que cuenta con permiso para trabajar, por motivos de la ciudadanía, el estatus migratorio o la nacionalidad de origen de tal trabajador. Conforme el acuerdo, Microsoft revisará partes de su proceso de contratación para garantizar que la compañía no esté requiriendo, de modo ilegal, a solicitantes de trabajo que no son ciudadanos de los EE. UU. que presenten documentos migratorios específicos para demostrar que no necesitan ser patrocinados para una visa laboral. El acuerdo también requiere que la compañía pare de enviar correos electrónicos para pedir documentos con el fin de reverificar la autorización para trabajar de trabajadores cuya autorización para trabajar no debe ser reverificada. Además, el acuerdo requiere que la compañía permita a trabajadores que necesiten demostrar una autorización continua para trabajar que presenten el documento aceptable que quieran para tal fin. Microsoft también deberá pagar una sanción civil a los Estados Unidos y capacitar a sus empleados responsables de la verificación y reverificación del permiso de los trabajadores para trabajar en los Estados Unidos. Más aún, el acuerdo requiere que Microsoft se someta a los requisitos de declaración y supervisión del Departamento.
«Mediante investigaciones y conciliaciones como esta, el Departamento de Justicia seguirá garantizando que todo no ciudadano de los EE. UU. que disponga de autorización para trabajar pueda perseguir oportunidades laborales sin enfrentarse a discriminación ilícita», afirmó Kristen Clarke, la Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles. «El Departamento también espera que este acuerdo inspire a otros empleadores a asegurar que sus propias políticas y prácticas no sean discriminatorias».
La Sección de Derechos de Inmigrantes y Empleados de la División de Derechos Civiles es responsable de hacer cumplir la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA. La ley prohíbe la discriminación por motivos de estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido o reclutamiento o recomendación por comisión; prácticas documentales injustas; y represalias e intimidación.
Hay más información aquí sobre cómo los empleadores pueden evitar las prácticas documentales injustas. Aquellos aspirantes o empleados que creen haber sido discriminados por motivos de su estatus migratorio, ciudadanía o nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido, reclutamiento o verificación de la elegibilidad para trabajar (Formulario I-9 e E-Verify) o sujetos a represalias pueden presentar una denuncia. El público también puede llamar a la línea directa de la IER para trabajadores al 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); llamar a la línea directa de la IER para empleadores al 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); enviar un correo electrónico a [email protected]; inscribirse a un seminario en línea gratuito; o visitar los sitios web de la IER en inglés o español. Para recibir las últimas noticias de la IER, inscríbase a GovDelivery. Para visualizar la versión en inglés de este comunicado de prensa, haga clic aquí.
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Disturbance Complaints Lead to Conviction of Men for Illegally Possessing Firearms and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that two men have been sentenced by United States District Judge James D. Cain, Jr. to time in federal prison for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. Both defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury in Lafayette on January 13, 2021 for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
Kevin Joseph Lejeune, 31, of Westlake, Louisiana was sentenced to 57 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Lejeune pleaded guilty on June 3, 2021. The charge stemmed from an incident in which deputies with the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office responded to a disturbance complaint at a residence in Lake Charles on July 9, 2020. Upon arrival at the residence, the deputies interviewed witnesses at the scene and learned that Lejeune had possessed and discharged a firearm that evening. The residence was equipped with a video surveillance system, and the system’s recording device was located within a locked safe. Search warrants were executed on the residence and Lejeune’s vehicle. Deputies found a loaded pistol in Lejeune’s vehicle and recovered the surveillance video from the safe. Upon reviewing the surveillance video, deputies observed video footage of Lejeune possessing and firing the pistol. Also, Lejeune admitted to law enforcement that he had possessed and discharged a pistol that evening. As a person having been previously convicted of felony offenses, Lejeune knew that he was prohibited from possessing a firearm and ammunition. His previous felony convictions included those for aggravated assault with a firearm and possession of methamphetamine.
This case was investigated by the ATF and Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Danny Siefker.
Rickey A. Edmonds, 48, of Lake Charles, Louisiana, was sentenced to 24 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. On February 10, 2020, Lake Charles Police Department officers responded to a residence in connection with a reported disturbance complaint. Officers found Edmonds on the porch with a firearm near him. He acknowledged to officers that the firearm belonged to him. In addition, Edmonds had a number of rounds of ammunition in his pants pocket. Edmonds has prior felony convictions for illegal carrying of a weapon (second offense) (2016), and for unauthorized use of a vehicle (2016). Edmonds knew that as a convicted felon, he was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
This case was investigated by the ATF and Lake Charles Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy.
These cases are 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. PSN is 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. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.
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Department of Justice and Dunlap School District Reach Agreement to Provide Fully Accessible Elementary School PlaygroundRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Department of Justice has reached a settlement pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with Dunlap Community Unit School District No. 323, located in Dunlap, Illinois, ensuring that Banner Elementary School’s outdoor playground is accessible to all children, including children with disabilities.
The settlement agreement resolves an ADA complaint filed by parents of a child with a disability at Banner Elementary. The complaint alleged that a child with a disability was routinely unable to access Banner’s existing playground to play with peers and had to play alone, outside of the play area and separate from peers without disabilities. The complaint prompted an investigation by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. Title II of the ADA prohibits places of public accommodation, including school districts, from discriminating against individuals with disabilities and requires them to remove architectural barriers to access. The ADA requires a school’s outdoor playgrounds to be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.
Under the settlement agreement, the school district has agreed to create a new outdoor playground by integrating new, accessible equipment into the existing area, effectively creating a single outdoor playground with accessible equipment and surfaces. As part of the agreement, the district will also remove all existing barriers to access, including railroad ties and other barriers, as well as remove and replace all existing pea gravel and mulch with ADA-compliant surfaces. Without admitting violating the ADA, the district also agreed to a monetary payment to the parents fully resolving the matter.
“Children and other individuals with disabilities are entitled to full access to our community, including a school’s playground,” said Douglas J. Quivey, Acting United States Attorney for the Central District of Illinois. “This settlement demonstrates the Dunlap Community School District’s commitment to providing equal access to all students it serves. We appreciate both the parents and the School District’s cooperation in resolving this matter and their dedication to ensuring all students enjoy full access. I encourage all school districts in Central Illinois to review their facilities to make sure they are accessible and fully usable by all.”
The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua I. Grant represented the government during the investigation and settlement process. For more information about the ADA, please visit www.ada.gov, or call the Department of Justice’s toll-free information line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TDD). Information about filing a complaint, including instructions for filing a complaint online, can be found at https://www.justice.gov/crt/how-file-complaint.
Delaware County Doctor Sentenced to Three Years for Unlawfully Distributing Oxycodone to Patients in “Pill Mill” CaseRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Timothy F. Shawl, M.D., 62, of Garnet Valley, Pennsylvania was sentenced to three years in prison, and two years of supervised release United States District Judge R. Barclay Surrick for his unlawful distribution of controlled substances in connection with his medical practice based in Philadelphia.
In January 2020, the defendant pleaded guilty to five counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances, admitting that he wrote prescriptions for controlled substances that were outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. Shawl was charged by Indictment in September 2019, as part of a nationally coordinated healthcare fraud enforcement action across seven federal districts, involving more than $800 million in loss and more than 3.25 million opioid pills distributed in “pill mill” clinics. Specifically, Shawl wrote prescriptions, usually for oxycodone, for certain patients without seeing, treating or examining them; generally, certain patients just picked up an envelope with their prescription from the receptionist at Shawl’s office. For one patient, he had not conducted a physical examination in at least five years, despite regularly prescribing controlled substances. This patient died on January 7, 2019, just three days after Shawl last prescribed oxycodone for her, and the cause of death was drug intoxication.
“This sentence should serve as a warning to any medical professional engaged in this type of illegal behavior,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “As a physician, Shawl was well aware of the inherently dangerous nature of the drugs he cavalierly prescribed, sometimes to vulnerable people struggling with addiction, and he did so despite taking an oath to do no harm. He is no better than a street-level drug dealer; in fact, in some ways he is far worse.”
“Our community has felt the negative effects of pill mills operated by doctors like Shawl, who use their positions of trust to become drug dealers for personal profit, for far too long,” said Jacqueline Maguire, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “But the FBI and our law enforcement partners are fighting back, and we will continue to tirelessly pursue unethical doctors who write illegal opioid prescriptions that are plainly outside their professional practice. Today’s sentencing is a testament to the dedication and teamwork in combating the opioid crisis in the Philadelphia area.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from task force officers from the Philadelphia Police Department and Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Debra Jaroslawicz of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.