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Wednesday 10 November 2021
Las Vegas Couple Sentenced for Stealing over $300,000 by Assuming Deceased Federal Employee's IdentityRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas husband and wife were each sentenced today to 21 months in prison for assuming a deceased person’s identity and stealing more than $300,000 in retirement payments intended for that person.
According to court documents, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management deposited annuity payments into a former federal employee’s bank account because it was not notified of the person’s death. From about November 12, 2005 to November 1, 2017, Rodolfo Segovia (53) and Jennifer Segovia (48) assumed the deceased person’s identity and stole at least $308,391.72 by redirecting the annuity payments into their own accounts.
Each defendant pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government money or property. In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan sentenced each defendant to three years of supervised release.
Acting U.S. Attorney Christopher Chiou for the District of Nevada and Norbert E. Vint, Deputy Inspector General Performing the Duties of the Inspector General at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Office of the Inspector General made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Simon Kung prosecuted the case.
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Kuna Man Sentenced to 7 Years for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BOISE – A Kuna man was sentenced to seven years in federal prison for possession of child pornography.
According to court records, in January 2020, the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force began investigating several CyberTips from Microsoft. A CyberTip is a report submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). NCMEC gathers leads and tips regarding suspected online crimes against children and forwards them to the appropriate law enforcement agencies. According to the CyberTips, on March 2 and March 3, 2019, child pornography was uploaded to a Microsoft One Drive account. The IP address used to upload the files of child pornography to the account was tied to the residence of Donald Jordan, 54, of Kuna.
ICAC obtained a federal search warrant for the contents of the Microsoft One Drive account and located items establishing Jordan was the owner of the account, along with hundreds of files of child pornography, including files depicting prepubescent children, infants, and toddlers engaged in sexual acts. On September 22, 2020, ICAC executed a federal search warrant at Jordan’s residence in Kuna to search for evidence of the possession of child pornography. ICAC seized several electronic devices belonging to Jordan and located numerous files of child pornography on the devices. Jordan admitted to viewing child pornography and to distributing files of child pornography to other individuals in exchange for other pornographic files.
Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Jordan to forfeit the electronic devices that were used to commit the offense and to pay $3,000 in restitution to a victim in the images he possessed. As a result of the conviction, Jordan will be required to register as a sex offender.
Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr., of the District of Idaho made the announcement and commended the cooperative efforts of the Idaho ICAC Task Force and the Ada County Sheriff's Office, which led to charges. “To create a CyberTip with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), go to www.missingkids.com, and click ‘MAKE A CYBERTIPLINE REPORT.’ Include all pertinent details regarding the situation (e.g., usernames, dates, screenshots, etc.). Help us rescue a child,” Gonzalez said.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. As part of Project Safe Childhood, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and the Idaho Attorney General’s Office partner to marshal federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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Kokomo Resident Sentenced for Animal CrushingRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS – A Kokomo, Indiana woman was sentenced to 30 months in prison for animal crushing, which is a violation of the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act under Title 18, United States Code, Section 48(a).
Beginning at least on or about May 2020, and continuing until at least July 2020, Krystal Cherika Scott, 20, began posting images and videos over various social media platforms that depicted Scott torturing and graphically killing cats and dogs by hanging, skinning and other means. Scott’s conduct attracted the attention of several private citizens who began using publicly available information to attempt to identify the perpetrator.
In June 2020, the Boise, Idaho Police Department received information from some of those concerned citizens, immediately opened an investigation, and referred the matter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI, in conjunction with the Boise Police Department and the Ada County Idaho Sheriff’s Office, later determined that Scott was responsible for torturing and killing the animals and posting the videos. Scott was ultimately arrested, charged, and found guilty of violating the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act of 2019.
Acting U.S. Attorney John E. Childress and FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Paul Keenan made the announcement.
This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Boise Police Department, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, and the Kokomo Police Department.
According to Assistant United States Attorney Tiffany J. Preston, who prosecuted the case, said Scott will also serve 5 years of supervised release following her prison term.
Justice Department Sues Uber for Overcharging People with DisabilitiesRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against Uber Technologies Inc. (Uber) for charging “wait time” fees to passengers who, because of disability, need more time to enter a car. Uber’s policies and practices of charging wait time fees based on disability have harmed many passengers and potential passengers with disabilities throughout the country. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that Uber violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination by private transportation companies like Uber.
In April 2016, Uber began charging passengers wait time fees in a number of cities, eventually expanding the policy nationwide. Wait time fees start two minutes after the Uber car arrives at the pickup location and are charged until the car begins its trip.
The department’s complaint alleges that Uber violates the ADA by failing to reasonably modify its wait time fee policy for passengers who, because of disability, need more than two minutes to get in an Uber car. Passengers with disabilities may need additional time to enter a car for various reasons. A passenger may, for example, use a wheelchair or walker that needs to be broken down and stored in the car. Or a passenger who is blind may need additional time to safely walk from the pickup location to the car itself. The department’s lawsuit alleges that, even when Uber is aware that a passenger’s need for additional time is clearly disability-based, Uber starts charging a wait time fee at the two-minute mark.
The lawsuit seeks relief from the court, including ordering Uber to stop discriminating against individuals with disabilities. Additionally, the department asks the court to order Uber to modify its wait time fee policy to comply with the ADA; train its staff and drivers on the ADA; pay money damages to people subjected to the illegal wait time fees; and pay a civil penalty to vindicate the public’s interest in eliminating disability discrimination.
“People with disabilities deserve equal access to all areas of community life, including the private transportation services provided by companies like Uber,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This lawsuit seeks to bring Uber into compliance with the mandate of the Americans with Disabilities Act while sending a powerful message that Uber cannot penalize passengers with disabilities simply because they need more time to get into a car. Uber and other companies that provide transportation services must ensure equal access for all people, including those with disabilities.”
“Uber’s wait time fees take a significant toll on people with disabilities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds for the Northern District of California. “Passengers with disabilities who need additional boarding time are entitled to access ridesharing services without discrimination. This lawsuit seeks to assist people with disabilities to live their lives with independence and dignity, as the ADA guarantees.”
If you believe you have been a victim of disability discrimination by Uber because you, or someone you were traveling with, were charged wait time fees, please contact 833-591-0425 (toll-free), 202-305-6786, or send an email to [email protected]. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov. For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt. The complaint can be viewed here.
Justice Department Sues Uber for Overcharging People with DisabilitiesRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO — The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against Uber Technologies Inc. (Uber) for charging “wait time” fees to passengers who, because of disability, need more time to enter a car. Uber’s policies and practices of charging wait time fees based on disability have harmed many passengers and potential passengers with disabilities throughout the country. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that Uber violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination by private transportation companies like Uber.
In April 2016, Uber began charging passengers wait time fees in a number of cities, eventually expanding the policy nationwide. Wait time fees start two minutes after the Uber car arrives at the pickup location and are charged until the car begins its trip.
The department’s complaint alleges that Uber violates the ADA by failing to reasonably modify its wait time fee policy for passengers who, because of disability, need more than two minutes to get in an Uber car. Passengers with disabilities may need additional time to enter a car for various reasons. A passenger may, for example, use a wheelchair or walker that needs to be broken down and stored in the car. Or a passenger who is blind may need additional time to safely walk from the pickup location to the car itself. The department’s lawsuit alleges that, even when Uber is aware that a passenger’s need for additional time is clearly disability-based, Uber starts charging a wait time fee at the two-minute mark.
The lawsuit seeks relief from the court, including ordering Uber to stop discriminating against individuals with disabilities. Additionally, the department asks the court to order Uber to modify its wait time fee policy to comply with the ADA; train its staff and drivers on the ADA; pay money damages to people subjected to the illegal wait time fees; and pay a civil penalty to vindicate the public’s interest in eliminating disability discrimination.
“Uber’s wait time fees take a significant toll on people with disabilities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds for the Northern District of California. “Passengers with disabilities who need additional boarding time are entitled to access ridesharing services without discrimination. This lawsuit seeks to assist people with disabilities to live their lives with independence and dignity, as the ADA guarantees.”
“People with disabilities deserve equal access to all areas of community life, including the private transportation services provided by companies like Uber,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This lawsuit seeks to bring Uber into compliance with the mandate of the Americans with Disabilities Act while sending a powerful message that Uber cannot penalize passengers with disabilities simply because they need more time to get into a car. Uber and other companies that provide transportation services must ensure equal access for all people, including those with disabilities.”
If you believe you have been a victim of disability discrimination by Uber because you, or someone you were traveling with, were charged wait time fees, please contact 833-591-0425 (toll-free), 202-305-6786, or send an email to [email protected]. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov. For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt. The complaint can be viewed on PACER and by visiting the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.
Justice Department Requires Divestitures in Lactalis’s Acquisition of Kraft Heinz’s Natural Cheese Business in the United StatesRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that it will require B.S.A. S.A. (Lactalis) and The Kraft Heinz Company (Kraft Heinz) to divest Kraft Heinz’s Athenos and Polly-O businesses in order to proceed with Lactalis’s proposed acquisition of Kraft Heinz’s natural cheese business in the United States.
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed transaction. At the same time, the department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the competitive harm alleged in the lawsuit.
“The Antitrust Division is committed to enforcing the antitrust laws in markets that impact Americans’ day-to-day lives,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard A. Powers of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “This transaction, as originally proposed, would have led to higher-priced and lower-quality feta and ricotta, two popular cheeses that American consumers regularly purchase to feed their families. Today’s settlement will maintain the competition in the sale of feta and ricotta cheeses that would have been lost if the transaction were permitted to go forward without the required divestitures.”
Lactalis’s U.S. subsidiary, Lactalis American Group Inc., and Kraft Heinz are the two largest suppliers of feta cheese — sold under their respective Président and Athenos brands — to grocery stores and other retailers in the United States. They are also the two largest suppliers of ricotta cheese — sold under their respective Galbani and Polly-O brands — to grocery stores and other retailers in the New York City metropolitan area and four metropolitan areas in Florida: Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Orlando and Jacksonville.
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, the parties must divest Kraft Heinz’s Athenos business — including the worldwide rights to the Athenos brand, under which Kraft Heinz sells feta and other products — to Emmi Roth USA Inc. (Emmi Roth) or an alternative acquirer approved by the United States. Emmi Roth is an established cheese supplier based in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. With the divestiture of Kraft Heinz’s Athenos business, Emmi Roth, or an alternative qualified acquirer, will be able to expand its feta cheese sales to grocery stores and other retailers across the United States.
The proposed settlement also requires the parties to divest Kraft Heinz’s Polly-O business — including the worldwide rights to the Polly-O brand, under which Kraft Heinz sells ricotta and other cheeses — to BelGioioso Cheese Inc. (BelGioioso) or an alternative acquirer approved by the United States. BelGioioso is an established cheese supplier based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. With the divestiture of Kraft Heinz’s Polly-O business, BelGioioso, or an alternative qualified acquirer, will be able to expand its ricotta cheese sales to grocery stores and other retailers in New York and Florida.
The divestitures are structured to include the entirety of the Athenos and Polly-O businesses, so as to avoid customer confusion that could have resulted had the brands been used by both Lactalis and the divestiture buyers. The divestitures, including the worldwide rights to the entire Athenos and Polly-O portfolios, also place the divestiture buyers in the position to market and promote all the cheeses sold under these brands, as Kraft Heinz does today.
Lactalis is headquartered in Laval, France. Its subsidiary, Lactalis American Group Inc., generated natural cheese sales — primarily under the Galbani and Président brands — of more than $429 million at retail outlets in the United States in 2020.
Kraft Heinz is a Delaware corporation co-headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Chicago, Illinois. Retail sales of Kraft Heinz’s natural cheeses in the United States exceeded $2.2 billion in 2020. Kraft Heinz sells natural cheese in the United States primarily under the Kraft, Cracker Barrel, Athenos and Polly-O brand names.
As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with a competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement during a 60-day comment period to Eric D. Welsh, Chief, Healthcare and Consumer Products Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street NW, Suite 4100, Washington, D.C. 20530. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia may enter the final judgment upon finding it is in the public interest.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Jury Convicts Two Mexican Nationals for $2.1 Million Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two Mexican nationals have been convicted by a federal trial jury for their roles in a $2.1 million conspiracy to distribute over 100 kilograms of methamphetamine in the Kansas City metropolitan area and in northwest Missouri.
Juan Guzman, also known as “Flaco,” 40, of Kansas City, Missouri, and Maria De La Cruz Nava, 25, of Kansas City, Kansas, were found guilty on Tuesday, Nov. 9, of participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and in a money-laundering conspiracy over a nearly four-year period from Jan. 1, 2015, to Nov. 14, 2018. In addition to the conspiracies, Guzman and Nava were found guilty of possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. Guzman was also found guilty of illegally reentering the United States after having been deported.
Guzman was the supplier for the drug-trafficking conspiracy, selling multiple kilograms of methamphetamine on a regular basis, sometimes daily, to multiple co-conspirators who then distributed methamphetamine to others. Guzman also involved others in storing methamphetamine. The jury found Nava assisted Guzman in his drug trafficking and money laundering activities.
Guzman, Nava, and several others were arrested at Guzman’s residence on Oct. 18, 2018. At the time of their arrest, officers seized two rifles, five handguns (one with an extended drum magazine), ammunition, 688 grams of methamphetamine, cash, and drug paraphernalia – including drug ledgers and drug packaging – from Guzman’s residence.
The federal indictment also requires the defendants to forfeit to the government $2.1 million, representing the proceeds of the drug-trafficking conspiracy (based on a sale price of $600 per ounce and distribution of more than 3,500 ounces – nearly 100 kilograms – of methamphetamine).
Five defendants have pleaded guilty in this case: Chanthacone Senthavy, 47, a citizen of Laos residing in Independence, Mo., Luis Carlos Ramos Caraveo, 26, a citizen of Mexico residing in Kansas City, Mo., Christopher Shawn Sharp, 43, and John Paul Gnat, 31, both of St. Joseph, Mo., and Jacob Dale Walsh, 35, of Denton, Kan.
Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for less than two hours before returning guilty verdicts on both defendants on all counts to U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes, ending a trial that began Friday, Nov. 5.
Under federal statutes, Guzman and Nava are subject to mandatory minimum sentences of 15 years in federal prison and maximum penalties of life in federal prison, all without parole. The minimum and maximum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the Court based on the statutory sentences, the advisory sentencing guidelines, and other statutory sentencing factors. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Bruce Rhoades and Robert M. Smith. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Buchanan County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Buchanan County Drug Strike Force, Midwest HIDTA, the Independence, Mo., Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the Jackson County Drug Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the FBI.
Iowa Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Drug and Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Jonathan Pilgreen, 30, of Griswold, Iowa, was sentenced today in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and for using a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. United States District Court Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Pilgreen to ten years of imprisonment on the drug conspiracy charge and a consecutive five-year sentence for the gun charge. There is no parole in the federal system. After serving his fifteen years, Pilgreen will begin a five-year term of supervised release.
On November 11, 2020, Omaha Police officers responded to an overdose at an Omaha hotel. Pilgreen had overdosed on a couch with drugs and a disassembled rifle nearby. A search warrant for the room recovered more than 400 grams of actual methamphetamine. A rifle was found under the bed and another rifle on a table. Officers also found pills of Xanax and fentanyl.
This case was part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.
This case was investigated by the Omaha Police Department.
Inmates prosecuted for separate assaults on prison correctional officersRead the Press Release
BRUNSWICK, GA: Three inmates are under prosecution in separate cases in the Southern District for assaults on federal correctional officers, while a correctional officer has been sentenced for bringing contraband into a facility.
Juan Alvardo-Baltazar, 27, an inmate at McRae Correctional Facility in McRae, Ga.; Luis Cedillo-Narvaez, 53, also an inmate at McRae; and Melvin Johnson, 36, an inmate at Federal Correctional Institution in Jesup, Ga., all have been charged with Assault on a Certain Officer or Employee, and Johnson also is charged with Possession of Contraband In Prison, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The assault charge carries a possible statutory penalty of up to eight years in prison, while the contraband charge carries a statutory penalty of up to one year in prison. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Correctional officers have a challenging job under the best circumstances, much of which involves protecting the safety of inmates under their supervision,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “We will consistently work to hold accountable inmates who would violate the law by attacking prison guards.”
Details of the charges against the defendants include:
- Alvardo-Baltazar, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States, was sentenced to 12 additional months in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting an assistant shift supervisor July 5, 2021, at McRae, a privately operated prison in Telfair County. Prior to his additional sentence, Alvardo-Baltazar was serving a 48-month sentence at McRae for Possession with Intent to Distribute 500 Grams or More of Methamphetamine.
- Cedillo-Narvaez, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States, is charged with assaulting the chief of Unit Management at McRae on Dec. 7, 2020 and is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty. Cedillo-Narvaez is serving a 180-month sentence for Conspiracy to Commit Hostage Taking.
- Johnson was indicted during the November term of the U.S. District Court Grand Jury in the Southern District, and is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty. He is accused of striking a unit officer during a search of his cell, during which officers found a contraband cell phone. Johnson is serving a 180-month sentence for Conspiracy to Distribute One Kilogram or More of Heroin.
In addition, former McRae correctional officer Brianna Williams, 23, of Eastman, Ga., was sentenced to six months in prison followed by one year of supervised release and fined $1,000 after pleading guilty to Providing Contraband in Prison. She was charged in November 2020 after attempting to smuggle cell phone batteries into the facility.
“The FBI has zero tolerance for anyone who uses violence against law enforcement officers,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “We will always go the extra mile to hold criminals accountable for their actions and will not hesitate to prosecute and tack on additional time to those criminals who continue to break the law.”
The cases are investigated by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons Special Investigative Services and the FBI, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Bearden.
Inmate admits to assault charge, sentencedRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Jamarcus Darnell Torrey, an inmate at Federal Corrections Institution Hazelton in Preston County, has admitted to an assault charge and was sentenced to 48 additional months of incarceration, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II announced.
Torrey, 31, pleaded guilty today to one count of “Assault of a Correctional Officer Resulting in Bodily Injury.” Torrey admitted to injuring a correctional officer in October 2019 in Preston County.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon S. Flower prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Prisons investigated.
U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
Husband and Wife Team, and Their Inmate Accomplice, Charged with Fraudulently Obtaining Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Funds and Economic Injury Disaster LoansRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Brandon Segers, 33, and Dionne Segers, 32, both of Philadelphia, PA, and their inmate accomplice, Michael Matthews, 42, of Richmond, VA, and currently incarcerated at FCI Cumberland in Maryland, were charged with fraudulently applying for and obtaining emergency unemployment benefits related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the defendants allegedly submitted false applications claiming that prison inmates lost employment as a result of the pandemic, and submitted false weekly certifications that inmates were available to work full-time despite their incarceration.
The defendants are charged by Indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, seven counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, and four counts of theft of government program funds. All the defendants were either arrested and taken into custody this morning, or were already in custody.
In addition to the unemployment fraud, defendant Dionne Segers is charged with submitting a fraudulent application and obtaining emergency COVID-19 funds under the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. The EIDL program was implemented to offer low interest-rate loans to businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic. As alleged in the Indictment, Dionne Segers submitted an application to the SBA for a fictious business and received an immediate $10,000 emergency grant. Segers did not spend the money on any business expenses but rather on luxury goods and other personal items.
On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed into law. The CARES Act created the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, which provides unemployment benefits to individuals not eligible for regular unemployment compensation or extended unemployment benefits, including individuals, families, and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligibility to receive weekly PUA benefits is predicated on an applicant’s unemployment for reasons related to the pandemic, and it requires that the applicant was able to work each day and, if offered a job, would have been able to accept it. Once an applicant is approved to receive benefits, the applicant is required to submit weekly certifications indicating that he or she: was ready, willing and able to work each day; was seeking full time employment; did not refuse any job offers or referrals; and had reported any employment during the week and the gross pay or other payments received.
As part of the conspiracy alleged in the Indictment, applications were filed on behalf of inmates who did not lose their job due to COVID. Matthews allegedly transmitted the necessary inmate information for the filing of PUA applications to Brandon Segers, a former federal inmate who was previously incarcerated with Matthews, via phone and email. Brandon and Dionne Segers would then file the fraudulent applications in the name of Matthews and other inmates Matthews provided. Brandon and Dionne Segers would also file the weekly certifications that the inmates were available to work full-time when they were not. Brandon and Dionne Segers allegedly compensated Matthews for providing the inmate information by depositing money into his federal prison commissary account.
According to the Indictment, Brandon Segers also filed fraudulent applications and weekly certifications in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts under his name for a time period in which he was incarcerated. Additionally, Dionne Segers is alleged to have filed a fraudulent application and weekly certification in Pennsylvania under her name for a time period during which she was employed and receiving employment income. During this period, Dionne Segers was receiving regular payroll income as well as unemployment benefits.
Outside of the small amount of money the Segers used to compensate Matthews, they spent the proceeds of the offense in part on large cash withdrawals, luxury goods, and vacations. As a result of the conspiracy, the defendants caused a loss of at least $180,000.
“Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and small business loan funds are intended to help working Americans and small business owners continue to pay their bills and make ends meet, even when revenues have dropped dramatically due to the pandemic,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Williams. “Thieves who attempt to take these funds are taking advantage of others’ misfortune – ripping them off while also ripping off all taxpayers who fund the program. As alleged, the Segers and Matthews fraudulently obtained thousands of dollars in funds that could have helped struggling businesses and individuals.”
“An important part of the mission of the Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations of fraud related to unemployment insurance programs. We will continue to work with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry and our law enforcement partners to investigate these types of allegations”, stated Syreeta Scott, Special Agent-in-Charge, Philadelphia Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.
“Pandemic relief funds are limited and intended to save legitimate struggling businesses from failing and are not meant to be used for paying off personal indulgences,” said Yury Kruty, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation. “Further, the purpose of the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program was to provide benefits to those who actually lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. IRS-CI will continue to aggressively investigate those who schemed to defraud this program that was intended to help struggling individuals and businesses.”
This case was investigated by the United States Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Lanni.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Houlton Man Sentenced on Federal Drug ChargeRead the Press Release
BANGOR, Maine: A Houlton man was sentenced in federal court today for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee announced.
U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker sentenced Dylan Begin, 27, to 40 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Begin pleaded guilty in January 2021.
According to court records, between approximately July 2018 and May 2019, members of the conspiracy obtained methamphetamine in western and southern states from sources in Mexico. Begin and his co-conspirators then distributed the drugs in Aroostook County and other parts of central and northern Maine.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency investigated this case with the assistance of multiple state and local law enforcement agencies.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
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Grand Jury indicts St. Louis man and others in international drug ringRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A federal grand jury indicted Derek Rockette for charges that include conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl. The indictment also alleges in a money laundering conspiracy charge that Rockette, Norma Corina Armenta-Lizarraga, Jian Zhong Fang, Yuede Zheng and Wai Ming Mak, did knowingly combine, conspire, and agree with each other and with other persons known and unknown to knowingly conduct and attempt to conduct financial transactions affecting interstate and foreign commerce, which involved the proceeds of a specified unlawful activity, that is conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
Beginning at a time unknown but including 2016 to on or about the date of the indictment, in the Eastern District of Missouri, Rockette was involved in the distribution of controlled substances including cocaine and fentanyl. Rockette owed a substantial drug debt to the source of supply in Mexico for controlled substances which had been fronted to him. This debt would vary as payments were made and new drug shipments were sent to Rockette. It is alleged in the indictment that several methods of money laundering were used by those in the conspiracy.
One such method was the use of ATMs throughout the St. Louis area to make deposits of cash drug payments. Over eight and one half million dollars ($8,500,000) was deposited in ATMs in approximately 14 states into one of two accounts between June 4, 2018 and September 12, 2019. The money was then transferred to banks in Mexico.
Also, the indictment alleges that, Rockette did knowingly and intentionally distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and did knowingly and intentionally possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. The indictment further alleges that Rockette knowingly possessed a firearm, previously been convicted of crimes that prohibited possession of said firearm.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. The specific mission of the St. Louis OCDETF Gateway Strike Force is to identify, disrupt and dismantle 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.
Charges set forth in the indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Grand Jury indicts St. Louis father and son along with others in fentanyl and cocaine conspiracyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A federal grand jury indicted Gregory Dixson, Jr., Gregory Dixson III, Miguel Angel Gonzalez, Carlos Gonzalez, Quintin D. Adkins and Ruben Sanchez Blanco to knowingly combine, conspire, agree, and confederate together with each other and with other persons known and unknown to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl.
The indictment alleges that beginning at a time unknown but including 2015 to on or about the date of this indictment, in the Eastern District of Missouri, and elsewhere, Gregory Dixson, Jr., Gregory Dixson III, Miguel Angel Gonzalez, Carlos Gonzalez and Quintin D. Adkins conspired to distribute five (5) kilograms or more of cocaine.
Additionally, Gregory Dixson, Jr. and Ruben Sanchez Blanco are accused in the conspiracy of distribution of four (400) grams or more of fentanyl.
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.
Charges set forth in the indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Georgia man sentenced to 14 years for drug distributionRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – William Gregory Chappell, of Cartersville, Georgia, was sentenced today to 168 months for drug distribution and firearms charges, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II announced.
Chappell, age 35, pleaded guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Possess with the Intent to Distribute and Distribute Controlled Substances” and one count of “Use and Carry a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime” in February 2019.
Three other co-conspirators in this case have either pled guilty or been sentenced for their roles in a drug distribution operation from Georgia to West Virginia.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon S. Flower prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Greater Harrison Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Three Rivers Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force; the West Virginia State Police; The Bartow County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office; the FBI in Rome, Georgia; and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation investigated.
U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
Find the related cases here:
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/georgia-man-sentenced-four-life-sentences-plus-10-years-drug-distribution-resulting
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/georgia-man-found-guilty-drug-distribution-resulting-death-0
Georgia company and owner sentenced for role in scheme to evade U.S. national security trade sanctionsRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA: A Georgia company and its owner have been sentenced in federal court for their roles in an international scheme to evade United States national security laws.
Dali Bagrou, 60, of Alpharetta, Ga., was sentenced to 51 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court to Conspiracy, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Bagrou’s company, World Mining and Oil Supply (WMO) of Dacula, Ga., was sentenced to five years’ probation after pleading guilty to Violation of the Export Control Reform Act. In addition, as part of Bagrou’s plea, he agreed to forfeit his home purchased with illicit proceeds; the Atlanta-area residence is valued at approximately $800,000.
“Dali Bagrou’s sentence wraps up an investigation and prosecution that prevented bad actors from circumventing our nation’s trade security,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “These conspirators are now being held accountable.”
As described in court documents and testimony in USA v. World Mining and Oil Supply et. al., the conspiracy began when an unnamed Russian government-controlled business began working in 2016 with Oleg Vladislavovich Nikitin, 54, of St. Petersburg, Russia, the general director of KS Engineering (KSE), a St. Petersburg-based energy company, to purchase a power turbine from a U.S.-based manufacturer for approximately $17.3 million. The Russian company intended to use the turbine on a Russian Arctic deep-water drilling platform, expressly prohibited by the U.S. Department of Commerce unless a license is first obtained.
Nikitin and another KSE employee, Anton Cheremukhin, conspired with Gabrielle Villone, 64, of Torino, Italy; Villone’s company, GVA; and Villone’s business partner Bruno Caparini, to obtain the turbine on their behalf. Villone, Caprini and GVA then engaged Bagrou and WMO to procure the turbine from a U.S.-based manufacturer and to have the turbine shipped overseas. The parties conspired to conceal the true end user of the turbine from both the U.S. manufacturer and the U.S. government by submitting false documentation that stated the turbine would be used by a U.S. company in and around Atlanta.
Nikitin, Villone, and Bagrou all were arrested in Savannah, Ga., in 2019 while attempting to complete the illegal transaction. Nikitin was sentenced to 28 months in prison after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Export Control Reform Act and the Export Administration Regulations, while Villone was sentenced to 28 months in prison after pleading guilty to Conspiracy. Cheremukhin and Caparini are still being sought.
“Dali Bagrou knowingly conspired to illegally provide the Russian government with U.S. origin industrial equipment in violation of Russia Sectoral Sanctions,” said Ariel Joshua Leinwand, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Industry and Security’s (BIS) Office of Export Enforcement, which oversees BIS investigations in the Southeast. “BIS and our partner agencies are committed to stopping those that seek to circumvent U.S. export control laws. This significant sentence not only holds Bagrou accountable for his illicit efforts but acts as a deterrent to those who would violate U.S. exports laws and act contrary to the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States.”
“Bagrou and his partners were involved in a shameless scheme to undermine United States sanctions and now he will pay the price for his actions,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will always work tirelessly to prevent criminals from circumventing our laws and putting our goods in the hands of actors that are a direct threat to our national security.”
“This sentencing is the result of the tireless efforts of DCIS and our partner agencies in combating the evasion of trade restrictions by prohibited nations,” said Special Agent in Charge, Cynthia A. Bruce, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Southeast Field Office. “If left unchecked, the illegal transfer of technology from the U.S. could be a significant threat to our country and our warfighters.”
The Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement, as well as the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating the case with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer G. Solari and Steven H. Lee prosecuted the case, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Xavier A. Cunningham, Section Chief of the Asset Recovery Unit.
Former West Chester University Student Sentenced to Six Years for Child Pornography OffenseRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Michael Meacham, 26, of West Chester, PA, was sentenced to six years in prison and five years of supervised release by United States District Court Judge Cynthia M. Rufe for requesting and receiving images depicting the sexual abuse of young children.
In December 2019, the defendant pleaded guilty to a federal Indictment charging him with two counts of receipt of child pornography. The investigation began in February 2018 when the FBI identified another sex offender, Justyn Perez-Colon, who was advertising to trade child pornography and abuse stories online. After the arrest of Perez-Colon, the defendant was identified as a child sex offender who had exchanged online messages with Perez-Colon. For five days in early 2018, the defendant used Kik messenger to chat with Perez-Colon about child pornography, discussing the sexual abuse of children – specifically, Perez-Colon’s sexual abuse and exploitation of two toddler victims. The defendant also requested, received, and accepted images depicting the sexual abuse and exploitation of toddlers and prepubescent children. The victims depicted in those images included a child under the age of two identified by the FBI in the Perez-Colon investigation. At the time of the charged offenses, the defendant was a student at West Chester University.
Separately, Perez-Colon was prosecuted and pleaded guilty to charges of production, distribution, attempted distribution, and possession of child pornography. Perez-Colon was sentenced to 55 years in prison in September 2021.
“Child pornography and exploitation offenses are among the most horrific crimes prosecuted by this Office,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Williams. “By seeking out these shocking depictions, Meacham only added to the demand for these types of images to be produced and for more children to be victimized. Our Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to holding people like this defendant accountable for these crimes.”
This case was brought as a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brittany Jones.
Former U.S. Army Employee Sentenced for Kickback Scheme to Steer U.S. Government ContractsRead the Press Release
A former civilian employee of the U.S. Army’s Directorate of Public Works was sentenced today to two years in prison for a kickback scheme to steer government contracts for work at Camp Arifjan, a U.S. Army base in Kuwait.
Ephraim Garcia, 64, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to offer a kickback and to offering a kickback in the District of Columbia on July 21. According to court documents, Garcia admitted that he conspired with Gandhiraj Sankaralingam, aka Gandhi Raj, the former general manager and co-owner of Kuwait-based contracting company Gulf Link Venture Co. W.L.L. (Gulf Link), to steer government contracts to Gulf Link. In his position with the U.S. Army, Garcia was involved in the solicitation, award, and management of certain government contracts related to facilities support at Camp Arifjan.
In 2015, at an Olive Garden restaurant located in Mahboula, Kuwait, Garcia and Sankaralingam approached an employee of the prime contractor responsible for base support services. During that meeting, they offered to pay the prime-contractor employee in exchange for his assistance in steering subcontracts worth over $3 million to Gulf Link. Rather than agree to the scheme, the prime-contractor employee reported the kickback offer to authorities. On Aug. 19, 2020, Sankaralingam was charged in a superseding indictment with conspiracy to offer a kickback and with paying illegal gratuities to Garcia. Sankaralingam remains a fugitive.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Director Marion F. Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command Major Procurement Fraud Unit; and Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Paul Sternal of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) made the announcement.
The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and DCIS are investigating the case.
Acting Assistant Chief Christopher Jackson and Trial Attorney Matthew Sullivan of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The charges in the indictment against Sankaralingam are merely allegations, and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Former Muncie Mayor Convicted and Sentenced on Corruption ChargesRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS – A former mayor of Muncie, Indiana, who was indicted in November 2019, was sentenced to 1 year in prison for accepting $5,000 in cash in exchange for steering city construction work to a contractor. This conviction and sentence are part of a lengthy investigation by the United States Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation into corruption in Muncie associated with public works projects.
Dennis Tyler, 78, served as mayor from 2011 to 2019, during which he oversaw various public works projects. In December of 2015, Tyler took $5,000 in cash from a local excavation contractor in exchange for awarding public works projects to that contractor, passing up lower bids or more qualified contractors. Tyler received the money in a parking lot from former Muncie Superintendent of Sewer Maintenance and Engineering, Tracy Barton, who delivered the cash on behalf of the contractor. Barton has also been charged in this investigation.
In total, the City of Muncie and the Muncie Sanitary District awarded the excavation contractor hundreds of thousands of dollars in contracts for city work in connection with kickbacks paid to Tyler and Barton, including work associated with the Nebo Commons commercial development and the construction of a large sporting goods store.
Also, according to court documents, Tyler received a personal benefit from a different city contractor in early 2015. The contractor performed tree removal work at Tyler’s personal property worth approximately $1,800, with the expectation that doing so would keep the contractor on a list of eligible bidders for city work.
Finally, according to court documents, Tyler used his position to try to conceal efforts by others to defraud the City of Muncie. Specifically, a separate contractor had submitted, and was paid on, invoices for work that had never been performed. To provide cover for the contractor after the FBI initiated an investigation, Tyler asked two city employees to state they had requested quotes from that contractor, which was untrue. Ultimately, the employees refused.
Eight other individuals have been charged in connection with the FBI’s investigation of corruption in the City of Muncie:
- Tracy Barton, 51, Selma, Indiana, was indicted in September 2018 for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, falsification of documents in a federal investigation, and witness tampering. His case is pending.
- Jeff Burke, 55, Muncie, Indiana, was indicted in September 2018 for bank fraud, false statements to agents of the federal Bureau of Investigation, and obstruction of grand jury proceedings. His case is pending.
- Rodney Barber, 53, Muncie, Indiana, was indicted May 2019 for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and false statements. His case is pending.
- Phil Nichols, 75, Muncie, Indiana, was indicted in March 2020 for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and witness tampering. His case is pending.
- Debra Nicole Grigsby, 47, Muncie, Indiana, was indicted in March 2020 for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud. Her case is pending.
- Jess Neal, 54, Yorktown, Indiana, was indicted in March 2020 for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud. His case is pending
- Tony Franklin, 62, Yorktown, Indiana, was indicted in March 2020 for 2 counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 2 counts of wire fraud, and 2 counts of false statements. His case is pending.
- Craig Nichols, 42, Selma, Indiana, was indicted in February 2017 for 16 counts of wire fraud, theft of government funds, and 16 counts of money laundering. He was sentenced in January 2019 to 2 years in prison, serve 3 years of supervised release after his imprisonment, and ordered to pay $217,892 in restitution.
“Mr. Tyler’s greed caught up with him and he will now be held accountable,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John E. Childress. “The citizens of Muncie and the hard-working city employees deserved better out of their mayor, and hopefully this sentence will help restore some public trust and confidence in the government that serves them.”
“This sentence shows that public corruption will not be tolerated. Mr. Tyler was entrusted by the community to represent their interests but instead chose to betray that trust through his abuse of public office for his personal gain,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Paul Keenan. “Public corruption is a top criminal investigative priority for the FBI, and we encourage the public to continue to come forward and report abuses of public office.”
This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
According to Assistant United States Attorney Tiffany J. Preston, who prosecuted the case, said Tyler will also serve 3 years of supervised release following his prison term and must also pay $15,250 in restitution.
Former Jacksonville Resident Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud for Travel ScamRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – Juan Carlos Arteaga (58, Conroe, TX) today pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Arteaga has agreed to pay at least $779,687 in restitution to the victims of his offenses. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, from at least March 2018 through at least January 2019, Arteaga, a former resident of Jacksonville, held himself out as someone who could provide customers with heavily discounted travel arrangements for both domestic and international travel. He acted as a travel agent for clients throughout Florida and the United States. Despite operating as a de facto travel agent, Arteaga was not a licensed travel agent.
Arteaga solicited friends, business contacts, acquaintances, and referrals from those individuals to purchase sham travel arrangements from him, including but not limited to domestic and international airfare, hotel rooms, and tickets to amusement parks. Arteaga used some of the funds he obtained from victims to purchase travel arrangements for others, which delayed discovery of the scheme since it appeared that the money victims paid was being used to purchase the travel they had requested. Arteaga also used some of the proceeds from the scheme for his personal enrichment, including his mortgage payment, short term loans, credit card and cable bills, grocery purchases, nursing home expenses, and withdrawing large amounts of cash.
Two of the victims of Arteaga’s scheme were P.C. and A.C., who were longtime friends of Arteaga. In 2018, P.C. and A.C. began talking to Arteaga about a trip around the world through Road Scholar, Explore the World by Private Jet. P.C. and A.C. had successfully booked other travel arrangements in the past with Arteaga and had vacationed with Arteaga and his wife numerous times. Arteaga said that the Road Scholar trip would cost approximately $100,000, but if P.C. and A.C. paid him by the next day, Arteaga could get them the trip for $60,000. Arteaga instructed A.C. and P.C. to pay him $20,000, broken into five check payments, and to wire the $40,000 balance to him. A.C. and P.C. wired $40,000 to Arateaga.
In August 2018, P.C. heard from some friends that their trips with Arateaga had not been booked. A.C. then called Road Scholar and learned that their trip had not been booked. Road Scholar also advised they did not any provide discounts, including to travel agents. After discovering the trip was a sham, A.C. and P.C. confronted Arteaga who said that he had not yet booked their trip because he was concerned about P.C.’s health. However, neither P.C. nor A.C. had raised P.C.’s health as a reason for delaying the Road Scholar trip and they were not interested in postponing the trip.
As with other victims in his scheme, Arteaga did not use any of the funds he had received from A.C. and P.C. toward any trip with Road Scholar. Instead, he used the money to make travel arrangements for other victims and for himself, as well as to repay other travel victims.
This case was investigated by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington.
Former Jackson Township Official Charged with Embezzling $170,000Read the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA – A resident of Largo, Florida, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh, PA on charges of mail fraud, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.
The six-count Indictment named Linda Baun, 72, as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment, Baun was the Secretary and Treasurer for Jackson Township, which is located in Mercer County, Pennsylvania. From approximately September 2011 until approximately December 2019, Baun embezzled approximately $170,000.00 from the township. Baun embezzled the funds by making unauthorized ATM withdrawals from the township’s general fund and by making online purchases, including several on Amazon.com, using the township’s general fund. Baun attempted to conceal her thefts by making false entries into the township’s QuickBooks accounting software.
For each count, the law provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants.
Assistant United States Attorney Lee J. Karl is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police 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.
Former GE Engineer Sentenced to 24 Months for Conspiring to Steal Trade SecretsRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jean Patrice Delia, age 46, of Montreal, Canada, was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for conspiring to steal trade secrets from the General Electric Company (GE).
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
As part of his guilty plea entered on December 10, 2019, Delia admitted that he conspired with his business partner and co-defendant, Miguel Sernas, to compete against GE using trade secrets Delia stole from GE while employed by GE in Schenectady, New York. Delia admitted that he and Sernas, operating as ThermoGen Power Services, used the stolen trade secrets, as well as stolen marketing data, pricing information, and other confidential GE documents, to compete against GE around the world.
Delia, who was employed by GE as an engineer from 2001 through 2012, admitted to conspiring with Sernas from 2008 through 2019.
United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino also ordered Delia to pay $1.4 million in restitution. Judge D’Agostino also ordered Delia to jail, denying his request for a date on which to self-report to prison.
Sernas, a citizen and resident of Mexico, was sentenced on December 10, 2019 to time served (approximately 12 months in jail) and ordered to pay $1.4 million in restitution.
This case was investigated by the FBI, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wayne A. Myers and Michael Barnett.
Former Counselor at Clear Day Treatment Center charged with Fraud and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.
The four-count Indictment named Nina Marie Barkley, age 34, as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment, Barkley was employed as a counselor at Clear Day Treatment Center. “KP” was a patient at Clear Day Treatment Center and was counseled by Barkley. As part of the patient intake process “KP” was required to provide Clear Day Treatment Center with personal identification information such as a Social Security number, date of birth, and home residence. Barkley had access to “KP”’s personal identification information and without permission or authorization used “KP”’s personal identification information to obtain loans from various financial institutions.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than 30 years in prison, a fine of $2,500,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. Indicate relevant bond/detention information if known
Assistant United States Attorneys Karen Gal-Or and Michael L. Ivory are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Pennsylvania State Police and West Mifflin Police 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.
Former Corrections Officer Sentenced to Prison for Role in Bribery Conspiracy Involving Contraband Cellphones Smuggled into the Indiana County JailRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA - A former resident of McDonough, Georgia, was sentenced in federal court on charges of conspiracy and bribery by a public official, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.
Alex Lewis, 26, a former corrections officer at the Indiana County Jail (ICJ), was sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment followed by 18 months of supervised release.
During his plea hearing on July 15, 2021, Lewis admitted that between June and August 2019, he accepted multiple bribes from Rashon Richardson, a federal detainee housed at ICJ pursuant to a contract with the United States Marshals Service. As part of the conspiracy, Lewis admitted that Richardson used an intermediary outside ICJ to meet with him and pay bribes in the form of cash and, on one occasion, via a $400 payment to Lewis’s Cash App account. In return for the bribe payments, Lewis admitted smuggling multiple contraband cellphones into ICJ for use by Richardson and other federal detainees housed at the facility.
During Lewis’s sentencing, United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon rejected Lewis’s request for a probationary sentence and instead imposed a sentence consistent with the United States Sentencing Guidelines. In reaching her decision, Judge Bissoon stated, “If the people we place in trusted positions cannot be trusted, the entire system breaks down.”
Richardson has pleaded not guilty, and his case remains pending before Judge Bissoon. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.Assistant United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the conviction in this case. The Pennsylvania State Police and Indiana County Jail also provided valuable assistance during the course of the investigation.
Former Catholic Priest Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements in Connection with an Investigation into Church Sex AbuseRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Robert Brennan, 83, of Perryville, MD, pleaded guilty before United States District Court Judge Anita B. Brody to lying to investigators about not knowing a former parishioner and victim of sexual abuse.
In September 2019, the defendant was charged by Indictment with four counts of making materially false statements in a matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the United States government. The charges stem from an interview conducted in April 2019, during which Brennan was questioned by the FBI and made a number of false statements. Brennan had served in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1993 to 2004 as a priest at Resurrection of Our Lord parish (“Resurrection”). In September 2013, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges against him, alleging that he had sexually abused a minor, Sean McIlmail, during Brennan’s time at Resurrection. Soon thereafter, in October 2013, Sean McIlmail died of a drug overdose and the criminal charges against Brennan were dismissed.
In November 2013, the McIlmail family filed a civil lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and Brennan. The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount in May 2018. During the April 2019 interview with the FBI, Brennan made several false statements, including that prior to the filing of the 2013 criminal case and civil lawsuit against him, he did not know Sean McIlmail, his father, mother or brother.
“Making false statements to the FBI is a serious crime that threatens the integrity of our justice system, and we will hold offenders accountable no matter who they are,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Williams.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and the Philadelphia Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle L. Morgan.
Former Brunswick Resident Pleads Guilty to Transferring Obscene Matter to Minor and Obstructing JusticeRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Maine: A former Brunswick resident, most recently living in Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty today in federal court to transferring obscene matter to a minor and obstructing justice, U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee announced.
According to court records, in July 2018, Shawn Cook, 42, sent an obscene image to a 15-year-old boy. Cook also offered to send the boy a video of himself having sexual intercourse with his girlfriend. Cook knew at the time he sent the image that the boy was under the age of 16. The boy’s mother found the image on her son’s phone and contacted law enforcement.
Also according to court records, in March of this year, Cook learned that his girlfriend had been contacted by an FBI agent about testifying before a federal grand jury regarding Cook’s actions. Cook contacted the mother of the boy to whom he had sent the obscene image, and asked her to “just tell them you lied.” He also told her to tell the boy “to keep his mouth shut.”
Cook faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each charge. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigative report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Bath Police Department and the FBI investigated the case.
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Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Unlawfully Distributing Opioids at His Pain Management ClinicRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – A Florida man pleaded guilty yesterday to unlawfully distributing opioids at his pain management clinic in Miami, Florida.
According to court documents, Habib Geagea Palacios, 40, of Miami, owned a cash-only pain management clinic in Miami, Florida named General Care Center, Inc. At General Care Center, Palacios paid doctors to prescribe opioids to nearly all patients who visited the clinic, resulting in the illegal distribution of more than two million tablets of Oxycodone 30 mg and generating more than $3 million in cash that was deposited into various bank accounts associated with the clinic and Palacios. Five doctors who worked at General Care Center have already pleaded guilty in connection with their unlawful prescribing practices at the clinic.
Palacios pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and one count of distributing a controlled substance. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 26, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. and faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida; Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Regional Office; Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the DEA Miami Field Division; and Special Agent in Charge Brian Swain of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
HHS-OIG, FBI, DEA, and USSS are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin J. Larsen of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Alexander Thor Pogozelski of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
This prosecution is a result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, and other priority transnational criminal organizations that threaten the citizens of the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence driven, multi-agency approach to combat transnational organized crime. The OCDETF program facilitates complex, joint operations by focusing its partner agencies on priority targets, by managing and coordinating multi-agency efforts, and by leveraging intelligence across multiple investigative platforms.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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Florence Man Sentenced to More than Four Years in Federal Prison on Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
Florence, South Carolina --- Acting United States Attorney M. Rhett DeHart announced today that Brandon Paul Wallace, 33, of Florence, was sentenced to more than four years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon.
Evidence presented to the court showed that on June 19, 2018, agents from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division as well as an officer from the Florence Police Department arrested Wallace on an outstanding arrest warrant at a residence in Marion. Following Wallace’s arrest, law enforcement searched the area where Wallace was arrested and located two loaded firearms. Federal law prohibits Wallace from possessing firearms and ammunition because of his prior felony convictions for voluntary manslaughter, possession of a stolen vehicle, and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.
United States District Judge Donald C. Coggins, Jr. sentenced Wallace to 52 months in federal prison, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Florence Police Department, and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
The case was prosecuted as part of the 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.
Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Hummel prosecuted the case.
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Financial Secretary-Treasurer of UAW Local 412 Charged with Embezzling over $2 Million in Union FundsRead the Press Release
DETROIT - Timothy Edmunds, the Financial Secretary-Treasurer of Local 412 of the United Auto Workers union, has been charged in a Criminal Complaint with embezzling over $2 million in union funds announced Acting U.S. Attorney Saima S. Mohsin.
Joining in the announcement were Irene Lindow, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, Timothy Waters, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit, Michigan office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Sarah Kull, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit, Michigan office of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, and Thomas Murray, District Director, U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Labor-Management Standards.
Timothy Edmunds, 53, of South Lyon, Michigan, is charged in the Criminal Complaint, that was unsealed today, with embezzling union funds, money laundering, failing to maintain union records, and filing false reports with the Department of Labor between 2015 and 2021.
According to court records, between 2011 and 2021, Edmunds has served as the Financial Secretary-Treasurer of union Local 412 of the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Workers of America (“UAW”). UAW Local 412 is headquartered in Warren, Michigan, and it represents approximately 2,600 members employed by the automaker FCA US LLC, which is owned by Stellantis N.V. The local union’s members include many of those employed at the following Stellantis facilities located within in the Detroit area: Sterling Stamping Plant, Mack Engine Plant, Warren Truck Assembly Plant, Warren Stamping Plant, and Jefferson Assembly Plant.
As an elected officer of UAW Local 412, Edmunds was responsible to hold its money and property solely for the benefit of the organization and its members and to manage, invest, and expend the funds in accordance with the UAW constitution and Local 412 bylaws. Instead, Edmunds systematically drained the Local 412 accounts of about $2 million by (1) using Local 412 debit cards for over $142,000 in personal purchases, (2) cashing Local 412 checks worth $170,000 into accounts he personally controlled, and (3) transferring $1.5 million from bone fide Local 412 accounts into accounts that he personally controlled. Once Edmunds converted the funds to his own personal use, he used the money to gamble, purchase luxury clothing, high-end automobiles, and firearms. To conceal his theft from other UAW officers and the Local 412 members, Edmunds created false bank statements and caused false LM reports to be filed with the U.S. DOL. Edmunds supplied the fake bank statements to international UAW auditors in an effort to conceal his embezzlement. Auditors from the UAW international union, who recently conducted an audit of Local 412, provided federal agents with information detailing the diversion of approximately $2 million in Local 412 funds by Edmunds.
Evidence indicates that Edmunds has used portions of the proceeds of his embezzlement to gamble extensively, to purchase firearms, and to purchase various high-end vehicles. For example, between 2018 and 2020, Edmunds used the UAW Local 412 debit card to make over $30,000 in unauthorized withdrawals at the Greektown Casino. While gambling at the Greektown Casino, records indicate that Edmunds had cash buy-ins of over $1 million, and he put over $16 million in play while betting while being rated at the casino. Between 2020 and the present, Edmunds registered at least 10 firearms, which ranged in price between $500 and $2,000 per firearm. In February 2016, Edmunds purchased a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT for $74,365. In July 2020, Edmunds purchased a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, for $96,419. Subsequently, in July 2021, Edmunds purchased a 2021 Dodge Durango for $76,491. Edmunds also leased two 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited in December 2020.
Based on the charge of embezzling union funds, Edmunds faces a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Based on the charge of money laundering, Edmunds faces a maximum of twenty years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000. On the charges of filing false reports with the Department of Labor, failing to maintain union records, and making false entries in union records, Edmunds faces a maximum of one year in prison and fine of $10,000.
A Criminal Complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.
Edmunds is the seventeenth defendant charged in connection with the ongoing criminal investigation into corruption within the UAW or relating to illegal payoffs to UAW officials by FCA executives. The following other individuals have already pleaded guilty to their participation in the scheme and have been sentenced: former UAW President Gary Jones (28 months in prison); former FCA Vice President for Employee Relations Alphons Iacobelli (66 months in prison), former FCA Financial Analyst Jerome Durden (15 months in prison), former Director of FCA’s Employee Relations Department Michael Brown (12 months in prison), former senior UAW officials Virdell King (60 days in prison), Keith Mickens (12 months in prison), Nancy A. Johnson (12 months in prison), Monica Morgan, the widow of UAW Vice President General Holiefield (18 months in prison), former UAW Vice President Norwood Jewell (15 months in prison), former senior UAW official Michael Grimes (28 moths), former UAW Midwest CAP President Edward “Nick” Robinson (12 months in prison), former UAW Vice President Joseph Ashton (30 months), former UAW President Dennis Williams (21 months) and former UAW Region 5 Director UAW Board member Vance Pearson (12 months in prison). The company, FCA US LLC, now known as Stellantis, pleaded guilty in January 2021 to conspiring to violate the Taft-Hartley Act, and was ordered to pay a fine of $30 million and be subject to an outside Monitor for three years. Former senior UAW official Jeffrey “Paycheck” Pietrzyk passed away before being sentenced.
In December 2020, the United States filed a civil lawsuit against the International UAW under the Anti-Fraud Injunction Act based on the criminal investigation of the UAW, FCA US LLC, and FCA’s executives. Subsequently, the United States and the International UAW entered into a Consent Decree to settle the lawsuit that was approved by the U.S. District Court. The Court has appointed attorney Neil Barofsky to serve as the Independent Monitor of the UAW for the next six years. The Monitor is tasked with providing federal oversight of the UAW concerning fraud, corruption, and misconduct within the UAW. In addition, the Monitor is conducting a referendum of all UAW members to determine if the membership wants to adopt a direct election, also known as “one member, one vote,” method of electing the members of the UAW’s International Executive Board.
Acting U.S. Attorney Mohsin commended the outstanding work of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Labor-Management Standards and Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in conducting a comprehensive criminal investigation into labor corruption activities involving a vital sector of the local and national economy.
“The members of the UAW deserve a union free of corrupt and crooked leadership,” said Acting United States Attorney Saima Mohsin. “We will continue to root out and prosecute those corrupt leaders who seek to use UAW funds as their own personal piggybank.”
"An important mission of the Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations of fraud involving labor unions. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate these types of allegations,” stated Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge, Chicago Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.
“Mr. Edmunds held a position of trust within the UAW and his alleged theft of nearly $2 million from UAW accounts is a betrayal to every UAW worker,” said Timothy Waters, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Division. “The FBI and its law enforcement partners will use all available resources to hold criminals accountable and seek justice for those victimized.”
“This complaint leaves no question as to the Department of Labor’s commitment to seek justice for unions and their members when union officers or employees put their personal financial gain ahead of the best interests of the union and the members they represent,” said Thomas Murray, District Director, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards. “Today’s complaint alleges an outrageous abuse of power and misuse of Mr. Edmunds’s position of trust. Mr. Edmunds allegedly embezzled over $2 million from the members of UAW Local 412, took extreme measures to conceal his actions from the union, and used embezzled funds to live a lavish lifestyle. While almost all union officials and employees pursue the best interests of the union and the members they represent, a very small amount do not. When a union official or employee endangers the financial integrity of their union, OLMS will seek justice for the union and its members.”
“Today’s allegation is yet another example of corrupt leadership and abuse of fiduciary duties of a trusted UAW official,” said Special Agent in Charge Sarah Kull, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Detroit Field Office. “IRS – Criminal Investigation is committed to investigating corrupt union officials who steal from their membership to enrich themselves.”
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David A. Gardey and Steven Cares.
Federal Jury Convicts Venice Man for Making Threatening Calls to Members of CongressRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – A federal jury has found Frank Anthony Pezzuto (73, Venice) guilty of transmitting in interstate commerce three separate threatening communications to injure certain members of Congress. Pezzuto faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
Pezzuto had been indicted on September 22, 2020.
According to evidence presented at trial, Pezzuto made three threatening phone calls from his home in Venice, Florida to certain congressional offices in Washington, D.C. The first call took place on January 25, 2020, when Pezzuto left a voicemail at Congressman E.S.’s office in which he said that he was coming to kill E.S. Pezzuto subsequently left a voicemail at Congressman A.S.’s office on January 30, 2020, stating that he was a worker for MS-13 and that MS-13 was coming to cut off A.S.’s head. Then, on February 3, 2020, Pezzuto called Congresswoman I.O.’s office and stated to the person who answered the phone: “tell her I’m going to kill her today.”
Each time Pezzuto made these threatening calls, he used his cellphone but concealed his phone number. United States Capitol Police were able to identify Pezzuto as the caller and confirm that the calls had been routed through a cell tower near Pezzuto’s home in Florida.
This case was investigated by United States Capitol Police. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Patrick Scruggs and Risha Asokan.
Elkhorn City Attorney Sentenced to 41 Months for Bank Fraud and Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
PIKEVILLE, Ky.— An Elkhorn City, Ky., attorney, Timothy Belcher, 56, was sentenced on Tuesday, to 41 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $817,000 in restitution, by U.S. District Judge Robert Wier, for bank fraud and false statements on a tax return.
According to Belcher’s plea agreement, he was a licensed attorney practicing in Pike County, who agreed to represent a client and her minor daughter in a wrongful death lawsuit. In 2004, a settlement was reached in the lawsuit, where half of the settlement would be distributed to the victim and the other half would be distributed among the three children. The funds were placed into an escrow account for the children.
Belcher admitted that, from July 2012 to December 2018, he transferred money from that escrow account to his law practice and used those funds for his personal and business expenses. Also, in his plea agreement, Belcher admitted that he knowingly failed to report the money he embezzled from the settlement account on his taxes.
Belcher pleaded guilty in July 2021.
Under federal law, Belcher must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for five years.
Carlton S. Shier, IV, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Louisville Field Office; and Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, IRS – Criminal Investigation, jointly announced the indictment.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Mattingly Williams.
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Dothan Man Sentenced to More Than 15 Years in Prison for Federal Gun and Drug CrimesRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama – On November 9, 2021, Jimmy Lamar Berry, 36, from Dothan, Alabama, was sentenced to 188 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, announced Acting United States Attorney Sandra J. Stewart. There is no parole in the federal system.
According to the factual basis contained in the plea agreement and other court records, on August 28, 2017, the Dothan Police Department executed a search warrant on Berry’s residence. During the search, cocaine and a digital scale were found in the kitchen, along with a handgun. Officers also located various amounts of marijuana, cocaine, and other controlled substances in one of the cars in the back yard of Berry’s house.
Later, on July 11, 2019, the Dothan Police Department and the United States Marshals Service executed an arrest warrant for Berry relating to a federal indictment that stemmed, in part, from evidence discovered during the August 2017 search. While making the arrest, officers smelled the odor of marijuana inside Berry’s residence. Law enforcement then obtained a search warrant and found more cocaine and marijuana, a digital scale with cocaine residue on it, and another firearm. Based on evidence found during this search, additional charges were brought in a superseding federal indictment in September of 2019. Berry pleaded guilty on July 1, 2021 to three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Based on Berry’s criminal history, the district court judge determined that he qualified as a career offender under the federal sentencing guidelines and was subject to sentencing enhancements under the Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984. These rulings increased the guidelines range for Berry and resulted in a significant sentence.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Dothan Police Department, and the United States Marshals Service, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Justin Jones prosecuted the case.
District Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Killing Woman in Northeast WashingtonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Steven M. Robinson, 30, of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for fatally shooting his girlfriend at point-blank range at her apartment in Northeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Robinson pleaded guilty in June 2021, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of second-degree murder while armed. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for a sentence of 10 to 12 years in prison. The Honorable Neal E. Kravitz accepted the plea on Nov. 9, 2021, and sentenced Robinson accordingly. Following his prison term, Robinson will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, Robinson was in a romantic relationship with the victim, Shanika Williams. In the early morning hours of July 12, 2020, Robinson was at Ms. Williams’s apartment in the 800 block of 19th Street NE; at the time, she was alone with her three children. While inside, he quarreled with Ms. Williams, and at one point, got his gun and shot her at close range. After shooting her, he fled, leaving Ms. Williams on the floor of her apartment. The Metropolitan Police Department responded at approximately 4 a.m., and Ms. Williams, 28, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Robinson was arrested on Feb. 5, 2021 and has been in custody ever since.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker, Litigation Technology Supervisor Leif Hickling, and Paralegal Specialist LaShone Samuels. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah C. Santiago, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Detroit Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing a Total of $1.6M in Unemployment Insurance Benefits from Nine StatesRead the Press Release
A Detroit man pleaded guilty today to wire fraud and identity theft in a scheme to defraud nine states out of more than $1.6 million in unemployment insurance benefits, announced Acting United States Attorney Saima Mohsin.
Joining in the announcement was Special Agent in Charge Timothy Waters, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge, Chicago Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General
Jordan Armstrong, 29, of Detroit, entered his guilty pleas this morning, via Zoom, before United States District Judge Victoria A. Roberts.
According to court records, beginning on or about May 4, 2020 and continuing through at least October 21, 2020, Armstrong, with the intent to defraud, successfully submitted applications for unemployment insurance benefits on behalf of individuals in Michigan, California, Texas, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Massachusetts, New York, and Louisiana. Armstrong also unsuccessfully submitted claims in eight other states—in total filing more than 300 claims across 17 states and territories. Armstrong submitted these claims using these individuals’ Social Security Numbers and did so without their permission. Armstrong directed the benefits to be paid out via debit cards and then used these cards to repeatedly withdrawal the funds via ATMs throughout Metro Detroit.
As part of his guilty plea, Armstrong will be required to pay restitution to the victim-states in the total amount of $1,611,202.
Armstrong faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment on the charge of wire fraud and a mandatory minimum sentence of 2 years imprisonment on the charge of identity theft.
Armstrong will be sentenced on March 22, 2022.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General with the assistance of the Birmingham Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ryan A. Particka.
Defendants Charged in $4M Unemployment Fraud CaseRead the Press Release
DETROIT – Two Michigan men have been charged via criminal complaint for their roles in a large-scale, multi-state Unemployment Insurance benefit fraud scheme, announced Acting United States Attorney Saima S. Mohsin.
Joining in the announcement were Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge, Chicago Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Special Agent in Charge John R. Marengo, US Secret Service, Rodney Hopkins, Postal Inspector in Charge of the Detroit Division, Special Agent in Charge Sarah Kull, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and Julia Dale, Director of the Unemployment Insurance Agency.
The complaint charges Jermaine Arnett, 34, of Pontiac, Michigan, and Terrance Calhoun, Jr., 32, also of Pontiac, Michigan, with aggravated identity theft, mail fraud, fraud using a false name and address, wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit each of those acts, as well as firearm crimes.
According to the complaint, Arnett, Calhoun Jr., and one or more other individuals are responsible for filing over 500 claims for fraudulent unemployment insurance benefits across the United States, including Michigan, using just a handful of Internet Protocol addresses and mailing addresses. As described by the complaint, those false claims resulted in numerous debit cards loaded with unemployment insurance funds being mailed to addresses that Arnett, Calhoun Jr., and others controlled. The complaint alleges that Arnett, Calhoun Jr., and other individuals then systematically unloaded the funds from the cards by making large cash withdrawals at ATMs.
According to the complaint, between April and July 2020 those false claims resulted in multiple states collectively issuing more than $4 million in unemployment insurance benefits. The complaint alleges that, although a portion of the funds were electronically reclaimed before being unloaded, more than $1.7 million dollars in purchases and cash withdrawals were successfully made from the cards over a 2½ month period, and the majority of those cash withdrawals took place at ATMs located in Troy, Bloomfield Hills, and Rochester Hills, Michigan. As further described within the complaint, agents utilized ATM surveillance photos to identify Arnett and Calhoun Jr. as two of the individuals who made large cash withdrawals from ATMs using debit cards loaded with unemployment benefits issued in the names of other individuals. As also described within the complaint, when agents executed search warrants at three principal mailing addresses used for the fraudulent unemployment insurance benefit claims, including the residences of Arnett and Calhoun Jr., agents found and seized multiple debit cards in the names of numerous other individuals, distinctive clothing worn in ATM surveillance photos, firearms, and numerous documents containing the personal identification information of other individuals.
A complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Trial cannot be held on felony charges in a complaint. When the investigation is completed, a determination will be made whether to seek a felony indictment.
This investigation is being conducted jointly by agents from the Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General, the United States Secret Service, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations Division, the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General, and the State of Michigan -Unemployment Insurance Agency. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carl D. Gilmer-Hill.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Corvallis ex-lawyer sentenced to prison for defrauding investors in real estate investment scheme, evading income taxesRead the Press Release
MISSOULA –A former lawyer who admitted to defrauding investors and to evading income taxes in a real estate investment scheme in which he lost more than $1 million in the futures market was sentenced today to three years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said.
Ronald Dean Lords, 53, of Corvallis, pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud, money laundering and filing false tax returns.
U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided. The court will determine restitution at a later date. Lords was ordered to self-report to prison.
“Lords used his attorney-client relationship to gain access to victims’ money and then abused their trust to gamble away their money in the futures market. Lords also tried to cheat on his income taxes by failing to declare investors’ money as income. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to catch and convict white collar criminals, hold them accountable and seek justice for victims,” Acting U.S. Attorney Johnson said.
“IRS-CI will continue to identify and investigate those such as Lords, who abuse their position to victimize their clients and violate the public trust,” said Special Agent in Charge Andy Tsui of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation’s Denver Field Office. “Those in positions of trust must be held to a higher standard and today's sentencing is a step in the right direction holding those who violate the law accountable for their actions.”
The government alleged in court documents that Lords was a lawyer, who operated Eagles Landing Legal Services, PC, and a licensed realtor and general contractor, who operated Eagles Landing Construction, Inc. The construction company purported to develop real property and build homes. From 2011 to 2018, Lords defrauded 14 victims by convincing them to invest money in his construction company. Lords told the victims he would use the money to build homes, make monthly interest payments and repay the money after the homes were sold. Lords also said he would return the victims’ money within 30 days of any request. Instead of using the money to fund construction projects, Lords used some of the new money to make interest payments to prior investors and lost the majority of the funds in the futures market. When some victims demanded their principal back, Lords admitted he lost more than $1 million in the futures market and did not have their money.
The government further alleged that Lords failed to declare $432,608 he received from several victims in 2015 as “other income” on his taxes, resulting in unpaid taxes of $152,734 for that year.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Racicot prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation.
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Chicago Man Charged with Three Counts of Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND- Keith Kelly, 49, of Chicago, Illinois was indicted on three counts of bank robbery, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
According to the charging documents, Kelly is alleged to have robbed the same South Bend, Indiana bank three times over an approximate two-month period: August 23, September 10, and October 25 of 2021. As Kelly tried to get away from the final robbery, he was caught with the stolen cash from that robbery.
This case is a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the South Bend Police Department.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kimberly L. Schultz.
An indictment is merely an allegation and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Charlotte Man Is Sentenced to More Than Nine Years for Drug Trafficking and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Louie Raymond Forney, 30, of Charlotte, was sentenced on Monday, November 8, 2021, to 118 months in prison for drug trafficking and firearms offenses, and for violating the terms of his supervised release, announced William T. Stetzer, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. also ordered Forney to serve three years of supervised release after he completes his prison term.
Vincent C. Pallozzi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) join Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer in making today’s announcement.
According to filed court documents and the sentencing hearing, on June 26, 2020, CMPD officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop of the vehicle Forney was driving. Forney did not comply and instead attempted to evade the police by driving at high speed. Over the course of the pursuit, law enforcement observed Forney throwing a backpack out of the vehicle. A short while later, Forney stopped the vehicle and was subsequently arrested by CMPD officers while he attempted to flee on foot. Court records show that law enforcement recovered Forney’s backpack, which contained a mixture of fentanyl and heroin, and an assault rifle loaded with a high-capacity magazine. Court records also show that Forney was on federal supervised release for a previous federal firearms conviction when he committed the new offenses.
On June 10, 2021, Forney pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is currently in federal custody, and upon designation of a federal facility, he will be transferred into custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons.
ATF and CMPD investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Taylor G. Stout of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. 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.
Cameroonian Citizen Extradited from Romania Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud Online Purchasers of PetsRead the Press Release
A citizen of Cameroon pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in a scheme to trick American consumers into paying fees for pets that were never delivered and for using the COVID-19 crisis as an excuse to extract higher fees from victims.
According to court documents and proceedings, from around June 2018 to around June 2020, Desmond Fodje Bobga, 28, of Cameroon, knowingly conspired with others to offer pets for sale on internet websites. He and others communicated by text message and email with potential victims to induce purchases. Following each purchase, Bobga and co-conspirators claimed that a transportation company would deliver the pet and provided a false tracking number for the pet. Bobga and his co-conspirators, posing as the transportation company, then claimed the pet transport was delayed and that the victim needed to pay additional money for delivery of the pet.
Bobga and co-conspirators told some victims that they needed to pay more money for delivery because the pet had been exposed to the coronavirus. The perpetrators used false promises and fake documents regarding shipping fees and coronavirus exposure to extract successive payments from victims. After Bobga and the co-conspirators received money directly and indirectly through wire communications from the victims, they never delivered any pets.
“The Department of Justice is committed to prosecuting fraud schemes that take advantage of American consumers, including schemes that seek to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We are grateful to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania and to the FBI for their partnership on this matter, and we greatly appreciate the efforts of Romanian law enforcement.”
“Desmond Fodje Bobga exploited consumers who were seeking the companionship of a pet to alleviate the isolation and stress caused by the COVID pandemic,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman for the Western District of Pennsylvania. “Today he acknowledged his deceitful and unlawful acts, and we will seek a sentence commensurate with the harm he caused by his criminal conduct.”
“Mr. Bobga preyed on American citizens looking for comfort from a pet during the COVID pandemic,” said Special Agent in Charge Mike Nordwall of FBI Pittsburgh. “His admission of guilt today will give his victims some solace in knowing someone is being held accountable. This investigation should also be a reminder to everyone to be careful who they’re buying from on the internet.”
The criminal charges detail the dealings of Bobga and his co-conspirators with victims in western Pennsylvania and elsewhere. For example:
- One victim, of New Brighton, Pennsylvania, was seeking to purchase a mini-dachshund for her mother in mid-March of 2020. Victim 1 was induced to pay $9,100 due to false claims that the pet was being shipped, needed insurance, and was exposed to COVID-19;
- Another victim, of Fruitland, Iowa, was seeking to purchase a mini-dachshund for herself in mid-March of 2020. False claims induced Victim 2 to lose $1,840; and
- A couple in Dallas, Texas, was seeking to purchase a dog. The victims were induced to make successive payments based on false claims about transportation issues and other matters and lost $1,800.
The criminal charges include a reference to a website, lovelyhappypuppy.com, to which Bobga directed numerous victims to view pets that he fraudulently claimed to sell:
Bobga pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 8, 2022 and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher M. Cook of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania and Trial Attorney Wei Xiang of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.
The FBI Pittsburgh Field Office investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance. Law enforcement authorities in Romania, including the Romanian National Police, Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and the Cluj Brigade for Combating Organized Crime, provided significant cooperation.
If you believe you are a victim in this case and would like to opt-in to receive notifications or if you have any questions about your rights, please contact the Victim Witness Coordinator at 412-894-7400 or through our website (https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/webform/contact-victim-witness-coordinator).
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch, visit its website at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
California Parent Sentenced in College Admissions CaseRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A California parent was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for a tax offense in connection with his involvement in the college admissions case.
Homayoun Zadeh, 60, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to six weeks in prison, one year of supervised release with 250 hours of community service, restitution of $8,414 and a fine of $20,000. On July 9, 2021, Zadeh pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return.
Zadeh agreed with William “Rick” Singer to pay $100,000 to facilitate the admission of Zadeh’s daughter to the University of Southern California (USC). Zadeh made installment payments toward that total to Singer’s purported charitable foundation, the Key Worldwide Foundation, and deducted the payments from his taxes as a purported gift to charity, despite knowing that they were not legitimate charitable contributions, but were made in exchange for facilitating his daughter’s admission to USC.
Singer has previously pleaded guilty to his role in the college admissions scheme.
Zadeh is the 28th parent to be sentenced in the case.
Case information, including the status of each defendant, is available here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/investigations-college-admissions-and-testing-bribery-scheme.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Joleen D. Simpson, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston; and Mark Deckett, Resident Agent in Charge of the Department of Education, Office of Inspector General made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristen A. Kearney, Justin D. O’Connell, Leslie A. Wright and Stephen E. Frank of Mendell’s Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
California Man Admits Possessing with Intent to Distribute Approximately One Kilogram of FentanylRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A San Bernardino County, California, man today admitted to possessing with intent to distribute approximately one kilogram of fentanyl, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Jesus Candido Higuera-Parra, 26, of Ontario, California, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to an information charging him with possession with intent to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On March 24, 2021, Higuera-Parra agreed with others to transport approximately one kilogram of fentanyl to a location in Union County, New Jersey. When Higuera-Parra arrived to meet the purchaser, he was arrested, and the fentanyl was recovered from the vehicle that he occupied.
The offense to which Higuera-Parra pleaded guilty carries a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison, a maximum penalty of life in prison, and a fine of $10 million. Sentencing is scheduled for March 23, 2022.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray A. Mateo of the Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel: Jason F. Orlando Esq., Jersey City, New Jersey
Cabarrus County Man Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison for Production and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
GREENSBORO – A North Carolina man was sentenced on November 10, 2021, to 480 months in prison for production and possession of child pornography.
Jeremy Nicholas Mynes, 31, was indicted in October, 2020, on two counts of production of child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography. He later pleaded guilty to one count of both production and possession on March 2, 2021.
In July of 2020, Dropbox, Inc. made a report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline that child pornography images were uploaded to a Dropbox account. Images uploaded to the account included minors engaged in sexual acts. Detective Jamieson of the Concord Police Department determined that the Dropbox account and the internet protocol (IP) address associated with the uploads were associated with Mynes at his Concord address.
In July of 2020, members of the Concord Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) obtained and executed a search warrant for Mynes’ home. Several devices seized during the search contained child pornography. The child pornography depicted the sexual exploitation and abuse of minors, including 57 images he produced himself with two minors who were approximately five and seven years old during the times the images were produced in 2018 and 2020.
“Concord Police Department’s and FBI’s quick response to the CyberTipline report led to the apprehension of an individual who engaged in the production of child pornography,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Hairston. “Follow up and active investigation of these CyberTipline reports are critical in protecting children from sexual exploitation.”
"Jeremy Mynes' offenses are heinous. He abused and exploited vulnerable children. The damage to his victims is immeasurable. Thankfully, with a 40-year federal sentence and a state trial still ahead, he will likely spend the rest of his life in prison," said Robert R. Wells, the FBI Charlotte Special Agent in Charge.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Concord Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kennedy Gates.
The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative is led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), and focuses on coordinating federal, state, and local resources to better identify 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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Berkeley County man admits to role in drug trafficking and firearms conspiracyRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Brandon Benjamin, of Bunker Hill, West Virginia, has admitted to a drug charge, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II announced.
Benjamin, 24, pleaded guilty today to one count of “Distribution of Eutylone.” Benjamin admitted to selling Eutylone in September 2020 in Berkeley County.
Benjamin faces up to 20 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives; the West Virginia Air National Guard; the Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the West Virginia State Police; the Harpers Ferry Police Department, and the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C. investigated. The EPDTF consists of the West Virginia State Police, Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Ranson Police Department, the Charles Town Police Department, and the Martinsburg Police Department.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Berkeley County man admits to drug chargeRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Daniel Hardy, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, has admitted to a drug charge, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II announced.
Hardy, 33, pleaded guilty today to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Heroin and Cocaine Base.” Hardy admitted to working with others to distribute fentanyl, heroin, cocaine base, and cocaine hydrochloride from August 2020 to June 2021 in Berkeley County and elsewhere.
Hardy faces up to 20 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lara Omps-Botteicher and Timothy D. Helman are prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Directs Steps to Safeguard the Rights of and Ensure Access to Justice for Veterans & ServicemembersRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland today issued a memorandum reaffirming the Justice Department’s commitment to guarding the rights of and improving access to justice for veterans, servicemembers and military families. The memorandum directs the Civil Rights Division’s Servicemember and Veterans Initiative to develop a plan to guide its expanded duties and outreach efforts.
The Attorney General also directed the Office for Access to Justice to provide recommendations for actions that may be taken to better meet the legal needs of veterans and servicemembers, including through medical-legal partnerships, veterans treatment courts and reentry programs and services.
“The Justice Department honors our nation’s veterans and servicemembers not just with words but also with action,” said Attorney General Garland. “To that end, I have directed the Civil Rights Division and the Office for Access to Justice to mobilize resources in order to protect the rights of those who serve and lead efforts across government to ensure access to justice for veterans, servicemembers and military families.”
“Many veterans face unique legal challenges that stem from their service to our country,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “The Justice Department’s Office for Access to Justice is uniquely positioned to deploy the tools of the department and to engage our partners across government through the Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable to identify opportunities that will expand access to justice for veterans, servicemembers and their families.”
“Through vigorous enforcement of our federal civil rights laws, we are working to ensure that our servicemembers and veterans, and their families, are able to enjoy the freedoms and rights for which they so valiantly fought,” said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke. “This Veterans Day, we affirm our long-standing commitment to protecting servicemembers’ civilian employment rights, financial and housing rights, voting rights and more.”
On Nov. 16, the Civil Rights Division will host a virtual event to recognize the commitment and contributions of diverse servicemembers and veterans. The program will feature remarks by the Assistant Attorney General Clarke and a presentation by Ret. Col. Will Gunn, Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel for the Legal Services Corporation. The event is free and open to the public, and pre-registration is required. For more information and to register for this event, please visit: Unsung Heroes: A Civil Rights Division Celebration of Diverse Veterans.
Atlanta man sentenced for stealing veteran’s disability benefitsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - William F. Dorsey Jr., has been sentenced to federal prison for embezzling over $150,000 from his father’s beneficiary account funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
“Stealing from a disabled veteran who is also his parent is shameful,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “Our veterans served this country with honor, and we will aggressively investigate and prosecute those who seek to take advantage of them.”
“This sentence sends a clear message that the VA OIG will vigorously investigate those who steal from our nation’s Veterans with disabilities,” said Special Agent in Charge David Spilker of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Southeast Field Office. “The VA OIG will continue to ensure that Veterans with disabilities are not exploited for financial gain or greed.”
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges and other information presented in court: On May 10, 2010, William Dorsey, Jr., signed a fiduciary agreement agreeing to manage his father’s benefit payments provided by the VA. His father, William Dorsey, Sr., is a 69-year-old disabled Vietnam Veteran diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, and dementia. According to medical records from the secure medical center where he resides, William Dorsey, Sr. is restricted to an adaptive chair, cannot communicate, and requires total assistance with his daily activities.
As part of the fiduciary agreement, William Dorsey, Jr., agreed to spend the VA funds only for the Veteran’s benefit, to never comingle funds, to never withdraw cash from the account, and to keep accurate records and receipts. However, by the time he was removed as fiduciary seven years later in May 2017, bank records showed that Dorsey, Jr. had violated all of these conditions. Financial records showed that Dorsey, Jr. spent thousands of dollars in disability benefits on himself, wrote checks from the Veteran’s account to himself, and retained over $100,000 in the Veteran's disability benefits after the VA removed him as the fiduciary.
William F. Dorsey, Jr., 44, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Eleanor L. Ross to one year and one day in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $23,052.87. Dorsey was found guilty by a jury on July 21, 2021.
This case was investigated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Calvin A. Leipold, III and Irina K. Dutcher, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott McAfee prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Armed robber sentenced for attacking customers at and stealing opioids from multiple pharmaciesRead the Press Release
NEWNAN, Ga. - Anthony Lavell Williams, Jr. has been sentenced for perpetrating a string of armed robberies in Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cobb, and Hall Counties during which Williams assaulted pharmacy customers and forced employees to surrender cash and tens of thousands of opioids and amphetamines to him.
“Driven by greed, Anthony Williams terrorized our community and sought to profit off of the opioid epidemic,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “This epidemic tragically claims many American lives every year. A multi-agency response at all levels of government and from every corner of this district has brought him to justice.”
“This sentence is a direct result of what good multi-jurisdictional partnerships and communication can accomplish,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “We are grateful for all the hard work by our partners that allowed Williams to be removed from the streets before he could commit any worse crimes or traumatize anymore innocent citizens.”
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges and other information presented in court: Williams, while armed with a handgun, robbed five retail pharmacies between May 2020 and July 2020. Williams escaped with approximately $9,600 in cash and more than $183,000 of controlled substances. The pharmacies’ losses were eclipsed by the street value of the stolen drugs, which included but was not limited to nearly 44,000 doses of opioids and more than 5,700 tablets containing amphetamine.
Williams’s robberies were carefully planned and increasingly violent. During the May 7, 2020 robbery of a pharmacy in Powder Springs, Georgia, and the May 11, 2020 robbery of a pharmacy in Summerville, Georgia, Williams held store employees at gunpoint, forced them to empty cash registers, and then forced them to another part of the store while he escaped.
On June 4, 2020, Williams robbed a pharmacy in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. During the robbery, Williams threatened a pharmacist and ordered her to open a drug safe containing Schedule II controlled substances from which Williams pillaged very large quantities of oxycodone, hydrocodone, amphetamine, and morphine.
A month later, on July 5, 2020, Williams stole cash and more than $50,000 worth of Schedule II controlled substances from a pharmacy in Carrollton, Georgia. Williams took only the most dangerous narcotics, leaving other pharmaceuticals behind. He forced all of the employees and customers in the store to surrender their cell phones and lay on their stomachs in different areas of the store before fleeing.
On July 7, 2020, Williams walked into a pharmacy in Gainesville, Georgia, grabbed a customer at the front register by her hair, and forced the customer and cashier at gunpoint to go with him to the pharmacy at the back of the store. Williams made his victims abandon their cell phones, demanded “painkillers,” and forced them to unlock safes and load a backpack with drugs. Williams stole $1,820 in cash and approximately $30,000 of Schedule II narcotics.
Anthony Lavell Williams, Jr., 28, of Rome, Georgia, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Jr. to 12 years, 7 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $192,983.77 after pleading guilty to five counts of interference with commerce by robbery and armed robbery involving controlled substances. Williams pleaded guilty to these charges on August 3, 2021.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Carrollton Police Department, Gainesville Police Department, Fort Oglethorpe Police Department, Powder Springs Police Department, Summerville Police Department, Bartow-Cartersville Drug Task Force, and Rome Police Department with assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Rome/Floyd County Metro Task Force.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). In keeping with the Attorney General’s mission to reduce violent crime, the Northern District of Georgia’s PSN program focuses on prosecuting those individuals who most significantly drive violence in our communities, and supports and fosters partnerships between law enforcement and schools, the faith community, and local community leaders to prevent and deter future criminal conduct.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Arizona Man Agrees to Plead Guilty to Distributing Fentanyl in Connection with the Overdose Death of Hip-Hop Artist Mac MillerRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – An Arizona man has agreed to plead guilty to a federal criminal charge for supplying counterfeit pharmaceutical pills containing fentanyl to the drug dealer accused of selling them to rapper Mac Miller, who soon afterward suffered a fatal overdose, the Justice Department announced today.
Ryan Michael Reavis, 38, formerly of West Los Angeles and who moved to Lake Havasu, Arizona in 2019, has agreed to plead guilty to a single-count superseding information charging him with distribution of fentanyl.
According to a plea agreement filed today, on September 4, 2018, at the direction of co-defendant Stephen Andrew Walter, 48, of Westwood, Reavis knowingly distributed counterfeit oxycodone pills to co-defendant Cameron James Pettit, 30, of West Hollywood.
Reavis admitted in his plea agreement to knowing that the pills contained fentanyl or some other controlled substance. In fact, the pills contained fentanyl. Shortly after Reavis distributed the fentanyl-laced pills to Pettit, Pettit distributed the pills to 26-year-old rapper Malcolm James McCormick – who recorded and performed under the name Mac Miller – approximately two days before McCormick suffered a fatal drug overdose in Studio City on September 7, 2018.
Last month, Walter signed a plea agreement in which he agreed to plead guilty to one count of distribution of fentanyl. Both Walter and Reavis are expected to plead guilty in the coming weeks before United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II in Los Angeles.
The case against Pettit is pending.
The investigation into this matter was conducted by the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area’s (HIDTA) Opioid Response Team, which operates under the direction of the DEA. The Los Angeles Police Department provided substantial assistance in this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Solomon Kim of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section and Elia Herrera of the General Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.
Angel Dominguez Ramirez Jr. Admits to Leading Vast Drug-Smuggling, Money Laundering EmpireRead the Press Release
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – November 10, 2021
SAN DIEGO – Angel Dominguez Ramirez Jr. of Tamaulipas, Mexico, pleaded guilty in federal court today to drug and money laundering charges, admitting that he was the leader of a trafficking organization that transported ton-quantities of cocaine from South America to Mexico and into the United States.
According to court documents, the organization Dominguez headed called itself El Seguimiento 39, or El Seg 39. El Seg 39 obtained cocaine from sources of supply in South and Central America and used drug transportation cells in Central America to transport the cocaine into Mexico via boats, aircraft and commercial vehicles, where its transportation network moved cocaine across the U.S.-Mexico border at ports of entry in Texas and California and into cities within the United States. Dominguez purchased cocaine from sources of supply stretching from the Chiapas state of Mexico to Peru, including sources in Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador.
The charges to which Dominguez pleaded guilty stem from a long-standing investigation that led to more than 30 seizures totaling five tons of cocaine and over $9 million of drug-related proceeds. According to the government filing, Dominguez, a former United States Marine and dual U.S.-Mexican citizen, built his organization through cooperative alliances with the Beltran Leyva Organization (BLO), the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), the Sinaloa Cartel, the Cartel del Golfo (CDG), and the Los Zetas. His organization not only moved vast quantities of its own cocaine and marijuana into the United States, but it was also used by leaders of other Mexican cartels and drug trafficking organizations to move illegal drugs into the United States.
“Today’s guilty plea shows that this office, together with its law enforcement partners, will continue to hold accountable those who are importing huge quantities of dangerous drugs into this country,” said Acting United States Attorney Randy Grossman. Grossman thanked prosecutor Kyle Martin, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Customs and Border Protection for their excellent work on this case.
“Today’s guilty plea of Angel Dominguez Ramirez Jr. demonstrates the enormous value of strong international and domestic law enforcement partnerships,” said Chad Plantz, acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in San Diego. “This successful prosecution is the culmination of years of investigative effort by HSI special agents and our partners, to uncover and dismantle Dominguez’s drug trafficking operations.”
“The DEA and our law enforcement partners will continue to target high-level individuals and organizations who contribute to addiction and death in the United States for their monetary gain,” said DEA San Diego Field Division Acting Special Agent in Charge Shelly S. Howe. “Today’s guilty plea is testament that collaborative efforts with our law enforcement partners are making a positive impact locally and nationwide by disrupting the drug supply chain.”
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.
DEFENDANT Case Number: 16CR1996-WQH
Angel Dominguez Ramirez Tamaulipas, Mexico
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances for Purpose of Unlawful Importation, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §§ 959, 960 and 963; Term of custody including a mandatory minimum 10 years and up to life imprisonment, $10 million fine and 5 years supervised release
Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §§ 1956(a)(2)(B)(i). Term of custody of up to 10 years, $500,000 fine
AGENCIES
Homeland Security Investigations
Drug Enforcement Administration
Customs and Border Protection
Department of Justice, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force
Department of Justice, Office of Enforcement Operations
Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs
Alaska Wildlife Trooper Agrees to Resign and Permanently Relinquish Law Enforcement Credentials for Making False Statements to the FAARead the Press Release
FAIRBANKS – An Alaska Wildlife Trooper has entered into an agreement with the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Alaska to resolve investigations into false and misleading statements he made to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2019.
According to the agreement and other court proceedings, Timothy Abbott, 39, of North Pole, Alaska, has agreed to permanently resign from the Alaska Wildlife Troopers and to relinquish his law enforcement credentials based on conduct surrounding his personal acquisition and registration of an aircraft.
In November 2019, Abbott, then an Alaska Wildlife Trooper, submitted an application to the FAA to register a Kitfox Series 5 airplane. In the application, Abbott submitted a bill of sale to transfer the title of the aircraft to himself in exchange for $1.00 based on the signature of a previous owner of the aircraft, David Miller. Abbott falsely represented to the FAA that Miller had the authority to sell the aircraft. He did not disclose to the FAA that Miller had previously sold the aircraft to another individual more than 10 years ago and no longer had any personal ownership interest in the airplane. After Abbott removed the aircraft from its location at Clear Airport (PACL) Alaska, the actual owner of the aircraft contacted the Alaska State Troopers and reported the aircraft as stolen. During the investigation into the theft, Abbott contacted the Troopers and returned the aircraft to Clear Airport.
“Making false statements to a federal agency is against the law no matter who you are or who you work for,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bryan Wilson, District of Alaska. “There is no excuse for those who deceive federal regulators for the sake of personal gain. To anyone contemplating providing false information to a federal agency, know that the Justice Department will pursue the facts and hold you accountable.”
“We take any allegation of criminal wrongdoing by an Alaska Wildlife Trooper very seriously and will take appropriate steps to hold that Trooper accountable through the criminal justice system,” said Colonel Doug Massie, Director of the Alaska Wildlife Troopers. “I would like to thank our partners at the FBI and US Attorney’s Office for their careful review of this case and bringing it to a resolution. We know that the public places a lot of trust in the Troopers that work across our great state. This was a very unfortunate incident, but the Alaska Department of Public Safety maintains a very high standard for our Alaska State and Wildlife Troopers and that includes conduct that takes place both on and off duty. We are committed to restoring any trust that was lost by the actions of this Trooper and working consistently to meet our mission of ensuring public safety and enforcing fish and wildlife laws.”
Abbott appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott A. Oravec and agreed to the terms of the agreement. If Abbott violates the agreement, he could face a felony conviction for making a false statement to the FAA, which carries up to three years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. If Abbott abides by the terms of the agreement, the United States has agreed to dismiss the charges against him.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Alaska State Troopers (AST) are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Tansey is prosecuting the case.
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