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Wednesday 22 September 2021
Greene County Man Pleads Guilty to Computer Hacking ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Michael J. Radcliffe II, a/k/a “Mystical,” age 28, of Elka Park, New York, pled guilty today to conspiring to commit computer fraud, a misdemeanor.
The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Antionette T. Bacon and Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In pleading guilty, Radcliffe admitted that he used Internet-connected computers to create and maintain botnets[1] for the purpose of engaging in Distributed Denial of Service (“DDOS”) attacks.[2] He also admitted that from 2012 through October 2, 2018, he conspired with others to use botnets to carry out DDOS attacks
Radcliffe faces up to a year in prison when United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino sentences him on January 21, 2021. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
This case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.
[1] “Botnet” is a term for a network (i.e., “net”) of computers that have been infected with malicious software (“malware”), allowing the infected computers to be used by the operator to perform repetitive functions, similar to a robot (i.e., “bot”). The operator of a botnet can simultaneously command and control the infected computers in a botnet without the authorization and knowledge of the computers’ owners.
[2] A DDOS attack involves using a large network of computers, usually a botnet, to bombard an Internet-connected computer with repeated requests for information, to disable the computer by overloading it with too much information simultaneously.
Grand Jury Returns Indictments Charging 2 Afghan Evacuees with Crimes While at Fort McCoy & Wisconsin Residents with Gun & Drug CrimesRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. - A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin, sitting in Madison, returned the following indictments today. You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Two Afghan Evacuees Charged with Crimes
In unrelated cases, two individuals have been charged with crimes while at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. Bahrullah Noori, 20, is charged with attempting to engage in a sexual act with a minor using force against that person, and with three counts of engaging in a sexual act with a minor, with one count alleging the use of force. The indictment alleges that that the victims had not attained the age of 16 years and were at least four years younger than the defendant.
Mohammad Haroon Imaad, 32, is charged with assaulting his spouse by strangling and suffocating her. The indictment alleges that the assault occurred on September 7, 2021.
Noori and Imaad were charged previously in complaints filed in U.S. District Court. They made initial appearances in Madison on September 16 and are being detained at the Dane County Jail. Noori and Imaad are scheduled for arraignment tomorrow, September 23, at 9:30 a.m. and 10:15 a.m., respectively, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen L. Crocker.
If convicted, Noori faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 30 years and a maximum of life in federal prison on the charges alleging use of force, and a maximum penalty of 15 years on the other two charges. Imaad faces a maximum penalty of 10 years. The charges against them are the result of investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort McCoy Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor Kraus is handling the Noori prosecution and Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Corey is handling the Imaad prosecution.
Five Charged with Gun Crimes
In unrelated cases, four individuals have been charged with gun crimes and a fifth individual with drug and gun crimes. These cases are brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN emphasizes coordination between state and federal prosecutors and all levels of law enforcement to address gun crime, especially felons illegally possessing firearms and ammunition, and violent crimes and drug crimes that involve the use of firearms.
James Gillaum, 33, Madison, Wisconsin is charged with being a felon in possession of a loaded handgun. The indictment alleges that he possessed the loaded handgun on August 22, 2021. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The charge is the result of an investigation by the Madison Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Stephan is handling the prosecution.
Anthony Brooks, 29, Middleton, Wisconsin is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. The indictment alleges that he possessed a 9mm handgun on July 19, 2021. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The charge is the result of an investigation by the Madison Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Schlipper is handling the prosecution.
David Barber, 36, Beloit, Wisconsin is charged with being a felon in possession of a loaded handgun and ammunition. The indictment alleges that he possessed a loaded .45 caliber handgun and ammunition on December 20, 2020. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The charge is the result of an investigation by the Beloit Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Stephan is handling the prosecution.
Joshua K. Breidel, 33, La Crosse, Wisconsin is charged with 3 counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The indictment alleges that he possessed a handgun on March 27, 2021, that he possessed a handgun and ammunition on August 4, 2021, and that he possessed a handgun and ammunition on August 5, 2021. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison on each charge. The charges are the result of an investigation by the La Crosse Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Anderson is handling the prosecution.
Benjamin T. Devine, 34, Holmen, Wisconsin is charged with two counts of distributing 50 grams of more of methamphetamine, one count of possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, and with being a felon in possession of a handgun and ammunition. The indictment alleges that he distributed methamphetamine on August 5 and 16, 2021, and that he possessed methamphetamine for distribution and a .22 caliber handgun and ammunition on August 16. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison on each drug charge, and a maximum of 10 years on the gun charge. The charges are the result of an investigation by the La Crosse, Onalaska, and Prairie du Chief Police Departments, La Crosse County Sheriff’s Office, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Anderson is handling the prosecution.
Man Charged with Drug Crime Involving Heroin
Matthew Jackson, 28, Ashland, Wisconsin is charged with possessing 100 grams or more of heroin with intent to distribute. The indictment alleges that he possessed the heroin on May 24, 2021.
If convicted, Jackson faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison. The charge against him is the result of an investigation by the Sawyer County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Hayward Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Schlipper is handling the prosecution.
Madison Man Charged with Attempting to Distribute Fentanyl
Jason Jordan, 36, Madison, Wisconsin is charged with two counts of attempting to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. The indictment alleges that he attempted to distribute fentanyl on January 20 and February 23, 2021.
If convicted, Jordan faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison on each charge. The charges against him are the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Dane County Narcotics Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Wegner is handling the prosecution.
Two Charged with Distributing Methamphetamine
Saige T. Marten, 28, Boyd, Wisconsin, and Samantha K. Fristoe, 30, Owen, Wisconsin, are charged with distributing 50 grams of more of methamphetamine on June 7, 2021. The indictment also charges Marten with possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine for distribution on June 14, 2021.
If convicted, Marten and Fristoe each face a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison on the distribution charge, and Marten also faces that penalty of the charge of possession with intent to distribute.
The charges against them are the result of an investigation by the West Central Drug Task Force; Altoona and Eau Claire Police Departments; Chippewa, Clark, and Rusk County Sheriffs’ Offices; and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Anderson is handling the prosecution.
Four Defendants Arrested, Charged in Fentanyl Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A federal criminal complaint has been filed against four individuals for their involvement in a fentanyl distribution conspiracy, announced Acting United States Attorney W. Anders Folk.
Victor Carbello, 50, of Glendale, Arizona, Carmelo Jerry D’Alessandro, 28, of Phoenix, Giovanni Luon D’Alessandro, 23, of Phoenix, and Taureen Curtis Jackson, 36, of Minneapolis, were charged with one count each of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. All four defendants made their initial appearances earlier today before Magistrate Judge Jon T. Huseby in U.S. District Court.
According to court documents, on September 19, 2021, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Carbello. After Carbello consented to a search of the vehicle, law enforcement located inside a secret compartment of the vehicle three brick-shaped packages weighing approximately 10 pounds. The powdery substance inside the packages tested positive for fentanyl. Law enforcement also located more than 10,000 pills, suspected to contain fentanyl.
On September 21, 2021, law enforcement officers conduct a controlled delivery of the drugs to Carmelo D’Alessandro and Giovanni D’Alessandro at a residence in New Hope, Minnesota. Once the delivery was completed, law enforcement arrested the four defendants and executed a search warrant on the residence. The search resulted in the seizure of several thousand dollars in cash, two firearms, and five pills containing suspected fentanyl.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the New Hope Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas M. Hollenhorst is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Former Owner of Michigan Home Health Care Business Sentenced to Prison for Tax FraudRead the Press Release
A Michigan man was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison today for filing a false tax return.
According to court documents, Robert Nakfoor, of Lansing, claimed fraudulent expenses for his home health care business, Jessi Kay Home Care, on his 2011 through 2015 tax returns. Nakfoor deducted expenses for insurance, legal and professional services, wages, and contract labor that he knew his business did not incur. For example, just on his 2015 return, Nakfoor claimed over a $1 million in bogus contract labor and legal and professional services expenditures. In total, the defendant caused a tax loss to the IRS of $481,465.
Nakfoor pleaded guilty to willfully filing a false income tax return. In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou ordered Nakfoor to serve one year of supervised release and pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $481,465.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Andrew B. Birge of the Western District of Michigan made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Melissa S. Siskind of the Justice Department’s Tax Division prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts can be found on the division’s website.
Former Member of Baltimore’s Safe Streets Program Sentenced to over 11 Years in Federal Prison for Drug Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III sentenced Ronald Alexander, age 50, of Baltimore, Maryland to 135 months in federal prison, followed by eight years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and powder and crack cocaine. While he was participating in the narcotics conspiracy, Alexander was employed by “Safe Streets,” an organization whose purpose is to reduce violence and crime in Baltimore through intervention. While he was engaged in the distribution of fentanyl and other dangerous narcotics, Alexander used his affiliation with Safe Streets to evade law enforcement in Baltimore, including on one occasion to avoid arrest when police seized from him a large quantity of fentanyl.
The sentence was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.
According to Alexander’s plea agreement, law enforcement obtained judicial authorization to intercept communications to and from cellular telephones used by Alexander from May through July 23, 2020. Alexander’s conversations revealed that he operated a “drug shop” in the vicinity of Spaulding Avenue and Palmer Avenue in Northwest Baltimore. Alexander and co-defendant Thomas Corey Crosby corresponded every week or two concerning the sale of narcotics, including heroin and fentanyl. After these conversations, which were often very brief, the pair would meet. Most meetings took place at a gas station located at the intersection of Druid Park Avenue and Liberty Heights in Baltimore, where Crosby supplied drugs to Alexander. Investigators conducted surveillance of many of these meetings and obtained surveillance video from the gas station.
“Ronald Alexander not only polluted the Baltimore community with dangerous drugs and illegally possessed a firearm, but he also risked undermining Safe Streets and other community outreach efforts,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner. “Our violence reduction strategy is based on strong enforcement efforts focused on those driving the violence and distributing large quantities of narcotics while also providing robust community outreach and prevention initiatives. Hopefully this sentence will encourage others to put down the gun and give up the drug trade and choose to invest in themselves and their community instead.”
“The investigation and subsequent sentencing of Ronald Alexander shows that narcotics trafficking and violence has immersed itself in every aspect of our lives, even in areas that are supposed to help stem the tide of drug related violence in the city,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene. “DEA will, with the help and assistance of our federal and local partners, continue to lead the effort of bringing these violators to justice.”
As detailed in his plea agreement, on August 5, 2020, a Baltimore Police officer conducted a traffic stop of Alexander after Alexander rolled through a stop sign. During the encounter, Alexander used his affiliation with Safe Streets and the Baltimore City Mayor’s Office to try to deter further police investigation. Alexander called an associate afterwards, and said, “Yeah. Police hopped on me. Told me to get off the phone. You know they scared, you know they scared of the Mayor Office, I said man I work for Safe Streets from the Mayor Office. I was just coming from one of my participant house, in need with this, it was in need of food due to the pandemic. He say oh, ok ok.”
On August 9, 2020, Alexander received a call from Crosby arranging to meet at the gas station. At the gas station, Crosby was seen entering Alexander’s vehicle and the two had a brief conversation. Crosby then placed an item in the center console area of Alexander’s vehicle and then got out of the car. Alexander pulled away from the gas station and investigators performed a traffic stop and searched Alexander’s vehicle, recovering what was later determined to be 100 grams of fentanyl from a bag found in the center console. Alexander again informed law enforcement that he worked for Safe Streets and provided law enforcement with a letter from the Baltimore City Mayor’s Office. When asked about the bag in the center console, Alexander stated that he had taken the drugs from a member of the community as part of his work with the Safe Streets program in an attempt to prevent crime. According to court documents, law enforcement seized the drugs, but permitted Alexander to leave without being arrested. After the traffic stop, Alexander called Crosby and they met again at the same gas station. After the meeting, Crosby disposed of his cell phone, which investigators had obtained authorization to intercept and track.
On August 14, 2020, search warrants were executed at locations related to the investigation, including Alexander’s residence in the 1200 block of North Augusta Avenue and a second residence where Alexander sometimes stayed in the unit block of North Culver Street, both in Baltimore. Alexander was located at his residence. There, law enforcement seized a 9mm semi-automatic pistol and six cartridges of ammunition, a digital scale and drug packaging material, suspected cutting agents, and Safe Streets apparel. At the residence on North Culver Street, investigators located 80 grams of a heroin and fentanyl mixture, more than 100 grams of powdered caffeine, and a digital scale.
Alexander was prohibited from possessing a firearm and ammunition as the result of a 2001 conviction in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin. Alexander was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in that case and was released from the Bureau of Prisons in approximately May 2018.
Thomas Corey Crosby, age 51, of Woodlawn, Maryland, previously pleaded and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, specifically, 40 grams or more of fentanyl. Judge Russell also ordered Crosby to forfeit $134,499 in cash, seized during a search of his residence on August 14, 2020.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended the DEA and BPD for their work in the investigation. Mr. Lenzner thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew DellaBetta who prosecuted the federal case.
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Former Kankakee Wastewater Utilities Officer Sentenced to Nine Months in Prison and Twenty-Four Months' Home Confinement for $2 Million FraudRead the Press Release
URBANA, Ill. – Richard G. Simms, 74, currently of Marietta, Ohio, was sentenced to nine months of imprisonment, to be followed by twenty-four months of home confinement, on September 20, 2021, for theft of federal funds related to defrauding Kankakee’s wastewater utilities, Kankakee River Metropolitan Agency (KRMA), and the city’s Environmental Service Utility (ESU), of more than $2,000,000.
United States District Judge Colin S. Bruce imposed the nine-month sentence of imprisonment, citing Simms’s age and health concerns. Judge Bruce also sentenced Simms to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term, during which time Simms will be required to serve the twenty-four months of home confinement and pay $2,025,000 in restitution to KRMA and ESU. The prosecution had recommended a thirty-month sentence of imprisonment, reflecting the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
During the sentencing hearing, the government presented victim-impact statements from City of Kankakee Comptroller Elizabeth Kubal and Bourbonnais Mayor Paul Shore detailing how Simms’s $2 million fraud violated their trust and has resulted in higher wastewater and sewer fees for Kankakee-area taxpayers.
During the time of the alleged fraud, from 2014 through 2018, Simms served as executive director of KRMA, which was responsible for treating wastewater from its member municipalities, namely, Kankakee, Bradley, Bourbonnais, and Aroma Park, Illinois. KRMA also treated wastewater from Manteno and Chebanse, Illinois, by intergovernmental agreement. During this period, Simms was also the Superintendent of ESU, which serves as Kankakee’s public works and sewer system. At the same time, Simms owned and operated Simms Engineering, LTD. From 2014 through 2018, Simms received more than $2.5 million in salary and legitimate payments: approximately $1,124,288 from KRMA and approximately $1,594,585 from ESU.
Simms pleaded guilty to theft of federal funds during a prior proceeding, where he admitted that independent of his salary and payments, he fraudulently received approximately $2.2 million - $768,000 from KRMA and $1,257,000 from ESU - as payment to Simms Engineering for software development by Plum Flower International. Simms and his daughter registered Plum Flower International with the State of Illinois in March 2014 purportedly to develop a software application for medical companies to track medical records. Although Simms did not have board approval or contracts with his engineering firm to develop software, he submitted fraudulent and inflated invoices to KRMA and ESU for software development. Simms circumvented KRMA’s invoice payment procedure by submitting invoices directly to its accounting firm. As a result, KRMA’s superintendent and administrative assistant did not approve and were unaware of the invoices.
From May 2014 through September 2018, Simms Engineering transferred more than $2 million to Plum Flower International, which represented more than 95% of its revenue during this time frame. Plum Flower International used approximately $161,000 of the funds to pay another company to create a software application which they attempted to sell on the open market. The remaining funds were used for the personal benefit of Simms and his daughter, the owners of Plum Flower International.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene L. Miller represented the government in the prosecution.
Former Insurance Broker Going to Prison for Defrauding Insurance Companies and Individual Investors Out of More Than $1-MillionRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y.- U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Brian Bartz, 39, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, was sentenced to serve 70 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa. The defendant has also been ordered to pay full restitution to the victims in this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan K. McGuire, who handled the case, stated that between January 2015 and January 2020, the defendant was employed as an insurance broker at several different life insurance companies, selling and servicing policies and receiving commissions and bonuses for selling such policies. In connection with his employment, Bartz submitted approximately 105 fraudulent policy applications in various individuals’ names without their knowledge, utilizing actual names, social security numbers, and dates of birth. As a result, life insurance policies were issued, and the defendant was paid a total of $382,740.63 in commissions and bonuses to which he was not entitled. Bartz also used approximately $70,579.83 that he fraudulently withdrew from various bank accounts of unsuspecting clients in order to pay policy premiums on the fraudulent life insurance policies he obtained.
In addition, Bartz defrauded his insurance clients and potential clients by falsely claiming to also be an investment advisor, persuading individuals to invest funds that he never invested nor intended to invest. Rather than investing such funds on behalf of his clients, Bartz used them to gamble or to pay back prior investors. To prevent victims from inquiring about their investments, Bartz issued fake account statements. The victims included a widow who “invested” a $332,500 payout from her deceased husband’s life insurance policy with the defendant. Bratz stole all but $10,000 of that widow’s investment.
In total, the loss amount for Bartz’s schemes is approximately $1,026,668.46.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia, and the New York State Department of Financial Services, under the direction of Superintendent Adrienne Harris.
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For-Profit Trade School Sentenced to Nearly 20 Years for Defrauding VA, Student VeteransRead the Press Release
The owner of a for-profit trade school has been sentenced to more than 19 years in federal prison for bilking the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs of $72 million and of misleading student veterans, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Prerak Shah.
In April, a federal jury convicted Jonathan Dean Davis, the 43 year-old owner of Retail Ready Career Center, of seven counts of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering. He was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr, who also ordered him to pay $65.2 million in restitution. In addition to paying restitution, Mr. Davis will be required to forfeit $72.5 million to the federal government.
The defendant had been remanded into custody immediately following conviction, and was remanded back into custody after his sentencing hearing.
“A jury found that Mr. Davis lied to multiple government agencies, lining his pockets with veterans’ GI Bill benefits even as they were struggling to scrape by,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah. “Mr. Davis’ crimes were a slap in the face to the sacrifices made by our servicemembers, and we are proud to put him behind bars for such a significant period of time.”
According to evidence presented at trial, Mr. Davis marketed Retail Ready’s six-week HVAC training course to veterans whose tuition and fees would be covered by the Veteran’s Educational Assistance Act of 2008, also known as the post-9/11 GI Bill. The defendant, who was essentially broke at the time of the crime, realized that he could charge $18,000 to $21,000 per student for the six-week course, if only he could get approval from the VA to accept GI Bill payments for tuition – which required prior approvals from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and the Texas Veterans Commission (TVC).
These agencies required applicants to certify that they were not personally facing any criminal or civil actions, and to prove that their schools were established educational institutions in stable financial condition. Knowing he could not meet these requirements, Mr. Davis repeatedly lied and concealed information from these agencies.
“Several decisions lie ahead that will ultimately make the difference if I succeed or if I fail. More gut-wrenching conversations, more humiliating experiences, more lying is in order,” Mr. Davis wrote in an electronic journal he kept on his computer, which was recovered by federal agents during a search of Retail Ready. The journal became a key piece of evidence at trial.
Mr. Davis assured the TWC that he was not subject to any civil actions, when, in fact, he was facing numerous civil judgments over unpaid debts. He also told the TWC that he was not facing any criminal charges, when, in fact, he had a pending felony charge for theft of services.
Mr. Davis told the TVC that Retail Ready had been operating as a school for two years, when, in fact, the company had only existed for a few months and had never trained any students. He claimed that Retail Ready was fully prepared to train veterans, when, in fact, the company lacked a building and basic supplies. He even lied to an independent accountant about the school’s financial condition, and then submitted false financial statements to both the TWC and the TVC.
Eventually, based upon Mr. Davis’ lies to the TWC and TVC, the VA accepted Retail Ready’s application, allowing Mr. Davis to charge veterans’ tuition and fees to the VA under the GI Bill.
In 2014, he began recruiting student veterans, promising to prepare them for lucrative careers in the heating and air conditioning industry. Upon entering the workforce, however, many of these veterans discovered that Retail Ready had failed to teach them many of the basic skills necessary for entry-level technician jobs.
Several veterans testified at trial that they had relied on the Retail Ready’s fraudulently obtained VA endorsement and were sorely disappointed about their post- Retail Ready career prospects and pay. They were also shocked to learn of the rate at which Retail Ready’s six-week course had drained their GI Bill benefits, testifying that they felt “used,” “taken advantage of,” “deceived,” and “bamboozled.”
Even as his veteran graduates struggled to make ends meet, Retail Ready collected more than $72 million in GI Bill benefits from the VA. Using the proceeds of his fraud, Mr. Davis purchased a $2.2 million home in Dallas, a $428,000 Lamborghini, a $280,000 Ferrari, and a $260,000 Bentley, among other things.
The VA’s Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office and the United States Postal Inspection Service’s Fort Worth Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas Brasher and Fabio Leonardi are prosecuting the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dimitri Rocha is handling forfeiture. U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr presided over the trial.
Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Soliciting Child PornographyRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Maine: A Florida man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to soliciting child pornography, Acting U.S. Attorney Donald E. Clark announced.
According to court records, on May 9, 2020, while in Florida, Cameron Eagle, 35, used Cash App, a direct peer-to-peer payment system for mobile devices, to pay a female child in Maine to engage in sexually explicit conduct while he watched via livestream over the chat website Omegle. The child, who resided in Cumberland County, was 14 years old at the time. Financial records reflected that Eagle made several payments to the child on that date, and that he made other similar payments in small denominations to other Cash App accounts on the same day, as well as on other dates in May and June 2020.
The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, the Martin County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case, with assistance from the Fort Pierce office of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Federal Jury Convicts Rigby Man of Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
POCATELLO – After a five-day jury trial, a federal jury sitting in Pocatello found Tel James Boam, 39, of Rigby, guilty of sixteen counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child pornography, Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr. announced today. Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill presided over the trial, which began on September 7, and concluded with guilty verdicts on the afternoon of September 20, 2021.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, the investigation began in September 2019, after an individual reported finding videos of a nude minor on Boam’s iPhone. A detective with the Jefferson County Sherriff’s Office obtained a search warrant for Boam’s iCloud account. An agent with Homeland Security Investigations in Idaho Falls searched Boam’s iCloud account and found that Boam had attempted to produce, by surreptitious recording, 36 sexually explicit videos of a fourteen-year-old child, and that Boam had possessed those videos. Testimony provided that the videos were produced with a spy camera that Boam purchased using his credit card.
Each of the sixteen counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor is punishable by 15 to 30 years in federal prison. The charge of possession of child pornography is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. Each charge is also punishable by a fine of up to $250,000, and five years to a lifetime of supervised release.
Sentencing is set for December 14, 2021, before Judge Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello. The federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting U.S. Attorney Gonzalez praised the initial reporting party for promptly reporting the crime and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office for quickly following up. “Their timely response, and that of Homeland Security Investigations in Idaho Falls, made this case.” Mr. Gonzalez said. “I commend these investigators and our Assistant U.S. Attorneys and staff for aggressively pursuing this defendant, and I thank the jury for holding him accountable. As a community, we need to be watchful and report our suspicions to law enforcement,” he concluded.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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Federal Employee Who Accessed Child Pornography Aboard Government Research Vessel Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
EUGENE, Ore.—A federal government employee who accessed and possessed child pornography while working aboard a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientific research vessel was sentenced to federal prison today.
Johnny Dale Hale, 44, was sentenced to 24 months in prison and five years’ supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $4,000 in restitution to his victims.
According to court documents, in late 2016, Hale, a decorated veteran, was working as a crew member aboard the Bell M. Shimada, a NOAA scientific research vessel. On or about November 15, 2016, the vessel was experiencing technical connectivity issues and the information technology team began running diagnostics. While troubleshooting, an electronics technician discovered two new folders on the ship’s server containing what he believed to be child pornography.
Diagnostics showed that Hale’s unique employee access card was associated with the time and date the folders were initially accessed. Additionally, Hale used two different vessel workstations to access the server at the exact time the folders were created. The vessel’s senior security engineer alerted the U.S. Department of Commerce to the discovery.
Special agents and a forensic analyst reviewed the suspect folders and discovered 109 pornographic web links and confirmed the presence of child pornography. Approximately 33 images of child pornography were in one of the suspect folders, with images from at least four series of photographs of previously-identified child pornography victims.
On June 21, 2017, a federal grand jury in Eugene returned an indictment charging Hale with possession of child pornography. On April 23, 2021, he pleaded guilty to that charge.
Acting U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General, NOAA Office of Law Enforcement, and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney William M. McLaren prosecuted the case.
Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children are encouraged to call the FBI at (503) 224-4181 or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor. It is important to remember child sexual abuse material depicts actual crimes being committed against children. Not only do these images and videos document victims’ exploitation and abuse, but when shared across the internet, child victims suffer re-victimization each time the image of their abuse is viewed. To learn more, please visit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s website at www.missingkids.org.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Federal Correctional Officer Charged with Making False Statements About Engaging in Unlawful Sexual Activity with InmateRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A correctional officer at the federal jail in downtown Los Angeles was arrested today to face a criminal charge that he lied to investigators about him engaging in sexual activity with an inmate who was under his care and supervision.
Abel Concho, 53, of East Los Angeles, is charged with one count of making false statements, according to a federal grand jury indictment returned on Tuesday. He surrendered to law enforcement officials this morning and is scheduled to make his initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court.
According to the indictment, Concho was employed by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) as a correctional officer at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Los Angeles that houses a total of 635 male and female inmates. The victim in this case was an MDC inmate under Concho’s supervision from June 2010 to February 2011.
From February 2020 to July 2021, a federal criminal investigation was underway into allegations that Concho had sexual contact with multiple inmates at MDC. It is a federal crime for a BOP employee to engage in any sexual act with a person in official detention and under his supervision. It also is a federal crime for any BOP employee to smuggle contraband, including cellphones, into MDC for inmates’ use.
On July 28, 2021, federal investigators interviewed Concho, who allegedly made a series of false statements, including that he “never” had sexual contact with one MDC inmate, when in fact Concho engaged in sexual contact with the victim on nearly three dozen different occasions. Concho, on multiple occasions, also lied that he “never had sexual contact” with any MDC inmates, according to the indictment.
After initially denying he had any sexual contact with the victim, Concho then falsely stated that he had sexual intercourse and engaged in oral sex with the victim just “once (or) twice” that he could recall, the indictment alleges. Concho also falsely stated on multiple occasions that he did not provide a cellphone to the victim to take nude photographs for him. In fact, he illegally smuggled a cellphone into MDC and provided that cellphone to the victim to take nude photographs for him, which the victim then did.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted of the charge in the indictment, Concho would face a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.
The FBI and the United States Department of Justice Office of Inspector General investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Veronica Dragalin of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section is prosecuting this case.
Essex County Teacher Admits Health Care Fraud Conspiracy Targeting New Jersey School Employees’ Health Benefits ProgramRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, public school teacher today admitted his role in conspiring to defraud the N.J. School Employees’ Health Benefits Program (SEHBP) with phony claims for medically unnecessary prescriptions, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Jason Nardachone, 51, of Nutley, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to an indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Nardachone participated in a scheme to defraud the SEHBP by knowingly causing the billing of medically unnecessary compounded medications, such as metabolic vitamins, pain creams, and scar creams, for himself and three other teachers. From September 2015 through February 2016, Nardachone and others received medically unnecessary compounded medications that cost the SEHBP from $3,300 to $22,800 per medication. Nardachone bribed the three other teachers with monthly payments of $500 in exchange for their agreement to obtain compounded medications they did not need. The scheme resulted in losses to the SEHBP of more than $550,000.
The count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 1, 2022.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua L. Haber of the Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark.
Endicott Sex Offender Sentenced for Failing to Register Email AccountsRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Thomas J. Redeker, age 73, of Endicott, New York was sentenced today to 10 months in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, for failing to update his sex offender registration by maintaining unregistered email accounts.
The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon and United States Marshal David L. McNulty.
Redeker was also ordered to pay a $2,000 fine. In addition to the term of imprisonment for failing to update his sex offender registration, Redeker was sentenced to an 8-month consecutive term of imprisonment for violating the conditions of his supervised release by committing new criminal conduct, failing to answer truthfully questions from his probation officer, and possessing an undisclosed internet capable device.
As part of his previously entered plea agreement, Redeker admitted that in 2004 he was convicted in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York of production of child pornography and crossing a state line to engage in a sexual act with a person under the age of 12. Those convictions required Redeker to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, and to keep that registration current with personal identifying information, including email accounts. Redeker admitted that although he maintained registration as a sex offender in the State of New York, he did not register three email accounts that he created despite knowing he has an obligation under the law to do so.
This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service Sex Offender Investigation Branch with assistance from the United States Probation Office for the Northern District of New York, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Gadarian.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney's offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Eagle Butte Man Sentenced for Assaulting Federal OfficersRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that an Eagle Butte, South Dakota, man convicted of Assaulting, Resisting, and Impeding a Federal Officer was sentenced on September 21, 2021, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.
Floyd Alex High Hawk, Jr., a/k/a Cactus, age 33, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and a $100 assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
High Hawk was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 14, 2020. He pled guilty on June 21, 2021.
The conviction stemmed from an incident on August 17, 2020, in Eagle Butte. High Hawk was detained at a tribal jail when he assaulted two detention officers who were attempting to move him to a different cell. High Hawk punched one detention officer in the face and wrestled with another, causing an injury to his knee. Both detention officers were employed by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe pursuant to a contract between the tribe and the federal government.
This case was investigated by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook prosecuted the case.
High Hawk was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Duplin County Drug Trafficker Receives 24 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, N.C. – Jeremy Cline, 36, of Duplin County, North Carolina, was sentenced to 288 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
According to court documents, evidence presented in court, and other documents, on July 28, 2019, Cline and his girlfriend were stopped by a Sampson County Sheriff’s Deputy for a traffic violation in Clinton, North Carolina. Cline provided the deputy with a false name during the traffic stop. A records check determined that this person had an outstanding order for arrest. When questioned by law enforcement, Cline admitted that he had given a false name. Cline also had an order for arrest. A search of the car led to the discovery of more than 10 grams of methamphetamine. On October 1, 2019, a Sampson County Sheriff’s Deputy observed Cline speeding on a motorcycle and attempted to stop him. Cline did not stop and drove through a four way stop and flashing red light in the town of Roseboro. Cline lost control of his motorcycle, wrecked it, and then fled on foot. Cline was ultimately apprehended in the woods. Cline had more than $1,800 on his person. Following an interview of Cline at a later date, law enforcement found that Cline had hidden 3 ounces of methamphetamine and a .40 caliber handgun that he later retrieved. On October 16, 2019, undercover Duplin County Narcotic Detectives ordered 3 ounces of methamphetamine from Cline. Subsequently, Cline and his girlfriend were stopped and arrested in the area of Norwood Street in Wallace. Law enforcement recovered the methamphetamine on the floorboard. On June 28, 2021, while Cline was awaiting sentencing in this case, a New Hanover County Detention Officer intercepted a letter that was addressed to Cline. A test of the letter revealed that it had been soaked in LSD.
During the investigation, law enforcement was able to determine that Cline was responsible for possessing with the intent to distribute and distributing 30 kilograms of methamphetamine. Cline had prior convictions for felony burglary and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
This is part of operation Fighting Jelly Fish which is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launders, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Duplin, New Hanover and Sampson County Sheriff’s Offices investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Severo prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:20-cr-00074-M-3.
Detroit man admits to drug chargeRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Stewart Jenkins, of Detroit, Michigan, has admitted to a cocaine charge, Acting U.S. Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced.
Jenkins, 49, pleaded guilty today to one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine Base.” Jenkins admitted to having cocaine base, also known as “crack,” in September 2020 in Monongalia County.
Jenkins 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 Christopher L. Bauer is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Mon Metro Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, and the West Virginia State Police investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.
Denton County Man Sentenced for Threatening U.S. CongressmanRead the Press Release
PLANO, Texas – A Denton man has been sentenced to prison for threatening a federal official, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei today.
Guy Zachary Klossner, 33, pleaded guilty on April 29, 2021, to threatening a federal official and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan.
“Today’s sentence sends a strong message that EDTX takes seriously any death threats to public officials,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. “In our democracy, there is room for disagreement and even dissent. However, we will not tolerate threats of violence, particularly those made against our elected representatives.”
According to information presented in court, on July 24, 2020, an individual using the name “You’re F. Dead” sent a threatening email message to U.S. Congressman Theodore Yoho of Florida’s 3rd Congressional District. The message contained a threat to kill Congressman Yoho and his family. An investigation determined that the message originated from a computer at a location in Denton, Texas. Klossner was identified as the user of the computer. Further investigation revealed that Klossner also made threats against U.S. Congressman Clay Higgins of Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District through his Facebook account and in a voice-mail message. Klossner, who admitted to law enforcement officials that he made the threats, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 15, 2020.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Capitol Police in Washington, D.C. and the Denton Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Batson.
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Defendants Charged in Connection with Multi-State Racketeering Conspiracy Involving the Forced Labor of Mexican Agricultural H-2A WorkersRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury in the Middle District of Florida has returned a six-count indictment against three defendants for their alleged roles in a federal racketeering conspiracy that victimized Mexican H-2A workers who, between 2015 and 2017, had worked in the United States harvesting fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products.
The indictment alleges that from 2015 through 2017, the defendants participated in running a labor contracting company for H-2A agricultural workers called Los Villatoros Harvesting (LVH), which functioned as a criminal enterprise. LVH subjected multiple Mexican H-2A agricultural workers employed in Florida, Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia and North Carolina to forced labor. LVH also harbored H-2A workers in the United States after their visas had expired for financial gain and committed visa fraud and fraud in foreign labor contracting.
The indictment charges Bladimir Moreno, a permanent resident of the United States and citizen of Mexico who owned and managed LVH, and Christina Gamez, a citizen of the United States who worked for LVH as a bookkeeper, manager and supervisor, with conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, conspiracy to commit forced labor, forced labor, and conspiracy to obstruct proceedings before departments, agencies and committees. Guadalupe Mendes Mendoza, a citizen of Mexico who worked as a manager and supervisor for LVH, was charged with conspiracy to obstruct proceedings before agencies.
The indictment alleges that the defendants charged with committing the RICO conspiracy operated LVH as a criminal scheme. They obtained hundreds of hours of physically demanding agricultural labor from the victimized H-2A workers through coercive means, such as imposing debts on workers; confiscating the workers’ passports; subjecting workers to crowded, unsanitary and degrading living conditions, as well as to yelling and verbal abuse; threatening workers with arrest, jailtime and deportation; isolating workers and limiting their ability to interact with anyone other than LVH employees; and suggesting to workers that if they failed to comply with the defendants’ demands, they or their family members could be physically harmed.
This case was investigated by the Palm Beach County Human Trafficking Task Force (to include the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office), with assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor - Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of State - Diplomatic Security Service. It will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Murray and Trial Attorneys Avner Shapiro and Maryam Zhuravitsky of the Civil Rights Division.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
Defendants Charged in Connection with Multi-State Racketeering Conspiracy Involving the Forced Labor of Mexican Agricultural H-2A WorkersRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury in the Middle District of Florida has returned a six-count indictment against three defendants for their alleged roles in a federal racketeering conspiracy that victimized Mexican H-2A workers who, between 2015 and 2017, had worked in the United States harvesting fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products.
The indictment alleges that from 2015 through 2017, the defendants participated in running a labor contracting company for H-2A agricultural workers called Los Villatoros Harvesting (LVH), which functioned as a criminal enterprise. LVH subjected multiple Mexican H-2A agricultural workers employed in Florida, Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia and North Carolina to forced labor. LVH also harbored H-2A workers in the United States after their visas had expired for financial gain and committed visa fraud and fraud in foreign labor contracting.
The indictment charges Bladimir Moreno, a permanent resident of the United States and citizen of Mexico who owned and managed LVH, and Christina Gamez, a citizen of the United States who worked for LVH as a bookkeeper, manager and supervisor, with conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, conspiracy to commit forced labor, forced labor, and conspiracy to obstruct proceedings before departments, agencies and committees. Guadalupe Mendes Mendoza, a citizen of Mexico who worked as a manager and supervisor for LVH, was charged with conspiracy to obstruct proceedings before agencies.
The indictment alleges that the defendants charged with committing the RICO conspiracy operated LVH as a criminal scheme. They obtained hundreds of hours of physically demanding agricultural labor from the victimized H-2A workers through coercive means, such as imposing debts on workers; confiscating the workers’ passports; subjecting workers to crowded, unsanitary and degrading living conditions, as well as to yelling and verbal abuse; threatening workers with arrest, jailtime and deportation; isolating workers and limiting their ability to interact with anyone other than LVH employees; and suggesting to workers that if they failed to comply with the defendants’ demands, they or their family members could be physically harmed.
This case was investigated by the Palm Beach County Human Trafficking Task Force (to include the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office), with assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor - Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of State - Diplomatic Security Service. It will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Murray and Trial Attorneys Avner Shapiro and Maryam Zhuravitsky of the Civil Rights Division.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
Defendant Convicted of the First Degree Murder of a Man on a BicycleRead the Press Release
A federal jury convicted a Tulsa man Tuesday of first-degree murder. Prosecutors contended that the defendant shot and killed the victim, who was riding a bicycle, in order to impress members of the Savage Boys street gang, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
“Devon Blevins fired twice across the hood of a car he was riding in and callously murdered Maurice Burgess,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “A federal jury held Mr. Blevins accountable for this senseless crime by convicting him of first degree murder. I am thankful for the jury’s service, and I commend the diligent work of the FBI, Tulsa Police Department and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Heatherman and Mike Harder who pursued justice in this case.”
Devon Blevins, 28, of Tulsa, was found guilty of first-degree murder in Indian Country and causing death by using and discharging a firearm during the commission of first degree murder. Count 3 of the indictment was dismissed.
Blevin’s codefendant, Jacob Bruce Banks, 21, was the driver of the car, and on Sept. 17, 2021, he pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to first degree murder in Indian Country. The two defendants are members of the Savage Boys street gang and did not know the victim.
On April 12, 2021, just after 8 pm, officers were notified of a shooting that occurred in the parking lot of the Waterstone Apartments near South Peoria Avenue. Officers discovered the victim, Maurice Burgess, on the ground near a bicycle with apparent gunshot wounds. No weapon was found on or near the victim.
Several witnesses stated that shortly after the shooting, they observed a red 4-door Nissan Altima depart from the parking lot and head toward 61st Street and South Peoria Avenue. Detectives reviewed surveillance footage from the area and observed a red Nissan Altima with distinct damage on the front passenger-side bumper. Surveillance video also showed the car trailing the victim, the victim falling from his bicycle, and a figure positioned in the car’s window.
Later, on April 17, 2021, a Tulsa police officer received information regarding the discharge of a firearm in public. During his investigation, the officer conducted a traffic stop on a red Nissan Altima after it failed to stop at a stop sign. As the officer approached the vehicle, he observed a rifle in the passenger seat of the vehicle and codefendant Jacob Banks in the driver’s seat. The officer then arrested Banks for possessing a deadly weapon and for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Detectives requested the officer examine the damage to the car, and it was determined to be consistent with the damage observed on the car seen in video surveillance from April 12, 2021, when Mr. Burgess was killed.
Codefendant Banks testified in court that on the day of the crime, both men were armed. Blevins told him there was a silver vehicle following people and directed Banks to drive in the area to look for the silver vehicle. Instead, the defendants saw an African American male on a bicycle ahead of them closest to the driver’s side of the car. Banks stated that Blevins propped himself up, sitting on the ledge of an open front passenger window, and fired multiple times across the hood of the vehicle hitting the man. Banks quickly drove away from the scene.
In an April 20, 2021, interview with police, Blevins admitted he was responsible for the shooting but stated that the man on the bicycle had reached for his waist area, and Blevins thought he may have been reaching for a handgun. Blevins stated that he positioned himself on the car’s open window ledge then shot the victim twice. During the interview, he also told detectives that he recently joined the Savage Boys and that during the shooting he “didn’t want these guys thinking my loyalty wasn’t with them.” He said he wanted the shooting to “look good” so that Banks would give him the “okay” to be “admissioned in” to the gang. Blevins chose not to testify at trial.
During closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Heatherman, lead prosecutor in the case, called it a senseless murder caught on surveillance tape. He and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Harder recounted the evidence offered at trial and contended that Blevins committed a murder to show his loyalty to the Savage Boys.
The prosecutors argued that Blevins was looking for trouble that day. They explained that as the victim rode his bicycle in the parking lot ahead of the Nissan, the defendant pulled himself halfway out of the window- taking a tactical position, switched off the American Heritage six shooter’s safety, pulled the hammer back, laid his elbows across the car to steady his aim, and shot the victim, striking him in the throat. He pulled the hammer back again and shot the victim a second time. He pulled the trigger a third time, but the revolver misfired. He then fled the scene with Banks and disposed of the weapon. They reminded the jury that these are not the actions of an individual who acted in self defense.
The jury returned guilty verdicts two hours later.
The Tulsa Police Department and FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan H. Heatherman and Michael F. Harder prosecuted the case.
Cody Ahonen Charged with Firearm OffenseRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Cody Ahonen, 28, of Mt. Holly, was arrested by agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on September 20, 2021. Ahonen made his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle in Burlington. At the conclusion of the hearing, Ahonen was ordered detained pending trial.
According to a federal criminal complaint filed on September 21, 2021, Ahonen was prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms due to a previous conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, specifically, a 2012 domestic assault conviction in Vermont state court. On September 15, 2021, Ahonen’s girlfriend, Brittany Bouthiette, died of a gunshot wound sustained in a parked vehicle in Killington, Vermont. Ahonen informed law enforcement the wound was self-inflicted by Bouthiette. The gun used in that incident belonged to Ahonen and Ahonen possessed the gun before Bouthiette’s death. After Bouthiette was shot, Ahonen attempted to throw the gun into the woods. Vermont State Police responded to the scene of the shooting. In a roadside ditch, troopers located a Glock pistol. Beneath the vehicle, troopers located a quantity of suspected cocaine base. Inside the vehicle, troopers located an additional pistol, a rifle, a quantity of powder cocaine, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a digital scale with white residue, and approximately $10,000 in U.S. currency.
The charge in the criminal complaint is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted of possessing a firearm having been previously convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), Ahonen faces a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, would be determined by the Court with guidance from the advisory Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Acting United States Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt commended the coordinated investigatory efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Vermont State Police.
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. https://www.justice.gov/psn
The United States is represented in this matter by Assistant U.S. Attorney Wendy L. Fuller. Cody Ahonen is represented by attorneys with the Federal Public Defender’s Office.
Chesapeake Man Sentenced for Interstate Methamphetamine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A Chesapeake man was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.
According to court documents, on May 20, 2020, an Arizona State Trooper stopped Jeremy Wayne Johnson, 45, and his passenger on Interstate 17 near Mayer, Arizona, because Johnson was speeding and texting on his phone while driving. During the stop, Johnson provided a false name and claimed he had lost his driver’s license. At the time, Johnson was carrying on him a loaded Ruger pistol, along with methamphetamine inside his vehicle. Johnson admitted during a Mirandized interview that he and his passenger drove from Virginia Beach to Phoenix, Arizona to purchase methamphetamine. The day before they planned to return to Virginia, Johnson purchased two pounds of methamphetamine from a drug dealer at a hotel in Phoenix, Arizona. Johnson and his passenger were transporting the narcotics to Virginia Beach for resale when they were stopped.
Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Raymond Villanueva, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C.; and Paul Neudigate, Chief of Virginia Beach Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Darryl Mitchell prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:20-cr-103.
Charleston Woman Sentenced to Prison for Methamphetamine DistributionRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston woman was sentenced today to 71 months in prison for distributing methamphetamine while on supervised release for a previous federal firearm conviction.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Tiffany Shaffer, 32, distributed 53.88 grams of pure methamphetamine to a confidential informant in return for $1500 on October 5, 2020 in Dunbar. Shaffer further admitted that she distributed methamphetamine in September, October, and December 2020, in and around the Dunbar area. At the time of the 2020 drug sales, Shaffer was on supervised release for a 2017 federal firearms conviction.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Kristin F. Scott handled the prosecution.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-00076.
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Center Point Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for COVID-19 Unemployment Benefits FraudRead the Press Release
A man who received almost $17,000 in fraudulently obtained CARES Act unemployment funds was sentenced on September 20, 2021, to five months in federal prison. Larry Neal Wells, age 63, from Center Point, Iowa, received the prison term after an April 5, 2021 guilty plea to one count of wire fraud.
Information from sentencing and a plea agreement showed that Wells received $16,978 in unemployment funds to which he was not entitled from the states of Maine and New York. Wells withdrew the funds in cash, kept some of the funds for himself, and mailed the rest to other individuals.
Wells was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Wells was sentenced to 5 months’ imprisonment. He was ordered to make $7,728 in restitution to the New York State Department of Labor and $9,250 in restitution to the Maine Department of Labor. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Wells was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the United States Marshal on October 4, 2021.
This prosecution is an example of the Department of Justice’s strong commitment to combating fraud and criminal activity related to COVID-19. 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.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 20-CR-113.
Carjacker Sentenced to 97 Months ImprisonmentRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that DONTE MOORE, age 23, was sentenced on September 21, 2021 by U.S. District Court Judge Susie Morgan, to 97 months imprisonment. On May 18, 2021, MOORE pled guilty to a Superseding Bill of Information charging him in Count One with Carjacking, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2119(1), and in Count Two with Using and Carrying a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i).
Judge Morgan sentenced MOORE to 37 months imprisonment as to Count One and to 60 months as to Count Two. The sentence for Count Two must run consecutively to Count One. MOORE also received 3 years supervised release for Count One, and five years supervised release as to Count Two, which will run concurrently. Supervised release commences after MOORE is released from custody. MOORE must also pay $200 in mandatory special assessment fees. Restitution will be determined by the Court at a later date.
This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the New Orleans Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Liz Privitera of the Violent Crime Unit.
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California Woman Sentenced in Multi-Million-Dollar Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A California woman was sentenced yesterday for her role in a multi-million-dollar Medicare fraud scheme.
Stefanie Hirsch, 51, of Los Angeles, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. to three years of probation. Hirsch was also ordered to pay a fine of $2,500. On Feb. 24, 2021, Hirsch pleaded guilty to violating the HIPAA statute.
Hirsch sold access to a Medicare eligibility tool that allowed Juan C. Perez Buitrago and Nathan LaParl to improperly access patients’ detailed personal, demographic, medical and insurance information. Hirsch owned EI Medical, Inc., a Medicare-enrolled wheelchair and scooter repair company that qualified for access to a health care clearinghouse that contains Medicare patients’ personal, medical and insurance information. Hirsch improperly gave Perez Buitrago and LaParl access to that clearinghouse and charged them about $0.25 per patient eligibility check. Using Hirsch’s credentials, LaParl accessed the personal and medical data of more than 350,000 patients and Perez Buitrago’s credentials were used for 150,000 patients.
Perez Buitrago and LaParl pleaded guilty to federal health care crimes in October 2020 and January 2021, respectively.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Johnnie Sharp Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Birmingham Field Division; Phillip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, Boston Division; and Joshua McCallister, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elysa Q. Wan of Mendell’s Health Care Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.
California Man Charged with Perjury for Suing Hollywood Executives Under False PretensesRead the Press Release
Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ROVIER CARRINGTON was charged in a criminal complaint unsealed yesterday with perjury. CARRINGTON was arrested yesterday and presented in the Central District of California.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “As alleged, Rovier Carrington faked evidence to support a $50 million lawsuit in the Southern District of New York making extremely serious allegations, and then lied about faking that evidence under penalty of perjury. Now he will return to the Southern District of New York—this time to face criminal charges.”
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint[1] unsealed yesterday in Manhattan federal court:
Between at least June 2018 and July 2018, CARRINGTON committed perjury in connection with a civil lawsuit (the “Civil Case”) filed in the Southern District of New York. In the Civil Case, CARRINGTON sued Hollywood executives alleging that the executives had sexually assaulted him, and that they had defrauded him in connection with a decision to refuse to produce CARRINGTON’s reality television program. CARRINGTON sought damages of $50 million in the Civil Case.
In support of his allegations in the Civil Case, CARRINGTON included as exhibits to an amended complaint ten email chains that included the following purported exchanges:
- CARRINGTON: I need your help. I’m not built for this. [third party] has threaten me and [Executive-1] thinks I’m supposed to constantly sleep with him for my projects. I was promised my series and reality show would make the studio a lot of money. [Third party] is a piece of shit and a pimp. I’m not a whore. After this Harvey [Weinstein] bullshit. I’m done.
Counterparty Account-1: Trend my man. You have to obey [third party] if you plan on continuing. [Executive-1] has ruined your chances after that Harvey [Weinstein] shit. I understand screwing these Hollywood fucks is tough but it’s that Hollywood shit man.
- CARRINGTON: Thank you for reviewing my reality concept. I have so many ideas like a bisexual love interest and I could seek a third whose fully gay, but pick only one during the finale. Major right ? Hopefully that doesn’t take away from the public’s interest in my dramatic series, which I’ll send you. I’ll discuss with [third party] and [third party] for the press. Omg, we could totally pitch to [Executive-2’s company] due to you convincing [third party] to release me I just request you protect me from him and [Executive-1] who ruined my [third party company] deal. I must mention, I pondered if you had me eradicate my business relationship with [third party] just so you could own me and not really produce my shows... You totally request sex before business so just thoughts.
Executive-2: Babe, all I can think about is pounding you like I did when you were a boy. Daddy owns you. My boy... :)
But those email chains were faked. In response to an investigation by the District Court overseeing the Civil Case, CARRINGTON was unable to produce the original versions of any of the email chains. The versions of the email chains attached to the amended complaint could also not be located in the email accounts belonging to others that had allegedly sent and received the emails chains. Moreover, law enforcement determined that versions of two of the email chains attached to the amended complaint did in fact exist in the email accounts belonging to others, although the versions attached to the amended complaint had been substantially altered by CARRINGTON in order to support his allegations in the Civil Case.
CARRINGTON deleted the contents of one of his email accounts that allegedly contained some of the email chains the day after he filed the amended complaint. He deleted the contents of another of his email accounts that allegedly contained some of the email chains two months later, in violation of a preservation order that the District Court had issued in the Civil Case.
CARRINGTON submitted a statement swearing under penalty of perjury that the email chains in the amended complaint had not been faked or altered.
CARRINGTON, 32, Los Angeles, California, is charged with one count of perjury, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the Special Agents of the Southern District of New York. Ms. Strauss also thanked the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California for their assistance in the case, and thanked the United States Marshals Service for its assistance in the apprehension of CARRINGTON.
The case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Mead is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges in the Complaint are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Butler Man Pleads Guilty in Fentanyl/Heroin Distribution SchemeRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - Dwayne Smallwood was convicted of conspiring to distribute, and distributing, fentanyl and heroin in Butler, Pennsylvania, between 2017 and 2020, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.
Smallwood, age 43, formerly of Butler and Philadelphia, pled guilty before United States District Judge Robert J. Colville. Judge Colville scheduled sentencing to occur on February 3, 2022, at 11:30 a.m.
The law provides for a maximum sentence of up to 60 years in prison and a fine of up to $4,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorneys Yvonne M. Saadi and Craig W. Haller are prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.
The Pennsylvania State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Butler County District Attorney’s Drug Task Force led the investigation leading to the convictions in this case.
Bucks County Temp Agency Owner Indicted on Charges of Tax FraudRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Heng Han, 49, of Bensalem, PA, owner of HBH Global Resources, Ltd., was charged by Indictment on charges related to his alleged failure to pay over the trust fund portion of HBH’s employment taxes for quarters in 2015 to the Internal Revenue Service, and filing false individual and corporate tax returns with the IRS for tax years 2012 through 2015. The defendant made his initial appearance in federal court on these charges this afternoon.
According to the Indictment, as the proprietor of HBH, the defendant provided temporary employees to work for client companies in various industries, including light and heavy manufacturing and construction work. Han was legally obligated to withhold payroll taxes from wages paid to his employees and was responsible to pay over these taxes to the IRS. He was also required to file, following the end of each calendar quarter, an Employer’s Quarterly Federal Income Tax Return (Form 941), setting forth the total amount of wages and other compensation subject to withholding, the total amount of income tax withheld, and the total amount of social security and Medicare taxes due to the IRS. Although Han late-filed the Forms 941, he has allegedly never paid over a combined total of approximately $1,739,560. in withholding taxes due to the IRS for the years 2012 through 2015.
The Indictment further alleges that from 2012 through 2015, Han also never filed corporate or individual tax returns. In 2016, Han is alleged to have filed corporate and individual tax returns, but they were false in that he underreported HBH’s gross receipts for each of the calendar years from 2012 through 2015 by approximately $5,184,450. His alleged criminal conduct resulted in a tax loss of approximately $1,771,550.
“Heng Han’s alleged scheme to enrich himself victimized honest American taxpayers and business owners who pay their tax obligations,” U.S. Attorney Williams said. “Over years, he caused the IRS to lose millions of dollars in tax revenue. This type of fraud will be aggressively investigated and prosecuted by this Office.”
“Employment tax fraud is a serious crime that hurts honest employees as well as the United States Treasury,” said Yury Kruty, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Philadelphia field Office for IRS-Criminal Investigation. “Because of the detrimental impact this type of misconduct has on the American taxpayers, investigating employment tax fraud will continue to be a priority for the special agents of IRS-CI.”
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 22 years in prison and a $420,000 fine. The defendant may also be responsible for the full amount of the taxes due, in addition to the payment of penalties and interest to the Internal Revenue Service.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anita Eve.
Brooklyn Residents Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Commit Arson in Connection with Burning of NYPD Homeless Outreach Unit VehicleRead the Press Release
Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that COREY SMITH and ELAINE CARBERRY pled guilty to conspiring to burn a marked New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) Homeless Outreach Unit van in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York, New York, in July 2020. SMITH and CARBERRY pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman, to whom the case is assigned.
U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss stated: “As they admitted in court today, Corey Smith and Elaine Carberry committed arson, deliberately setting fire to an NYPD van, then minutes later returning to the vehicle and – once again using an accelerant – ensuring its complete destruction. Now Smith and Carberry await sentencing for their willful and wanton destruction of a law enforcement vehicle that had been used for outreach to homeless New Yorkers.”
According to the allegations in the Indictment and other documents filed in federal court, as well as statements made in public court proceedings:
On July 15, 2020, shortly after 4:30 a.m., SMITH and CARBERRY set a marked NYPD Homeless Outreach Unit van (“NYPD Van”) on the northwest corner of 12th Street and University Place on fire using ignitable liquid. More specifically, as surveillance footage shows, as SMITH walked by the NYPD Van, CARBERRY handed SMITH a bottle filled with ignitable liquid and SMITH attempted to set fire to the NYPD Van. After seeing that the NYPD Van was not fully engulfed in flames, CARBERRY again handed SMITH the bottle of ignitable liquid and SMITH circled back to the NYPD Van with more accelerant, and set it ablaze once more, thereby assuring the complete destruction of the NYPD Van.
An analysis of the materials found in the NYPD Van confirmed the presence of an accelerant. The Fire Department of the City of New York (“FDNY”) ultimately confirmed that the fire was deliberately set as an act of arson, resulting in the complete destruction of the NYPD Van.
* * *
CARBERRY, 37, and SMITH, 25, both of Brooklyn, New York, each pled guilty to one count of conspiring to commit arson, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. In connection with their guilty pleas, both defendants admitted their roles in the arson. CARBERRY is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Liman on January 5, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. SMITH is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Liman on January 11, 2022, at 2:00 p.m.
The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants would be determined by the judge.
Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York City Arson and Explosion Task Force of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the NYPD, and the FDNY.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Christy Slavik is in charge of the prosecution.
Bronx Gang Member Convicted of Shooting 12-Year-Old in PlaygroundRead the Press Release
Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that a jury returned a guilty verdict today against NICHOLAS JOSEPH, a/k/a “Gotti,” a/k/a “Finesse,” on five counts in a Superseding Indictment, including charges of racketeering conspiracy, violent crimes in aid of racketeering, and firearms offenses. JOSEPH is scheduled to be sentenced on January 5, 2022, by U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel, who presided over the seven-day trial.
U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “Nicholas Joseph participated in a violent gang for years and carried out a shooting in a playground next to an elementary school, seriously injuring a 12-year-old child. Now convicted of his crimes, Joseph will no longer be able to inflict harm on the people of this city. We continue our daily work with our law enforcement partners to keep our communities safe by vigorously investigating and prosecuting acts of gang violence.”
According to the Superseding Indictment and the evidence at trial:
Between in or about 2014 and in or about December 2020, JOSEPH was a member and associate of the Castle Hill Crew, a racketeering enterprise that operated principally in the Castle Hill Houses in the Soundview neighborhood of the Bronx. In order to enrich the enterprise, preserve and protect the power of the enterprise, and enhance its criminal operations, Castle Hill Crew members and associates committed, conspired, attempted, and threatened to commit acts of violence, including murder; distributed and possessed with intent to distribute narcotics; engaged in fraud; and obtained, possessed, and used firearms.
On or about November 19, 2015, JOSEPH and others stabbed a rival gang member in the head and back.
On or about April 28, 2017, JOSEPH shot at rival gang members in the vicinity of the Story Playground in the Bronx, New York, during which a 12-year-old child playing basketball in the park was injured.
In addition, on or about July 10, 2020, and in or around November 2020 and December 2020, JOSEPH illegally possessed firearms and ammunition.
* * *
JOSEPH, 23, was convicted on five counts: (1) racketeering conspiracy, which carries a maximum prison term of 20 years; (2) attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon in aid of racketeering, which carries a maximum prison term of 20 years; (3) using and carrying a firearm during, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a crime of violence, which carries a mandatory consecutive prison term of 10 years and a maximum prison term of life; and (4) two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, each of which carries a maximum prison term of 10 years.
The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.
Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York City Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the New York City Department of Investigation.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew K. Chan, Celia V. Cohen, Emily A. Johnson, and Justin V. Rodriguez, and paralegal specialist Victoria Bosah, are in charge of the prosecution.
Bowling Green Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Bowling Green, KY – A Bowling Green man was sentenced on September 14, 2021, by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Greg Stivers, to 15 years in federal prison, followed by a 5 year period of supervised release for trafficking in methamphetamine and the illegal possession of a firearm. There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court documents, Charleslenzo Sanchez Williams, 38 years of age, was found on January 13, 2020, in the possession of, with the intent to distribute, over 50 grams of methamphetamine, in possession of a firearm having been previously convicted of a felony offense, and in possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. On September 9, 2020, Mr. Williams was indicted on three counts arising from his drug trafficking activities. On June 8, 2021, Mr. Williams entered a plea of guilty to all counts of the Indictment.
“The work of the Warren County Drug Task Force and the ATF in this case demonstrates the nature of state and federal law enforcement cooperation in our district,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett. “Our citizens are safer as a result of the combined efforts of our state and federal partners who work tirelessly every day fighting violent crime.”
“Drug dealers with guns are criminals who pose an increased threat to the safety of our communities,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge R. Shawn Morrow of the Louisville Field Division. “Today’s sentencing is the result of an ongoing commitment by ATF to work with our law enforcement partners to make our communities safer for everyone.”
“This case is another example of Federal, State and Local law enforcement working together to unburden the community of armed career criminal drug traffickers.” Stated Warren County Drug Task Force Director Tommy M. Loving. “More and more we see drug traffickers armed and increased violence connected to drug trafficking activities. We appreciate the great partnership with the United States Attorney’s Office in Bowling Green.”
The Bowling Green ATF and the Warren County Drug Task Force investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mac Shannon prosecuted the case.
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This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Bedford Man Who Ignited Bomb Near Bridge SentencedRead the Press Release
A man who detonated an explosive device under a bridge in Bedford, Texas has been sentenced to 46 months in federal prison, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah.
Nicholas Lloyd Nelson, 38, pleaded guilty in June to possession of a destructive device. He was sentenced earlier this month by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor.
According to court documents, law enforcement responded to an explosion in Bedford, Texas at 4:35 p.m. on April 7, 2021.
Upon arriving at the scene, bomb technicians saw a crater beneath a bridge on Forest Ridge Drive. Next to the crater, they observed explosive components, including a speaker wire and container debris. They also found an un-detonated explosive device along the roadway and performed a controlled detonation.
Witnesses told law enforcement they’d noticed a young, white man emerge from under the bridge just after the explosion. Based on their descriptions and prior experience with the defendants, officers located Mr. Nelson.
At his home, they found components that could be used to assemble explosive devices. They also identified Mr. Nelson in dozens of YouTube videos posted by the account “Improvised Chaos” that showed him manufacturing and detonating explosive devices.
In plea papers, Mr. Nelson admitted to detonating the unregistered device under the bridge. In interviews, he told law enforcement he’d constructed the bombs with potassium perchlorate, an substance commonly used in pyrotechnics, munitions, and explosives.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office and the Bedford Police Department conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Bedford Fire Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Weimer prosecuted the case.
Baltimore Career Offender Sentenced to Life in Prison for His Role in the Murder of a Baltimore Woman Believed to be a Witness in a Federal CaseRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel sentenced Clifton Mosley, age 43, of Baltimore, Maryland to four life terms in federal prison for two counts of conspiracy to murder a witness and one count each of witness retaliation murder and witness tampering murder, related to the murder of Latrina Ashburne, age 41, on May 27, 2016. Mosley was also convicted of a federal marijuana distribution charge for which he was sentenced to a concurrent five-year sentence.
A federal jury in Baltimore convicted Mosley and co-defendant, Davon Carter, age 41, also of Baltimore, on January 29, 2020, after a three-week trial.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General; Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.
“Clifton Mosley and Davon Carter not only attempted to disrupt our justice system, they also took the life of an innocent woman from Baltimore. The loss of Latrina Ashburne is a tragedy and a deep loss to her family and to the community, and those responsible will now spend the remainder of their lives in federal prison,” said Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner. “As demonstrated by this case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement team will never cease to aggressively pursue and hold accountable those who attempt to harm or intimidate witnesses.”
According to the evidence presented at their three-week trial, Carter and Mosley conspired to kill a witness who had provided information to law enforcement about a good friend of Carter’s, Matthew Hightower. In June 2015, Hightower was charged federally in a health care fraud scheme. While on release in the health care fraud case, the federal grand jury began investigating crimes of violence for which Hightower was implicated, including the murder of David Wutoh. In July or August 2015, Hightower learned the identity of the health care fraud whistleblower (the witness) who also had incriminating information against him relating to the Wutoh murder. Contrary to his release conditions, he began communicating with witnesses who had been in the grand jury. All the while, Carter and Mosley remained in frequent and regular contact with Hightower.
On April 19, 2016, the grand jury returned a sealed superseding indictment against Hightower charging both Hightower and Harry Crawford with extortion and using interstate facilities for extortion resulting in the death (murder) of David Wutoh. Ten days later, the government filed a motion requesting revocation of Hightower’s release conditions based on the new charges and his prohibited contact with grand jury witnesses. The motion was granted on May 4, 2016 and Hightower was detained. Hightower was ultimately convicted of extortion resulting in Wutoh’s murder by a federal jury on September 22, 2016, after a seven-day trial and was sentenced to 380 months in federal prison.
The evidence at trial proved that on May 27, 2016, Ms. Ashburne was murdered in the early morning as she got into her car outside the home she shared with her mother in the 2900 block of Rosalind Avenue in Baltimore’s Cylburn neighborhood. A neighbor reported that an unknown male approached and shot Ms. Ashburne in the upper body as she tried to run. She was not robbed. At the time, the police also released a video they said showed the suspect running away from the scene.
The witness targeted by Hightower lived next door to Ms. Ashburne, the murder victim. The witness contacted law enforcement to report the murder and that she believed she was the intended target. The investigation showed that Mosley’s phone was in the area at the time of the murder and in contact with Carter’s phone. In addition, vehicles owned by the mother of Carter’s girlfriend and by Hightower were captured on surveillance video driving slowly through the area as if the driver were looking for someone. The evidence at trial established that Carter and Mosley each drove one of the vehicles and that the two men were in contact with one another both the night before the murder and in the early morning hours before the shooting. The evidence at trial also showed that Mosley searched a public court database on May 26 in a possible effort to confirm a court appearance for the witness on May 27, therefore, giving an approximate time when the witness would leave her home the morning of the shooting. Ms. Ashburne left her home at or about the same anticipated time, resulting in her mistaken execution.
Davon Carter was previously sentenced to four life terms in federal prison for two counts of conspiracy to murder a witness and one count each of witness retaliation murder and witness tampering murder on May 20, 2021.
Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended the HHS-OIG, the FBI, the Baltimore County Police Department, the Baltimore Police Department, and the ATF for their work in the investigation. Mr. Lenzner thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sandra Wilkinson and Kim Oldham, who are prosecuting the case and also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Judson T. Mihok and Aaron S.J. Zelinsky, who prosecuted the Hightower case, for their assistance.
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Babb woman admits trafficking crime after receiving methamphetamineRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS – A Babb woman accused of receiving nearly one pound of methamphetamine mailed to Babb, on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, admitted to a drug trafficking crime today, Acting U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said.
Regina Ann Peters, 51, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute meth. Peters faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. Chief Judge Morris set sentencing for Jan. 20, 2022. Peters was released pending further proceedings.
The government alleged in court documents that in October 2020, law enforcement received information about a package of methamphetamine mailed to Peters in Babb from Arizona. Officers made a controlled delivery of the package at the Babb post office, and Peters picked up the package. Officers approached Peters outside of the post office and explained their suspicions. Peters agreed to open the package and admitted it contained meth. Peters admitted to knowing about the meth in the package when she went to pick it up and that she had planned to deliver it to another person in Montana. The package contained about 438 grams of meth, or a little less than one pound. One pound is the equivalent of 3,624 doses.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan R. Plaut is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, United States Postal Inspection Service, the Russell Country Drug Task Force, the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force, and Montana Highway Patrol.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative to reduce violent crime. Through PSN, federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement partners in Montana focus on violent crime driven by methamphetamine trafficking, armed robbers, firearms offenses and violent offenders with outstanding warrants.
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American Ex-Pat Pleads Guilty to Panamanian Wire Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – Jeffrey Jedlicki (51, Panama City, Panama) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in the operation of international boiler rooms which defrauded victims via the sale of worthless investments. Jedlicki faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not been set.
According to the plea agreement, Jedlicki and his co-conspirators operated international boiler rooms in Panama and elsewhere that used high-pressure sales techniques to defraud individuals who invested substantial amounts of money in what they believed were regulated financial products or markets, such as options in commodities and stocks. The majority of the victims that the boiler rooms targeted were located in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
Jedlicki and his co-conspirators then transferred fraud proceeds generated by the boiler rooms through several money laundering rings, and then on to overseas accounts, with the launderers receiving a percentage of the funds they had moved. Jedlicki himself received a 2% referral fee for referring victims’ funds to a money laundering ring. Jedlicki used the funds to perpetuate the conspiracy, and for his own personal enrichment. In total, Jedlicki and his co-conspirators wired or caused to be wired approximately $3,244,592 (U.S. Dollars) in victims’ funds to money laundering accounts in furtherance of the wire fraud conspiracy.
This case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations, and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David W.A. Chee.
Alleged Drug Cartel Leader ChargedRead the Press Release
Director of Media Relations Kelly Thornton (619) 546-9726
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – September 22, 2021
SAN DIEGO – A federal grand jury indictment was unsealed in San Diego today against alleged Mexican cartel leader Sergio Valenzuela Valenzuela in connection with his drug trafficking activities. Valenzuela Valenzuela was also the target of sanctions imposed today by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
The indictment, returned on September 28, 2018, charges Valenzuela Valenzuela with Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances Intended for Importation, Conspiracy to Import Controlled Substances, and Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances. On September 28, 2018, the Clerk of the Court issued a sealed warrant for his arrest. Valenzuela Valenzuela remains a fugitive.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) identified Sergio Valenzuela Valenzuela as a Significant Foreign Narcotics Trafficker pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act). Please see https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0367.
Based in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, Valenzuela Valenzuela is alleged to be a Sinaloa Cartel plaza boss who traffics fentanyl and other drugs and operates at the direction of Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael Zambada Garcia (a.k.a. “El Mayo”). Valenzuela Valenzuela allegedly leads a poly-drug smuggling organization responsible for the transportation and importation of multi-ton quantities of illicit drugs, including methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl, from Mexico into the United States.
In addition to Valenzuela Valenzuela, OFAC also designated seven other Mexican nationals for providing material assistance to Valenzuela Valenzuela. Specifically, the individuals include Valenzuela Valenzuela’s right-hand man, Leonardo Pineda Armenta, who is responsible for directing operations for him, and six cartel lieutenants who ultimately report to Valenzuela Valenzuela: Gilberto Martinez Renteria, Jaime Humberto Gonzalez Higuera, Jorge Damian Roman Figueroa, Luis Alberto Carrillo Jimenez, Meliton Rochin Hurtado, and Miguel Raymundo Marrufo Cabrera. Additionally, OFAC designated two companies in Mexico for being owned or controlled by Rochin Hurtado and Marrufo Cabrera. Specifically, they are Acuaindustria Narciso Mendoza, S.C. de R.L. de C.V. and Club Indios Rojos de Juarez, S.A. de C.V.
“This indictment and the Treasury Department sanctions announced today demonstrate that the Department of Justice, along with its law enforcement partners, will continue to target Sinaloa Cartel kingpins who import massive amounts of illegal drugs into the United States,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Randy S. Grossman. Grossman praised Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Sutton, the DEA case agents and all law enforcement partners for their excellent work on this case.
Acting U.S. Attorney Grossman also thanked Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Enforcement Operations and the Office of International Affairs, and the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for their ongoing assistance in this investigation.
“The DEA will continue to put forth extensive resources to target members of the Sinaloa Cartel, such as Sergio Valenzuela-Valenzuela, who allegedly flood our country with their poisonous drugs,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge John W. Callery. “This indictment, along with the recent OFAC designation of Valenzuela-Valenzuela and his Sinaloa Cartel associates, is testament that DEA’s targeted financial operations against this cartel are working and will negatively impact their operations.”
This prosecution is also part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Sutton.
DEFENDANT Case Number: 18CR04222-DMS
Sergio Valenzuela Valenzuela, aka Gigio Age: 52 Sinaloa, 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 five years supervised release.
Conspiracy to Import Controlled Substances, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §§ 952, 960 and 963. Term of custody including a mandatory minimum 10 years and up to life imprisonment, $10 million fine and five years supervised release.
Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846. Term of custody including a mandatory minimum 10 years and up to life imprisonment, $10 million fine and five years supervised release.
AGENCIES
Drug Enforcement Administration
Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations
Customs and Border Protection Office of Border Patrol
United States Marshals Service
Department of Justice, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces
Department of Justice, Office of Enforcement Operations
Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs
Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Asset Control
Oceanside Police Department
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department
National City Police Department
Chula Vista Police Department
San Diego Police Department
San Diego County District Attorney’s Office
San Diego Law Enforcement Coordination Center
Interpol
*An indictment or complaint is not evidence that the defendant committed the crimes charged. The defendant is presumed innocent until the Government meets its burden in court of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah Announces DepartureRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Prerak Shah announced today that he will be resigning from the Justice Department effective October 1.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve the 8 million people of North Texas as Acting United States Attorney,” Mr. Shah said. “I was privileged to work with not only the best federal prosecutors in the nation, but to work side-by-side with peerless federal, state, and local law enforcement partners. I am proud to have played a part in this office’s proud legacy of pursuing justice and liberty for all.”
Mr. Shah was named the Acting United States Attorney on January 10, 2021, after previously serving as the First Assistant United States Attorney. The Northern District covers 100 counties, more than 96,000 square miles, and a population of approximately eight million people. Mr. Shah led a staff of approximately 250 people across five division offices and was responsible for all federal criminal prosecutions and civil litigation involving the United States in his district. Under his leadership, the office advanced a number of Justice Department priorities, from violent crime and cybersecurity to corporate fraud and False Claims Act enforcement.
Mr. Shah’s team prosecuted a would-be bomber allegedly plotting to attack Amazon, brought down an $18 million pill mill scheme, and secured a conviction against a real estate developer for bribing two members of the Dallas City Council. The office also successfully tried a trade school owner for operating a $72 million fraud scheme, convicted two men who concealed a capital murder suspect who was on the FBI’s “10 Most Wanted” list, prosecuted an ADT technician for hacking into over 200 customers’ video feeds, and obtained over $22 million through a deferred prosecution agreement with a multinational medical device corporation. They expanded their partnerships with state and local law enforcement, resulting in several successful multi-agency operations that have helped stem the rise of violent crime in North Texas.
The office ran a number of investigations involving cryptocurrency, including extraditing a Serbian national charged with duping crypto investors out of $70 million, obtaining a five-year sentence for the founder of “AriseCoin” for securities fraud, and convicting a man going by the moniker “Dr. Bitcoin” for an illegal cash-to-crypto scheme.
On the civil side, the Northern District resolved a number of False Claims Act matters, including securing a $3.3 million settlement from a hospital, obtaining a $3.1 million settlement from dental management companies, and filing a case against a dermatopathologist who allegedly accepted kickbacks from a lab company.
Prior to serving as Acting U.S. Attorney, Mr. Shah held multiple senior leadership roles at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., including Deputy Associate Attorney General in the office overseeing the civil and criminal work of the Department’s Antitrust, Civil, Civil Rights, Environment & Natural Resources, and Tax divisions. He also served as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department’s Natural Resources Section, directly supervising approximately 75 trial lawyers in high profile environmental investigations and trials across the country. Before joining the Justice Department, Mr. Shah served as chief of staff and chief counsel to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and served as the Senior Counsel to the Attorney General of Texas.
Mr. Shah is looking forward to his next chapter, in private practice in Texas.
Tuesday 21 September 2021
Worcester Dental Office Manager Pleads Guilty to Role in Medicaid Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Worcester woman pleaded guilty today to her participation in a scheme to defraud the Massachusetts Medicaid program, commonly known as MassHealth.
Robin Cronin, 58, of Worcester, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of health care fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman scheduled sentencing for Jan. 21, 2022.
In January 2020, Cronin was indicted along with Dr. Anthony DiStefano III and Dr. Scott Cale, dentists practicing in Worcester, for their roles in the Medicaid Fraud scheme.
According to the indictment, from 2014 to 2018, dental services that DiStefano personally delivered were billed to MassHealth using Cale’s provider identification credentials. The purpose of this arrangement was to deceive MassHealth into paying for dental services that were not reimbursable as DiStefano had previously been terminated from the MassHealth provider program over concerns regarding the quality of care he provided to patients. Cale then allegedly paid DiStefano a share of the money that MassHealth paid Cale. Cronin, DiStefano’s office manager, was aware of the arrangement and personally billed MassHealth for services that were not reimbursable, knowing that the claims were false.
DiStefano and Cale have pleaded not guilty and are considered innocent until proven guilty.
The charges of health care fraud and conspiracy to commit health care fraud provide for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey; Phillip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations; and Joleen D. Simpson, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Evan Panich and Chris Looney of Mendell’s Office, as well as Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Lownds, detailed from Healey’s Office, are prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Wisconsin Man Sentenced to a Decade in Federal Prison for Supplying Stolen Firearms to Dubuque Drug DealerRead the Press Release
A Wisconsin man, who burglarized a residence during the summer of 2016 and then supplied some of the stolen firearms to a Dubuque drug dealer, was sentenced on September 20, 2021, to ten years in federal prison.
Shiloh Michael Wolf, age 23, from Montfort, Wisconsin, received the prison term after a March 17, 2021 guilty plea to one count of possession, barter, and sale of a stolen firearm.
In a plea agreement, Wolf admitted that, in July 2016, he burglarized a residence in Bagley, Wisconsin, and stole ten pistols and revolvers, as well as about 800 rounds of ammunition. Wolf was a methamphetamine dealer who targeted the pistols and revolvers in the burglary because he wanted to steal firearms that would be helpful in the drug trade. Later in the summer of 2016, Wolf traded five of the firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition to another methamphetamine dealer in Dubuque, Iowa, for cash and methamphetamine.
Over the course of the next several years, Iowa law enforcement officers discovered a number of felons and drug users in possession of the firearms that Wolf had stolen in the burglary:
In August 2016, law enforcement officers searched Jordan Dakota Ness’s home in Dubuque and discovered a revolver and a pistol that Wolf had stolen in the burglary. Ness was a felon. In May 2021, Ness was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison.
In November 2016, law enforcement officers found a pistol that Wolf had stolen in the burglary during a search of a car that an unlawful drug user, felon, and domestic abuser, Jeremy Michael Kieffer, was operating in Dubuque. In June 2017, Kieffer was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for possessing the pistol illegally.
In January 2019, law enforcement officers recovered a pistol that Wolf had stolen in the possession of an unlawful drug user, John David Orr III, in Dubuque. In October 2019, Orr was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison.
Two other firearms that Wolf stole in the burglary were discovered during a roadside cleanup in Linn County, Iowa, and following an incident in Clinton, Iowa. The other firearms remain at large.
Wolf was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Wolf was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment. He was ordered to make $6,000 in restitution the victim of the burglary. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Wolf is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Dubuque Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-CR-1003.
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United States Reaches $842,500 Settlement with Two Public Universities and the North Carolina Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service to Resolve Alleged False Claims for AmeriCorps FundsRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney G. Norman Acker, III, and AmeriCorps OIG today announced settlements with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (“UNC-CH”), East Carolina University (“ECU”), and the North Carolina Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service (“NCCV”) requiring the total payment of $842,500 to the United States for alleged false claims for AmeriCorps grant funds.
AmeriCorps’ mission is to strengthen communities through community service, and this includes providing grant funds for salaries and various school programs. AmeriCorps provided grant funds as student education awards to UNC-CH and ECU students based upon UNC-CH and ECU certifications of service hours, as well as funds directly to NCCV for salaries of certain employees who oversaw AmeriCorps programs.
In exchange for these grant funds, UNC-CH, ECU, and NCCV agreed to comply with grant requirements and regulations, including certifying hours worked for AmeriCorps programs and maintaining internal controls. UNC-CH and ECU were expressly required to provide certifications for hours worked for student education awards (including for the mentoring, tutoring, and college-bound advising programs at issue). NCCV was expressly required to provide certifications for the separate hours worked by employees paid under the AmeriCorps grants.
Based on its investigation, the United States contends that UNC-CH, ECU, and NCCV caused false certifications for service hours worked and related violations of grant requirements in connection with grant funds paid from 2014 through 2019. The United States contends that these actions constituted a misuse of grant funds and harmed AmeriCorps programs.
The United States specifically contends that UNC-CH and ECU engaged in widespread violations of grant requirements, acted with reckless disregard in causing false claims, failed to maintain proper internal controls, and systematically certified false hours for AmeriCorps Members, including taking mere seconds to electronically approve hours falsely claimed to be worked on holidays and weekends, and excessive hours claimed toward the end of school years. For example, the investigation uncovered certifications of 16-hour days, which were beyond available service site hours that were typically weekdays on school schedules, unless approved by a supervisor.
The United States further contends that NCCV acted with reckless disregard in making false claims and causing false certifications for employee salaries to administer AmeriCorps programs, failed to maintain certifications, timesheets, and documentation for the separate AmeriCorps work of NCCV employees as required, and failed to maintain proper internal controls, such as allowing one employee to work under two overlapping grant awards and another employee to not provide the required monthly certification for over two years.
UNC-CH, ECU, and NCCV agreed to pay $375,000, $140,000, and $327,500, respectively, to the United States to resolve these claims.
“These settlements demonstrate our firm commitment to protect taxpayer money and to guard the integrity of federal grant programs,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Acker. “Universities, state agencies, and all those seeking federal funds are required to make honest claims for payment. Those who do not will be held accountable. Our office will zealously pursue damages and civil penalties where warranted, and notes that cooperation was a key factor in determining an appropriate resolution in this case.”
“These AmeriCorps programs were meant to support at-risk and low-income youth academically. Instead, the universities and agency involved here ran them in a way that allowed participants to falsify their timesheets, and robbed North Carolina communities of the assistance they were supposed to receive,” said AmeriCorps Inspector General Deborah Jeffrey. “We and our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina will vigorously pursue any such frauds.”
It should be noted that the civil claims resolved by settlements here are allegations only, and that there has been no judicial determination or admission of liability. UNC-CH, ECU, and NCCV deny these allegations and cooperated in resolving these claims.
Assistant United States Attorney Neal Fowler represented the United States in this civil action. The investigation was conducted by the AmeriCorps Office of Inspector General, including Counsel Stephen Ravas and Special Agents Jessica Nelson and Joy Cuffee.
Two from Los Angeles Stopped by State Police are Indicted on Drug Charges following HSI InvestigationRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA- Two residents of Los Angeles, California, have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh, PA on charges of violating federal narcotics laws, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.
The two-count Indictment names Gabriel A. Garcia, age 26, and Alvaro Medina Elenes, age 44, as defendants.
According to the Indictment, on or about May 26, 2021, Garcia and Elenes did knowingly, intentionally, and unlawfully conspire to and did possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and 400 grams or more of fentanyl.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than ten years in prison and up to life, a fine not to exceed $10,000,000, and a term of supervised release of at least five years. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca L. Silinski is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Pennsylvania State Police conducted the traffic stop leading to the seizure of the controlled substances and special agents with Homeland Security Investigations 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.
Two Members of the Mount Vernon Goonies Street Gang Sentenced to Federal Prison for the Murder of 13-Year-Old Innocent BystanderRead the Press Release
Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that DAVID HARDY, a/k/a “Mooka,” was sentenced to 372 months in prison for the 2016 murder of Shamoya McKenzie and his participation in a 2012 shooting. In July 2021, codefendant MARQUIS COLLIER was sentenced to 324 months in prison for his participation in the McKenzie murder and the affairs of the Goonies gang. COLLIER and HARDY previously pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Nelson S. Román, who imposed COLLIER’s and HARDY’s sentences.
U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “Nothing can undo the senseless killing of Shamoya McKenzie, an innocent young woman, or the trauma experienced by her mother, who witnessed it. Justice requires that those responsible be held accountable, as Marquis Collier and now David Hardy have been. Rightly, both will spend decades in federal prison for their crimes.”
According to allegations in the Indictment and other documents filed in federal court, as well as statements made in public court proceedings:
Between 2007 and 2017, in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere, HARDY, COLLIER, JERMAINE HUGHLEY, and SINCERE SAVOY were members of a racketeering enterprise known as the “Goonies.” In order to fund the enterprise, protect and expand its interests, and promote its standing, members and associates of the Goonies committed, conspired, attempted, and threatened to commit acts of violence, including murder, attempted murder and robbery; they conspired to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute narcotics; and they obtained, possessed, and used firearms, including by brandishing and firing them.
The Goonies have been engaged in a long-standing and violent feud with several rival Mount Vernon street gangs, including, among others, the “Boss Playa Family,” the “Get Money Gangstas,” the “Gunnas,” and the “Much Better Gang,” among others. On December 31, 2016, HARDY, COLLIER, HUGHLEY, and SAVOY attempted to murder a rival gang member in broad daylight by firing multiple shots at him in the vicinity of Tecumseh Avenue and Third Street in Mount Vernon, New York. HARDY fired the shots, with COLLIER at his side. The rival gang member suffered gunshot wounds but survived. One of the bullets, however, missed the intended target and struck the head of 13-year-old Shamoya McKenzie, who was in the front passenger seat of a passing car, which was being driven by her mother. Shamoya McKenzie died as a result.
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HARDY, 26, pled guilty to one count of using a firearm in connection with the murder of Shamoya McKenzie in aid of racketeering and one count of using a firearm in connection with an assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering for committing a separate shooting in 2012 in furtherance of the Goonies. In addition to the prison term, Hardy was also sentenced to five years of supervised release.
COLLIER, 29, pled guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of discharging a firearm in connection with the murder of Shamoya McKenzie in aid of racketeering. In addition to the prison term, Collier was also sentenced to five years of supervised release.
HUGHLEY and SAVOY are awaiting sentencing.
HUGHLEY, 28, pled guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of discharging a firearm in connection with the murder of Shamoya McKenzie in aid of racketeering. Together, the crimes carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, and a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison.
SAVOY, 24, pled guilty to one count of using a firearm in connection with the murder of Shamoya McKenzie in aid of racketeering, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.
Ms. Strauss thanked the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office for their extraordinary cooperation and assistance with this case, and praised the outstanding investigative work of the Mount Vernon Police Department and the FBI’s Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force, which comprises agents and detectives from the FBI, Yonkers Police Department, Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, Westchester County Police Department, Peekskill Police Department, Mount Vernon Police Department, New York City Police Department, and U.S. Probation.
The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Sarah Krissoff and Anden Chow are in charge of the prosecution.
Two Florida Tax Preparers Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud the United StatesRead the Press Release
Two Florida tax preparers pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and preparing false tax returns.
According to court documents, Nikency Alexis owned and operated Unity Tax & Financial Services, a return preparation business in Broward County. From 2011 through at least 2016, Alexis and Thony Guillaume, a return preparer at Unity Tax, conspired to defraud the IRS by preparing returns for clients that fraudulently increased their clients’ tax refunds. The returns falsely claimed business and education expenses that the clients did not in fact incur. Alexis also made false statements on his own personal income tax returns. In total, the defendants caused an intended tax loss to the IRS of $2,879,078.
Guillaume pleaded guilty today and Alexis pleaded guilty on Sept. 14. Both are scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 30. Both defendants face a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy charge and three years in prison on the filing false tax returns charges. In addition, the defendants face a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzales for the Southern District of Florida made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Matthew Hicks of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Deric Zacca of the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Texas man sentenced to 18 years in prison for deadly robberyRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Daniel Gonzales, 33, of Hereford, Texas, was sentenced in federal court on Sept. 20 to 18 years in prison for armed robbery and possession, brandishing and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime resulting in death.
According to his plea agreement and other court records, on February 1, 2018, Gonzales and others, including co-defendant Daniel Martinez, 34, drove to a gas station in Edgewood, New Mexico, intending to rob it. Gonzales entered the gas station kiosk and took money from the counter while pointing a pistol at the attendant. The attendant followed Gonzales out of the kiosk and attempted to grab him, when a gunshot from inside Gonzales’ vehicle struck and killed the attendant. Gonzales, Martinez and the others in the vehicle fled.
Martinez is still awaiting trial. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Upon his release from prison, Gonzales will be subject to three years of supervised release.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the New Mexico State Police investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec prosecuted the case.
Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico gang member found guilty in cold case federal murder trialRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – On Sept. 16, a federal jury in Las Cruces, New Mexico, found Angel DeLeon, 43, of Mexico, guilty of murder. DeLeon will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.
According to court records, DeLeon, along with Joe Lawrence Gallegos, 52, and Edward Troup, 50, killed another inmate, identified as “FC,” in the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility (“SNMCF”) in Doña Ana County, New Mexico on March 26, 2001, by using a cord from a laundry bag to strangle him. Another inmate, identified in court records as “RG,” was also killed by strangulation at SNMCF on that same date. The killings were carried out on the orders of Billy “Wild Bill” Garcia, 66, of Albuquerque, acting in his capacity as a leader of the Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico (SNM) prison gang.
Garcia, Troup and Gallegos were found guilty on May 25, 2018. Garcia was sentenced to life in prison on June 11, 2019. Troup was sentenced to life in prison on Nov. 6, 2018. Gallegos was sentenced to life in prison on April 21, 2020.
DeLeon, a Mexican national, was arrested on October 4, 2019, after being extradited from Mexico to the United States for trial. DeLeon faces life in prison.
The SNM is an ultra-violent criminal organization whose members, prospects and associates engage in acts of violence and other criminal activities, including murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to manufacture and distribute narcotics. Members have admitted in court that the organization engages in racketeering activity.
The FBI, the New Mexico State Police, and the New Mexico Corrections Department investigated this case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing DeLeon’s arrest and extradition from Mexico. Assistant United States Attorneys from the Las Cruces branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico prosecuted the case.
St. Louis woman sentenced for embezzling funds from local unionRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – United States District Judge Matthew T. Schelp sentenced Yvette Luster to 18 months in prison today. The defendant had previously pleaded guilty in May to embezzlement.
Luster was an employee of Postal Mail Handlers Local 314 labor union. From in or about January 2016 through in or about April of 2020, Luster was an employee of Postal Mail Handlers Local 314 labor union, acting as the local chapter’s Treasurer. In her capacity as Treasurer, Luster had access to Local 314’s bank account. Luster made over 200 unauthorized withdrawals from the union’s bank account for personal expenditures, such as flights and meals for herself and family members unrelated to the business and operations of Local 314. In total, Luster embezzled over $184,000.00 from the union.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Department of Labor’s Office of Labor Management Standards.
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Six Allegheny County Residents Indicted on Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – Six residents of Allegheny County have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of violating federal narcotic laws, Acting United States Attorney Stephen Kaufman announced today.
The three count Indictment, returned on Sept. 14 and unsealed Sept. 16, named Leon C. Ford, 55, formerly of Pittsburgh, Frank McClellan, 52, formerly McKeesport, Kelly Lucy, 42, formerly of McKeesport, Michael Seyko, 53, formerly of McKeesport, Kimberly Rutland, 53, formerly of McKeesport, and Tyrone Binion, 62, formerly of Pittsburgh, as defendants.
According to the Indictment, from March 2021 through September 2021, Ford, McClellan, Lucy, Seyko and Binion did knowingly, intentionally, and unlawfully conspire with persons both known and unknown to the grand jury, to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, a Schedule II controlled substance. Additionally, McClellan and Lucy did knowingly, intentionally, and unlawfully conspire to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 280 grams of more of cocaine base, a Schedule II controlled substance. Finally, McClellan, Lucy, Rutland, and Seyko did knowingly, intentionally, and unlawfully conspire to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams of more of heroin, a Schedule I controlled substance.
For all defendants except for Rutland, the law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than 10 years in prison and up to life, a fine of no greater than $10,000,000.00, a term of supervised release of at least five years, or a combination thereof. For Rutland, the law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than five years in prison and up to 40, a fine of no greater than 5,000,000, a term of supervised release of at least four years, or a combination thereof. 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 Katherine C. Jordan is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, McKeesport Police Department, Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, Penn Hills Police Department, Allegheny County Police Department, City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, and Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case. This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Shooter Who Injured Two in Dallas Sentenced to 17+ Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A Dallas man who shot and injured two victims in Dallas has been sentenced to 17 ½ years in prison for a federal firearm offense, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Prerak Shah.
Quentin Alonso Cordova, 23, pleaded guilty in June to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced Tuesday to 210 months by Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn.
According to plea papers, Mr. Cordova – who has ten prior criminal convictions, including multiple felonies – admits that he committed two shootings in Dallas.
On Aug. 12, 2020, Mr. Cordova approached his first victim in the parking lot of a restaurant off Stemmons Freeway and shot the man in the leg with a 9mm Glock. He yanked a gold and diamond chain off the victim’s neck before fleeing the scene.
Two weeks later, on Aug. 28, 2020, Mr. Cordova approached his second victim in the parking lot of a cabaret on Reeder Road in Dallas. As the victim attempted to enter his vehicle, Mr. Cordova brandished a firearm and demanded that the victim turn over his belongings. When the victim attempted to flee, Mr. Cordova shot the man multiple times with another 9mm Glock, hitting him in the right arm and the right leg. The victim fell to the ground, and Mr. Cordova made off with his Rolex and a gold bracelet.
Using the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, or NIBIN, federal agents were able to link fired cartridge casings left at the scenes of the two shootings to the guns possessed by Mr. Cordova.
Mr. Cordova is also facing state charges for aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault on a security officer, burglary of a vehicle, unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, theft of property, and evading arrest.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ Dallas Field Division and the Dallas Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebekah Ricketts prosecuted the case.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this release erroniously stated the shooting on Reeder Road occurred on Aug. 20. It actually occurred on Aug. 28. Reporters were promptly notified of the error.