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2 November 2021
Mexican National Charged with Possessing Firearms, Methamphetamine in Checked Luggage at MSP AirportRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A federal criminal complaint has been filed against a Mexican national after TSA agents at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport found firearms and methamphetamine in his luggage, announced Acting United States Attorney W. Anders Folk.
According to court documents, on October 29, 2021, Kevin Alan Aguilar-Moreno, 20, attempted to board a Delta Airlines flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix, checking two suitcases prior to boarding. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening determined that Aguilar-Moreno’s luggage contained approximately one kilogram of methamphetamine; a FN, Model 509 9x19 pistol; a Rock Island Armory, 1911 A1-FS pistol; an AR-15 type firearm with no serial number; and 241 rounds of .223 ammunition, of which 39 were armor piercing ammunition. Law enforcement determined that the AR-15 type firearm is a privately made firearm (PMF). These firearms are commonly known as “ghost guns” because they do not have serial numbers, which makes them difficult for law enforcement to trace.
Aguilar-Moreno is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possessing firearms while illegally present in the United States. Aguilar-Moreno made his initial appearance earlier today before Magistrate Judge Becky R. Thorson in U.S. District Court.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, Transportation Security Administration, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Dunne is prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Massachusetts Woman Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug ChargeRead the Press Release
BANGOR, Maine: A Brighton, Massachusetts, woman pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Bangor to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee announced.
According to court records, between January 2017 and August 2018, Kimberly Tompkins, 52, and other members of the conspiracy distributed large quantities of methamphetamine in northern Maine. Tompkins coordinated multi-pound shipments of methamphetamine from a source in Arizona to conspirators who distributed it in Aroostook County. Members of the conspiracy sent thousands of dollars in cash to those sources in order to supply its drug trafficking enterprise.
Tompkins faces up to life in prison and a $10 million fine. She will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigative report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
“Aroostook County has seen a troubling increase in methamphetamine use, which law enforcement officials are taking seriously,” said U.S. Attorney McElwee. “If you, or someone you love, is struggling with such an addiction, please visit www.powerofprevention.org for the Aroostook County Substance Abuse Directory.”
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency investigated the case.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, 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.
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Massachusetts Resident Pleads Guilty to Attempted Enticement and Coercion of a MinorRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Bryan Krynicki, age 58, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, pled guilty today to attempting to coerce and entice a minor to engage in sexual acts with him. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
As part of his guilty plea, Krynicki admitted that, between February and April 2020, he exchanged over 1,000 sexually explicit messages online with an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old child in an attempt to entice the child into engaging in sexual acts with him. Krynicki also admitted that, on April 29, 2020, he traveled from Massachusetts to a prearranged meeting location in Rensselaer County, New York, with the intent to engage in sexual acts with the 14-year-old child that day.
In his plea agreement, Krynicki agreed to be sentenced to 120 months in prison. United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino will sentence him on March 2, 2022.
This case was investigated by the FBI and its Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rachel L. Williams as part of Project Safe Childhood.
Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Martin County Registered Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – A 47-year-old man has pled guilty in federal district court in Fort Pierce to production of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and committing a felony offense involving a minor while being required to register as a sex offender.
According to court records, Gernard Clark first came to the attention of law enforcement after a minor reported to a school resource officer that Clark had sexually battered her. Law enforcement investigated and discovered on the SD card of Clark’s cellular telephone more than 500 sexually explicit images and more than 40 sexually explicit videos of the minor female taken when she was between 14 and 15 years old. Clark was previously convicted of Lewd and Lascivious Indecent Act with a Child Under 16 Years of Age in the 19th Judicial Circuit of the State of Florida, Martin County and, as a result, was required to register as a sex offender.
U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg will sentence Clark on January 20, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. Clark faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 35 years and a total maximum sentence of 130 years, a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine per count.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami Field Office, announced the guilty plea.
FBI Miami, in particular, FBI Miami’s Child Exploitation Task Force, investigated this case, with the assistance of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey Bergstrom is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about the Project Safe Childhood initiative and for information regarding Internet safety, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-14015.
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Marshall County man sentenced for firearms violationRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Justin Michael Fuller, of Moundsville, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 18 months of incarceration for a firearms charge, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld II announced.
Fuller, age 34, pled guilty in October 2020 to one count of “Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.” Fuller, who is not permitted to have a firearm because of a prior conviction, admitted to having a 12-gauge shotgun and a 10mm pistol in Marshall County in May 2019.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn M. Adkins prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the West Virginia State Police, the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, and the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office investigated.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.
Mansfield Man Charged with Threatening VA EmployeeRead the Press Release
Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Brennan announced that a federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment charging Patrick J. Rose, 59, of Mansfield, Ohio, with one count of influencing a federal official by threat.
According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, on October 6, 2021, it is alleged that the defendant left a voicemail message at the Mansfield VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC), threatening to kill a VA employee.
The Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General (VA OIG) investigated the incident and determined that the defendant and a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Psychiatry at the Mansfield CBOC had a medical appointment together on October 4, 2021, during which the specialist decided to discontinue the defendant’s prescription for Diazepam. The defendant immediately became upset, allegedly threatened to “shoot somebody” and left the appointment.
Days later, on October 6, it is alleged that the defendant left a voicemail message on a phone at the CBOC threatening to harm the pharmacy specialist and “eliminate her whole family.” The defendant was later charged and arrested.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation.
In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum, and in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
This investigation was conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Cleveland VA Medical Center (VAMC) Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason W. White.
Manlius Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Distributing and Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Chester Hammond, age 45, of Manlius, New York, was sentenced today to serve 15 years in federal prison for distributing and possessing child pornography, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and New York State Police (NYSP) Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen.
As part of his previous guilty plea, Hammond admitted that while using a social media messaging application he sent an image depicting two children engaging in sexually explicit conduct to another individual over the internet. A subsequent search of Hammond’s cellular telephone revealed that he was in possession of over 400 images of child pornography. Hammond is a registered sex offender who was convicted in Oswego County in 1996 of Attempted Sexual Abuse in the First Degree.
Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy also imposed a 25-year term of supervised release, which will start after Hammond is released from prison, and ordered Hammond to pay a $200 special assessment and restitution in the amount of $12,000. Hammond will also be required to continue to register as a sex offender.
Hammond’s case was investigated by the FBI Syracuse Mid-State Child Exploitation Task Force, comprised of FBI Special Agents and Investigators of the New York State Police, Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), with assistance from the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey J. L. Brown as a part of Project Safe Childhood.
Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Manderson Man Sentenced for Abusive Sexual ContactRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Manderson, South Dakota, man convicted of Abusive Sexual Contact was sentenced on October 22, 2021, by Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.
Skyler Two Dogs, age 25, was sentenced to time served, five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Two Dogs was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2019. The charge related to Two Dogs engaging in sexual contact with a juvenile female at Pine Ridge in 2017.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Poppen prosecuted the case.
Local tax preparer charged with fraudulently filing tax returnsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A local man who had several offices in the Houston area is set to appear in federal court for allegedly filing false taxes for clients, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
The indictment, filed March 18, charges David Wright with 14 counts of aiding and assisting in preparation and filing of false income tax returns. He is set to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances Stacy at 10 a.m.
Wright operated tax preparation offices in Houston, according to the indictment. As part of his regular business, he allegedly created and placed fraudulent Schedule C items on client Form 1040s. This enabled clients to receive a higher tax refund, according to the charges.
As a result of his actions, Wright allegedly caused hundreds of thousand dollars of tax harm to the government.
If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison, and a possible $250,000 fine.
IRS-Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zahra Jivani Fenelon is prosecuting the case.
Little Eagle Woman Charged with Distribution of a Controlled Substance Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Little Eagle, South Dakota, woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Distribution of a Controlled Substance Resulting in Death.
Samantha Uses Arrow, age 28, was indicted on October 13, 2021. She appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on November 1, 2021, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is 20 years in federal prison and/or a $1,000,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on or about January 3, 2021, in Little Eagle, Uses Arrow knowingly and intentionally distributed a controlled substance to another person, and the distribution of the controlled substance resulted in that person’s death.
The charge is merely an accusation and Uses Arrow is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, Division of Drug Enforcement, the Mobridge Police Department, and the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook is prosecuting the case.
Uses Arrow was released on bond pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Leader of Wholesale Drug Distribution Network Pleads Guilty to Distributing Synthetic Cannabinoids and Laundering Millions in ProceedsRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Los Angeles man pleaded guilty today to being the head of a conspiracy involving the distribution of wholesale quantities of synthetic cannabinoids—commonly known as “spice” or “K2”—and laundering millions of dollars in the proceeds of the sale of that spice.
According to court documents, from 2017 through November 2019, Joseph Ruis, 56, was the leader of a Southern California-based wholesale spice manufacturing and distribution operation, along with co-defendants and sisters Kimberly Drumm, 52, and Bonnie Turner, 50, of Olive Branch, Mississippi. The illicit business presented as Aroma Superstore, and maintained a professional-looking website through which buyers around the country, including in the Eastern District of Virginia, could order packages of different varieties and flavors of spice.
The spice that Aroma Superstore sold almost uniformly contained chemicals listed as Schedule I controlled substances. The spice was sold in packages bearing the label “Not For Human Consumption” in an attempt to avoid regulatory or law enforcement scrutiny. The products were, in reality, intended to be consumed and induce a “high” similar to other controlled substances. The spice connected to this conspiracy caused an individual from New Hampshire to fatally overdose.
Ruis controlled the operation and employed several individuals, including Drumm and Turner, who helped run the business. Ruis ran Aroma Superstore like a legitimate business in many ways, such as maintaining an office, hiring a financial manager, and issuing regular paychecks to employees. Ruis dictated the prices of the different sizes of the packages of spice and employed at least two individuals to answer phone calls and take orders for spice.
Ruis, Drumm, and Turner concealed the proceeds of their spice distribution by moving the profits through a network of shell corporations. Ruis directed Turner, who had no criminal record, to open bank accounts and register businesses in her name to avoid detection by law enforcement or by financial institutions.
In May 2019, law enforcement searched locations in Southern California used by Ruis, Drumm, and Turner for their business. In one warehouse location, agents seized approximately 30 kilograms of spice as well as a large volume of packaging material and equipment used in the distribution of the spice. At another warehouse location, law enforcement seized approximately 4,500 pounds of marijuana, approximately 300 kilograms of butane honey oil, lab equipment for the extraction of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and approximately $45,000. Law enforcement also searched the storage locker that Drumm had rented on behalf of Aroma Superstore and recovered approximately one kilogram of 5F-MDMB-PICA, a Schedule I chemical used to manufacture the spice. At the residence shared by Ruis, Drumm, Turner, and some of their employees, law enforcement seized three Rolex watches and one Philippe Patek watch that had belonged to Ruis; the total value of the four watches was appraised at approximately $137,200. Luxury vehicles, including a Ferrari belonging to Ruis, were also seized.
Ruis is scheduled to be sentenced on March 2, 2022. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. As part of his plea agreement, Ruis has agreed to forfeit more than $2.9 million to the United States. Drumm and Turner each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of distribution of Schedule I controlled substances. They are scheduled to be sentenced on December 8. They face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the counts. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Three additional defendants have pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy and will be sentenced on December 1 and January 5, 2022.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation, Operation Scary Spice. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, 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.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division; Raymond Villanueva, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C. Field Office; Daniel A. Adame, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Robert P. Mosier, Fauquier County Sheriff, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Rossie D. Alston, Jr. accepted the plea.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Rumbaugh and Bibeane Metsch are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:20-cr-76.
Lead Man Pleads Not Guilty to Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Lead, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for receipt of Child Pornography and Possession of Child Pornography.
William Jacob Stone, age 72, was indicted on September 14, 2021. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann on October 22, 2021, and pleaded not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is 20 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, up to life of supervised release, and a $100 assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund on each charge. Restitution may also be ordered.
The charges relate to Stone receiving and possessing computer images of child pornography between March 2020 and June 2021 in South Dakota. The charges are merely accusations and Stone is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is a joint effort between Homeland Security Investigations, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the Rapid City Police Department, and the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Sazama is prosecuting the case.
Stone was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has been set for December 28, 2021.
Kearney Man Convicted for Possession with the Intent to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Jeremy S. Gerdes, 37, of Kearney, Nebraska, was sentenced today in federal court in Lincoln for possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine and 50 grams or more of methamphetamine mixture. United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Gerdes to 50 months in prison followed by a 5-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
On October 29, 2020, law enforcement executed a search warrant of Gerdes’s residence in Kearney. Law enforcement found Gerdes and two others in a room with suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Law enforcement also found a case containing two bags of suspected methamphetamine in the residence. A lab confirmed that the substance was in fact about 381 grams of methamphetamine, of which at least 338 grams was actual methamphetamine.
This case was investigated by the Central Nebraska Drug/Safe Streets Task Force.
Justice Department Sues to Block Penguin Random House’s Acquisition of Rival Publisher Simon & SchusterRead the Press Release
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today to block Penguin Random House’s proposed acquisition of its close competitor, Simon & Schuster. As alleged in the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, this acquisition would enable Penguin Random House, which is already the largest book publisher in the world, to exert outsized influence over which books are published in the United States and how much authors are paid for their work.
“The complaint filed today to ensure fair competition in the U.S. publishing industry is the latest demonstration of the Justice Department’s commitment to pursuing economic opportunity and fairness through antitrust enforcement,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.
“Books have shaped American public life throughout our nation’s history, and authors are the lifeblood of book publishing in America. But just five publishers control the U.S. publishing industry,” the Attorney General continued. “If the world’s largest book publisher is permitted to acquire one of its biggest rivals, it will have unprecedented control over this important industry. American authors and consumers will pay the price of this anticompetitive merger – lower advances for authors and ultimately fewer books and less variety for consumers.”
“In stopping Penguin Random House from extending its control of the U.S. publishing market, this lawsuit will prevent further consolidation in an industry that has a history of collusion,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard A. Powers of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “I want to thank the Attorney General and senior leadership of the department for their support of antitrust enforcement.”
As described in the complaint, publishers compete to acquire manuscripts, which they edit, package, market, distribute and sell as books. Publishers pay authors advances for the rights to publish their books. In most cases, the advance represents an author’s total compensation for their work.
The publishing industry is already highly concentrated, as the complaint details. Just five publishers, known as the “Big Five,” are regularly able to offer high advances and extensive marketing and editorial support, making them the best option for authors who want to publish a top-selling book. Most authors aspire to write the next bestseller and selling their rights to the Big Five offers the best chance to do so.
While smaller publishers occasionally win the publishing rights to anticipated top-selling books, they lack the financial resources to regularly pay the high advances required and absorb the financial losses if a book does not meet sales expectations. Today, Penguin Random House, the world’s largest publisher, and Simon & Schuster, the fourth largest in the United States, compete head-to-head to acquire manuscripts by offering higher advances, better services and more favorable contract terms to authors. However, as the complaint alleges, the proposed merger would eliminate this important competition, resulting in lower advances for authors and ultimately fewer books and less variety for consumers.
The complaint alleges that the acquisition of Simon & Schuster for $2.175 billion would put Penguin Random House in control of close to half the market for acquiring publishing rights to anticipated top-selling books, leaving hundreds of individual authors with fewer options and less leverage. According to its own documents as described in the complaint, Penguin Random House views the U.S. publishing market as an “oligopoly” and its acquisition of Simon & Schuster is intended to “cement” its position as the dominant publisher in the United States.
Courts have long recognized that the antitrust laws are designed to protect both buyers and sellers of products and services, including, as relevant here, authors who rely on competition between the major publishers to ensure they are fairly compensated for their work. As the complaint makes clear, this merger will cause harm to American workers, in this case authors, through consolidation among buyers – a fact pattern referred to as “monopsony.”
The Antitrust Division’s Horizontal Merger Guidelines lay out a straightforward framework to analyze monopsony cases, and under those guidelines this transaction is presumptively anticompetitive. Simply put, if Penguin Random House acquires Simon & Schuster, the two publishers will stop competing against each other. As a result, authors will be paid less for their work. Authors who are paid less write less, which, in turn, means that the quantity and variety of books diminishes too.
Penguin Random House LLC is a subsidiary of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and is headquartered in New York, New York. Penguin Random House publishes 2,000 new trade books in the United States annually. In 2019, Penguin Random House reported revenues of $2.4 billion from U.S. publishing.
Simon & Schuster Inc. is a subsidiary of ViacomCBS Inc. and is headquartered in New York, New York. Simon & Schuster publishes 1,000 new trade books in the United States annually. In 2019, Simon & Schuster reported revenues of $760 million from U.S. publishing.
Irondale Missouri man pleads guilty to producing child pornographyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge Stephen R. Clark accepted a plea of guilty from Andrew Hotchkiss on today’s date for the production of child pornography. A grand jury in the Eastern District of Missouri previously indicted Hotchkiss for the charge.
Between the dates of March 1, 2019 and May 13, 2019 in St. Francois County, Missouri, Hotchkiss sexually abused the victim, who was six years of age at the time. Hotchkiss used his cellular telephone to video record and produce images of his sexual abuse of the victim.
Hotchkiss distributed the images and videos of his sexual abuse of the minor via the internet to one or more others including a resident of the State of Oregon. On May 13, 2019, law enforcement officers with the Oregon State Police located the above-reference images and videos on a cellular telephone belonging to the Oregon resident who was in police custody after attempting to meet an eleven-year-old for sexual contact. It was the Oregon State Police investigation and their recovery of the images and videos produced by Hotchkiss that initiated the investigation that gave rise to the charges against Hotchkiss in this case.
The case was investigated by the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department and the United States Secret Service.
Indiana Man Sentenced for Trafficking 1,436 Grams of Meth, Arrested During I-75 Traffic StopRead the Press Release
MACON, Ga. – An Indiana man was sentenced to federal prison after Butts County, Georgia, deputies arrested him transporting bundles of methamphetamine northbound from Florida.
Ryan Tracey Yates, 46, of Indianapolis, Indiana, was sentenced to serve 70 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self today after previously entering a guilty plea for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Those caught moving large quantities of methamphetamine through Georgia are committing a federal crime that will be prosecuted in the Middle District,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “The good work by the Butts County deputies and K-9 unit prevented a large quantity of methamphetamine from entering the Indianapolis community, likely saving lives.”
“I want to commend my deputies on a job well done and also thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI and GBI for their assistance in this case. I hope this sentence sends a strong message to all drug traffickers that our citizens and law enforcement do not want your poison in our community and the U.S. Attorney’s Office will not tolerate it—you will be held accountable,” said Butts County Sheriff Gary Long.
According to court documents, a Butts County Sheriff’s Office deputy pulled over a vehicle traveling northbound on I-75 driven by Yates for erratic driving. The deputy detected the strong odor of marijuana emanating from inside the car. The deputy’s K-9 gave a positive alert to the vehicle. A search of the vehicle uncovered a UPS bag containing three large bundles of methamphetamine, totaling 1436.81 grams. Yates admitted that he was transporting methamphetamine from Florida to Indianapolis.
The Butts County Sheriff’s Office, GBI and FBI investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Kalim prosecuted the case.
Grand Blanc Man Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison After Pleading Guilty to Fraud, Kickback Violations Involving UAW Health Care FundRead the Press Release
A Grand Blanc, Michigan man was sentenced to 48 months in prison after having pleaded guilty to supervising a complex fraud and kickback scheme involving UAW members and medically unnecessary compounded pain creams, scar creams, pain patches and/or vitamins, announced Acting United States Attorney Saima Mohsin.
Mohsin was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Lynda M. Burdelik, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Chicago Field Office and Mario M. Pinto, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Region of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General
Sentenced was Patrick Wittbrodt, 46. In addition to the custodial sentence, United States District Judge Laurie J. Michelson also ordered that Wittbrodt be placed on a two-year term of supervised release. In addition, Wittbrodt was ordered to pay $7,317,173.51 in restitution to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and $902,387.93 in restitution to Medicare. As part of his plea agreement, Wittbrodt also agreed to forfeit approximately $72,000 seized by federal agents.
According to court documents, Wittbrodt and his co-defendants caused an approximate $8,000,000 loss to Medicare and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (“BCBS”). Some of this money was stolen from UAW members’ prescription insurance accounts.
Court documents outlined the scheme:
Due to the high reimbursement rate paid by Medicare and BCBS for prescription pain cream, scar cream, pain patches and/or vitamins, defendants targeted these insurance plans. Wittbrodt and others would then schedule time at various UAW meetings where defendants would tout pain cream, scar cream, pain patches and vitamins to the UAW members. An aspect of the presentation was that the UAW members could receive their prescriptions free -- without paying a prescription drug copay at the pharmacy. UAW members did not realize that acceptance of the “free” medications would cost their health care fund millions of dollars.
Defendants would then collect the UAW members’ insurance information along with their family members’ insurance information. According to court documents, Dr. April Tyler, who also pleaded guilty in the case, would then authorize the pain cream, scar cream, pain patch and/or vitamin prescriptions for the UAW members and/or their family members. Defendant Dr. Tyler did not establish a valid doctor-patient relationship with any of the UAW members, did not perform a physical exam and did not determine medical necessity for the prescriptions she wrote for the UAW members. The prescriptions were not, therefore, legally eligible for reimbursement from the various insurance companies. Defendant Dr. Tyler also pre-signed prescription forms and allowed defendants to choose which compounded creams, patches and vitamins to write on the prescriptions.
Wittbrodt directed the prescriptions to various pharmacies. The pharmacies would fill the prescriptions, bill the UAW members’ insurance and pay a monetary kickback to Wittbrodt. Wittbrodt would then provide remuneration to co-conspirators from the kickbacks he received. The prescriptions were periodically re-filled and/or re-billed, regardless of whether the UAW member requested a refill or not. The prescription co-pay was waived at the pharmacy for the UAW members. Another defendant, Jeffrey Fillmore, is scheduled for sentencing on November 23, 2021.
“The unlawful actions of these defendants diverted taxpayer dollars and medications from patients who actually needed them in order to line their own pockets,” said Acting United States Attorney Saima Mohsin. “We will continue to aggressively prosecute health care fraud and hold those who commit it accountable.”
“Medical professionals who try to enrich themselves by billing federal health care programs for medically unnecessary prescription medications threaten the integrity of these programs and waste valuable taxpayer dollars that are otherwise utilized to provide medications that patients genuinely need,” said Mario M. Pinto, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Region of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “Our agency, working together with our law enforcement partners, will continue to pursue criminals who threaten these vital health care programs.”
“Schemes that solicit and provide unneeded prescription drugs to patients erodes the confidence that U.S. consumers have in their health care professionals and others in positions of trust,” said Special Agent in Charge Lynda M. Burdelik, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Chicago Field Office. “Medical professionals and others should know that the FDA will investigate and bring to justice those involved in the illegal distribution of prescription drugs.”
“This case demonstrates that collaboration between law enforcement and private insurance investigators is essential in prosecuting those responsible for federal healthcare fraud and kickback violations,” said by Dan Crowell, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Director of Corporate and Financial Investigations.
This case was investigated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, the United States Food and Drug Administration and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, under the supervision of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Ross and Wayne Pratt are prosecuting the case.
Former State Employee Sentenced for Conspiracy to Illegally Import Prescription DrugsRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. - A former Kentucky state employee, Howard Stanley Head, Jr., 59, was sentenced in federal court on Monday, to 12 months and 1 day in prison, by U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove, for conspiracy to import misbranded prescription drugs. He was also fined $1,000 and ordered to forfeit $30,275 in unlawful gains.
From July 2015 to October 2019, Head regularly made online purchases of thousands of tablets of erectile dysfunction drugs, from overseas suppliers. These drugs were not authorized for entry into the United States and did not satisfy Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations for proper labelling. Additionally, Head is not a doctor or pharmacist, and had no legal authority to prescribe, dispense, transport or otherwise handle prescription medications.
After obtaining the shipments of generic erectile dysfunction drugs, Head resold them at a profit, to customers in Frankfort and other parts of Kentucky. While operating this illegal business, in some instances, Head used his state email account to order shipments and contact customers.
Carlton S. Shier, IV, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Mark McCormack, Special Agent in Charge of the FDA, Office of Criminal Investigations, Washington Field Office; and Phillip Burnett, Jr., Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by FDA Office of Criminal Investigations and the Kentucky State Police. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Will Moynahan.
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Former Montgomery County Deputy Sheriff Sentenced to 15 Years for Conspiring to Import and Distribute Deadly Opioids NationwideRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that David Landis, 44, of Norristown, PA, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a special assessment of $6,300 by United States District Court Judge Gerald J. Pappert for numerous charges related to his participation in a global drug-trafficking conspiracy.
In October 2018, Landis pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import controlled substances, conspiracy to distribute those controlled substances, possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, maintaining a drug-involved premises, distributing controlled substances which resulted in serious bodily injury, and 58 counts of distributing controlled substances. Of the distribution counts, one count involved the distribution of U-47700 to an individual which resulted in serious bodily injury. The remaining distribution counts relate to the defendant’s distribution of U-47700, furanyl fentanyl, and/or methoxyacetyl fentanyl to numerous individuals, some of whom received these illegal substances and later overdosed and died with the same kind of controlled substances in their systems that Landis sent to them.
The charges arose from an investigation into an international drug distribution operation, in which the defendant played a central role. From early 2016 until about March 2017, Landis conspired and agreed to distribute thousands of packages of narcotics with multiple co-conspirators in China. These co-conspirators – Deyao Chen, Guichun Chen, and Liangtu Pan, all using the alias “Alex” on the Internet – offered controlled substances for sale, including furanyl fentanyl, U-47700, and methoxyacetyl fentanyl. Customers accessed these websites and selected the controlled substances they wanted to purchase, and the co-conspirators directed the customers to different websites to pay for their orders.
Upon receipt of payment from the customers, the co-conspirators in China emailed the customers’ orders to Landis, who was a distributor residing in Montgomery County, PA and a former Montgomery County Deputy Sheriff. The co-conspirators mailed controlled substances from China to Landis in quantities sufficient to meet the orders from their Internet customers. Landis would then mail the controlled substances via the United States Postal Service to customers located throughout the United States and in numerous other countries. In less than a year, Landis mailed approximately 2,900 packages of controlled substances to customers on behalf of the drug-trafficking operation.
Defendants Deyao Chen, Guichun Chen, and Liangtu Pan have been charged separately and are currently believed to be at-large in China.
“This investigation uncovered illegal drug manufacturers in China who were flooding the United States with poison in the form of deadly opioids,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Williams. “The fact that this defendant – a former law enforcement officer – would help them do so is a travesty. Landis sent deadly drugs across this country and abroad, with no regard for the health or safety of others. The community will be a safer place with him behind bars for the foreseeable future.”
“David Landis was formerly in a position of public trust and turned to distributing deadly drugs throughout Montgomery county and beyond, which in some cases resulted in an overdose. Today’s sentencing sends a message to those narcotics traffickers who act with little regard for law or human life, that Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners will ensure that you are held accountable for your criminal acts,” said Brian A. Michael, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations, Philadelphia.
This Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) designated case was supported by the Liberty Mid-Atlantic High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (LMAHIDTA) and investigated by Homeland Security and the Pennsylvania State Police, with assistance from the following law enforcement agencies: Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; United States Postal Service-Office of Inspector General; United States Secret Service; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the Pennsylvania National Guard; Mentor-on-the-Lake Police Department, Ohio; La Vergne, Tennessee Police Department; Floyd County, Georgia Police Department; Hebron, Ohio Police Department; and the Tri-County, Illinois Drug Enforcement Task Force. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Clare Putnam Pozos.
Former Minneapolis Police Officer Convicted of Civil Rights Violations, Stealing Controlled SubstancesRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A former Minneapolis police officer was found guilty of stealing controlled substances and violating individuals’ civil rights through unconstitutional searches and seizures, announced Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk.
Following a nine-day trial before Senior U.S. District Judge Donovan W. Frank, Ty Raymond Jindra, 29, was convicted of three counts of acquiring a controlled substance by deception and two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law.
“Ty Jindra failed to uphold his oath as a peace officer, he failed the community he was sworn to serve, and he failed his fellow officers” said Acting United States Attorney W. Anders Folk. “This office and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate corruption and blatant abuse of authority. I am grateful to the Minneapolis Police Department for rooting out Jindra’s wrongdoing and notifying the FBI.”
“The cornerstone of the public’s trust in law enforcement relies on the expectation that each person who takes the oath to protect and serve the public will do so with integrity. Today, former Officer Jindra was convicted of violating that trust,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Paul. “I’m proud of our entire investigative team of agents and analysts that worked collaboratively with the Minneapolis Police Department after it brought forth concerns regarding the former officer’s conduct. They exemplify our commitment to ensure all public servants are worthy of the public’s trust and confidence.”
As proven at trial, from September 2017 through October 2019, Jindra, a former police officer with the Minneapolis Police Department (“MPD”), abused his position in order to obtain controlled substances including methamphetamine, oxycodone, fentanyl, tramadol, and other drugs by deception and by conducting unconstitutional searches and seizures.
As part of his scheme, Jindra diverted controlled substances for his own purposes by various means in the course of his duties as a MPD officer. Jindra diverted controlled substances by not reporting, logging, placing into evidence, or informing his partner or other officers on scene about the controlled substances that he had confiscated. On some occasions, Jindra would find ways to interact with or search an individual, vehicle, or residence so that he could surreptitiously recover controlled substances without his partner’s knowledge. At times, Jindra conducted searches beyond the scope warranted under the circumstances in attempt to recover controlled substances.
Jindra faces a maximum sentence of up to four years in prison on each count of acquiring a controlled substance and a maximum of one year in prison on each civil rights count. A sentencing date has yet to be scheduled.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, with substantial assistance from the Minneapolis Police Department.
This case was tried by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amber M. Brennan and Michelle E. Jones.
Former Lincoln Man Sentenced for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Dakota S. Smith, 27, of Red Oak, Iowa, and who at the time of his offense lived in Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced today in federal court in Lincoln for receipt of child pornography. United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Smith to 76 months in prison, to be followed by an 8-year term of supervised release. Smith was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $9,000. There is no parole in the federal system.
Agents with the United States Department of Homeland Security received a tip that Smith had shared child pornography over the internet. The investigation led to agents obtaining a search warrant for Smith’s residence, which was executed on June 4, 2020. Electronic devices belonging to Smith were found in the home and images and videos depicting child pornography were found on those devices. Approximately 95% of the child pornography found on Smith’s devices portrayed victims under the age of 12, and about 25% of the material showed victims who were infants or toddlers.
In addition to the Department of Homeland Security, the Nebraska State Patrol and the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office contributed substantially to this investigation.
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.
Former Defense Logistics Agency Supervisor Pleads Guilty to Assaulting A Subordinate EmployeeRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on November 1, 2021, Jared B. Heisey, age 30, of Etters, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty before United States District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner to assaulting a subordinate employee at the Naval Support Activity (NSA) in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
According to Acting United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Heisey, a former Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) supervisor, admitted to assaulting a subordinate employee during work hours on August 9, 2019, at the NSA. Heisey admitted he directed the victim to accompany him to conduct an inventory count in a remote building at the NSA and when they entered the building, Heisey pinned the victim up against the wall by grabbing her neck with his hand while making sexual comments about what he would like to do to her. Heisey was subsequently terminated and is no longer employed by DLA.
“We are committed to ensuring the safety of all government employees,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Brandler. “All employees are entitled to work in a safe and secure environment free of harassment, intimidation, and assaultive behavior.”
“Mr. Heisey committed a crime when he assaulted a subordinate employee aboard Naval Support Activity Mechanicsburg and for that he deserves to be held fully accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael Wiest of the NCIS Northeast Field Office. “NCIS remains committed to investigating any and all allegations of criminal behavior that threaten Department of the Navy readiness and jeopardize the safety of military personnel aboard Department of the Navy installations.”
The case was investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaime M. Keating is prosecuting the case.
Judge Conner ordered a pre-sentence investigation report to be completed and sentencing is scheduled for March 15, 2021.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 8 years imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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Former Clayton County police officer sentenced for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraudRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Andre Jackson, who at the time of the offense was employed by the Clayton County, Georgia Police Department, has been sentenced for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.
“It is reprehensible that a police officer would engage in behavior that violates the law,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “Jackson’s actions showed he did not have respect for the very thing he swore to uphold.”
“A law enforcement officer’s responsibility is to serve and protect, not to conspire and steal,” said U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Steven R. Baisel. “Unfortunately, sometimes even those in positions of trust can be drawn to their baser instincts of greed.”
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges, and other information presented in court: From approximately January 2015 through January 2017, while he was employed as a Clayton County, Georgia police officer, Jackson conspired with others to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. Jackson and his coconspirators recruited more than ten individuals with good credit—including some of Jackson’s fellow police department employees—to apply for loans to purchase luxury vehicles from automobile dealers in the Northern District of Georgia and the Southern District of Texas. Jackson and his coconspirators told the straw purchasers that they planned to sublease the vehicles to individuals who had significant incomes but poor credit. Jackson and his coconspirators also told the straw purchasers that one of Jackson’s coconspirators owned a car-leasing business, which would be responsible for servicing the vehicles, obtaining and paying for insurance on the vehicles, and paying the monthly loan payments. Jackson and his coconspirators promised to pay each straw purchaser as much as $5,000 for every loan they obtained.
Jackson and his coconspirators caused the straw purchasers to submit loan applications that contained false and fraudulent information concerning their income and employment.
For example, many of the loan applications falsely stated that the applicant was employed by either Alot Frontier Group, LLC or ARC Financial Group, Inc.—two bogus companies owned by Jackson. In addition, Jackson and his coconspirators knowingly and fraudulently executed and caused the straw purchasers to fraudulently execute sales agreements and loan documents, which certified to the lenders that the loan applicants would not sell, rent, lease, or transfer their interest in the vehicles without the lenders’ express written permission. When the sales transactions were completed, Jackson and his coconspirators took possession of the vehicles and then subleased the vehicles to third parties, contrary to the agreements that the straw purchasers had entered into with the lenders. Jackson and his coconspirators did not make the loan payments as required, and many of the straw purchasers defaulted on their loans.
Andre Jackson, 56, of Fayetteville, Georgia, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr. to three years, five months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and 120 hours of community service. Judge Batten also ordered Jackson to pay $1,011,989.87 in restitution and a special assessment of $100. Jackson was convicted on these charges on June 25, 2021, after he pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeff Brown and Russell Phillips prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Former Bookkeeper at Alexandria School Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, La. – Carlina Moore, 37, of Alexandria, Louisiana, was sentenced today by United States District Judge David C. Joseph to 12 months and 1 day in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, on wire fraud charges. Moore was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $121,600.50.
Moore pleaded guilty on August 4, 2021 to a Bill of Information charging her with wire fraud. Moore was employed by the Montessori Educational Center, Inc. (MEC) as a bookkeeper from May 2018 to August 2020 and she handled all in-house bookkeeping for them.
According to information presented to the court at the hearing, on or about August 25, 2020, the MEC’s administrator reviewed their bank account and discovered a questionable transaction. This prompted the administrator to conduct a further review of the bank and credit card accounts. Their investigation into the questionable transaction revealed that Moore was embezzling funds from the MEC’s accounts without their knowledge or authorization.
Law enforcement agents further investigated the fraudulent activity and confirmed that Moore had in fact defrauded the MEC by transmitting funds by way of wire communications in interstate commerce. Moore admitted that she devised a scheme to defraud the MEC and that she did so in order to obtain money and property from the MEC fraudulently and for her own personal gain. She admitted that she embezzled $121,600.50 from the MEC.
The United States Secret Service investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Danny Siefker prosecuted the case.
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Final guilty pleas expose multi-state identity fraud ringRead the Press Release
BRUNSWICK, GA: The last of four defendants has admitted guilt in an elaborate multi-state scheme to use stolen information to create fake identity cards for fraudulently purchasing cell phones.
Kenson Hunte, 36, of Canton, Ga., pled guilty to Possession with Intent to Use Five or More False Identification Documents in a case from the Southern District of Georgia, and to Aggravated Identify Theft in a related case from the Northern District of Alabama, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Hunte faces a statutory penalty of up to five years in prison and up to $250,000 fines in the Georgia case, and a minimum of two years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines in the Alabama case, all followed by a period of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Hunte and his codefendants attempted to enrich themselves by creating and using fake documents that potentially put dozens of innocent people at substantial financial risk,” said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “We commend the Georgia State Patrol for exposing this scheme while working to keep our highways safe.”
“This defendant left innocent people with the burden of repairing their financial reputation,” said U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona for the Northern District of Alabama. “Through collaboration with our fellow U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Georgia, this perpetrator has been brought to justice.”
Three codefendants also have admitted to participating in the scheme, with Sheryl Henderson, 39, of Norcross, Ga.; Colby Hart, 27, of Vidalia, Ga.; and Monique Laing, 23, of Atlanta, all pleading guilty to Possession with Intent to Use Five or More False Identification Documents. Henderson awaits sentencing, while Laing is serving 16 months in federal prison and Hart is on supervised release after being sentenced to time served. Hunte’s sentencing date has not yet been set.
All four defendants were in a vehicle driven by Henderson that was stopped for speeding by a Georgia State Patrol trooper on State Road 27 in Glynn County on March 6, 2019. During a subsequent search, troopers found 44 fake driver’s licenses and identification cards appearing to have been issued in various states, with all of the cards using the personal information of other individuals.
Evidence presented in court showed that beginning in or about January 2019 through May 2019 in Jefferson County, in the Northern District of Alabama, Hunte and a co-conspirator used the fraudulently created identification cards to purchase cell phones and network contracts through a third-party retailer in a Wal-Mart store in Homewood, Ala. Hunte paid only a percentage of the cost up front for the phones and contracts, fraudulently purchasing approximately 127 phones.
The conspirator received employee commissions from the retailer and kickbacks from Hunte, while Hunte profited from the black market sale of the fraudulently obtained phones. The total loss amount from the conspiracy is $104,347.16.
“Even the most conniving criminals can’t outrun the team effort of the federal, state and local law enforcement agencies tasked with pursuing them,” said U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Steven R. Baisel. “This case should serve as a reminder to fraudsters that you can’t escape the long arm of the law.”
“These guilty pleas are the result of the determination and hard work of federal, state and local investigators and prosecutors who aggressively pursue allegations of identity theft,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI will continue to work hard to pursue any individual who greedily puts innocent people at financial risk for their own personal gain.”
The cases were investigated by the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Brunswick Police Department, with assistance from the Georgia State Patrol and the Glynn County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted for the United States by Southern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Bearden and Northern District of Alabama Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin B. Mark.
Final Defendant Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges Related to a Conspiracy to Steal MailRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Dominic Jerry Robinson, age 27, of Parkville, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to the federal charges of conspiracy to steal mail and mail theft in connection with various fraud schemes.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Postal Inspector in Charge Daniel A. Adame of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; Special Agent in Charge Bo Keane of the United States Secret Service - Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department.
According to his guilty plea, between May 2019 and March 2020, Robinson conspired with others, including Nicholas Milano White and Cedric Jonathan McNeal Parker, to engage in fraud schemes and criminal conduct including, theft of mail, fraud involving checks and money orders, trafficking and possession of false identification documents, and unlawful possession of counterfeit credit and debit cards.
For example, Robinson admits that on October 10, 2019, a forged check in the amount of $3,500 drawn on a victim’s trust account was deposited into a “drop account,” a bank account used to deposit and transfer proceeds of fraud, without the consent or authorization of the account holder, a resident of Illinois. That same day, Robinson was captured on surveillance withdrawing $3,500 from the drop account at an ATM in Baltimore.
As detailed in Robinson’s plea agreement, on February 5, 2020, co-defendant Nicholas Milano White deposited a $4,250 stolen check into a bank account opened in Robinson's name. The check had been stolen from a mail collection box in Rosedale, Maryland. The stolen check was subsequently altered to list Robinson as payee and endorsed with Robinson’s signature. ATM surveillance images captured White getting out of a white sedan registered to Robinson in order to make the fraudulent deposit. Within two days of the fraudulent deposit, approximately $2,382.50 was debited from Robinson’s account through withdrawals and purchases.
Between March l, 2020, and March 8, 2020, Robinson, White, and McNeal Parker stole mail from multiple USPS collection boxes. On March 1, 2020, White sent Robinson a list of locations of mail collection boxes via text message. During the early morning hours of March 8, 2020, Robinson picked up White and McNeal Parker and traveled with them in Robinson’s white sedan to a mail collection box in Rosedale, Maryland, where White and McNeal Parker were captured on surveillance images exiting the vehicle, stealing mail from a collection box, and reentering the vehicle with the stolen mail. Robinson and his co-defendants traveled to several other locations and stole mail from at least two other collections boxes. Baltimore County Police Department officers began pursuing Robinson’s vehicle, which fled. Law enforcement eventually located the vehicle in a residential area of Pikesville, Maryland. The vehicle was unoccupied and gloves, trash bags, and approximately 358 pieces of unprocessed U.S. mail were on the ground outside of the vehicle. Law enforcement found and arrested Robinson and White at a nearby location.
Mail stolen by Robinson and his co-conspirators included mail deposited by at least approximately 136 postal customers and addressed to the Internal Revenue Service, the Comptroller of Maryland, and numerous other government agencies, businesses, and individuals. Approximately 48 victims reported that mail stolen by Robinson and his co-conspirators contained bank checks or other financial instruments valued at approximately $48,938. Many victims also reported that their stolen mail contained documents listing sensitive personal identifying information ("PII") and/or sensitive financial information.
During a search of Robinson’s vehicle, law enforcement recovered a red cell phone, three credit cards not issued in Robinson’s name, a false photo identification listing a name with initials A.D., three money orders totaling $1,575 and listing A.D. as payee, and a portable mini encoder, a device used to encode magnetic stripes on credit or debit cards. Further investigation revealed that the money orders found in the vehicle had been stolen from mail collection boxes in February 2020. The money orders were subsequently altered to remove the names of the original payees and to list A.D.'s name as the payee of each money order.
Examination of the red cell phone confirmed that the cell phone was owned and used by Robinson and revealed text messages about stealing mail and committing fraud by counterfeiting checks and money orders and negotiating stolen checks. Robinson’s cell phone also contained text messages he exchanged with White asking White to produce a false photo identification for another person in exchange for payment. Robinson sent White a photo of the person's face and certain identifiers, including a Social Security number belonging to another person. White eventually responded with a photo of the fake photo identification he produced upon Robinson’s request.
Robinson’s cell phone also contained sensitive personal and financial information belonging to other persons. Law enforcement recovered from the cell phone images of other persons' W-2 tax forms and other sensitive documents, including medical records. Robinson admitted that he also possessed credit and debit card "dumps" on his cell phone, which included information associated with at least 20 credit and debit cards issued to other persons and the persons' names and addresses and that he had made fraudulent charges totaling at least $6,284.19 on those credit and debit card accounts. Robinson also had notes on the phone listing PII, including Social Security numbers, assigned to at least 20 real persons. Examination of Robinson’s cell phone showed that he had browsed personal data broker websites and websites that illegally marketed and distributed sensitive credit and debit card information.
As part of his plea agreement, Robinson will be required to pay restitution in the full amount of the victims’ losses, which the parties have stipulated is at least $12,366.69.
Robinson and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Robinson will be sentenced to between 30 and 42 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for February 3, 2022, at 3:00 p.m.
Nicholas Milano White, age 30, of Baltimore, Maryland, was sentenced on March 30, 2021, to eight years in federal prison, and was ordered to pay restitution of $29,234. Cedric Jonathan McNeal-Parker, age 30, of Randallstown, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal mail and to mail theft and was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration for its assistance. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Maddox, who is prosecuting the federal case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.
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Felon Pleads Guilty to EscapeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – An Alabama man pleaded guilty today to an escape charge.
According to court documents, Jonathan Felts, 32, admitted he left Dismas Charities, Inc., a Bureau of Prisons residential reentry facility, without permission and did not return. He had been confined at Dismas because of a previous federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Felts faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced on February 17, 2022.
United States Attorney William S. Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the United States Marshal Service.
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Negar M. Kordestani is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-00179.
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Federal Jury Convicts Akron Man of Production and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that a federal jury convicted Joshua A. Schohn, 31, of Akron, NY, of two counts of production of child pornography and two counts of possession of child pornography. The charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, a combined maximum sentence of 100 years, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles M. Kruly and Laura A. Higgins, who handled the prosecution of the case, stated that, according to the criminal complaint and the evidence introduced at trial, the mother of two girls reported in March 2019 that she had recently discovered child pornography on a laptop computer belonging to her ex--boyfriend, the defendant. In addition, the complainant stated that Schohn took nude videos of her daughters, then eight and six years old (Victim 1 and Victim 2). The defendant was arrested by the New York State Police on charges of assault and possession of a sexual performance by a child.
During the course of the investigation, state and federal investigators determined that Schohn’s laptop contained more than 5,000 images and videos of child pornography. Investigators also learned that, during an October 2018 trip to a water park in Erie, Pennsylvania, the defendant had produced child pornography involving Victims 1 and 2. Schohn admitted to New York State Police Investigators that he had been collecting child pornography for five years.
The verdict is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Buffalo Office, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia, and the New York State Police, under the direction of Major James Hall.
Sentencing is scheduled for February 23, 2022, at 11:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara who presided over the trial of the case.
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Eight Individuals Indicted and Arrested for Unemployment Benefits and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) FraudRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, P.R. – On October 27 and 28, 2021, the Federal Grand Jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned six separate indictments charging eight (8) individuals with fraud against the Unemployment Insurance and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. These cases were investigated by various federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (USDOL-OIG), and the Social Security Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG), with the assistance of local law enforcement officials from the Puerto Rico Police Bureau (PRPB), the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources, and the Puerto Rico Department of Treasury (Hacienda).
According to the indictments, the defendants engaged in schemes to defraud the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources (Departamento del Trabajo y Recursos Humanos, “DTRH”) by submitting fraudulent applications for unemployment insurance benefits, including Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits. The false information submitted included false social security numbers and false employment information. The loss associated with these cases totals $280,868.
Under the PUA provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), a person who is a business owner, self-employed worker, independent contractor, or gig worker qualified for PUA benefits administered by the DTRH if he/she previously performed such work in Puerto Rico and was unemployed, partially unemployed, unable to work, or unavailable to work due to a COVID-19 related reason.
To obtain these federal benefits, individuals could apply online through the DTRH’s web site: ww.trabajo.pr.gov. Claimants answered various questions to establish their eligibility. Furthermore, claimants were required to provide personal identifying information, which included their name, mailing address, gender, email, phone number, social security number, and date of birth (collectively referred to as personal identification information). Moreover, claimants had to identify a qualifying occupational status and COVID-19 related reason for being out of work. Claimants could also submit several documents as evidence of their income.
If the DTRH approved the claimant’s application, the DTRH would send a check to the claimant via United States Postal Service for qualified benefits which could contain regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits and federal funds in the form of Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), PUA, and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) benefits.
Four indictments charge six individuals with theft of government property and mail fraud. The defendants engaged in deceptive conduct designed to fraudulently obtain multiple unemployment checks from the DTRH by using false social security numbers. The defendants received UI benefits from the DTRH via mail in the form of checks that they were not qualified or authorized to receive. The defendants negotiated the various check fraudulently obtained from the DTRH.
The defendants charged in four related indictments are: Millisen M. Martínez-Medina, who prepared fraudulent applications; Stephanie Carrasquillo-Marquez, who fraudulently obtained $23,304; Christian Colón-Rivera, a.k.a. “El Gordo”, who fraudulently obtained $26,634; Zyllynnette Ojeda-Falcón, who fraudulently obtained $11,586; Abner Colón-Díaz, who fraudulently obtained $23,172; and Yesenia Marquez-Rivera, who fraudulently obtained $23,172.
In another indictment, defendant José Calderón-Lantigua is charged with wire fraud and money laundering. The defendant applied for PUA benefits in Massachusetts, Arizona and Michigan and obtained electronic transfers in his bank accounts in the names of other individuals. Calderón-Lantigua fraudulently obtained $43,970.
In a separate indictment defendant Emilio E. Mendoza-Aquino is charged with wire fraud and money laundering. The defendant applied for PUA benefits in Massachusetts, Arizona and Illinois and obtained electronic transfers in his bank accounts in the names of other individuals. Mendoza-Aquino fraudulently obtained $30,092. In addition, Mendoza-Aquino is facing one count of wire fraud for fraudulently obtaining a Small Business Administration loan for $98,100.
“These arrests reflect our continued resolve to investigate and prosecute those who try to exploit a national emergency to steal taxpayer-funded resources by using the global pandemic as an opportunity to steal from hardworking citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Muldrow. “We are proud to work with our law enforcement partners to hold wrongdoers accountable and to safeguard taxpayer funds.”
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA) Vanessa D. Bonano-Rodríguez from the Social Security Administration and Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor Acevedo are in charge of the prosecution of these cases. If convicted, the defendants are facing the following sentences: 20 years of imprisonment for mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud; 10 years of imprisonment for theft of government money; 5 years of imprisonment for misuse of Social Security number; 20 years for money laundering; and a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release.
To report a COVID-19-related fraud scheme or suspicious activity, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) by calling the NCDF Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form
The indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Eight Burlington Men Federally Charged in Methamphetamine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
roles in a multi-year joint federal and state investigation of a large drug trafficking organization that operated out of Burlington. One of the defendants was previously arrested and federally charged with felon in possession of a firearm. Four defendants were arrested today. Those arrested will make their initial appearances in federal court at the United States Courthouse in Davenport on Wednesday, November 3, 2021. All eight defendants have been charged with Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(b)(1)(A) and 846.
The charges stem from an investigation conducted by the Southeast Iowa Narcotics Taskforce; Burlington Police Department; Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office; Henry County Sheriff’s Office; Drug Enforcement Administration; and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement. The Des Moines County Tactical Response Unit; Des Moines County Attorney’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Lee County Narcotics Task Force; Muscatine County Tactical Team; Muscatine County Narcotics Task Force; Washington County Tactical Team; Iowa State Patrol Tactical Teams; West Burlington Police Department; and the Johnson County Municipal Drug Task Force also assisted in the investigation.
“This long-term joint investigation shows our continued resolve to stand with and support the hard work of our state and local partners and hold accountable those that seek to obtain and distribute a highly addictive and lethal drug, methamphetamine, into the Southeast Iowa community,” stated Acting United States Attorney Richard Westphal.
“I want to thank all of the participating agencies for their hard work and dedication that has resulted in the service and execution of the multitude of search and arrest warrants, which will significantly impact the crime within the City of Burlington and Southeast Iowa,” stated Marc Denney, Chief of Burlington Police, “as we know, drug trafficking has no boundaries and has a detrimental effect, on our community and those near and far. Our commitment is to continue to work diligently to rid our society of the criminal syndicates that rob our children of their youth and young adults of a promising life.”
“This was a long-term collaborative investigation involving numerous investigators from many different agencies. The excellent work and tireless efforts of these investigators are a testament to their dedication to making our communities a safe place to live, work, and play. The Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office is proud to have worked together with all the law enforcement professionals involved in this investigation, and to get these dangerous narcotic distributors out of our communities,” stated Des Moines County Sheriff Kevin Glendening.
Those arrested include Clyde Macks Stewart, Jr.; Rudolph Sinclair Allen; Brian Keith Davis, Jr.; Gregory Jermain Johnson; and Marcus Allen Johnson. The identities of those not yet arrested remain sealed at this time. They all face mandatory minimum sentences of at least ten years of imprisonment and a maximum term of life imprisonment. A federal district judge will determine the sentences after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. There is no parole in the federal court system.
The investigation culminated in the execution of federal search warrants at the following locations on November 2, 2021. Law enforcement officers seized four guns, over $13,000 cash, marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia at six locations.
• 400 block of Franklin Street, Burlington
• 100 block of South Marshall Street, Burlington
• 1300 block of Jefferson Street, Burlington
• 1500 block of Ashmun Street, Burlington
• 1300 block of Washington Street, Burlington
• 1400 block of Hillary Avenue, Burlington
• 1200 block of Aetna Street, BurlingtonThe public is reminded that charges contain only accusations and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Dorchester Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dorchester man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to various sex trafficking charges.
Bruce Brown, a/k/a “Arki,” 43, of Boston, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a minor; transportation of a minor for purposes of prostitution; two counts of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; obstruction of justice; and witness tampering. U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for Feb. 10, 2022.
Brown was originally indicted in February 2020. In June 2020, Brown was charged in a superseding indictment with obstruction of justice and witness tampering for his attempt to influence a victim’s testimony related to the charges against him. Brown dubbed this scheme his “Plan B.” In July 2020, Brown was charged in a second superseding indictment.
The charges of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking provide for a sentence of up to life in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of sex trafficking of a minor provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of obstruction of justice provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of attempted witness tampering provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. The charge of sex trafficking of a minor provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. The Newton Police Department provided valuable assistance in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mackenzie A. Queenin and Mackenzie J. Duane of Mendell’s Civil Rights Enforcement Team are prosecuting the case.
District of Columbia Man Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Daniel Gregory Johnston, 43, formerly of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today to a federal charge of possessing child pornography and was sentenced to 27 months in prison.
The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips, Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division, and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Johnston’s plea and sentencing took place before the Honorable James E. Boasberg in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Upon completion of his prison term, he will be placed on six years of supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender for 15 years following his release from prison.
According to the government’s evidence, over the course of a few months in the spring of 2018, Johnston used his computer and a file-sharing software program to collect and distribute images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of very young children. Law enforcement, acting in an undercover capacity, were able to connect to Johnston’s computer and download over 200 images and videos containing child sexual abuse material. Some of the victims depicted in these images and videos were as young as five years old.
In June of 2018, law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Johnston’s home. Various digital devices were seized from his home, which were then forensically examined by a computer forensic specialist. Various sexually explicit file names were found on Johnston’s laptop. Other evidence found on the digital devices proved that Johnson downloaded and viewed videos showing children bound with ropes and metal restraints, being sexually assaulted by adult men.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
In announcing the plea and sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips, Special Agent in Charge Jacobs, and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force and MPD’s Youth Investigations Division. The FBI task force is composed of FBI agents, along with other federal agents and detectives from northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children and human trafficking.
Acting U.S. Attorney Phillips, Special Agent in Charge Jacobs, and Chief Contee also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Kenny Nguyen. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy E. Larson, who prosecuted the case.
Detroit Lakes Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Robbery of Convenience Store on the White Earth Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Detroit Lakes man pleaded guilty to armed robbery of a convenience store on the White Earth Indian Reservation, announced Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk.
According to court documents, on November 11, 2020, Levi Brandin Jerome, 33, entered a convenience store located on the White Earth Indian Reservation carrying an American Tactical Imports, Omni Hybrid, multi-caliber rifle. Jerome pointed the rifle at the store clerk and demanded she open the cash register. Jerome stole approximately $2,250 in cash from the register and from a drawer next to the register before fleeing the store.
Jerome pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel to one count of robbery. A sentencing date has not been set.
This case is the result of investigations conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the FBI Headwaters Safe Trails Task Force, the White Earth Police Department, the Becker County Sheriff’s Office, the Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force, and the Devils Lake (North Dakota) Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander D. Chiquoine is prosecuting the case.
Coordinated Law Enforcement Operations Lead to Takedown of Portland-Area Transnational Drug Trafficking CellsRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore.—In August and October 2021, coordinated law enforcement operations targeting two Portland-area transnational drug trafficking cells led to the arrests of the cells’ leaders and more than a dozen associates, and the seizure of approximately 200,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills suspected to contain fentanyl, two pounds of fentanyl powder, 40 pounds of methamphetamine, 45 pounds of heroin, 13 pounds of cocaine, nine firearms, and more than $1.4 million cash in drug proceeds.
“At a time when communities across the country continue to suffer the terrible effects of the opioid addiction crisis, there are some individuals seeking to profit off the pain and anguish of others. The drug trafficking cells targeted by this investigation are among the worst we’ve seen operating in Oregon. Counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl pose a severe risk of fatal overdose unmatched by any other type of widely available street drug,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug. “I applaud the many law enforcement agencies who played a role in bringing the leaders and associates of these two cells to justice. Our communities are safer because of your efforts.”
“This investigation resulted in arrests of individuals with ties to Mexico and significant seizures of drugs, including dangerous counterfeit tablets containing fentanyl, guns, and U.S. currency. The DEA worked with several law enforcement partners throughout Oregon, including the Tualatin Police Department, Oregon City Police Department, Tigard Police Department, and Portland Police Bureau. The dismantling of this international drug trafficking organization is an example of how effective law enforcement investigations can be when we work together to make our communities safer,” said Cam Strahm, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Oregon.
The two takedown operations, led by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), came after a nearly 12-month investigation and the federal indictments of the two cell leaders and more than a dozen key associates. Early in the investigation, authorities believed they were investigating a single drug trafficking cell. As the investigation continued, federal agents discovered that two men—Jesus Miramontes-Castaneda, 31, of Los Angeles, California, and Horacio Luna-Perez, 39, of Hillsboro, Oregon—operated separate drug trafficking cells loosely-affiliated with one another by shared sources of supply and distribution networks.
Both cells acquired large quantities of oxycodone, heroin, methamphetamine, and other illegal drugs from sources of supply in California and elsewhere and used vehicles to transport the bulk narcotics to Oregon. Once in Oregon, the drugs were taken to stash houses where they were processed and prepared for sale. A large network of local drug dealers would then distribute user quantities of each drug. The cells routinely changed stash locations and rotated vehicles and phones to avoid detection by law enforcement.
On August 11, 2021, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging Miramontes-Castaneda and five associates with conspiring with one another to traffic large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine from California for distribution in the Portland and Salem, Oregon metropolitan areas. Miramontes-Castaneda’s cell distributed narcotics in Salem and the greater Portland area. Miramontes-Castaneda and several of his associates were arrested during the first takedown operation on August 12, 2021.
On September 14, Luna-Perez and nine associates were charged in a four-count indictment with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine. Similar to Miramontes-Castaneda, Luna-Perez’s cell imported large quantities of counterfeit oxycodone, heroin, and methamphetamine from California for distribution in and around Portland and in Eastern Washington. Luna-Perez’s cell also had ties to drug traffickers in Colorado and California. On October 7, 2021, the second takedown operation targeted Luna-Perez’s cell. Luna-Perez and several associates were arrested during the operation.
Luna-Perez’s brother and trafficking associate—Ricardo Luna-Perez, 41—made his first appearance in the District of Oregon today before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Portland after his October 26, 2021 arrest in Vancouver, Washington. He was ordered detained pending a ten-day jury trial scheduled to begin on December 7, 2021. Ricardo Luna-Perez is the eighteenth defendant in the Miramontes-Castaneda and Luna-Perez trafficking cells to appear in federal court and be ordered detained pending a jury trial.
Conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, methamphetamine, or fentanyl of these quantities is punishable by a maximum sentence of life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years.
Acting U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the DEA with assistance from Oregon State Police, Portland Police Bureau, Tigard Police Department, the Clackamas County Interagency Task Force (CCITF) including member agencies the Canby Police Department, Oregon City Police Department, and Tualatin Police Department; and Central Oregon Drug Enforcement (CODE). It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.
This case is 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.
An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Fentanyl and heroin are leading causes of overdose deaths in the U.S. If you or someone you know suffers from addiction, please call the Lines for Life substance abuse helpline at 1-800-923-4357 or visit www.linesforlife.org. Phone support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also text “RecoveryNow” to 839863 between 8am and 11pm Pacific Time daily.
Convictions for the President, Secretary, and an Associate of theWeight Loss Company BAJA PESO YA INC.Read the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Michelle Andujar-González, the president of BAJA PESO YA INC., Sahen L. Maldonado-López, the secretary, and María de Lourdes Irizarry-Rodríguez, an associate of the company, were charged and pled guilty on November 2, 2021, to participating in a mail fraud conspiracy to illegally sell weight loss products. The defendants marketed, sold, and delivered through the mail what they described as dietary supplements for weight loss but were in fact misbranded drugs containing ingredients that were not declared on the products’ labeling. W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, and Justin C. Fielder, Special Agent in Charge of the FDA, Office of Criminal Investigations Miami Field Office, announced the convictions of the defendants for their role in the scheme. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) collaborated during the investigation.
Specifically, as part of the scheme, from 2018 through May 2021, the defendants sold products which contained undeclared drugs—sibutramine, phenolphthalein, and tadalafil. The defendants purchased the products from suppliers in China and used Facebook and the BAJA PESO YA INC. website to advertise and promote the illegal products. The defendants delivered the products to their customers via mail across the United States.
The products the defendants sold included:
- “Slimmer Extreme”, which was labeled as containing a “Thermogenic Formula” that will “Help contain appetite and hunger cravings” and “Support losing excess body fat”;
- “Adipotrim Hardcore”, which was labeled as containing an “Original Formula” to “Reduce waist and hip size,” “Lose weight starting in one week,” “Most weight loss advanced formula,” and “Boost energy and metabolism”;
- “Adipessum”, which was labeled as “Miracle Slimming Capsules” containing an “Advanced Formula” that “Burns Fat and Calories” and will “Boost Energy,” “Control Appetite,” “Speed Metabolism,” and “Eliminate Excess Water”; and
- “Li Da Daidaihua,” which was labeled as “Weight Loss Capsules” “Made of Natural Herbs” and “Safe and Free of Side Effects.”
From April 2015 through July 2019, the FDA published notifications via www.fda.gov for products sold by the defendants:
FDA Notification Date
Product
FDA Lab Results
04/30/15
Li Da Daidaihua
Contained undeclared sibutramine
11/20/17
Adipessum
Contained undeclared sibutramine and phenolphthalein
01/28/19
Slimmer Extreme
Contained undeclared sibutramine and phenolphthalein
07/01/19
Lipro
Contained undeclared tadalafil
07/16/19
Reduktis Max
Contained undeclared sibutramine
Sibutramine is a Schedule IV controlled substance banned by the FDA in October 2010 because of a risk of heart problems and strokes. Sibutramine is the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Meridia, a new drug approved by FDA for marketing in 1997 for prescription treatment of obesity, and subsequently withdrawn from the United States market on December 21, 2010, after clinical data indicated sibutramine poses an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
Phenolphthalein is a chemical that is not an active ingredient in any approved drug in the United States. Phenolphthalein was used in some laxative products until 1999. The FDA no longer recognizes the drug as “safe and effective.” Studies have indicated that it presents a cancer-causing risk.
Tadalafil is the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Cialis, an FDA-approved drug used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED).
“Consumers must be able to trust that the products they buy are safe and the claims on the product’s label can be relied on,” said U.S. Attorney Muldrow. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to take action against irresponsible business owners that make unsubstantiated claims about products that can lead to serious health issues.”
“Products that claim to be dietary supplements but contain unapproved drug ingredients pose a serious risk to public health,” said Special Agent in Charge Justin C. Fielder, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Miami Field Office. “We will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who put profits above the health and safety of U.S. consumers.”
“Protecting the health and safety of consumers is one of HSI San Juan’s highest priorities,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo. “This investigation demonstrates how law enforcement partners work jointly to investigate these criminals and bring them to justice.”
“At a time when the United States Postal Service is playing such a critical role in the nation’s supply chain, Postal Inspectors will be ever vigilant in our pursuit of criminals who use the U.S. Mail to ship counterfeit prescription drugs. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to prevent the conveyance of misbranded medications that can potentially cause severe injury or harm to unsuspecting consumers,” said Inspector in Charge Raymundo Marrero, Newark Division.
As part of their guilty pleas, the defendants agreed to forfeit $400,000, which were proceeds traceable to the mail fraud conspiracy. The defendants face a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison; a fine not to exceed $250,000; and a supervised release term of not more than three years.
The FDA-OCI-SJP led the investigation with the collaboration of Homeland Security Investigations and the US Postal Inspection Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Victor O. Acevedo-Hernández.
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Convicted Felon Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal Prison for Drug Trafficking and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – Jeremy Edwards, 32, a convicted felon, has been sentenced to 97 months in federal prison for drug trafficking and possession of a firearm. Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph C. Murphy Jr., announced the sentence today.
According to information presented in court, on September 30, 2020, detectives with the Organized Crime Unit of the Memphis Police executed a search warrant at Jeremy Edwards' apartment. Pursuant to that search warrant, officers recovered two firearms, a Sig-Sauer P250C 9mm handgun and a Canik TP9 9 mm handgun, both of which were reported as stolen. The Sig-Sauer handgun was loaded with live rounds in a backpack belonging to Edwards. In that same backpack, in addition to the gun, officers found 166.6 grams of marijuana (total gross weight), two digital scales, mail in the name of Jeremy Edwards, and a silver pill press. The marijuana was submitted to TBI for testing and analysis. The substance tested positive for 77.90 grams of marijuana.
Upon further search of the apartment, officers recovered approximately $484 in U.S. currency from a pair of jeans, along with fentanyl powder inside two-dollar bills in the pockets. An additional scale and two additional pill presses were found in the apartment, along with a bottle of lactose, which is commonly used as a cutting agent for drugs.
Edwards had been previously convicted of aggravated robbery. As a result of his prior conviction, he is prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.
On October 7, 2020, officers with the Organized Crime Unit of the Memphis Police Department, executed a second narcotics search warrant at the Edwards residence. Detectives found a clear bag along with other individual bags that contained a white powder and a brown powder inside of a Kleenex box on the headboard in the master bedroom. In addition, officers located a black digital scale in the headboard and approximately $834 in United States Currency. The recovered narcotics were submitted to TBI for testing and analysis. The brown powder tested positive for .31 grams Heroin. The white powder tested positive for 11.45 grams Fentanyl.
Edwards pled guilty to the above charges on June 9, 2021.
On October 29, 2021, U.S. District Judge Jon P. McCalla sentenced Edwards to 97 months imprisonment to be followed by three years supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the Memphis Police Department, Organized Crime Unit.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Wendy K. Cornejo prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
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Colombian Man Admits Conspiring to Import Kilograms of Cocaine into the United StatesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Colombian citizen today admitted conspiring to import hundreds of kilograms of cocaine into the United States from places including Venezuela, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Edwin Nieves-Rosado, aka “Tortuga,” 56, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas to Count One of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to import five kilograms or more of cocaine.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2016 through Jan. 10, 2020, Nieves-Rosado and others conspired to import at least 800 kilograms of cocaine. Nieves-Rosado admitted playing a managerial role in this conspiracy, which involved more than five individuals.
The count to which Nieves-Rosado pleaded guilty carries a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, as well as a fine of up to $10 million. Sentencing is scheduled for March 8, 2022.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents and task force officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) operating in New Jersey, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson in Newark, as well as special agents and task force officers with the DEA operating in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. She also thanked the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Marshals Service for their assistance with the case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Repole of the Economic Crimes Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Francesca Liquori of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit.
Colombian Drug Kingpin and Paramilitary Leader Pleads Guilty to Operating a Continuing Criminal Enterprise and Conspiring to Provide Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist OrganizationRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Daniel Rendon Herrera, also known as “Don Mario,” a citizen of Colombia, pleaded guilty to engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise and conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. The proceeding took place before United States District Judge Dora L. Irizarry. When sentenced, Rendon Herrera faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and up to life imprisonment, as well as forfeiture in excess of $45 million and a fine of up to $2.25 million.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s National Security Division; Ray Donovan, Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division (DEA); Rick J. Patel, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI); Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); Dermot F. Shea, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD); and Kevin P. Bruen, Superintendent, New York State Police (NYSP), announced the guilty plea.
“With today’s guilty plea, Rendon Herrera, who was once the most feared narco-terrorist in Colombia, admitted to leading one of the world’s largest and most violent drug cartels and flooding the streets of America with cocaine. Rendon Herrera also admitted to providing material support to a designated terrorist organization that brutally killed, kidnapped, and tortured rival drug traffickers and civilians.” stated United States Attorney Peace. “I commend the determined efforts of countless members of law enforcement, foreign and domestic, who brought the defendant to justice.”
“By his admission, Daniel Rendon Herrera was a leader of a brutal and murderous narco-terrorist organization in Colombia, and he trafficked more than 80 tons of cocaine,” stated United States Attorney Williams. “Rendon Herrera oversaw operations of a paramilitary cartel that carried out kidnappings, torture, and murders. Now, through the combined efforts of law enforcement officers and prosecutors, Rendon Herrera awaits sentencing for his crimes.”
“Don Mario’s guilty plea has left footprints for other drug kingpins to follow,” stated DEA Special Agent-in-Charge Donovan. “This notorious founder and leader of Clan Usaga is facing the consequences of his billion-dollar cocaine empire that spread fear, drug addiction, and death throughout Colombia and the United States. I commend the law enforcement alliance that has worked for years to bring Rendon Herrera to justice.”
“Rendon Herrera, one of Colombia’s most prominent and feared drug kingpins and once the leader of the narco-terrorist Los Urabenos Drug Trafficking Organization, committed heinous crimes in pursuit of power and profit. This plea demonstrates HSI and its law enforcement partners’ commitment to disrupting and dismantling the criminal organizations responsible for the dangerous narcotics flooding our streets. We will continue to pursue these organizations at the highest levels, both at home and abroad, and put an end to the terror that they generate across the world.” stated HSI Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Patel.
“All roads travelled by international drug cartels seem to lead straight to our cities, where their members poison our neighbors and wreak deadly havoc. In this case, Mr. Herrera admits to supporting designated terrorists as they kidnapped, tortured, and murdered people so he could build his power and wealth. Our pursuit of these groups won't wane with his guilty plea today. Even now, we are on to the next leader who most likely believes he won't suffer the same fate,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll.
“Our NYPD investigators work tirelessly to avert narcotics, terrorism and threats from the kind of violent, overseas criminal enterprises that this long term investigation has dismantled. I commend our officers, our law enforcement partners and the prosecutors in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York for their public service to all New Yorkers in achieving today’s guilty plea,” stated NYPD Commissioner Shea.
According to court filings and facts presented during the plea proceeding, the guilty plea stems from Rendon Herrera’s role, since the late 1990’s, as a leader of the designated foreign terrorist organization, the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), and as founder and leader of Los Urabeños Drug Trafficking Organization (the Urabeños, also referred to as Clan Usuga and Clan del Golfo), effectively the successor organization to the AUC.
The AUC, founded in 1997, was a Colombian paramilitary and drug-trafficking organization, designated in 2001 by the United States Department of State as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially-Designated Global Terrorism Organization. The AUC engaged in armed conflict with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios de Colombia (FARC), Colombia’s main guerilla group, and sought to remove FARC sympathizers from positions of power and influence in Colombia. To support its political and terrorist objectives, the AUC imposed “taxes” on cocaine trafficked through AUC-controlled areas and engaged in violent attacks including murders and kidnappings. By 2006, many members of the AUC demobilized as part of the Colombian government’s Justice and Peace process – a process under which paramilitary members surrender to the Colombian government and relinquish their criminally-derived assets in exchange for reduced sentences and amnesty from extradition. Rather than submit to the peace process, Rendon Herrera re-mobilized the AUC as the Urabeños.
The Urabeños, like the AUC, continued to finance their paramilitary and drug trafficking by imposing a “tax” on multi-ton shipments of cocaine that transited through areas in Colombia controlled by the organization and were ultimately destined for importation into the United States. The Urabeños employed “sicarios,” or hitmen, who carried out various acts of violence, including murders, assaults, kidnappings and assassinations to collect drug debts, maintain discipline, control and expand drug territory, and to promote and enhance the prestige, reputation, and position of the organization. In 2009, when Rendon Herrera was captured by the Colombian National Police, he commanded 16 “bloques,” or territories, across Colombia and thousands of armed paramilitary fighters.
In connection with his plea, Rendon Herrera accepted responsibility for trafficking at least 73,645 kilograms of cocaine. The charges relating to the AUC were initially filed in the Southern District of New York and transferred to the Eastern District of New York for the consolidated plea. The charges relating to the Urabeños originated in the Eastern District of New York. Additionally, since 2009, Rendon Herrera has been designated by the United States Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control, as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. Rendon Herrera is also wanted to serve sentences for convictions in the Republic of Colombia relating to numerous homicides, weapons, and narcotics trafficking, which remain pending his service of his sentence in the United States.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan P. Lax, Francisco J. Navarro, and Andrew D. Grubin are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance provided by Assistant United States Attorney Alexander Li of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and Trial Attorney Elisabeth Poteat of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs handled the extradition in this matter and the Department of Justice Judicial Attaché’s Office was instrumental in supporting the case.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, 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.
The Defendant:
DANIEL RENDON HERRERA (also known as “Don Mario”)
Age: 56
Antioquia, ColombiaE.D.N.Y. Docket Nos. 14-CR-625 (S-3) (DLI) / 20-CR-569 (S-6) (DLI)
S.D.N.Y. Docket Nos. 04-CR-962 (LAP) / 08-CR-659 (SAS)
Cocaine trafficker returns to prison for 10 more yearsRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 41-year-old convicted felon will be returning to federal prison for his role in a 17-kilogram cocaine trafficking conspiracy, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Marcus Donell Hollowell aka Red pleaded guilty Aug. 5.
Today, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos sentenced him to serve a 120-month sentence to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional statements that described Hollowell’s role in the conspiracy and his felony convictions for trafficking cocaine and heroin possession. Judge Ramos noted the sentence was an adequate deterrent.
Between May 2020 and May 2021, Hollowell was involved in a conspiracy with others to possess with intent to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine between Corpus Christi and Ft. Myers, Florida. He helped coordinate cocaine or currency with other co-conspirators or sources of supply.
Authorities seized over $250,000 on July 16, 2020.
At the time of Hollowell’s arrest in May, authorities discovered a loaded .44 caliber revolver, additional cocaine, meth, ecstasy and U.S. currency in his residence.
Hollowell has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Co-conspirators Adan Rivera, 37, Corpus Christi, was previously sentenced to 135 months, while Rudy Reyna, 39, Robstown, was ordered to serve 121 months.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (Corpus Christi and El Paso sectors) conducted the investigation with assistance from Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service, Texas Department of Public Safety and Corpus Christi Police Department’s Narcotics Vice Investigative Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Manning prosecuted the case.
Cleveland Woman Sentenced to 24 Months for Aiding Armed RobberyRead the Press Release
Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Brennan announced that the last of three individuals involved in a 2019-armed robbery of a Rally’s restaurant in Elyria was sentenced on Monday, November 1, 2021, for her role in the incident.
Alonda Bryant, 24, of Cleveland, was sentenced by Judge Dan Aaron Polster to 24 months imprisonment after Bryant pleaded guilty to attempted interference with commerce by means of robbery in April of 2021.
Previously sentenced in this matter was James. A. Jackson, 29, of Cleveland, to 130 months imprisonment and DeMario J. Horton, 32, of Cleveland, to 120 months.
According to court documents, on June 11, 2019, Jackson, armed with a box-cutter, and Horton, armed with a firearm, entered a Rally’s restaurant in Elyria at approximately 2:45 a.m. and forced the store manager and other employees into a supply closet while they committed the robbery. Elyria Police observed Jackson and Horton exit the restaurant shortly after the robbery and stopped the vehicle that the two were occupying.
After searching the vehicle, police discovered claw hammers, latex gloves, a semi-automatic magazine with .45 caliber rounds in the glove box, a wallet belonging to the Rally’s store manager and clothing matching the description of the suspect’s clothing from the robbery. The following day, officers located an empty semi-automatic firearm in a bush behind the door where Horton and Jackson entered and exited the building.
While reviewing surveillance footage of the incident, police noticed a Rally’s employee, Alonda Bryant, opening the side restaurant doors to allow Jackson and Horton into the building and later fleeing the scene. After an investigation, police learned that Bryant had listed co-defendant DeMario Horton as her spouse and emergency contact on her employment application.
After fleeing the scene, Bryant placed a diversionary call to 911 for a location approximately a half-mile away in an attempt to obstruct police. However, police dispatch determined that the call actually came from the location of the Rally’s restaurant.
Jackson pleaded guilty to attempted interference with commerce by means of robbery, using or carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition in November of 2020.
Horton pleaded guilty to attempted interference with commerce by means of robbery, using or carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition in February of 2020.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Elyria Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Margaret A. Kane and Bryson N. Gillard.
Box Elder Man Sentenced for Attempted Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Box Elder, South Dakota, man convicted of Attempted Possession of Child Pornography was sentenced on October 25, 2021, by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken.
Brennan John Hauk, age 42, was sentenced to two years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Hauk was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and a $5,000 special assessment to the Victims of Trafficking Fund. Hauk will also be required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
Hauk was arrested and federally indicted as a result of an undercover sex trafficking operation conducted during the 2019 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, targeting online predators. Following multiple online communications with a person Hauk believed to be a 15-year-old boy, but who was in fact an undercover agent, he proceeded to request nude photographs and negotiate a time and place he would meet the minor to engage in unlawful sex acts. When Hauk went to the pre-determined location to meet the minor, he was instead met by law enforcement agents and placed under arrest.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah B. Collins prosecuted the case.
Hauk was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Boston Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Robbery of North End MarketRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Boston man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to the armed robbery of a grocery store in Boston’s North End.
Dante Mirabella, 52, pleaded guilty to one count of interfering with commerce by robbery, one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled sentencing for March 1, 2022. Mirabella was indicted in August 2019.
Mirabella robbed Bob’s Grocery Store on May 30, 2019, while brandishing a Hi-Point .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol. According to the indictment Mirabella is prohibited from possessing any firearm or ammunition due to a prior felony conviction.
The charge of interfering with commerce by robbery provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of brandishing a firearm during a violent crime provides for a sentence of at least seven years and up to life in prison, to be served consecutive to any other sentence imposed, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Boston Police Acting Commissioner Gregory Long made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Alfredo Saltzman of Mendell’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
Birmingham Man Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison for KidnappingRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A Birmingham man was sentenced today for kidnapping and collecting ransom money, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona, Federal Bureau of Investigation Johnnie Sharp, Jr., and United States Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick Davis.
U.S. District Judge Abdul K. Kallon sentenced Matthew Amos Burke, 35, to 204 months in prison for kidnapping, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Burke pleaded guilty to the charges in April.
According to the plea agreement, on September 11, 2020, Burke unlawfully entered the home of the victim. Burke then abducted the victim and transported him to Burke’s residence, where the victim was forced to transfer $250,000 from his bank account into another bank account as directed by Burke. Once $250,000 was transferred, Burke drove the victim back to his residence and released him. The victim then contacted the Birmingham Police Department and the Mountain Brook Police Department.
The FBI and Secret Service investigated the case along with the Birmingham Police Department and the Mountain Brook Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys John Camp and William Simpson prosecuted the case.
Baltimore Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Spending Deceased Mother’s Social Security Benefit Checks for More Than 20 YearsRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Wardell Lester, Jr., age 66 of Baltimore, Maryland today to one year in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for theft of government property in connection with the theft of $223,655 in social security benefits intended for his mother.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Special Agent in Charge Michael McGill of the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, Philadelphia Field Division (SSA OIG).
According to his plea agreement, from September 1997 to January 2018, Lester stole monthly Social Security Retirement Insurance benefit payments from the Social Security Administration intended for his mother. Lester failed to notify the Social Security Administration that his mother had died in September 1997 and falsely reported that he spent the funds on her behalf. As a result of this offense, Lester personally obtained approximately $223,655 from the Social Security Administration to which he was not entitled.
As the son and representative payee of his mother, Lester was charged with spending his mother’s Social Security retirement benefits on her behalf and was required to file annual reports that documented transactions using those funds. Each year, Lester provided falsified reports that detailed how he spent the funds on food, housing, and personal items. In 2012, Lester elected to receive payments by direct deposit to an account in his name. Records from the account show that Lester would withdraw virtually all of the funds by ATM at the beginning of each month.
As stated in his plea agreement, in an interview with SSA OIG agents on January 11, 2019, Lester admitted to spending his mother’s benefits on drugs and living expenses. Lester further admitted to falsifying Social Security Administration benefit accounting forms. At the end of the interview, Lester gave a written statement in which he apologized for the spending of the funds, but Lester continued to spend the benefit payments until SSA terminated them in May 2019.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron praised the SSA OIG for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Davio, who prosecuted the case.
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1 November 2021
Zwolle Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Committing Wire FraudRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. - Melissa H. Sepulvado, 59, of Zwolle, Louisiana was sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. to 12 months and 1 day in prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release, on wire fraud charges, announced Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook. Sepulvado was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $145,000.
Sepulvado pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on May 13, 2021. According to information presented to the court at the guilty plea hearing, Sepulvado and her husband were employed by Weyerhaeuser Company (“Weyerhaeuser”) at the company’s mill located in Zwolle, Louisiana. Sepulvado was employed as a Senior Support Specialist and had been with the company for 17 years, and her husband was employed as an hourly worker. Her primary duties were to review and approve payroll entries for the hourly workers at Weyerhaeuser’s Zwolle mill through its internet based, electronic payroll system. In addition, she reviewed vacation payout requests by hourly workers. Vacation payout was an employee-benefit service that Weyerhaeuser provided to some of its hourly workers, which was earned vacation time based on tenure with the company and wages paid to them for the vacation time they took.
From November 2014 to April 2017, Sepulvado defrauded Weyerhaeuser of $145,000 by exploiting her position and access to the payroll system. She regularly entered vacation payout requests for her husband for hours he did not earn, and although she was not supposed to review or approve her husband’s pay requests, she did approve them and sent the approved requests via electronic wire to their payroll department which was outside of Louisiana. Weyerhaeuser then deposited money into her husband’s bank account based on the fraudulent pay requests. Sepulvado took steps to conceal the fraud by backdating numerous vacation payout requests, entering the requests for completed pay periods from months or years earlier. These actions concealed the requests from regular audits of the system.
The FBI conducted the investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Cadesby B. Cooper prosecuted the case.
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York Man Sentenced to 10 Years’ Imprisonment for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Travis Parker, age 41, of York County, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on October 29, 2021, to 120 months’ imprisonment by United States District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner for distributing and possessing with intent to distribute more than 28 grams of cocaine.
According to Acting United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, a jury convicted Parker of several drug trafficking offenses on May 5, 2021. The conviction stems from a roughly six-month investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives and the York County Drug Task Force, which focused on Parker’s drug activity in York City. Evidence at trial established that between September 2018 and January 2019, Parker sold or attempted to sell cocaine on several occasions to undercover detectives. When arrested on January 30, 2019, police discovered more than 60 grams of cocaine packaged for sale.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the York City Police Department, and the York County Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Johnny Baer prosecuted the case.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. 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.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 40 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh several factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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Woman Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking After Flying from Hawaii and Attempting to Smuggle Heroin into High Desert State PrisonRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —Arlene-Anela Kekoolani, 30, of Honolulu, Hawaii, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, between October 24, 2019, and November 16, 2019, Kekoolani conspired with an inmate at High Desert State Prison to fly from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Sacramento, rent a car, obtain heroin, and then try to surreptitiously pass the drugs to the inmate during a contact visit at the prison. At the time of the offense, Kekoolani was an employee of the Honolulu City Council.
Investigators at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) learned of the plot by listening to recorded prison calls and decoding the calls between Kekoolani and the inmate. When Kekoolani flew from Honolulu and landed in Sacramento on November 15, FBI and CDCR investigators spotted her in the airport and identified the silver Toyota Camry she rented to carry out the smuggling operation. On November 16, 2019, Kekoolani arrived at High Desert State Prison in Susanville. Investigators seized heroin she had hidden on her person. They also discovered additional heroin in her rental car parked in the prison parking lot.
This case was the product of an investigation by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Jason Hitt is prosecuting the case.
Kekoolani was previously ordered released from custody on terms of pretrial release.
Kekoolani is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on March 7, 2022. Kekoolani faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
West Hartford Man Sentenced to 47 Months in Federal Prison for Fentanyl DistributionRead the Press Release
Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that KYLE PITTS, also known as “Bark,” 37, of West Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 47 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing fentanyl.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in the summer of 2020, Hartford Police learned that Pitts and others were selling fentanyl, and that Pitts was using his apartment on Farmington Avenue in West Hartford to store the drug. Between August and October 2020, Hartford Police and the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force made multiple controlled purchases of fentanyl from Pitts, Curon Johnson and Jabari Walcott.
Pitts has been detained since his arrest on November 4, 2020. On that date, a search of his residence, vehicle and person revealed fentanyl packaged for distribution, a small amount of crack cocaine, items used to process and package narcotics for street sale, gold and diamond jewelry, a Rolex watch, and more than $2,000 in cash.
On May 7, 2021, Pitts pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, fentanyl.
This is Pitts’ second federal narcotics conviction. On July 22, 2011, Pitts was sentenced in New Haven federal court to 100 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for the gang-related distribution of crack cocaine in Hartford. In February 2016, due to changes in the federal sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine offenses, Pitts’ sentence was reduced to 80 months of imprisonment. He was released from federal prison in August 2016.
Johnson and Walcott also pleaded guilty. On July 22, 2021, Johnson, also known as “Buck,” of East Hartford, was sentenced to 37 months of imprisonment, and on September 7, 2021, Walcott also known as “Jabari Walcott-Greene,” of Hartford, was sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment.
The FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, New Britain Police Department, West Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian P. Leaming.
Utah Man Sentenced for Tax FraudRead the Press Release
A Utah man was sentenced to 51 months in prison today for tax evasion and corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the IRS.
According to evidence presented at trial and court documents, in March 2012, Louis Hansen, of Orem, presented the IRS a $342,669.41 check he knew was drawn on a closed bank account, in a fraudulent effort to evade paying taxes, penalties and interest he owed for a number of years. In June 2012, Hansen presented 10 additional checks to the IRS drawn on a different closed bank account in another attempt to fraudulently discharge his debt. The evidence showed that each of these 10 checks was made out in the amount of $425,000, and Hansen sent them to at least six different IRS offices.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Howard C. Nielsen Jr. ordered Hansen to serve three years of supervised release and to pay approximately $342,699 in restitution to the United States.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Andrea T. Martinez for the District of Utah made the announcement.
The case was investigated by special agents of the IRS – Criminal Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin L. Sundwall and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kameros prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
Union County Man Admits Illegal Possession of AmmunitionRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Union County, New Jersey, man today admitted illegally possessing ammunition, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Kevin Cordeiro, 34, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, pleaded guilty today to an indictment charging him with one count of possessing ammunition after having been previously convicted of a felony offense.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Feb. 27, 2021, Cordeiro fired multiple gunshots toward an occupied vehicle that was parked on Westfield Avenue in Elizabeth. Law enforcement officials recovered eight .45 caliber shell casings from the shooting scene. After the shooting, Cordeiro fled to Florida and was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service on March 29, 2021. Cordeiro was previously convicted of second-degree robbery in New Jersey Superior Court, for which he was sentenced to six years in prison.
The count to which Cordeiro pleaded guilty carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for March 9, 2022.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey L. Matthews in Newark; special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson in Newark; the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor William A. Daniel; and the Elizabeth Police Department, under the direction of Chief Giacomo Sacca, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. Acting U.S. Attorney Honig also thanked the U.S. Marshals Service, under the direction of U.S. Marshal Juan Mattos Jr., for its assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Frazer and Samantha C. Fasanello, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.