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9 September 2021
Lackawanna County Man Sentenced to Twenty-Four Months’ Imprisonment for Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Jean Quinones, age 26, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on September 9, 2021, to 24 months’ imprisonment by United States District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion for cocaine trafficking.
According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Quinones previously entered a guilty plea before Judge Mannion for attempting to possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine. Customs and Border Patrol Agents intercepted a package which had been mailed from the Virgin Islands to Scranton, Pennsylvania that contained a kilogram of cocaine. Homeland Security Agents and U.S. Postal Inspectors arrested Quinones shortly after he picked up the package at a post office in Scranton.
The matter was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Customs and Border Patrol and the Scranton Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara prosecuted the case.
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Knoxville Man Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On September 9, 2021, Dios E. Tate, 32, currently of Knoxville, Tennessee, was sentenced in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville, to serve 24 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, by the Honorable Thomas Varlan, U.S. District Judge.
According to the plea agreement filed with the court, Tate pled guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft. Tate admitted that on November 16, 2020, he used the social security number of another person to obtain a Tennessee identification card from the Knox County Clerk in a name of another person.
This prosecution resulted from an investigation by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General.
Assistant United States Attorney T.J. Harker represented the United States.
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Justice Department, EPA and the State of Michigan Reach Clean Air Act Settlement with Arbor Hills Energy LLCRead the Press Release
Arbor Hills Energy LLC (AHE) has agreed to significantly reduce, if not virtually eliminate, AHE’s sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions at its landfill gas-to-energy facility (Facility) in Northville, Michigan, to resolve alleged Clean Air Act and State law violations.
In a complaint filed simultaneously with the consent decree, the United States and the State of Michigan allege several Clean Air Act and State law violations, including exceedances of the Facility’s permitted SO2 emissions limits. This pollutant causes harm to human health and the environment once emitted into the air, including premature death, heart attacks, respiratory problems and adverse environmental effects.
“This settlement benefits public health and the environment by delivering deep cuts in SO2 emissions from the AHE Facility,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to enforce the Clean Air Act vigorously in cooperation with our state partners.”
“The health of the citizens of the State of Michigan is a top priority of this office,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Saima S. Mohsin. “Successful efforts such as this protect and preserve the environment for current and future generations and demonstrate our ongoing dedication to that goal.”
“Illegal air pollution from landfill gas power plants can harm people’s health and the environment,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This settlement is an example of how EPA is working to protect our communities by ensuring that landfill gas is handled in compliance with Clean Air Act requirements.”
“This settlement makes important progress in improving air quality near the AHE Facility,” said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. “My office is also addressing air pollution from the adjacent landfill in the case I filed on behalf of Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) in 2020 against the landfill owner. Combined, when completed, this work will dramatically improve the impact both facilities have had on the surrounding communities.”
“This agreement better protects nearby residents and the region’s air quality and is a good example of working with our partners to ensure environmental compliance and emissions reductions,” said Director Liesl Clark of EGLE.
The AHE Facility converts landfill gas (LFG), which is generated by decomposition of waste from an adjacent landfill, into electricity by burning it as fuel in four gas turbines. Under the settlement, by March 2023 AHE will either construct a renewable natural gas facility that converts LFG into pipeline quality natural gas and would virtually eliminate SO2 emissions, or install a sulfur treatment system that achieves a 64 percent reduction in SO2 emissions. Either pathway will bring AHE into compliance with the Clean Air Act and mitigate past excess SO2 emissions from the AHE Facility.
Based on an evaluation of the company’s limited ability to pay, AHE also will pay a civil penalty of $750,000, split equally between the United States and the State of Michigan. The proposed decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, resolves EPA’s and Michigan’s Clean Air Act and State law claims against AHE. The settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. It will be available for viewing at www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.
Information about EPA Region 5's air enforcement program is at http://www.epa.gov/region5/air/enforce/index.html.
Potential environmental violations may be reported at http://www.epa.gov/compliance/complaints.
Justice Department Sues Texas over Senate Bill 8Read the Press Release
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced today that the Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit to prevent the State of Texas from enforcing Senate Bill 8 (SB8), which went into effect on Sept. 1 and effectively bans most abortions in the state. The complaint seeks a declaratory judgment that SB8 is invalid under the Supremacy Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment, is preempted by federal law, and violates the doctrine of intergovernmental immunity. The United States also seeks an order, preliminarily and permanently, enjoining the State of Texas, including its officers, employees and agents, including private parties who would bring suit under the law, from implementing or enforcing SB8.
“The Act is clearly unconstitutional under longstanding Supreme Court precedent,” said Attorney General Garland. “The United States has the authority and responsibility to ensure that no state can deprive individuals of their constitutional rights through a legislative scheme specifically designed to prevent the vindication of those rights.”
According to the complaint, Texas enacted SB8 in open defiance of the Constitution by banning abortion at approximately six weeks in nearly all cases. The law violates individuals’ rights to have an abortion procedure prior to viability, which is usually around 24 weeks. Additionally, the law contains no exceptions for pregnancies that result from rape, sexual abuse, incest or for pregnancies involving a fetal defect incompatible with life after birth.
The prohibitions in SB8 apply to anyone who performs or induces a prohibited abortion, anyone who “knowingly” “aids or abets” the performance or inducement of a prohibited abortion, and even anyone who “intends” to perform or aid a prohibited abortion. Additionally, instead of relying on the state’s executive branch to enforce the law, as is the norm in Texas and elsewhere, the state has deputized ordinary citizens to serve as bounty hunters, statutorily authorized to recover at least $10,000 per claim from individuals who facilitate a woman’s exercise of her own constitutional rights. The complaint challenges that this unprecedented scheme is designed to evade judicial review.
Jacksonville Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Distributing Child Sex Abuse VideosRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced Marshall Tyler Sills (27, Jacksonville) to 10 years in federal prison, followed by a 15-year term of supervised release, for distributing child sexual abuse materials. Sills is also required to register as a sex offender.
Sills had pleaded guilty on June 2, 2021.
According to court documents, in May 2020, agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began investigating a lead from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) about the uploading and sharing of files depicting the sexual abuse of children from a residence in Jacksonville Heights. CCSO reported that an agent with the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation had also commenced an investigation into an upload and distribution of files of child sexual abuse material from the same residence around the same time period. HSI learned that the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office had also been investigating the sharing of depictions of the sexual abuse of children from the same residence in July 2020, and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office had begun an investigation of the upload of files depicting sexual abuse from the residence in September 2020. HSI, working with CCSO and the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, executed a federal search warrant at the residence on December 3, 2020. However, HSI discovered that Sills had recently moved from the residence in Jacksonville Heights to an apartment in the Ortega area. HSI determined that the same file-sharing program that had been used at Sills’s former residence was being used at Sills’s new address. Agents located internet activity consistent with the upload of depictions of child sex abuse.
On December 17, 2020, HSI executed a federal search warrant at Sills’s Ortega apartment and interviewed Sills, who admitted to receiving, downloading, and viewing images and videos of child sexual abuse. Sills acknowledged that he has a sexual interest in children. Agents seized Sills’s desktop computer, which contained more than 1,900 files depicting children being sexually abused.
“Every time child pornography is shared, it victimizes a child again,” said HSI Jacksonville Assistant Special Agent in Charge K. Jim Phillips. “HSI special agents and our partners with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office have made sure this predator will account for his victimization of our most vulnerable.”
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, along with information from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly S. Karase.
This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Irondequoit Woman Sentenced for Forging Motor Vehicle Documents for Classic CarsRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y. — U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Marcella Samuels, 44, of Irondequoit, NY, who was convicted of mail fraud, was sentenced to serve two years’ probation by U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle P. Rossi, who handled the case, stated that between 2015 and 2020, the defendant created and sold forged State of Maine vehicle titles and registration documents to individuals attempting to title and register classic cars. As part of the scheme, Samuels advertised under the pseudonym “Titleman” in the periodical “Old Cars Weekly,” offering title and registration services for owners of classic cars. The defendant used the U.S. Mail to send payment and advertising applications to Old Cars Weekly. Individuals seeking to title or register vehicles would mail payments of $300 to $350 to the defendant, who would then forge and mail the documents back to customers. Over the course of the scheme, Samuels is believed to have collected approximately $292,000 in proceeds from the fraud.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Boston Division Acting Inspector-in-Charge Joshua W. McCallister, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, under the direction of Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder; and the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Barry Chase.
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Inmate indicted in connection with inmate deathRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Joenell L. Rice, an inmate currently housed at USP Allenwood in Pennsylvania, is facing a voluntary manslaughter and assault charges in the death of another inmate, Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced.
Rice, 34, was indicted on one count of “Voluntary Manslaughter” and one count of “Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury.” Rice, formerly housed at USP Hazelton in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia, is accused of assaulting inmate D.G. by striking him in the head multiple times, killing him. The crime occurred at USP Hazelton in October 2017.
Rice faces up to 15 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000 for the manslaughter charge and faces up to 10 years of incarceration and fine of up to $250,000 for the assault charge. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon S. Flower is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Federal Bureau of Prisons, Special Investigative Services investigated.
An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Indianapolis Man at East Side Shootout Sentenced to Six Years in Prison After a Jury Finds Him Guilty of Illegally Possessing a FirearmRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS – An Indianapolis man, Jalen Howard, 29 was indicted in August of 2019 for felon in possession of a firearm. In May 2021, a jury found Howard guilty, and he was sentenced to 6 years in prison for his crime.
According to court documents, in June 2019, officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police
Department responded to several different calls of gunshots around 16ᵗʰ Street and
Tacoma Avenue. Each time, officers were unable to locate any suspects, but determined there were several males with guns in the area. On the fourth call to the same area, a witness indicated that the shooters were in front of a vacant house. Officers located the individuals and immediately saw firearms on two of the suspects. In total, four firearms were located on four people. One of the individuals in possession of a firearm was Jalen Howard. Howard had previous felony convictions for theft and battery.Two other individuals with Howard at the scene previously plead guilty to illegally possessing a firearm and have been sentenced in federal court.
• Brandon Alexander, 32, Indianapolis
• Tyler Guigere, 28, Indianapolis“Gun related crime is devastating the neighborhoods throughout Indianapolis,” said Acting U.S.
Attorney John E. Childress. “Crimes like these not only put innocent bystanders in harm’s way but also tear at the very fabric of the community. We will continue to work with IMPD and our federal partners to address the problem with convicted felons with guns and utilize the rule of law to ensure they face the greatest penalty possible.”“ATF is committed to combating gun violence in our communities,” said Roland H. Herndon, Jr., Special Agent in Charge for the Columbus Field Division. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute those using firearms to cause violence in our community, with the goal of a safer Indianapolis for us all.”
“We want to recognize the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers who ran toward the gunfire during this incident in June 2019, not knowing the dangers they would face. We also must recognize the residents and innocent bystanders who witness gun violence right outside their front doors and called the police. IMPD along with our federal and state partners will continue to do all we can until the cycle of violence ends,” said IMPD Chief Randal Taylor.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lawrence D. Hilton and Kyle M. Sawa prosecuted the case.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project
Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Illinois Defendant Sentenced to 10 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – Corey Harris, age 26, of Danville, Illinois was sentenced before United States District Court Chief Judge Jon E. DeGuilio upon his plea of guilty to conspiracy to distribute over one kilogram of heroin, announced Acting United States Attorney Tina L. Nommay.
Harris was sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.
According to documents in this case, Corey Harris conspired with multiple individuals to sell heroin in the South Bend and Mishawaka area. During the investigation, purchases of heroin were made from members of the conspiracy on numerous occasions. The conspirators used shared cellphones that customers called to arrange to purchase heroin, which involved over 80,000 contacts during the time of the conspiracy.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the St. Joseph County Drug Investigations Unit, with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office, Indiana State Police, South Bend Police Department, and Elkhart Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joel Gabrielse and Molly E. Donnelly.
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Identity Thief and Tax Fraudster on Way to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – A South Florida federal district judge sentenced a 29-year-old North Miami man yesterday to 38 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in a sophisticated tax-fraud scheme that victimized hundreds of taxpayers and cost the U.S. Treasury over $450,000.
From 2012 to 2015, Wesly Divers, used the stolen information of hundreds of victims to electronically file fraudulent tax returns in their names. In several instances, Divers filed fraudulent returns year after year in the names of the same victims. He masked his identity through sophisticated means, including using virtual private networks (VPNs) to hide his internet protocol (IP) address from IRS servers. During the course of the scheme, through thousands of fraudulent tax returns, Divers claimed roughly $1.5 million in tax refunds. Although the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) was able to detect and stop roughly $1 million of the fraudulent payouts, Divers received $454,121.72. His co-conspirator, 28-year-old Rony Dorismond, received $58,232 in tax refunds from the U.S. Treasury in the name of these victims.
The majority of the fraudulent refunds were deposited into bank accounts that Divers admitted were opened in the names of victims of identity theft. Divers admitted to controlling these accounts and withdrawing funds for his own benefit.
In addition to sentencing Divers to prison and supervised release terms, U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola ordered him to pay $454,121.72 in restitution. Divers pled guilty on June 28, 2021, to conspiracy, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
Diver’s co-defendant, Rony Dorismond, 28, was sentenced last year to 25 months’ imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay $58,232 in restitution.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting United States Attorney, Southern District of Florida, and Darrell J. Waldon, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), Washington DC Field Office, announced the sentence.
IRS-CI, Washington D.C. Field Office, – in particular, its Cyber Crimes Unit – investigated the case. IRS-CI’s Cyber Crimes Unit investigates internet-based technologies that enable criminals to engage in illegal activity. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sajjad Matin and Deputy Chief Frederic “Fritz” Shadley are prosecuting the case.
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 19-CR-20503.
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Honduran Man Pleads Guilty to Unlawful Return After RemovalRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. - A Honduran national pleaded guilty to the federal felony offense of unlawful return of an alien after deportation, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Jason E. Schneider, Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s New Orleans Sector.
According to court documents, Melquisedec Jonas Melgar-Garcia, 33, of Honduras, was arrested on July 13, 2021, after a Border Patrol Agent conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle he was driving on Interstate 10 in Harrison County. Melgar-Garcia did not have a driver’s license and was determined to be illegally present in the United States. He was transported to the Gulfport Border Patrol Station, where his identity was positively confirmed. Official records revealed that Melgar-Garcia had been previously removed from the United States on July 11, 2013 and had illegally returned.
Melgar-Garcia is scheduled to be sentenced on December 7, 2021. He faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. After completing any sentence of incarceration, he also is subject to Department of Homeland Security proceedings to remove him from the United States. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Border Patrol.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris is prosecuting the case.
Highlands County Drug Traffickers Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida – Several Highlands County men have been sentenced in South Florida federal district court to prison terms for their roles in a powder and crack cocaine drug trafficking ring that had become entrenched in the Lake Placid neighborhood of Highway Park, Florida. A law enforcement operation handled by the Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Florida Department of Law Enforcement; and Highlands County Sheriff’s Office dismantled the drug trafficking organization, leading to the prosecution of members at all levels of the criminal enterprise -- from top leaders, to people who cooked crack, to street-level dealers. In the past three months, the following federal defendants have been sentenced in this matter:
Markyrie McCray, Jr., 24, was sentenced on September 8, 2021, by U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks, to 30 months’ imprisonment after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base, commonly known as “crack cocaine.” (Case No. 21-CR-14002).
Takaria Vashon McCray, 47, was sentenced on August 25, 2021, by Judge Middlebrooks, to 188 months’ imprisonment after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base and conspiracy to distribute cocaine. (Case No. 21-CR-14002). Takaria Vashon McCray has a prior conviction from the Southern District of Florida for possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and was sentenced as a career offender under the federal sentencing guidelines.
Markyrie McCray, Sr., 46, was sentenced on August 25, 2021, by Judge Middlebrooks, to 72 months’ imprisonment after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base. (Case No. 21-CR-14002). Markyrie McCray, Sr. has a prior conviction from the Southern District of Florida for conspiracy to distribute cocaine base.
Coy Lee Bellamy, Jr., 34, was sentenced on August 17, 2021, by Judge Middlebrooks, to 96 months’ imprisonment after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base and conspiracy to distribute a cocaine. Coy Lee Bellamy, Jr. was sentenced as a career offender under the federal sentencing guidelines. (Case No. 21-CR-14002).
Terrance Mactavias Sholtz, 43, was sentenced on August 17, 2021, by U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg, to 24 months’ imprisonment after being convicted of distribution of cocaine base. (Case No. 20-CR-14021).
Marquis Sharod Bellamy, 28, was sentenced on July 1, 2021, by Judge Middlebrooks, to 180 months’ imprisonment after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. Marquis Sharod Bellamy was sentenced under the Armed Career Criminal Act. (Case No. 21-CR-14002).
Mykel Laron Treadwell, 34, was sentenced on June 2, 2021, by Judge Middlebrooks, to 24 months’ imprisonment after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute hydromorphone. (Case No. 21-CR-14003).
Kenneth Jamal Deveaux, 39, was sentenced on May 26, 2021, by U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez, to 151 months’ imprisonment after being convicted of distribution of cocaine base. (Case No. 20-CR-14022). Kenneth Jamal Deveaux has a prior conviction from the Southern District of Florida for possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and was sentenced as a career offender under the federal sentencing guidelines.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, La Verne J. Hibbert, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Miami Field Division, Robert Cekada, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, Miami Field Office, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office, Troy Walker, Special Agent in Charge, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and Paul Blackman, Sheriff, Highlands County Sheriff’s Office made the announcement. The State Attorney’s Office for Florida’s 10th Judicial Circuit assisted greatly with this operation.
These cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Porter.
The prosecution was part of Operation Triple Play, which is a result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, and other priority transnational criminal organizations that threaten the citizens of the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence driven, multi-agency approach to combat transnational organized crime. The OCDETF program facilitates complex, joint operations by focusing its partner agencies on priority targets, by managing and coordinating multi-agency efforts, and by leveraging intelligence across multiple investigative platforms.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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Gulfport Man Pleads Guilty to Trafficking in Contraband CigarettesRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. – A Gulfport man pled guilty today to trafficking in contraband cigarettes, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jack Staton of Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans.
According to court documents, Sadeq Saif Farea a/k/a Sadeq Saif Qaid Farea, 43, knowingly purchased for resale 42,000 cigarettes and 36,000 cigarillos, which bore no evidence of the payment of cigarette taxes in the State of Mississippi, constituting contraband cigarettes.
Farea is scheduled to be sentenced on November 29, 2021, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones is prosecuting the case.
Former Tallahassee City Commissioner and Business Partner Sentenced for Years-Long Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
Former Tallahassee City Commissioner Scott Maddox and his former business partner Paige Carter-Smith were sentenced today in the Northern District of Florida to five years and two years in prison, respectively, for their roles in a multi-year scheme to use Maddox’s power as a sitting City Commissioner to extract bribes from Tallahassee companies with business in front of the City Commission. Maddox and Carter-Smith were also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $76,763 and $115,619, respectively, and ordered to pay a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $70,000.
In December 2018, a federal grand jury charged then-City Commissioner Maddox and Carter-Smith in a 44-count indictment for conspiring to operate a racketeering enterprise that engaged in acts of bank fraud, extortion, honest-services fraud, and bribery. That indictment also charged Maddox and Carter-Smith with bank fraud, making false statements to financial institutions, extortion, honest-services fraud, use of interstate facilities to facilitate bribery, making false statements to federal officers, conspiracy to interfere with the lawful function of the IRS, and filing false tax returns. In May 2019, a federal grand jury returned a 47-count superseding indictment adding a third defendant, John Thomas Burnette, and charging him with participating in the racketeering conspiracy and extortion, honest services mail fraud, the use of facilities in interstate commerce to facilitate bribery, and making false statements to federal officers.
Maddox and Carter-Smith each subsequently pleaded guilty to two counts of honest-services fraud and one count of conspiring to interfere with the lawful function of the IRS. According to court documents, while serving as a sitting, voting City Commissioner, Maddox received payments from Governance, a government consulting and lobbying company based in Tallahassee that he started in 1999 and sold to Carter-Smith in 2010. The payments were made to Governance by several companies in either monthly installments or lump sums, which companies sought favorable votes on City of Tallahassee issues. Specifically, the defendants pleaded guilty to Maddox’s acceptance and Carter-Smith’s facilitation of payments from a rideshare company in exchange for favorable treatment on issues it had before the City Commission, and payments from another company in exchange for his favorable treatment on issues that were anticipated before the Commission. The defendants also admitted to tax fraud that resulted in losses of more than $76,000 in total to the IRS.
In accordance with their plea agreements, both Maddox and Carter-Smith testified in the trial against Burnette, who was convicted on one count of extortion, two counts of honest services mail fraud, one count of the use of a facility in interstate commerce to facilitate bribery, and one count of making false statements, and who is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 28.
“Today’s sentences are a result of our tireless efforts to pursue justice for those who put their trust in their elected representatives,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “We will never cease working to ensure that both public officials who fail the citizens of their community by accepting bribes, and those who pay bribes, are held accountable.”
“The democratic system on which our country was founded relies on the consent and trust of the governed,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Jason R. Coody for the Northern District of Florida. “Our citizens deserve and expect that their elected representatives will honor their oath - acting in the public’s interest, rather than accepting bribes and payments out of fear or favor. Today’s sentences acknowledge betrayal of the public trust, the resulting erosion of confidence in our democratic process, and should serve as a significant deterrent to those who would seek to illegally profit from public service. With our law enforcement partners, we remain committed to ensuring that anyone who violates the public’s trust is held accountable.”
“The individuals sentenced today abused Maddox's public office for their own private gain,” said Assistant Director Calvin A. Shivers of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Actions like this erode the trust that Americans place in our governmental institutions, and the FBI will not tolerate such contemptable disregard of public’s trust by elected officials who promise to serve them. The FBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to protecting the government’s integrity by bringing corrupt officials and their cohorts, like Maddox and Carter-Smith, to justice, and we will never stop working to uncover others who think they are beyond the reach of the law.”
“Maddox and Carter-Smith brazenly filed fraudulent tax returns to cheat the government, perhaps because they thought their political ties made them above the law,” said Special Agent in Charge Brian Payne of IRS-Criminal Investigation. “Those Americans who file accurate, honest, and timely returns can be assured that the government will hold accountable those who don’t.”
The FBI Jacksonville Field Office and IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Deputy Chief Peter M. Nothstein and Trial Attorney Rosaleen T. O’Gara of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen M. Kunz and Andrew J. Grogan of the Northern District of Florida prosecuted the case.
Former Tallahassee City Commissioner and Business Partner Sentenced for Years-Long Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
Former Tallahassee City Commissioner Scott Maddox and his former business partner Paige Carter-Smith were sentenced today in the Northern District of Florida to five years and two years in prison, respectively, for their roles in a multi-year scheme to use Maddox’s power as a sitting City Commissioner to extract bribes from Tallahassee companies with business in front of the City Commission. Maddox and Carter-Smith were also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $76,763 and $115,619, respectively, and ordered to pay a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $70,000.
In December 2018, a federal grand jury charged then-City Commissioner Maddox and Carter-Smith in a 44-count indictment for conspiring to operate a racketeering enterprise that engaged in acts of bank fraud, extortion, honest-services fraud, and bribery. That indictment also charged Maddox and Carter-Smith with bank fraud, making false statements to financial institutions, extortion, honest-services fraud, use of interstate facilities to facilitate bribery, making false statements to federal officers, conspiracy to interfere with the lawful function of the IRS, and filing false tax returns. In May 2019, a federal grand jury returned a 47-count superseding indictment adding a third defendant, John Thomas Burnette, and charging him with participating in the racketeering conspiracy and extortion, honest services mail fraud, the use of facilities in interstate commerce to facilitate bribery, and making false statements to federal officers.
Maddox and Carter-Smith each subsequently pleaded guilty to two counts of honest-services fraud and one count of conspiring to interfere with the lawful function of the IRS. According to court documents, while serving as a sitting, voting City Commissioner, Maddox received payments from Governance, a government consulting and lobbying company based in Tallahassee that he started in 1999 and sold to Carter-Smith in 2010. The payments were made to Governance by several companies in either monthly installments or lump sums, which companies sought favorable votes on City of Tallahassee issues. Specifically, the defendants pleaded guilty to Maddox’s acceptance and Carter-Smith’s facilitation of payments from a rideshare company in exchange for favorable treatment on issues it had before the City Commission, and payments from another company in exchange for his favorable treatment on issues that were anticipated before the Commission. The defendants also admitted to tax fraud that resulted in losses of more than $76,000 in total to the IRS.
In accordance with their plea agreements, both Maddox and Carter-Smith testified in the trial against Burnette, who was convicted on one count of extortion, two counts of honest services mail fraud, one count of the use of a facility in interstate commerce to facilitate bribery, and one count of making false statements, and who is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 28.
“Today’s sentences are a result of our tireless efforts to pursue justice for those who put their trust in their elected representatives,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “We will never cease working to ensure that both public officials who fail the citizens of their community by accepting bribes, and those who pay bribes, are held accountable.”
“The democratic system on which our country was founded relies on the consent and trust of the governed,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Jason R. Coody for the Northern District of Florida. “Our citizens deserve and expect that their elected representatives will honor their oath - acting in the public’s interest, rather than accepting bribes and payments out of fear or favor. Today’s sentences acknowledge betrayal of the public trust, the resulting erosion of confidence in our democratic process, and should serve as a significant deterrent to those who would seek to illegally profit from public service. With our law enforcement partners, we remain committed to ensuring that anyone who violates the public’s trust is held accountable.”
“The individuals sentenced today abused Maddox's public office for their own private gain,” said Assistant Director Calvin A. Shivers of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Actions like this erode the trust that Americans place in our governmental institutions, and the FBI will not tolerate such contemptable disregard of public’s trust by elected officials who promise to serve them. The FBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to protecting the government’s integrity by bringing corrupt officials and their cohorts, like Maddox and Carter-Smith, to justice, and we will never stop working to uncover others who think they are beyond the reach of the law.”
“Maddox and Carter-Smith brazenly filed fraudulent tax returns to cheat the government, perhaps because they thought their political ties made them above the law,” said Special Agent in Charge Brian Payne of IRS-Criminal Investigation. “Those Americans who file accurate, honest, and timely returns can be assured that the government will hold accountable those who don’t.”
The FBI Jacksonville Field Office and IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Deputy Chief Peter M. Nothstein and Trial Attorney Rosaleen T. O’Gara of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen M. Kunz and Andrew J. Grogan of the Northern District of Florida prosecuted the case.
Former TSA Official Sentenced to Federal Prison for Stealing from Federal Worker’s Compensation ProgramRead the Press Release
Florence, South Carolina --- Acting United States Attorney for the District of South Carolina M. Rhett DeHart announced today that Emmanuel Papas, 52, of Myrtle Beach, a former lead transportation security officer with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), has been sentenced to more than one year in federal prison after pleading guilty to stealing from the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers Compensation Program.
“Federal employees should always respect the trust given to them, be it as a current or former employee,” said Acting United States Attorney DeHart. “Betraying that trust and stealing from the federal government never pays.”
Evidence presented in court established that Papas was injured on the job in 2004, when he served with the TSA at the Newark International Liberty Airport. Due to these injuries, Papas began receiving federal worker’s compensation benefits.
A subsequent federal investigation by TSA agents revealed that Papas was improperly receiving benefits because he was actively working at granite shops in the Myrtle Beach area from March 2009 through February 2020. Surveillance showed Papas working, interviews with various granite business employees confirmed that he worked at three Myrtle Beach-area retail granite shops, and deposits into Papas’s bank account showed income from Myrtle Beach-area granite businesses. The investigation also revealed that Papas disguised his income by having his earnings either paid in cash or with checks made payable in his family members’ names. Papas, who ultimately confessed, also completed at least eight federal forms attesting that he had no outside income and was, thus, eligible to continue to receive his benefits. The total loss to the federal government was just under $150,000.
United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon sentenced Papas to one year and one day of imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Additionally, Papas was ordered to pay restitution of $148,982.42.
The matter was investigated by TSA-Investigations, Atlanta Field Office, with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Labor.
Assistant United States Attorney Derek A. Shoemake prosecuted the case.
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Former Michigan Police Officer Sentenced to Three Years for Using Unreasonable Excessive Force During an ArrestRead the Press Release
A former Hamtramck, Michigan, Police Department officer was sentenced today in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan for using unjustified and unreasonable excessive force during an arrest of a civilian and violating that civilian’s civil rights. As a result of the assault, the victim, identified in court documents only as D.M., suffered broken facial bones and lacerations requiring stitches, among other injuries.
Ryan McInerney, 45, of Grosse Ile Township, Michigan, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gershwin A. Drain to three years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. McInerney pleaded guilty on Jan. 8 to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law. As part of the plea agreement, McInerney also voluntarily relinquished his law enforcement license.
“The defendant abused the trust given to him as a law enforcement officer when he pistol-whipped two arrestees on two separate occasions,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will vigorously prosecute law enforcement officials who violate federal civil rights laws to ensure that the rights of all individuals, including those being taken into custody, are protected.”
“The vast majority of police officers are decent, caring and honorable men and women who are dedicated to protecting and serving the public and safeguarding civil rights,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Saima Mohsin for the Eastern District of Michigan. “We live in a nation governed by the rule of law and no one is above the law. Police officers like McInerney who use unreasonable and excessive force and who inflict harm on the very citizens they are sworn to protect will be vigorously prosecuted and brought to justice.”
“The sentencing today is an example of the FBI’s dedication to Civil Rights through its investigations of police officers who abuse their authority under color of law to violate the constitutional rights of those they swore to serve and protect,” said Special Agent in Charge Timothy Waters of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “This case should not diminish the work conducted every day by the vast majority of men and women in law enforcement, but the few, like Ryan McInerney, who abuse their official capacity in dereliction of duty, will be prosecuted like any other criminal.”
During the plea hearing, the defendant admitted that on the night of June 22, 2014, while he was on duty as a Hamtramck Police Department (HPD) officer, he initiated a traffic stop on D.M. After D.M. stopped his car, the defendant approached the driver’s side door and ordered D.M. to put his hands up, and D.M. complied. Regardless, and without justification, the defendant used his service firearm to pistol-whip D.M. several times in the face, through the open window of D.M.’s car door. D.M. did not present a danger to the defendant, and there was no lawful reason for the pistol-whipping. The strikes caused D.M. to suffer broken facial bones, among other injuries. The defendant further admitted that he intentionally memorialized a false account of this incident in an official HPD use of force form in order to cover up his excessive use of force against D.M. and to impede any further investigation of this incident. The defendant also admitted that, later that same night during a different arrest, he pistol-whipped a second civilian, identified as J.M., also without justification, breaking J.M.’s teeth.
This case was investigated by the FBI and was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Risa Berkower of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Frances Lee Carlson of the Eastern District of Michigan.
Former Florida Department of Corrections Officer Sentenced for Civil Rights Conspiracy to Assault Youthful OffendersRead the Press Release
Former Florida Department of Corrections Officer Terrance Reynolds, 31, was sentenced yesterday to 33 months in prison and two years of supervised release. Reynolds was convicted following a fourteen-day trial for conspiring to assault youthful offender inmates at the South Florida Reception Center, a prison located in Doral, Florida. A second former officer previously pleaded guilty in this case and was sentenced in federal court.
Evidence presented at trial established that on March 27, 2017, Reynolds and former Sergeant Brendan Butler, 31, conspired to physically assault and intimidate youthful offender inmates for being disruptive and disrespectful earlier that morning. Reynolds and Butler then instructed three of the inmates to exit their housing unit and took them into a mop closet. Once inside the mop closet, Reynolds and Butler assaulted one of the inmates with a stick, causing him bodily injury, while the other two inmates stood nearby. The following day, Reynolds and Butler assaulted one of the other inmates to punish him for being disrespectful. Inmates may be classified as youthful offenders by a court or the Department of Corrections, and are generally twenty-four years old or younger. Butler previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the inmates’ civil rights.
“Corrections officers who use unjustified force against inmates in their custody violate the Constitution, and the Justice Department will not tolerate that,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We are committed to ensuring the safety of prisoners and prosecuting officers who break the public’s trust in this way.”
“The corrections officer sentenced violated not only the Constitution, but also the public’s trust,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida. “Seeking justice for victims whose civil rights are violated by those in positions of power has always been, and will continue to be, a top priority of this office.”
“The actions of former corrections officer Terrance Reynolds are inexcusable and undercut the public’s trust in our institutions and officials,” said Deputy Special Agent in Charge Denise M. Stemen of the FBI Miami Field Office. “The FBI’s Miami Area Corruption Task Force was assembled and designed to root out this type of reprehensible conduct. I commend the professionalism and hard work of the Florida Department of Corrections Office of the Inspector General and their close cooperation with FBI for this investigation.”
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Miami Area Corruption Task Force and the Florida Department of Corrections Office of the Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Senior and Brian Dobbins of the Southern District of Florida and Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel of the Civil Rights Division.
Former Florida Department of Corrections Officer Sentenced for Civil Rights Conspiracy to Assault Youthful OffendersRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida — Former Florida Department of Corrections officer, Terrance Reynolds, 31, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Donald L. Graham to 33 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release. Reynolds was convicted following a 14-day trial for conspiring to assault youthful offender inmates at the South Florida Reception Center, a prison located in Doral, Florida. A second former officer previously pleaded guilty in this case and was sentenced in federal court.
Evidence presented at trial established that on March 27, 2017, Reynolds and former Sergeant Brendan Butler, 31, conspired to physically assault and intimidate youthful offender inmates for being disruptive and disrespectful earlier that morning. Reynolds and Butler then instructed three of the inmates to exit their housing unit and took them into a mop closet. Once inside the mop closet, they assaulted one of the inmates. Reynolds used a broom stick, causing the inmate bodily injury, while the other two inmates stood nearby. The following day, Reynolds and Butler assaulted one of the other inmates to punish him for being disrespectful. Inmates may be classified as youthful offenders by a court or the Department of Corrections and are generally twenty-four years old or younger. Butler previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the inmates’ civil rights.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and Denise M. Stemen, Deputy Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, announced the sentence.
“The corrections officer sentenced yesterday violated not only the Constitution, but also the public’s trust,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gonzalez. “Seeking justice for victims whose civil rights are violated by those in positions of power has always been, and will continue to be, a top priority of this Office.”
“The actions of former corrections officer Terrance Reynolds are inexcusable and undercut the public’s trust in our institutions and officials,” said FBI-Miami Deputy Special Agent in Charge Stemen. “The FBI’s Miami Area Corruption Task Force was assembled and designed to root out this type of reprehensible conduct. I commend the professionalism and hard work of the Florida Department of Corrections Office of the Inspector General and their close cooperation with FBI for this investigation.”
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Miami Area Corruption Task Force and the Florida Department of Corrections Office of the Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Senior and Brian Dobbins of the Southern District of Florida and Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel of DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.
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 on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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Former Fairmount Heights Police Officer Facing Federal Civil Rights Indictment for Allegedly Sexually Assaulting a Woman After a Traffic StopRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging former Fairmount Heights Police officer, Martique Cabral Vanderpool, age 32, of Fairmount Heights, Maryland, for deprivation of civil rights under color of law, for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman he arrested after a traffic stop. The indictment was returned on September 8, 2021.
The indictment was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Malik Azziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.
According to the single-count indictment, on September 6, 2019, Vanderpool arrested a 19-year-old female after a traffic stop. Vanderpool allegedly deprived the woman of the right to be free from unreasonable seizure by a person acting under color of law, which includes the right to be free from unwanted sexual assault by a police officer.
The indictment alleges that Vanderpool transported the victim to the Fairmount Heights police station, where he sexually assaulted her. The indictment also alleges that the civil rights violation included: kidnapping; the use, attempted use, and threatened use of a firearm; and aggravated sexual abuse and attempted aggravated sexual abuse of the victim.
If convicted, Vanderpool faces a maximum sentence of life in federal prison 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. Vanderpool will have an initial appearance scheduled in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt at a later date.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke commended the FBI and the Prince George’s Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Lenzner and Ms. Clarke thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dwight J. Draughon and Caitlin R. Cottingham and Trial Attorney Elizabeth Hutson of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, who are prosecuting the federal case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/civil-rights and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Florida Man Sentenced for Conspiring to Defraud Massachusetts-Based Uniform Supply CompanyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Florida man was sentenced yesterday in connection with a scheme to defraud his former employer, a Massachusetts-based uniform-supply company, by falsifying invoices.
Richard Ritz, 58, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to 21 months in prison and two years of supervised release. Ritz was also ordered to pay restitution of $1,373,156 and forfeiture of $289,250. On June 3, 2021, Ritz pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
Between approximately 2000 and March 2019, Ritz and others defrauded the uniform-supply company by causing the company to pay fake invoices for products that were not actually delivered, and by diverting other products that they re-sold for their own benefit. Ritz’s co-conspirators also created a fake supply company, to which Ritz caused the uniform-supply company to pay more than $800,000 on fraudulent invoices.
Ritz is the first former employee of the uniform-supply company to be sentenced in connection with the conspiracy. Co-conspirator Keith Smedley pleaded guilty in June 2021 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 12, 2021. Co-conspirator Brian Halpern pleaded guilty in August 2021 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 16, 2021.
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. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara Miron Bloom and Ian Stearns of Mendell’s Securities Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.
Five local men charged federally with crimes connected to 3 murdersRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury has charged five Columbus men with crimes related to three murders. An alleged narcotics conspiracy in 2018 to rob a local marijuana dealer of drugs and cash in his residence allegedly resulted in the shooting death of another resident within that house. To cover up for this murder, it is alleged one defendant murdered a man and a woman with knowledge of the first murder.
The indictment was returned yesterday and unsealed today. Those charged include:
Name
AKA
Age
Crimes Charged
Larry J. Williams, Jr.
J Streets, J
40
- Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances
- Murder related to drug trafficking crime
- Robbery
- Murder related to crime of violence (3 counts)
- Conspiracy to destroy evidence
- Murder of a witness (2 counts)
- Obstruction of justice
- Conspiracy to obstruct justice
- Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin
- Possession with intent to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin (2 counts)
- Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
- Possession with intent to distribute fentanyl
- Distribution of cocaine
*Kyle Castle
*Currently a fugitive
29
- Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances
- Murder related to drug trafficking crime
- Robbery
- Murder related to crime of violence
Jesse Climer
30
- Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances
- Murder related to drug trafficking crime
- Robbery
- Murder related to crime of violence
Brian Muncy
23
- Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances
- Robbery
Durone Ellis
B, BB
34
- Conspiracy to obstruct justice
- Possession with intent to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin
According to the 17-count second superseding indictment, Williams solicited others in the conspiracy to learn of potential drug traffickers to rob of their drugs and drug proceeds.
On June 27, 2018, defendants allegedly robbed at gunpoint a drug premises at 847 E.N. Broadway in Columbus. It is alleged the co-conspirators planned and carried out the robbery to steal one of the residents’ controlled substances and profit from the sale of the drugs.
The indictment further details that on June 27, 2018, Williams allegedly murdered Connor Reynolds, a 23-year-old from Grove City, and Castle and Climer were part of the armed robbery.
In August 2018, Williams then allegedly murdered Henry Watson, a 52-year-old from Columbus, to prevent him from providing information regarding Connor Reynolds’s murder to law enforcement.
On the same day, and immediately following the murder of Henry Watson, Williams allegedly murdered Tera Pennington, a 48-year-old from Columbus, to prevent her from serving as a witness to the previous crimes.
Williams allegedly instructed individuals to destroy a firearm and firearm barrel and to dispose of evidence from and clean the crime scene at 129 Stevens Ave. with bleach and other chemicals. Williams and Ellis are charged with conspiring to obstruct justice by concealing the bodies of Henry Watson and Tera Pennington. Williams also directed others to dismember and remove the bodies from 129 Stevens Ave. in Columbus.
Four additional defendants – Patrick Foster, Eric Linley, Phillip Trent and Charles Koon – were charged in February 2021 with their involvement with moving, dismembering, relocating and then burying the bodies of murder victims Henry Watson and Tera Pennington. Linley, Trent and Koon allegedly worked under the direction of Foster. Linley, Trent and Koon have pleaded guilty to being accessories after the murder and Foster’s case remains pending. Their cases were also unsealed today.
Finally, Williams is charged with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute, and to possessing with the intent to distribute, cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin.
The indictment details that Williams and others used 129 Stevens Ave. as a drug premises to sell and allow users to use narcotics. It is alleged that, on more than one occasion, users overdosed in the basement of the home and co-conspirators would provide Narcan to revive the users.
It was also part of the conspiracy, according to the indictment, that co-conspirators used apartments at 4594 Ava Point in Hilliard and 2849 Drew Heights Place #206 in Reynoldsburg to store large amounts of narcotics.
Four other defendants – Stephanie S. Bouphavong, Lashawn L. White, Jeffrey Mason Ford and Richard Rodgers – have been charged with and pleaded guilty to related narcotics crimes.
Williams could potentially face the death penalty in this case.
Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Vance Callender, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin and Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant announced the charges. The joint investigation includes assistance from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), Franklin County Coroner’s Office, Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center (ONIC), U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the Columbus Division of Fire and the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy D. Prichard and Elizabeth A. Geraghty are representing the United States in this case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
If you have information on Kyle Castle’s whereabouts, please contact Homeland Security Investigations through the tip line at 1-866-DHS-2423.
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Felon Pleads Guilty to Being a Convicted Felon in Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – Kelvin Seymour, 36, has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph C. Murphy Jr., announced the guilty plea today.
According to information presented in court, on December 15, 2018, Memphis Police Officers responded to an aggravated assault on Jones Road. The victim informed law enforcement of the recent assault by Kelvin Seymour. Further, the victim stated that Seymour borrowed her car and refused to return it. Upon entering the car, the victim was forced to drive around for hours as Seymour became irate. He pulled an unknown black handgun from his waistband and made multiple threats to kill her, while striking her several times in her face.
Officers located Seymour in the passenger seat of the victim's car. The victim advised officers Seymour hid the gun under the center console, subsequently, where officers recovered a black Ruger .380 caliber pistol.
Seymour is a convicted felon, having previously been convicted of four felonies and several misdemeanor convictions. The defendant was on probation for a 2016 conviction of aggravated assault to a police officer when this crime occurred.
On September 7, 2021 the defendant pled guilty.
This case is set for sentencing on January 5, 2022, before U.S. District Judge Mark S. Norris where he faces up to 10 years imprisonment, to be followed by no more than three years supervised release and a fine of $250,000. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the Memphis Police Department and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Task Force. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative is a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our communities safer for everyone. In 2017, PSN was reinvigorated as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement, and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Wendy K. Cornejo is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
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Federal Inmate Sentenced for Conspiring with Brother in Tax Refund Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A federal prison inmate was sentenced today to an additional six years and three months in prison for conspiring with his brother to defraud the IRS as part of a fraudulent income tax refund scheme.
According to court documents, Jabari Laquan Marshall, who was serving a federal prison sentence for a prior mortgage fraud conviction, and his brother Jalen Tony Henry devised a scheme to defraud the IRS. As part of the scheme, Marshall provided Henry with false documents and directed Henry to file a false amended tax return for tax year 2014, claiming that over $5.5 million in federal income tax had been withheld on his behalf as a result of a fictitious intellectual property sale. Henry later submitted other fraudulent documents that supposedly documented the sale, and the IRS ultimately relied on these documents to issue a refund check for $1,439,039. Henry deposited the check into his bank account, and Marshall directed Henry to split the funds among their family members. Henry withdrew approximately $5,000 before his bank account was frozen. The IRS successfully recovered the remaining funds.
Marshall pleaded guilty in May 2021 to one count of theft of government property and one count of aggravated identity theft. In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan ordered Marshall to pay restitution and sentenced him to three years of supervised release.
Co-defendant Henry pleaded guilty in May 2021 to one count of theft of government property. He was sentenced on August 26, 2021.
Acting U.S. Attorney Christopher Chiou for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge C. Darren Lian for IRS-Criminal Investigation made the announcement.
This case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Schmale prosecuted the case.
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Essex County Man Admits Role in Car Theft SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A New Jersey man today admitted his role in a multi-state car theft and fraud ring, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Eric Morgan, 34, of Belleville, New Jersey, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court to an information charging him with three counts of wire fraud.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From November 2016 to March 2019, Morgan engaged in a scheme to sell stolen vehicles through internet-based marketplaces, such as Craigslist and OfferUp. For each fraudulent transaction, once a desirable vehicle was selected, the target vehicle was photographed, and a GPS tracker was attached to the vehicle in order to acquire a pattern-of-life of the original owner before the targeted vehicle was stolen. The target vehicle was then listed for sale on an internet-based marketplace. Potential purchasers of the target vehicles responded to listings and scheduled in-person meetings to purchase the vehicles. Shortly before the scheduled meeting times, the targeted vehicles were stolen with specially made car keys and fraudulently sold to unwittingly purchasers. On three occasions, Morgan, while posing as the lawful owner of a stolen vehicle, met the purchasers and sold them the stolen car while also providing them with a fraudulent motor vehicle registration and the specially made car key.
Morgan pleaded guilty to his participation in the sale of a 2010 Acura TSX through Craigslist on July 19, 2017, the sale of a 2015 Honda Accord through OfferUp on Nov. 23, 2018, and the sale of a 2016 Honda Accord through Craigslist on March 22, 2019.
The scheme to defraud involves more than 30 stolen vehicles, of which 29 were sold to unwitting buyers.
The wire fraud counts that Morgan pleaded guilty to each carry a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2022.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kendall Randolph of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Unit in Newark.
Enrolled member of the Navajo Nation sentenced to seven years in federal prison for assault in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
ALBUQERQUE, N.M. – Marty Manuelito, 46, of Albuquerque, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was sentenced in federal court on Aug. 13 to seven years in prison for assault resulting in serious bodily injury in Indian Country.
Manuelito pleaded guilty on Nov. 5, 2020. According to the plea agreement, on Apr. 23, 2017, Manuelito and two accomplices assaulted John Doe at his residence on the Navajo Nation. Manuelito, along with Derwin Williams, 44, and Joelson Talk, 45, attacked the victim to retrieve a firearm. As a result of the attack, the victim suffered multiple lacerations to his forehead, mouth and wrist, a broken tooth, and fractures to his spine and nose. The victim also sustained a concussion and required immediate medical attention for his injuries.
Upon completion of his sentence, Manuelito will be subject to three years of supervised release.
Williams pleaded guilty on June 5, 2020, and was sentenced on Oct. 21, 2020, to three years in prison. Talk pleaded guilty on July 24, 2020, and on May 18 was sentenced to nine years and nine months in prison.
The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office and the Navajo Nation Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Marshall prosecuted the case.
Effingham Man Sentenced to 58 Months in Prison for Manufacturing Counterfeit MoneyRead the Press Release
An Effingham man was sentenced yesterday to four years and ten months in prison and a $1,000 fine for manufacturing counterfeit money.
According to court documents, counterfeit bills manufactured by Jared Sapp, 29, were recovered in Madison, St. Clair, and Effingham counties, and as far away as Colorado. Sapp’s counterfeiting dates back to at least 2016. A number of businesses in Effingham, Illinois reported in 2017 and 2018 that they had been paid counterfeit money that was later traced back to Sapp. Sapp would also use counterfeit money to pay for used goods on websites or applications like “letgo.com” and “craigslist.com.” All told, law enforcement recovered at least 201 counterfeit bills manufactured by Sapp with a total face value of $4,715.00. The operation came to an end when Sapp was arrested in April 2020 with two printer/scanners and a pile of counterfeit $20s in the trunk of his car.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Secret Service, the Effingham City Police Department, the Granite City Police Department, and the Caseyville Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Reed prosecuted the case.East Peoria Man Sentenced to 42 Months in Prison for Unlawful Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
PEORIA, Ill. – An East Peoria, Ill., man, Joshua Dunn, 29, of the 100 block of Callender Street, was sentenced to 42 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, on September 8, 2021, for possessing a firearm as a felon.
U.S. District Court Judge Joe Billy McDade cited Dunn’s felony record and the fact that the firearm was stolen in imposing sentence. According to court documents, Dunn has two prior felony convictions for domestic battery and was on supervised release at the time of this offense.
At the sentencing hearing, the court heard evidence that Dunn had stolen the Glock 9mm firearm from his family’s residence and lied to law enforcement about its whereabouts. The East Peoria Police Department later found the firearm with Dunn at a local hotel.
Dunn pleaded guilty to the single-count indictment on April 30, 2021. He has remained in the custody of the United States Marshals Service since his arrest on January 10, 2020.
The East Peoria Police Department investigated the case with assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and the Pekin Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine G. Legge represented the government in the prosecution.
The case was brought as part of The Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative. The Department’s renewed commitment to Project Safe Neighborhoods establishes four fundamental principles to guide efforts to reduce violent crime: 1) build trust and legitimacy within communities; 2) invest in community-based prevention and intervention programs; 3) target enforcement and priorities to focus resources on identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the most significant drivers of gun violence and other violent crime; and, 4) measure results with the goal to reduce the level of violence in our communities and not to increase the number of arrests and prosecutions as if they were ends in themselves.
Doctor Admits Stealing more than $500,000 from Former EmployerRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A doctor today admitted defrauding his prior employer’s medical practice by stealing and forging the medical practice’s checks to pay personal expenses, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Walter Sytnik, 35, of Voorhees, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez in Camden federal court to an information charging him with one count of mail fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Before attending medical school, Sytnik worked for a medical practice in southern New Jersey as a bookkeeper. While employed by the practice, Sytnik stole some of its checks and, from May 2013 through April 2018, used them to steal more than $500,000 from the practice. He opened and maintained credit card accounts at the same banks as used by the doctor at the medical practice, and forged the doctor’s signature on the stolen checks, which he sent through the U.S. Mail to pay his own credit card bills. When Sytnik ran out of checks, he reordered new ones so that he could continue the fraud.
The mail fraud charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the offense, whichever is greatest. In his plea agreement, Sytnik agreed to make restitution for the full amount of the loss, which, after the recoupment of some of the stolen monies, is estimated at $416,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2022.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited agents of the FBI’s South Jersey Resident Agency, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Bradley S. Benavides in Philadelphia, with assistance from the Voorhees Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief Louis Bordi, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana Vondra Carrig of the U.S Attorney’s Office in Camden.
Detroit Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison on Sex Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
A Detroit resident was sentenced today to 240 months in federal prison after having been convicted by a federal jury in January 2020 on charges of sex trafficking using force and coercion, distribution of controlled substances, and maintaining a drug premises, announced Acting United States Attorney Saima Mohsin.
Mohsin was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Timothy Waters, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division.
Sentenced was Richard Knider Jackson, 71, of Detroit. Jackson was convicted following a 5-day jury trial before United States District Judge Stephen J. Murphy, III. The jury deliberated approximately 2 hours before returning their verdicts.
Jackson was also convicted of distribution of heroin and crack cocaine and maintaining a drug premises.
Evidence presented at the trial established that a woman called 911 in 2016 pleading for help. When Detroit Police responded, the officers quickly determined that the location was used for human trafficking. In the home, officers observed a house in complete disrepair, with signs of intravenous drug use throughout the home. Defendant had installed a security gate within the home at the top of the stairs.
“This defendant treated his victims like a commodity,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Mohsin. “He targeted vulnerable women and exploited them for his own profit and fueled their drug addictions by providing them with heroin and crack cocaine. We hope that today’s sentence offers these victims a sense of justice and closure and also raises awareness that sex traffickers are exploiting victims in our communities."
The case was investigated by special agents of the FBI and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sara D. Woodward and Barbara Lanning.
Defendants Receive Sentences of 10+ Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – Thomas Shane Benefield, 46, of Bossier City, Louisiana, and Antravion D. Johnson, 24, of Shreveport, Louisiana, have each been sentenced in unrelated cases by Chief United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr., announced Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook.
Thomas Shane Benefield was sentenced to 168 months (14 years) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Benefield, along with five other individuals, was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2020 and charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He pleaded guilty to the charge on May 5, 2021 and admitted to the court that he committed the offense. In early 2020, law enforcement agents began an investigation into the drug trafficking activities of Benefield and his co-conspirators. Agents learned that they were traveling to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area to purchase large quantities of methamphetamine and bringing it back to sell in the Shreveport/Bossier City area. On June 12, 2020, Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies conducted a traffic stop on Benefield and he gave consent to search the truck he was driving. Deputies found two firearms, along with 30.2 grams of methamphetamine and a scale in the truck. Benefield admitted to helping his co-conspirators distribute methamphetamine and that he collected money from many different buyers in the local area for the narcotics they purchased. In addition, Benefield purchased some of the methamphetamine so he could personally sell it and make money for himself. Benefield has previous felony convictions for manufacturing methamphetamine (2002) and possession with intent to distribute Schedule I (2009).
The FBI, ATF, Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, and Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford prosecuted the case.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. 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.
Antravion D. Johnson, who has a lengthy criminal history, was sentenced to 120 months (10 years) in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Johnson was charged by a federal grand jury for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and he pleaded guilty to the charge on May 5, 2021. The charge stems from an incident which occurred on February 12, 2021 when Shreveport Police Department officers executed a search warrant at an apartment on Peach Street in Shreveport. Johnson was inside the apartment when the warrant was executed. Officers found a loaded Glock pistol inside the residence and just outside of the apartment, officers found a loaded Micro Draco pistol inside a vehicle. Johnson admitted that he possessed the firearms knowing that as a convicted felon, he was prohibited from doing so. Johnson was previously convicted of aggravated assault with a firearm (2016), felony theft (2015), and felon in possession of a firearm (2017).
The ATF and Shreveport Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert F. Moody prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN is part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.
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Dark Web Narcotics Traffickers Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Illegal Drugs in Exchange for CryptocurrencyRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Gilberto Melgarejo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute illegal drugs over the “dark web.” Co-defendant Brooke Gray pleaded guilty to the same charge on August 10, 2021. Melgarejo and Gray participated in dozens of transactions on the dark web in which they sold an array of illegal drugs including methamphetamines, fentanyl, heroin, LSD and MDMA, and took payment in the form of cryptocurrency. Both defendants pleaded guilty before United States Chief District Judge Margo K. Brodie. They were arrested on November 14, 2019 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Ray Donovan, Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division (DEA), announced the guilty pleas.
“With today’s guilty plea, the defendants have admitted to peddling potentially lethal narcotics on the dark web in a failed effort to hide their illegal and dangerous activity from law enforcement,” stated Acting United States Attorney Kasulis. “As these defendants have learned, drug dealers who push their poison online cannot evade prosecution by hiding in the dark corners of the internet. This Office, together with its law enforcement partners, will continue to aggressively prosecute narcotics traffickers who contribute to the opioid epidemic and harm our communities.”
“This investigation proves that there is no place to hide in the dark web when it comes to law enforcement’s efforts to save lives. Their selling point was anonymity, but law enforcement followed ‘THEQUEENSHIVE’ trail to the defendants’ base of operations in Albuquerque, New Mexico. With overdoses on the rise, it is our goal to shut down as many drug trafficking organizations online and on the streets,” stated DEA Special Agent-in-Charge Donovan.
The internet contains online marketplaces for narcotics and other contraband on the “dark web,” a part of the internet located beyond the reach of traditional internet browsers and accessible only through networks designed to conceal user identities. The “Wall Street Market” and “Empire Market” were global dark web marketplaces that required their users to trade in digital currencies, primarily Bitcoin.
Between March 2019 and September 2019, Melgarejo and Gray advertised and sold illegal narcotics on Wall Street Market and Empire Market, using the moniker “THEQUEENSHIVE.” Customers were directed to pay for illegal narcotics with cryptocurrency and contact Melgarejo and Gray through encrypted email and messaging services. Melgarejo and Gray claimed to sell “the highest quality product at the best price on the market…our packaging is covert as seal team six to ensure we avoid interception.” Beginning in March 2019, Melgarejo and Gray unknowingly made multiple sales of narcotics, including methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, LSD and MDMA to undercover DEA agents. Melgarejo and Gray used fake address labels and shipping materials designed to disguise the narcotics, then mailed the narcotics using United States Postal Service mailboxes located in multiple gas stations in the Albuquerque area in a futile effort to evade detection. The investigation further revealed that after receiving Bitcoin in exchange for the narcotics, Melgarejo and Gray converted the Bitcoin to cash and shared the proceeds. Melgarejo and Gray participated in over 90 transactions on Wall Street Market and Empire Market.
When they are sentenced, Melgarejo and Gray each face up to life in prison.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section. Assistant United States Attorney Francisco J. Navarro is in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendants:
GILBERTO MELGAREJO (also known as “THEQUEENSHIVE”)
Age: 27
Albuquerque, New MexicoBROOKE GRAY (also known as “THEQUEENSHIVE”)
Age: 23
Albuquerque, New MexicoE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-586 (MKB)
Convicted Felon with Violent Criminal History Sentenced to Prison in Project Safe Neighborhoods CaseRead the Press Release
ATHENS, Ga. – A convicted felon with a violent criminal history was sentenced to federal prison after admitting he was in illegal possession of a stolen firearm in a Project Safe Neighborhoods investigation.
Nitgel Williams, 27, of Commerce, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 68 months in prison to run consecutive to the state sentence he is currently serving by U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal this morning. In addition, Judge Royal ordered that Williams serve three years of supervised release. Williams previously pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Violent criminals found in illegal possession of firearms will face federal prosecution,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “Working with our law enforcement partners under Project Safe Neighborhoods, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will do everything within our power to reduce violent crime in Athens and across the Middle District of Georgia by holding repeat, violent offenders accountable for continually disregarding the law.”
According to court documents, Williams was pulled over by an Athens-Clarke County Police Department Officer the night of February 12, 2020, for failing to maintain lane and driving 5-10 mph under the speed limit--both indicators that the driver was impaired. The officer observed Williams attempting to hide a cut straw, which is commonly used to ingest illegal narcotics, inside the vehicle. During a legal search of William’s vehicle, the officer located cocaine, heroin and a stolen .45 caliber pistol. Williams was previously convicted of aggravated assault in the Superior Court of Clarke County, Georgia. It is illegal for a convicted felon to possess a firearm.
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.
The case was investigated by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, the Northeast Georgia Regional Drug Task Force and the Athens-Clarke County Police Department Gang Unit.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Morrison is prosecuting the case for the Government.
Colorado Man Sentenced to 16 Years in Federal Prison for Unprovoked Stabbing of Black ManRead the Press Release
A Colorado man was sentenced to federal prison today for stabbing a Black man from Ontario, Oregon, while the man was sitting in a fast-food restaurant.
Nolan Levi Strauss, 27, was sentenced to 16 years in federal prison and five years of supervised release.
According to court documents and statements made at the sentencing hearing, on the morning of Dec. 21, 2019, Strauss was at a Pilot Travel Center in Ontario, Oregon, when he saw a Black man walk into the adjoining Arby’s Restaurant. Strauss did not know the man and had never seen him before, but he decided he wanted to kill the man, because he was Black. The man was at the Arby’s to provide documentation for a pending job application. He sat in a booth by himself and waited to meet with the restaurant manager, when Strauss entered the building and approached the man from behind.
Suddenly, unprovoked and without warning, Strauss stabbed the man twice in the neck, cutting his jugular vein and causing blood to rush out of the man’s neck. The man struggled to wrest the knife from Strauss, certain that he would die if he was stabbed again. A maintenance worker approached Strauss and directed him to drop the knife several times. Finally, the stabbing victim broke free from Strauss’s grip and ran to the other side of the restaurant where he collapsed on the floor, his clothes soaked with blood. While employees tried to provide first aid to the victim and his life-threatening injuries, the maintenance worker used a belt to secure Strauss’s hands behind his back and waited for police to arrive.
While they waited, the worker asked Strauss why he stabbed the man. Strauss replied, “Because he was Black, and I don’t like Black people.” Strauss was arrested at the scene. In two interviews with the police later that day, Strauss explained his beliefs about Black people, describing them as manipulative, lacking morality, and “not good people.” As Strauss told police, the color of the victim’s skin was Strauss’s “only problem with him.”
“This defendant is being held accountable for his brutal and racially-motivated attack against a Black man carried out because of the color of his skin,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Racially motivated attacks have no place in our society, and the Civil Rights Division will continue to vigorously enforce federal laws that prohibit bias motivated violence.”
“We hope the lengthy sentence imposed today will bring some measure of peace and closure for the man viciously attacked by Nolan Strauss,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug for the District of Oregon. “The sentence should also send a clear message to anyone contemplating similar acts of violence: hatred and bigotry will not be tolerated.”
“All Oregonians should be able to live and work without fear that their skin color will mark them for violence,” said Special Agent in Charge Kieran L. Ramsey of the FBI Oregon Field Office. “Beyond the physical and emotional damage done to a victim, such violence can infect an entire community with divisiveness and despair. This is not the kind of place that any of us want to raise our families, and we stand with the entire community in saying this is not acceptable and we will not allow it.”
As a result of Strauss’s attack, the stabbing victim suffered two large lacerations to his neck. He was evaluated in Ontario and subsequently life-flighted to a hospital in Boise, Idaho, for emergency surgery.
On Sept. 17, 2020, a federal grand jury in Eugene returned a one-count indictment charging Strauss with a hate crime involving an attempt to kill. On June 17, 2021, he pleaded guilty to the charge.
This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Ontario Police Department, Oregon State Police and the Malheur County District Attorney’s Office. It was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Cameron A. Bell for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gavin W. Bruce for the District of Oregon.
Colorado Man Sentenced to 16 Years in Federal Prison for Unprovoked Stabbing of Black ManRead the Press Release
EUGENE, Ore.— A Colorado man was sentenced to federal prison today for stabbing a Black man from Ontario, Oregon, while the man was sitting in a fast-food restaurant.
Nolan Levi Strauss, 27, was sentenced to 16 years in federal prison and five years’ supervised release.
“This defendant is being held accountable for his brutal and racially-motivated attack against a Black man carried out because of the color of his skin,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Racially motivated attacks have no place in our society, and the Civil Rights Division will continue to vigorously enforce federal laws that prohibit bias motivated violence.”
“We hope the lengthy sentence imposed today will bring some measure of peace and closure for the man viciously attacked by Nolan Strauss,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug for the District of Oregon. “The sentence should also send a clear message to anyone contemplating similar acts of violence: hatred and bigotry will not be tolerated.”
“All Oregonians should be able to live and work without fear that their skin color will mark them for violence,” said Special Agent in Charge Kieran L. Ramsey of the FBI Oregon Field Office. “Beyond the physical and emotional damage done to a victim, such violence can infect an entire community with divisiveness and despair. This is not the kind of place that any of us want to raise our families, and we stand with the entire community in saying this is not acceptable and we will not allow it.”
According to court documents and statements made at the sentencing hearing, on the morning of Dec. 21, 2019, Strauss was at a Pilot Travel Center in Ontario, Oregon, when he saw a Black man walk into the adjoining Arby’s Restaurant. Strauss did not know the man and had never seen him before, but he decided he wanted to kill the man, because he was Black. The man was at the Arby’s to provide documentation for a pending job application. He sat in a booth by himself and waited to meet with the restaurant manager, when Strauss entered the building and approached the man from behind.
Suddenly, unprovoked and without warning, Strauss stabbed the man twice in the neck, cutting his jugular vein and causing blood to rush out of the man’s neck. The man struggled to wrest the knife from Strauss, certain that he would die if he was stabbed again. A maintenance worker approached Strauss and directed him to drop the knife several times. Finally, the stabbing victim broke free from Strauss’s grip and ran to the other side of the restaurant where he collapsed on the floor, his clothes soaked with blood. While employees tried to provide first aid to the victim and his life-threatening injuries, the maintenance worker used a belt to secure Strauss’s hands behind his back and waited for police to arrive.
While they waited, the worker asked Strauss why he stabbed the man. Strauss replied, “Because he was Black, and I don’t like Black people.” Strauss was arrested at the scene. In two interviews with the police later that day, Strauss explained his beliefs about Black people, describing them as manipulative, lacking morality, and “not good people.” As Strauss told police, the color of the victim’s skin was Strauss’s “only problem with him.”
As a result of Strauss’s attack, the stabbing victim suffered two large lacerations to his neck. He was evaluated in Ontario and subsequently life-flighted to a hospital in Boise, Idaho, for emergency surgery.
On Sept. 17, 2020, a federal grand jury in Eugene returned a one-count indictment charging Strauss with a hate crime involving an attempt to kill. On June 17, 2021, he pleaded guilty to the charge.
This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Ontario Police Department, Oregon State Police and the Malheur County District Attorney’s Office. It was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Cameron A. Bell for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gavin W. Bruce for the District of Oregon.
Clarksburg man sentenced for drug chargeRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Jo-El Rene Torres, of Clarksburg, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 37 months of incarceration for a drug charge, Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced.
Torres, 36, pleaded guilty in March 2021 to one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin and Fentanyl.” Torres admitted to having heroin and fentanyl in May 2020 in Upshur County.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Mountain Lakes Drug Task Force, the West Virginia State Police, the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, and the Buckhannon Police Department investigated.
U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
City Employee, Firefighter Sentenced for Child Pornography, Ordered to Pay $79,000 in Restitution to VictimsRead the Press Release
A volunteer firefighter who stored child pornography on his fire department tablet was sentenced today to more than 12 ½ years in federal prison, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah.
Justin David Musgraves, 39, pleaded guilty in May to possession of pornography involving a prepubescent minor. He was sentenced today to 151 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix, who also ordered him to pay $57,000 in restitution to eight victims identified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as known victims of child sexual abuse imagery, $17,000 to the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act’s reserve fund, and $5,000 to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act’s victim services fund ($79,000 total).
According to plea papers, Mr. Musgraves, Lubbock’s Deputy Director of Emergency Management and a Shallowater Fire Department volunteer, admitted he possessed sexually explicit images of children as young as two years old.
Per court documents, the investigation began after Mr. Musgraves brought his SFD tablet to University Medical Center for a navigation software install. Concerned by the files they spotted, EMS employees immediately reached out to law enforcement.
Officers conducted a forensic examination of the tablet and found more than 5,000 photos and 1,500 videos of child pornography stored on the hard drive. Mr. Musgraves later admitted that he used the tablet to access child pornography while on the clock at the City of Lubbock Operations Center.
At his sentencing hearing, prosecutors noted that Mr. Musgraves meticulously sorted the files into folders and sub folders, mostly organized by victim. One folder was titled “TO UPLOAD.” It remains unclear how the defendant obtained his collection or where, if anywhere, he intended to upload his files.
The Texas Rangers and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office and the complete cooperation of the City of Lubbock and the Shallowater Fire Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Callie Woolam prosecuted the case.
Chinese National Sentenced for Illegal Exports to Northwestern Polytechnical UniversityRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Chinese national was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for illegally procuring and exporting more than $100,000 worth of U.S. origin goods to Northwestern Polytechnical University (NWPU), a Chinese military university that is heavily involved in military research and works closely with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on the advancement of its military capabilities.
Shuren Qin, 44, a Chinese national residing in Wellesley, who gained admittance into the United States through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program in 2014, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper to two years in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Qin was also ordered to pay a fine of $20,000 and will face deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence.
On April 28, 2021, Qin pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully export items from the United States to NWPU without first obtaining the required export licenses; one count of visa fraud; two counts of making false statements to law enforcement agents regarding his customers and the types of parts he caused to be exported from the United States to the People’s Republic of China (PRC); four counts of money laundering; and two counts of smuggling hydrophones from the U.S. to the PRC.
Qin established LinkOcean Technologies, LTD., which he used to import goods and technology with underwater and marine applications into the PRC from the United States, Canada and Europe. NWPU has been involved in the development of unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles and missile proliferation projects. Since 2001, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has designated NWPU on its Entity List for national security reasons. Between approximately July 2015 and December 2016, Qin caused at least 60 hydrophones (devices used to detect and monitor sound underwater) to be exported from the United States to NWPU without obtaining the required export licenses from the DOC. Qin and his company, LinkOcean, did so by concealing from the U.S. manufacturer of the hydrophones that NWPU was the true end-user and by causing false end-user information to be filed with the U.S. government. In addition, on four occasions in connection with the export of hydrophones to NWPU, Qin transferred more than $100,000 from Chinese bank accounts to bank accounts located in the United States with the intent to promote and facilitate his unlawful export scheme.
Additionally, in July 2016, Qin engaged in visa fraud in connection with his application to remove conditions on his U.S. Permanent Resident Status by falsely certifying that he had not committed any crime for which he was not arrested since becoming a conditional permanent resident when, in fact, he had caused the illegal export of hydrophones from the United States to NWPU in December 2015.
Qin also made false statements to federal agents on two occasions regarding LinkOcean’s customers and its export activities. Specifically, during a November 2017 interview with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers, Qin falsely stated that he only exported instruments that attach to a buoy. However, Qin had exported and caused the export of remotely-operated side scan sonar systems, unmanned underwater vehicles, unmanned surface vehicles, robotic boats and hydrophones. The items that Qin concealed from CBP during this interview have military applications and several of these items were delivered to military end-users in China. For instance, Qin exported a U.S.-manufactured remotely-operated side scan sonar system to a PLA Troop in November 2015. On or about July 21, 2018, Qin lied to investigators during an interview when he stated that he did not have any customers on the DOC’s Entity List. In fact, Qin had at least two such customers – NWPU and the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT). NUDT is involved in national defense research for the PLA and responsible for modernizing the PRC’s armed forces. Since 2015, it has been designated on DOC’s Entity List.
Prior to entering his guilty plea in this case, Qin moved to suppress evidence seized from his laptop and iPhone and statements he made to CBP officers during a secondary inspection upon his return to the United States from the PRC at Logan Airport in November 2017. After eight days of evidentiary hearings, Judge Casper found that the “Chinese Navy” was one of Qin’s customers according to LinkOcean’s website. At the time of the search, agents testified that they were “concerned that Qin was involved [in] working on behalf of the Chinese Navy to procure items from the United States, export them to China so that they could be used or incorporated in systems the Chinese Navy or research institutes were developing to be used in electronic warfare, anti-submarine warfare.” Judge Casper further found that by the end of the summer of 2017, investigators had learned that Qin was interested in procuring both AUVs and sonobuoys, which raised concerns for the agents as they learned that Ultra Electronics was at that same time developing “an AUV that worked in conjunction with [a] sonobuoy … strictly for military use by the U.S. Navy.” Qin also lied when questioned about the types of parts he exported, concealing his “interest in procuring side scan sonar systems, AUVs and sonobuoys.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Mendell; Acting Assistant Attorney General Mark J. Lesko for the Justice Department’s National Security Division; Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of the Homeland Security Investigation, Boston Field Office; Patrick Hegarty, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office; William Higgins, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement, Boston Field Office; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Michael Wiest, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney B. Stephanie Siegmann, Chief of Mendell’s National Security Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Casey, also of National Security Unit, prosecuted the case.
Chicago Man Sentenced to over Six Years in Prison for Two Bank RobberiesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Chicago man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston in connection with bank robberies in Massachusetts and Illinois.
Eugene Davis, 54, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to 78 months in prison and three years of supervised release. On April 28, 2021, Davis pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery.
In July 2019, Davis was indicted for a Massachusetts bank robbery and in March 2021 he was charged in the Northern District of Illinois with an unrelated bank robbery. The Illinois case was transferred to Massachusetts for plea and sentencing purposes.
On June 3, 2019, Davis robbed a branch of the East Boston Savings Bank in South Boston. Davis walked into the bank, pulled out a suitcase and handed a handwritten demand note to the teller. The note said that there was a bomb in the bag, that everyone was going to die and to put all the money into Davis’s hand. The teller took $6,055 cash out of the teller drawer and gave it to Davis who placed it in his shirt and walked out of the bank. Davis was apprehended later that day and ultimately confessed to committing the bank robbery.
On May 22, 2019, Davis robbed a branch of Chase Bank in Chicago. Davis entered the bank, pulled out a suitcase and handed the teller a demand note stating that he had a bomb, demanded money and threatened that if dye packs were included, they would all die. The teller provided approximately $3,460 in cash to Davis who then left the bank with the money.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Boston Division; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Chicago Field Division; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Boston Police Acting Commissioner Gregory Long made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of Mendell’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
Buffalo Man Arrested, Charged with Drug and Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y. — U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Angel Coira-Burgos, 44, of Buffalo, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with possessing with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. The charges carry a minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of life and a $1,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan E. Leydecker, who is handling the case, stated that on June 1, 2021, Amherst Police officers, while on routine patrol on Flint Road, conducted a check of a license plate and learned that the registered owner had two outstanding warrants for drug charges in Lancaster, NY. Officers conducted a traffic stop and confirmed that the driver was the registered owner with the two warrants and took her into custody. During the traffic stop, a passenger identified himself as Angel Coira-Burgos, and advised officers that he was previously arrested on firearms charges in Buffalo. The driver asked officers if Coira-Burgos could retrieve her cell phone from a nearby motel room. Escorted to the motel room by an officer, the defendant attempted to slam the door shut as he entered the room but was prevented from doing so by the officer. In plain view, the officer observed a large quantity of white powder and drug paraphernalia on the table in the motel room. Coira-Burgos was detained. During the execution of a search warrant in the room, investigators recovered approximately 15 grams of suspected heroin, six Clonazepam pills, scales, wax paper bags, latex bands and containers. In addition, a loaded firearm was also recovered. Quantities of cocaine and cocaine mixed with fentanyl were also found in the room.
The complaint is the result of an investigation by the Amherst Police Department, under the direction of Chief Scott Chamberlin and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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Brunswick Man Sentenced to 18 Months for Unlawfully Possessing FirearmRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Maine: A Brunswick man was sentenced yesterday in federal court for being a felon in possession of a firearm, Acting U.S. Attorney Donald E. Clark announced.
Chief U.S. District Judge John D. Levy sentenced James Prescott III, 28, to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Prescott pleaded guilty on April 27, 2021.
According to court records, on September 22, 2020, the Brunswick Police Department received a call from an individual who reported that his vehicle had been burglarized and his firearm was taken from it. This individual described a male wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants, and a blue hospital mask, whom he saw in the parking lot approximately 15 feet away from his vehicle.
A short time later, officers with the Topsham Police Department encountered a male matching the description provided by the burglary victim. During the contact, officers identified the male as Prescott and recovered the stolen firearm from him. He was prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law because in 2015 he had been convicted of Theft by Receiving Stolen Property, a crime that was punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Brunswick and Topsham police departments investigated this case as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative.
PSN is a nationwide initiative that brings together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement officials, prosecutors, community leaders and other stakeholders to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in a community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. PSN is coordinated by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in the 94 federal judicial districts throughout the 50 states and U.S. territories. PSN is customized to account for local violent crime problems and resources. Across all districts, PSN follows four key design elements of successful violent crime reduction initiatives: community engagement, prevention and intervention, focused and strategic enforcement, and accountability.
Branford Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Sex Abuse ImagesRead the Press Release
Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MICHAEL HOLM, 42, of Branford, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to one count of possession of child pornography.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from approximately September 1, 2014 to March 8, 2021, Holm knowingly possessed child pornography, including on his iPhone and in his online Dropbox account. He also used various other websites and mobile applications, such as ChatStep, Kik, Discord, Skype, and others, to distribute child pornography to others, sometimes in exchange for other child pornography in return. A review of Holm’s iPhone and online accounts revealed that, during this time period, he possessed at least 142 unique image files and 118 unique video files of child pornography, including images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of infants and toddlers.
Holm engaged in some of this conduct while he was on federal supervised release for a prior child pornography offense. In August 2011, Holm was sentenced to three months of imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release for possession of child pornography.
Because of his prior conviction, Holm is a registered sex offender on the Connecticut Sex Offender Registry.
Holm was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on May 24, 2021. He has been detained since his arrest.
Judge Dooley scheduled sentencing for December 2, 2021, at which time Holm faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. The penalties in this matter are enhanced based on Holm’s prior federal conviction for possession of child pornography.
This matter is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel.
This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.
Bellingham, Washington woman convicted of ‘shunt’ attack on BNSF RailroadRead the Press Release
Seattle – A 28-year-old Bellingham, Washington woman was convicted today in U.S. District Court in Seattle of violence against a railroad carrier, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Ellen Brennan Reiche, was one of two people arrested on the BNSF Railway tracks near Bellingham, near midnight on November 28, 2020. Reiche was convicted of placing a ‘shunt’ – a device that interferes with train signals – on the tracks. The jury deliberated about three hours following the two-day trial. Reiche faces up to 20 years in prison when sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez on December 17, 2021.
According to records in the case and testimony at trial, on the night of November 28, 2020, Reiche and co-defendant Samantha Frances Brooks, 24, were observed on video surveillance walking on the tracks near a crossing in Bellingham. Whatcom County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene. The defendants were detained for trespassing, and a shunt was found on the tracks near where the deputies had first encountered them. Reiche was carrying a paper bag containing wire, a drill with a brush head, a magnetic adhesive and gloves. The wire was similar to the wire used in the shunting incidents. The shunt that was placed on the tracks could have interfered with the railroad crossing guard at Cliffside Drive in Bellingham. A train carrying crude oil, among other cargo, was scheduled to come through that area soon after this incident.
In her closing argument, Assistant United States Attorney Sok Jiang told the jury, Reiche “disrupted the signal system designed to stop trains from crashing into each other or crashing into cars…. A car driving through the intersection (near the shunt) would not have warning that a train was coming.”
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force worked with BNSF police to investigate the placement of 41 shunts on the BNSF tracks since January 19, 2020. The shunt is comprised of wire that is stretched between the rails and often fastened with magnets, disrupting the systems that indicate a train is on the tracks. On ten occasions, shunts were placed in areas that disrupt the crossing guards where the tracks cross streets, so vehicles could have tried to cross the tracks unaware of the oncoming train. On the night of October 11, 2020, multiple shunts were placed in three different locations in Whatcom and Skagit Counties. The shunts triggered an automatic braking system on a train that was transporting hazardous and combustible material. The emergency braking then caused a portion of the train to decouple from the engine. Decoupling has the potential to cause a derailment—in this case—of tanker cars of flammable gas in a residential area.
Co-defendant Brooks pleaded guilty July 9, 2021, to interference with a railroad signaling system. Brooks faces up to 20 years in prison when sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Martinez on October 8, 2021. Chief Judge Martinez will determine the appropriate sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes agents from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in connection with the BNSF Railway Police. Critical investigative assistance is being provided by the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Philip Kopczynski and Sok Tea Jiang.
Bangladeshi Husband and Wife Sentenced for Conspiring to Provide Material Support to ISISRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Shahidul Gaffar, 40, and Nabila Khan, 35, both residents of Pennsylvania, were sentenced to 18 months and two years in prison, respectively, by United States District Court Judge Joshua D. Wolson for conspiracy to provide material support and resources to ISIS, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. Judge Wolson also sentenced both defendants to three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, in 2015, Gaffar and Khan, a married couple originally from Bangladesh, provided and attempted to provide financial support to two of Khan’s brothers who traveled to Syria to join ISIS fighters. Gaffar and Khan discussed the brothers’ travel plans in detail with each other, as well as with the brothers and other family members, as early as September 2014. In January 2015, Khan asked her sister living in Bangladesh to sell some of Khan’s gold and provide the money to their oldest brother, J.K., in order to assist him in travelling to Syria. Khan then flew to Bangladesh to wish J.K. farewell before his departure in February 2015. Gaffar, who remained in Pennsylvania, sent supportive messages to Khan’s mother, stating: “Be [p]roud mother for the noble cause and for the sake of Allah!!!”
Further, Khan’s second brother, I.K., had come to the United States on a student visa and resided with Khan and Gaffar in Pennsylvania from June 2014 until February 2015, when he returned to Bangladesh. Over the next few months, Khan, who was still in Bangladesh, observed I.K. watching terrorist propaganda videos featuring Anwar al-Awlaki, a designated global terrorist who is now deceased. Around the same time, Gaffar began sending international money transfers to I.K. in Bangladesh. These funds had multiple purposes, but one was to support I.K.’s travel to Syria to join ISIS. In June 2015, Gaffar sent a message to Khan, stating: “Let [I.K.] know that I will manage and send 3000 dollars if Allah wills. Let's help him, my love, for the good cause who knows that might be enough to get forgiveness from Allah and accept[ance] [in]to heaven.” In July 2015, Gaffar continued to communicate with Kahn regarding the conspiracy, saying in part: “I feel bad for mom and dad, at the same time, I feel very proud. [W]hat a lucky mom and dad.”
In early July 2015, I.K. traveled to Syria to join ISIS. The next day, Gaffar and Khan discussed via electronic messages how Khan had tried to give I.K. more money right before he left, and days later, Kahn exchanged multiple electronic messages with a family member discussing I.K.’s arrival in Syria and reunion there with J.K. Gaffar sent reassuring messages to Khan, stating that it was “cool” that she had been able to observe I.K.’s radical Islamist “changes” from “beginning to end.”
According to court documents, in May 2016, Khan received an electronic message that I.K. had been wounded in the fighting in Syria, and in August 2016, Khan’s mother sent a message to Kahn with photographs of I.K.’s wounds sustained while in Syria. In September 2016, I.K. changed his online social media account profile picture to an image depicting himself, his brother and another male sitting in front of the black ISIS flag with firearms on a table in front of them, overtly identifying himself and his brother as members of ISIS. I.K. was ultimately killed in the fighting in Syria in March 2019.
“This case draws into sharp focus the first priority of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office: protecting our Nation from all security threats,” said Acting United States Attorney Williams. “The defendants encouraged and financially supported the efforts of Nabila Kahn’s brothers to join the murderous terrorist group ISIS, which is a direct threat to the United States. The public can rest assured that our Office is working tirelessly every day to protect all Americans from the threat of terrorism.”
“Money and manpower are the lifeblood of terror groups like ISIS,” said Bradley S. Benavides, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “Gaffar and Khan, while enjoying all the rights and privileges of living in America, conspired to support violent extremists who consider our country their sworn enemy. Know that FBI Philadelphia’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is working diligently around the clock to detect and disrupt anyone whose beliefs have crossed the line into terrorist activity.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sarah Wolfe and Robert Livermore.
Atlanta Man Arrested During Capture of Macon Fugitive Pleads Guilty to Possessing an Unregistered Sawed-off RifleRead the Press Release
MACON, Ga. – An Atlanta resident who was found in possession of an unregistered sawed-off rifle and a loaded revolver as officers arrested a wanted individual pleaded guilty in federal court.
Johnny Paul Grilliot, 46, of Atlanta, pleaded guilty to possession of an unregistered firearm before U.S. District Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self, III. Grilliot faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and a maximum $10,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for December 7.
“This encounter had the potential to become violent as the defendant was in possession of loaded weapons—including a sawed-off rifle—as officers worked to take a wanted person into custody safely,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “I want to commend the U.S. Marshals Service, Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, and ATF for their work on this case and their work every day to reduce violence in Middle Georgia.”
“ATF’s involvement in securing this plea is a prime example of the successful use of federal laws to confront, engage and eliminate the possession of illegal firearms. Individuals must understand that there are serious repercussions for the possession of illegal firearms, especially with sawed-off barrels and an unregistered silencer,” said John Schmidt, ATF Atlanta Field Division Assistant Special Agent in Charge. “ATF will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure criminals are brought to justice.”
According to court documents, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office learned that a wanted individual, Tyrone Briscoe, was in an SUV in the vicinity of Riverside Drive in Macon. Deputy U.S. Marshals and Bibb County deputies responded, located the vehicle at a restaurant on Riverside Drive, and found Grilliot and Briscoe inside the SUV. As officers approached the vehicle, Grilliot exited the SUV and appeared to pull something from his shorts. Grilliot was detained, and officers found a loaded .38 caliber revolver in his shorts. Inside the vehicle, officers found a .22 caliber rifle with an inserted magazine and a homemade silencer affixed to a sawed-off barrel. Grilliot subsequently admitted the firearms belonged to him, he knew the rifle’s barrel had been shortened and he had fired the sawed-off rifle recently to confirm it still worked.
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.
The case was investigated by ATF.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joy Odom is prosecuting the case for the Government.
All 19 defendants charged in T&A Crips case convicted of federal crimesRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The final of 19 defendants to be convicted in a Columbus gang-related racketeering conspiracy pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for his part in furthering the violence of the local Crips gang. The racketeering conspiracy first charged in 2018 includes five murders, at least 26 attempted murders, and other violent and drug-trafficking crimes.
Shawn Nelms, 28, admitted in federal court on Sept. 8 to participating in the 2013 murder of William Moore. Nelms and others spotted Moore, a rival Poindexter Thug Life Bloods gang member, walking on Mount Vernon Ave. and agreed to kill the man for the purpose of maintaining and increasing their positions within T&A. According to his plea, in 2011, Nelms shot another man in the chest, and the gunshot victim survived. During a robbery in 2011, one of several rounds shot by Nelms went into a nearby house and struck a young girl, who also survived. Nelms’s plea includes a recommended sentence of 34 to 40 years in prison.
Nelms was scheduled to stand trial beginning next week and pleaded guilty at a pretrial conference yesterday evening.
The United States Attorney’s Office charged 19 total defendants in 2018 as part of the local gang T&A Crips. The gang derived its name from Trevitt and Atcheson streets in the King-Lincoln District of Columbus, where its members predominantly resided.
The criminal organization included various subgroups, including, Atcheson Crip Gangsters (ACG), Catch A Body (CAB), Kwamie Gang (KMG), Waun Gang, Family Over Everything (FOE), Go Gang, On The Family (OTF), Toe Tag and Go Crazy.
T&A identifies with the national Crips gang, adopting the traditional colors, symbols, culture, codes and enemies of the Crips gang. Its local rival Blood gangs include, but are not limited to, the Easthaven Bloods, Poindexter Thug Life (PTL) and the Milo Bloods.
T&A members marked the gang’s territory with graffiti and themselves with common tattoos. Members also produced songs to boast of the gang’s existence, communicate their violent methods and threaten non-members and rival gang members. These songs were posted on various social networking sites used by the T&A members.
T&A controlled the neighborhood through intimidation, fear and violence. Gang members were expected to retaliate with acts of violence when their members and associates were disrespected, threatened, intimidated or subjected to acts of violence.
Specifically, co-conspirators in this case have been convicted of five murders:
the murder of Franky Tention on July 1, 2012, in the area of 431 Ellison Street;
the murder of William Moore on March 15, 2013;
the murder of Marvin Ector on December 23, 2013, on East 5th Avenue;
the murder of Quincy Story on January 24, 2015; and
the murder of seven-year-old Deonte Fisher on March 4, 2016.
Additionally, from June 14, 2010 until March 15, 2017, there were at least 26 separate incidences in which T&A gang members attempted to murder more individuals by shooting at them.
Co-conspirators also threatened and/or intimidated witnesses, using violence or the threat of violence to deter them from providing information to law enforcement and to enforce a “no snitching” code.
Defendants distributed cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, oxycodone and marijuana. They also used “trap houses” in other individuals’ names to store and sell narcotics.
T&A members used the drug proceeds to purchase firearms to use in gang wars in Columbus. They often traveled to Huntington, West Virginia, Portsmouth, Ohio, and Chillicothe, Ohio, (among other locations) to sell and purchase drugs and guns.
Seven defendants have been sentenced to at least 10 years in prison to date. They include:
Name
Also Known As
Sentence
Charles Carson
30 years in prison
Jonathan Dantzler
Jesus
30 years in prison
Eric Henderson, Sr.
Easy
15 years in prison
Michael Henderson
Bang
10 years and 9 months in prison
Steve Henderson, Jr.
Big Go, Tana
20 years in prison
Shawn Nelms
Mook
34-40 years recommended
Marcus Walton
Ox, Wax
10 years in prison
Michael Watson
Sossa
30 years in prison
Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Roland Herndon, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Dan Leeper, Acing Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant; and United States Marshal Pete Tobin announced the plea entered into before U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson. Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin W. Kelley and Noah R. Litton are representing the United States in this case.
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Alexandria Couple Indicted for Harboring AliensRead the Press Release
COVINGTON, Ky. - An Alexandria, Ky., couple was indicted on Thursday, on four counts of harboring aliens and one count of conspiracy to harbor aliens.
A federal grand jury sitting in Covington returned the indictment charging Yun Zheng, a.k.a. Wendy, 50, and Yan Qui Wu, a.k.a. Jason, 48, with four counts of concealing, harboring, or shielding a person for commercial and private financial gain, and one count of conspiracy to conceal, harbor, or shield persons for commercial and private financial gain.
The indictment alleges that, beginning in November 2014 and continuing through November 2017, Zheng and Wu illegally harbored four individuals for their commercial and private financial gain.
Carlton S. Shier, IV, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Jerry Templet, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations; and Lucas T. Cooper, Chief of the Alexandria Police Department, jointly announced the indictment.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security- HIS and the Alexandria, Kentucky Police Department. The indictment was presented to the grand jury by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kyle Winslow and David Marye.
A date for Zheng and Wu to appear in court has not yet been scheduled. For each of the five counts, they face up to ten years in prison, up to $250,000 fine, and restitution. However, any sentence following a conviction would be imposed by the Court, after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal sentencing statutes.
Any indictment is an accusation only. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
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8 September 2021
Waco Man Sentenced for Possessing over Nine Gallons of Liquid Methamphetamine BaseRead the Press Release
WACO – A Waco man was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for attempting to manufacture methamphetamine.
According to court documents, on September 30, 2020, Joshua David Villalobos, 41, was observed draining liquid methamphetamine from a trailer that was parked in an alleyway behind Proctor Avenue in Waco. Over nine gallons of liquid methamphetamine base were recovered from the trailer – enough to produce an estimated 80 pounds of methamphetamine powder.
On May 18, 2021, Villalobos pleaded guilty to attempting to manufacture methamphetamine. Villalobos has remained in federal custody since his arrest on October 6, 2020.
U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff of the Western District of Texas and Waco Police Chief Sheryl D. Victorian made the announcement.
The Waco Police Department Drug Enforcement Unit investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Smith-Burris prosecuted the case.
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Violent gang members, cartel conduit sentenced to federal prison for roles in major drug-trafficking conspiracyRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA: A member of a violent Chicago street gang, two Ghost Face Gangsters and a conduit for Mexican drug cartels have been sentenced to decades in federal prison for their roles in a major drug trafficking conspiracy that funneled large amounts of methamphetamine and other drugs into coastal and south Georgia.
Leroy Bozarth, a/k/a “Jack Turtlehead,” 38, of Springfield, Ill., was sentenced to 235 months in prison after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute a Quantity of Methamphetamine, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker also ordered Bozarth to serve three years of supervised release after completion of his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Making our communities safer means removing the violent criminals who endanger our neighborhoods, especially those affiliated with street gangs,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “As an enforcer for such a gang, Leroy Bozarth used violence, fear and intimidation as tools of his drug trade. Our streets will be safer with him and his co-conspirators behind bars.”
Bozarth was one of 35 defendants indicted as part of Operation Stranded Bandit, as described in the indictment unsealed in December 2020 in USA v. Baker et al. Other key figures sentenced in U.S. District Court include:
- Dustin Lax, a/k/a “Wing Nut,” a/k/a “Tyrone White,” 45, of Garden City, Ga., sentenced to 188 months in federal prison and ordered to serve three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and To Distribute a Quantity of Methamphetamine. Lax, a captain in the violent, white supremacist Ghost Face Gangsters criminal street gang, has 34 prior felony convictions and currently faces state charges related to a murder during a home invasion, and an aggravated assault case in which he is accused of dragging a woman from a car so his partner could shoot her in the back.
- Victor Lopez-Blanco, a/k/a “Victoriano,” 51, of Jonesboro, Ga., sentenced to 292 months in prison and ordered to serve five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine. Lopez-Blanco, a resident of Mexico and illegal alien who first entered the United States in 2003, served as a conduit for methamphetamine shipped from violent Mexican cartels through the Atlanta area and into Savannah.
- Heather Sloan, a/k/a “Penny,” a/k/a “Honey,” 35, of East Dublin, Ga., sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to serve five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 5 Grams or More of Methamphetamine. Sloan, an affiliate of the Ghost Face Gangsters, facilitated meth distribution throughout middle and coastal Georgia.
The investigation and indictments grew from other major gang-related drug trafficking prosecutions in Operation Vanilla Gorilla and Operation Who’s Laughing Now. The investigations and prosecutions, under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, targeted widespread, gang-related drug trafficking organizations in the Southern District and beyond.
An occasional resident of Port Wentworth, Ga., Bozarth is a previously convicted felon with decades-long criminal history that started when he sold crack cocaine as a pre-teen. As a member and “muscle” for the Almighty Simon City Royals – a violent Chicago street gang – Bozarth was part of a conspiracy that transported illegal drugs into the Southern District from Mexico and Atlanta, aided by multiple criminal street gangs including the Ghost Face Gangsters, La Raza/SUR 13, Bloods, Vice Lords, Gangster Disciples, and Aryan Brotherhood.
The conspirators operated inside and outside Georgia’s prison system, using drones and other means to smuggle cell phones into prisons so that incarcerated conspirators could continue to coordinate the trafficking operations from Mexico to Georgia.
Of the 35 defendants charged in Operation Stranded Bandit, at least 24 have entered guilty pleas with many of them sentenced, while seven are awaiting trail and are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
“ATF will continue to dedicate federal resources in conjunction with those crucial law enforcement contributions of other federal, state and local agencies to the pursuit of eradicating and forestalling criminal gang activity,” said Beau Kolodka, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“This notorious drug trafficking organization distributed poison (methamphetamine) to the coastal and south Georgia community while causing fear through means of violence and intimidation,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Atlanta Field Division. “Through law enforcement partnerships, these defendants will spend well-deserved time in prison.”
“Illegal drugs and criminal street gangs have no place in Georgia. These defendants have been threatening the safety of communities for years,” said Vic Reynolds, Director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). “We will continue to work diligently along with our local and federal partners to investigate and dismantle drug trafficking organizations.”
The 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.
The case is being investigated by agencies including the ATF, DEA, GBI, and the Savannah-Chatham Counter Narcotics Team, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys E. Greg Gilluly Jr. and Jennifer J. Kirkland.
Ukrainian Cyber Criminal Extradited for Decrypting the Credentials of Thousands of Computers Across the World and Selling Them on A Dark Web WebsiteRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney Karin Hoppmann announces the extradition of Glib Oleksandr Ivanov-Tolpintsev (28, Chernivtsi, Ukraine) in connection with charges of conspiracy, trafficking in unauthorized access devices, and trafficking in computer passwords. If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum penalty of 17 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Ivanov-Tolpintsev that the United States intends to forfeit $82,648, which is alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offenses.
Ivanov-Tolpintsev was taken into custody by Polish authorities in Korczowa, Poland, on October 3, 2020, and extradited to the United States pursuant to the extradition treaty between the United States and the Republic of Poland. Ivanov-Tolpintsev was presented on September 7, 2021, before United States Magistrate Julie S. Sneed, and ordered detained pending trial.
According to the
indictment , Ivanov-Tolpintsev controlled a “botnet,” which is a network of computers infected with malware and controlled as a group without the owners’ knowledge. He used the botnet to conduct brute-force attacks designed to decrypt numerous computer login credentials simultaneously. During the course of the conspiracy, Ivanov-Tolpintsev stated that his botnet was capable of decrypting the login credentials of at least 2,000 computers every week. Ivanov-Tolpintsev then sold these login credentials on a dark web website that specialized in the purchase and sale of access to compromised computers. Once sold on this website, credentials were used to facilitate a wide range of illegal activity, including tax fraud and ransomware attacks.An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
The investigation was led by the Tampa Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation’s Tampa Field Office, and Homeland Security Investigations - Tampa Division. Substantial assistance was provided by the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation Cyber Crimes Unit in Washington, D.C. This investigation also benefited from foreign law enforcement cooperation by the Polish National Police, the Polish Prosecutor’s Office, and the Polish Ministry of Justice. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlton C. Gammons.