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25 August 2021
Connecticut Woman Sentenced for Walking on Thermal Area in Yellowstone National ParkRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Bob Murray announced today that MADELINE S. CASEY, age 26 of New Hartford, Connecticut was sentenced to seven days in jail for walking on thermal ground at Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park. In addition, she was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, $40 in fees and a $1,000 community service payment to the Yellowstone Forever Geological Resource Fund. Casey appeared in front of Magistrate Judge Mark L. Carman in Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming on August 18, 2021, for sentencing.
Casey was with two other people as they made their way up to a thermal pool and geyser at Norris Geyser Basin. She and one other person got off the boardwalk and were walking on thermal ground. Multiple other people were concerned and took photos and videos of the three. Norris Geyser Basin is an area well marked with signs and warnings to stay on the boardwalk.
“Boardwalks in geyser basins protect visitors and delicate thermal formations,” said Yellowstone National Park Public Affairs Officer Morgan Warthin. “The ground is fragile and thin and scalding water just below the surface can cause severe or fatal burns. More than 20 people have died from burns suffered after they entered or fell into Yellowstone’s hot springs.”
“For those who lack a natural ability to appreciate the dangerousness of crusty and unstable ground, boiling water, and scalding mud, the National Park Service does a darn good job of warning them to stay on the boardwalk and trial in thermal areas,” said Acting United States Attorney Bob Murray. “Yet there will always be those like Ms. Casey who don’t get it. Although a criminal prosecution and jailtime may seem harsh, it’s better than spending time in a hospital’s burn unit.”
This case was handled by Yellowstone National Park law enforcement officers and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie Hambrick.
For questions relating to Yellowstone National Park, please contact the Public Affairs Office at 307-344-2015 or [email protected].
Burlington Man Sentenced to 320 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute Ice MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, IOWA – Michael Antonio Davison, age 36, of Burlington, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge John A. Jarvey to 320 months in prison for trafficking ice methamphetamine into Burlington. Davison was involved in importing/distributing approximately 160 kilograms of ice methamphetamine in the Burlington area. Davison was also a leader/organizer of a drug trafficking group and possessed a firearm related to his drug trafficking activities. Davison has five prior convictions for felony drug offenses, and was under criminal justice supervision for two different drug felony offenses at the time of this criminal activity. Davison was ordered to serve five years of supervised release to follow his prison term. Davison was also ordered to pay $200 to the Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund.
Acting United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Southeast Iowa Narcotics Taskforce, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office, and the Burlington Police Department. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
Box Elder Man Sentenced to Life in Federal Prison for Sex CrimesRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Box Elder, South Dakota, man convicted of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet was sentenced on August 17, 2021, by Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Judge.
Adam Ryan Swift, age 32, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and life in prison for Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet. The sentences are to run concurrently. Swift was also ordered to pay $24,700 in restitution and a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Swift was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 11, 2020. He pleaded guilty on April 9, 2021. The conviction stems from Swift communicating with the parent of a 9- year-old girl in New York state, who was in fact an undercover agent, with the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with the minor female. The undercover agent in New York prepared a report and sent to local law enforcement, who were able to identify Swift. Local law enforcement then contacted Swift, posing as the parent of a 5-year-old girl and arranged a time to meet, again with the purpose of Swift engaging in sexual activity with the minor. The meeting took place and Swift was arrested. Forensics of Swift’s devices and accounts revealed he produced images of child pornography with a 4-year-old male, as well as downloaded child pornography off the internet.
This case was investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Rapid City Police Department, and the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah B. Collins prosecuted the case.
Swift was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Billings methamphetamine trafficker sentenced to 12 years in prisonRead the Press Release
BILLINGS — A Billings man who admitted to trafficking methamphetamine after law enforcement officers seized about eight pounds of the drug and three loaded handguns from his vehicle during a stop near Miles City was sentenced today to 12 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said.
Tyler James Fleming, 39, pleaded guilty on Oct. 8, 2020 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth and to possession with intent to distribute meth.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.
The government alleged in court documents that in 2019, drug task force officers received information that Fleming was trafficking drugs in the Billings area and also possessed firearms for protection. In December 2019, investigators learned Fleming had traveled to Arizona and returned two days later. Officers conducted a traffic stop of Fleming's vehicle outside of Miles City. Officers located approximately eight pounds of meth and three loaded handguns in the cab of his truck. Eight pounds of meth is the equivalent of about 28,992 doses.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie R. Patten prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force and the FBI’s Western Transnational Organized Crime Task Force.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative to reduce violent crime. Through PSN, federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement partners in Montana focus on violent crime driven by methamphetamine trafficking, armed robbers, firearms offenses and violent offenders with outstanding warrants.
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Billings massage parlor owner admits enticing workers to provide sexual servicesRead the Press Release
BILLINGS – A Billings woman who owned and operated massage parlors in Billings admitted allegations on Tuesday that she enticed women to work and provide prostitution services in her businesses, Acting U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said today.
Kyong Cha Roberts, 68, pleaded guilty to an indictment charging her with coercion and enticement. Roberts faces a maximum 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan presided. A sentencing date is pending before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen. Roberts was released pending further proceedings.
In court documents, the government alleged that from about 2016 through 2019, Roberts owned and operated massage parlors in Billings, including U-Spa and Happy Spa. In June 2019, Roberts posted an advertisement in an online Korean newspaper, Kyocharo, seeking women to work in her massage business and provided her phone number. A woman, identified as Jane Doe 1, contacted Roberts, who told Doe that she could make around $5,000 per month at the massage parlor. Doe talked over the phone with Roberts about sexual services being provided at U-Spa. Doe agreed to come to Billings, bought a bus ticket, arrived in June 2019 and began working at U-Spa. Doe and Roberts discussed sexual services again. Customers typically would pay cash for services. Most customers received a massage and sexual services. Prostitution is illegal in Montana.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zeno B. Baucus and Bryan T. Dake are prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the FBI.
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Berwick Man Charged with Conspiring to Manufacture and Distribute Anabolic SteroidsRead the Press Release
SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Casey Seesholtz, age 31, of Berwick, Pennsylvania, was charged in a criminal information with conspiring to manufacture and distribute anabolic steroids. Seesholtz was charged on August 27, 2020 and pleaded guilty on September 3, 2020, but the information remained under seal until recently.
According to Acting United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, the Information alleges that between October 2017 and October 2019, Seesholtz conspired to distribute and manufacture the anabolic steroids methylstenbolone (known as M-Sten) and dimethazine (known as DMZ). Seesholtz pleaded guilty to manufacturing between 40,000 and 60,000 pills of the anabolic steroids at a warehouse in Berwick, Pennsylvania. He also admitted to selling some of the anabolic steroids through a storefront in Kingston, Pennsylvania, while others were sold online by his coconspirators. Federal agents seized pill presses and encapsulating machines during the course of the investigation.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Food and Drug Administration, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo is prosecuting the case.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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Baltimore Felon Sentenced to Seven Years in Federal Prison After Pleading Guilty to Illegal Possession of a Stolen FirearmRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander yesterday sentenced Frank Davis, age 52, of Baltimore, Maryland, to seven years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after Davis pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen firearm.
The guilty plea and sentence were announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.
According to his plea agreement, on March 12, 2020 a Baltimore Police officer on patrol near the intersection of West North Avenue and McCullough Street in Baltimore saw Davis reach his hands inside his sweatshirt and attempt to adjust something multiple times. The officer believed that what Davis was adjusting was a firearm and contacted the City Watch Unit to see if the individual monitoring the City Watch camera in that area agreed with the officer’s assessment. The camera operator confirmed that she did agree and the officer approached Davis to investigate further. Davis ran away, but was quickly apprehended and the gun, a 9mm semi-automatic pistol, loaded with 15 rounds of 9mm ammunition, was recovered from Davis’ waistband area. Davis agreed that he knew or had reasonable cause to believe the firearm was stolen at the time he possessed it.
As detailed in his plea agreement, at the time of his arrest Davis had at least two previous felony convictions for either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense.
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. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended the ATF and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Lenzner thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsay DeFrancesco and Assistant U.S. Attorney LaRai Everett, who prosecuted the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Baltimore Felon Sentenced to over Six Years in Federal Prison for Possession of a Stolen FirearmRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Daniel Taylor, age 41, of Baltimore, Maryland to 80 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possession of a stolen firearm.
The sentence was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.
According to his plea agreement, on September 9, 2019, as BPD detectives patrolled the 600 block of Cumberland Street, detectives observed Taylor with a heavy object on the right side of his pants that caused the pants to bulge. When Taylor noticed detectives, he immediately let go of the object and made an unusual maneuver.
As a detective exited the patrol car to approach Taylor, Taylor fled on foot until he was apprehended at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Baker Street. During the chase, a pursing detective observed Taylor throw a firearm onto a nearby rooftop. After contacting BPD’S Aviation Unit, Foxtrot, for support, law enforcement recovered a 9mm semi-automatic pistol loaded with sixteen rounds of ammunition.
After voluntarily waving his Miranda rights, Taylor admitted to possessing the firearm for protection and that he was not the lawful owner of the firearm. Taylor also agreed that he knew, or had reason to know, that the firearm was stolen at the time of his possession.
Taylor agreed that he committed the offense after sustaining at least two felony convictions for either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense and his civil rights had not been restored.
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. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner praised the ATF and Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Lenzner thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia C. McLane and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsay DeFrancesco, who prosecuted the case.
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Attorneys and Doctors in New York Charged with Defrauding Businesses and Insurance Companies of More Than $31 Million Through Trip-And-Fall Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging GEORGE CONSTANTINE, MARC ELEFANT, ANDREW DOWD, and SADY RIBEIRO with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to obtain fraudulent insurance reimbursements and other compensation for fraudulent trip-and-fall accidents. ELEFANT, DOWD, and RIBEIRO were arrested earlier this morning and will be presented today before United States Magistrate Kevin Nathaniel Fox in Manhattan federal court. CONSTANTINE is expected to surrender and be presented in Manhattan federal court tomorrow. The case has been assigned to United States District Judge Loretta A. Preska.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “As alleged, the defendants abused their professional licenses and positions of trust to steal millions of dollars from New York City businesses and their insurance companies through a massive trip-and-fall fraud scheme. In carrying out the scheme, the defendants allegedly preyed upon the most vulnerable members of society. Now, thanks to the FBI, the defendants are in custody and facing federal charges.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll said: “The scheme allegedly carried about by the defendants charged today highlights the extent to which some are willing to go in the name of money. Licensed attorneys are well aware of their obligation to uphold the law. As we allege today, they did just the opposite, stealing from business owners and preying upon other vulnerable victims who were coerced into risking their own personal health and safety. This alleged conduct is beyond reprehensible, and something we won’t let people get away with.”
As alleged in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court[1]:
From in or about January 2013, up to and including in or about April 2018, the defendants engaged in an extensive fraud scheme through which the defendants defrauded businesses and insurance companies by staging trip-and-fall accidents and filing fraudulent lawsuits arising from those staged trip-and-fall accidents. In or about 2015, certain members of the fraud scheme split from the original conspiracy and formed a separate conspiracy that operated in substantially the same manner. GEORGE CONSTANTINE was the primary attorney who filed fraudulent lawsuits in the original conspiracy starting in 2013. MARC ELEFANT was the primary attorney who filed fraudulent lawsuits in the separate conspiracy, formed in or about 2015.
Fraud scheme participants recruited individuals (the “Patients”) to stage or falsely claim to have suffered trip-and-fall accidents at particular locations throughout the New York City area (the “Accident Sites”). In the course of the fraud scheme, scheme participants recruited more than 400 Patients. In the beginning, scheme participants would instruct Patients to claim they had tripped and fallen at a particular location, when in fact the Patients had suffered no such accidents. Eventually, at the direction of the lawyers who filed fraudulent lawsuits on behalf of the Patients, scheme participants began to instruct Patients to stage trip-and-fall accidents, i.e., to go to a location and deliberately fall. Common Accident Sites used during the fraud scheme included cellar doors, cracks in concrete sidewalks, and purported “potholes.”
After the staged trip-and-fall accidents, Patients were referred to specific attorneys, including GEORGE CONSTANTINE and MARC ELEFANT, who would file personal injury lawsuits (the “Fraudulent Lawsuits”) against the owners of the Accident Sites and/or insurance companies of the owners of the accident sites (the “Victims”). The Fraudulent Lawsuits did not disclose that the Patients had deliberately fallen at the accident sites or, in some cases, had not fallen at all. During the course of the fraud scheme, the defendants, together with others known and unknown, attempted to defraud the Victims of more than $31,000,000.
The Patients were also instructed to receive ongoing chiropractic and medical treatment from certain chiropractors and doctors, including ANDREW DOWD and SADY RIBEIRO. The fraud scheme participants advised the Patients that if they intended to continue with their lawsuits, they were required to undergo surgery. As an incentive to getting surgery, the recruited Patients were offered a payment of typically between $1,000 and $1,500 after they completed surgery (“Post-Surgery Payments”). Patients generally were told to undergo two surgeries.
Doctors in the fraud scheme, including DOWD and RIBEIRO, were expected to, and in fact did, conduct these surgeries regardless of the legitimate medical needs of the Patients. For example, in a March 2016 email, before DOWD examined the shoulder of a particular Patient who had staged a trip-and-fall accident (“Patient-2”), one of the scheme organizers asked DOWD to “write us an additional report today stating that [Patient-2’s] Lt. shoulder has worsened [so that I can] book this surgery for you.” DOWD provided the requested report and recommended that Patient-2 undergo arthroscopic surgery.
Likewise, in an August 2015 email from RIBEIRO to the owner of a litigation funding company, in which RIBEIRO described the services that he performed, RIBEIRO wrote, “I will play very honest ‘game’ with you . . . I see the patient and I generate a very good dictation that justifies the treatment-there is a cost for that and I hope a profit.”
Members of the fraud scheme often recruited individuals who were extremely poor as Patients – individuals desperate enough to submit to surgeries in exchange for the small Post-Surgery Payments. For example, it was common for Patients to ask for food when they would appear for their intake meetings with the lawyers. Many of the Patients did not have sufficient clothing to keep them warm during the wintertime and had poor-quality shoes. Members of the fraud scheme also recruited Patients who were drug addicts. It was also common for scheme participants to recruit Patients from homeless shelters in New York City.
The Patients’ legal and medical fees were usually paid for by litigation funding companies (the “Funding Companies”), even if the Patient maintained medical coverage through an insurance company or a government-subsidized program. The Funding Companies also paid the fraud scheme organizers and participants referral fees, typically $1,000 to $2,500, for each Patient who signed a funding agreement. In exchange for funding Patients’ medical and legal costs, the Funding Companies charged the Patients high interest rates, sometimes up to 50% on medical loans and up to 100% on personal loans. The interest rates were so high that oftentimes the majority (if not all) of the proceeds that were awarded in the Fraudulent Lawsuits were paid to the Funding Companies, CONSTANTINE, ELEFANT, DOWD, RIBEIRO, and others, with the Patients receiving a much smaller percentage of the remaining recovery.
GEORGE CONSTANTINE, 58, and MARC ELEFANT, 49, are New York-licensed attorneys who represented hundreds of Patients and filed Fraudulent Lawsuits on their behalf as part of the fraud scheme.
ANDREW DOWD, 45, is a New York-licensed orthopedic surgeon who performed hundreds of knee and shoulder surgeries on Patients as part of the fraud scheme, earning approximately $9,500 per surgery.
SADY RIBEIRO, 51, is a New York-licensed pain management doctor and surgeon who performed back surgeries, among other medical procedures, on Patients. RIBEIRO paid participants cash kickbacks in exchange for patient referrals and treated nearly 200 Patients during the fraud scheme.
GEORGE CONSTANTINE, MARC ELEFANT, ANDREW DOWD, and SADY RIBEIRO are each charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, mail fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. DOWD and RIBEIRO are also charged with one additional count each of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencings of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
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Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York FBI. Ms. Strauss also thanked the National Insurance Crime Bureau for their assistance in the investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Nicholas Chiuchiolo, Nicholas Folly, and Alexandra Rothman are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment, and the description of the Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
24 August 2021
Woman Sentenced to 70 Months in Federal Prison for Assault with a Dangerous WeaponRead the Press Release
Spokane – Joseph H. Harrington, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Kathleen Joy Yallup, age 45, of Parker, Washington, was sentenced today after having been found guilty on April 21, 2021, of assault with a dangerous weapon following a three-day jury trial. United States District Judge Salvador Mendoza, Jr. sentenced Yallup to a 70-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by a 3-year term of court supervision after she is released from federal prison.
According to information disclosed during court proceedings, Yallup stabbed the male victim multiple times in the face and chest during an argument inside his car on January 10, 2020, in Parker, Washington, which is within the external boundaries of the Yakama Nation. Shortly after the assault, Yallup was arrested by Yakama Nation Police officers.
Acting United States Attorney Harrington said, “The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington commends the law enforcement officers with the Yakama Nation Police Department, Yakima County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation who investigated this case. Violent crime in the external boundaries of the Yakama Nation is extremely serious and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington will prosecute vigorously any individuals who may engage in such conduct.”
This case was investigated by the Yakama Nation Police Department, Yakima County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Benjamin D. Seal, and Matthew A. Stone, Assistant United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Washington.
Watertown Family Charged with Lottery Scam and Tax FraudRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A father and his two sons were charged yesterday in connection with a “ten-percenting” scheme in which they allegedly cashed winning Massachusetts state lottery tickets on behalf of the ticket holders to avoid taxes on the winnings.
Ali Jaafar, 62, and Yousef Jaafar, 28, both of Watertown, and Mohamed Jaafar, 30, of Watertown and Waltham, and were each indicted on one count of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and multiple counts of filing false tax returns.
According to the charging documents, the defendants conspired with others to purchase winning lottery tickets from the actual winners for cash, at a discount that was typically between 10-20 percent of each ticket’s value, thereby allowing the ticket holders to avoid reporting the winnings on their tax returns – a scheme commonly known as “ten-percenting.” The defendants and co-conspirators then allegedly presented the winning tickets to the Massachusetts Lottery Commission as their own and collected the full value of the tickets. It is also alleged that the defendants reported the ticket winnings as their own on their income tax returns and improperly offset the claimed winnings with purported gambling losses, thereby avoiding federal income taxes.
Between 2011 and 2019, the defendants together cashed more than 13,000 lottery tickets and claimed more than $20,989,284 in Massachusetts lottery winnings. Based upon their submitted lottery claims, in 2019, Ali Jaafar was the top individual lottery ticket casher for Massachusetts. Mohamed Jaafar was the third highest individual ticket casher and Yousef Jaafar was the fourth highest individual ticket casher.
The charge of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater, and restitution. The charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater, restitution and forfeiture. The charge of filing false tax returns provides for a sentence of up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell and Ramsey E. Covington, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement. Assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Miron Bloom of Mendell’s Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Washington tech executive sentenced to prison for COVID-19 relief fraud schemeRead the Press Release
Seattle – A Washington tech executive was sentenced today to 2 years in prison for perpetrating a scheme to fraudulently obtain COVID-19 disaster relief loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Mukund Mohan, 48, of Clyde Hill, pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering on March 15, 2021. According to court documents, Mohan submitted eight fraudulent disaster loan applications seeking over $5.5 million. In support of the fraudulent loan applications, Mohan submitted fake and altered documents, including fake federal tax filings and altered incorporation documents. For example, Mohan misrepresented to a lender that, in 2019, his company Mahenjo Inc. had dozens of employees and paid millions of dollars in employee wages and payroll taxes. In support of Mahenjo’s loan application, Mohan submitted false incorporation documents and tax forms suggesting the company had been in business prior to 2020. In truth, Mohan purchased Mahenjo in May 2020 and, at the time he purchased the company, it had no employees and no business activity. The incorporation documents he submitted to the lender were altered and the federal tax filings he submitted were fake. Five of Mohan’s eight fraudulent loan applications were approved, and he fraudulently obtained nearly $1.8 million in COVID-19 relief funds.
In addition to the prison sentence, Mohan was ordered to pay a fine in the amount of $100,000 and $1,786,357 in restitution.
“When individuals like Mr. Mohan abuse the benefit programs under the CARES act to unjustly enrich themselves, they are stealing from those that are the most vulnerable,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Corinne Kalve of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS:CI). “Today, Mr. Mohan is being held accountable for the harm his greed has caused our friends, our families, and our communities.”
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman for the Western District of Washington; Acting Inspector General Phyllis Fong of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG); Acting Special Agent in Charge Corinne Kalve of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Inspector General J. Russell George of the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA); and Special Agent In Charge Jeff Pittano of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), made the announcement.
This case was investigated by FHFA-OIG, IRS-CI, TIGTA, and FDIC-OIG.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Friedman of the Western District of Washington and Trial Attorney Christopher Fenton of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the department’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. In the months since the PPP began, Fraud Section attorneys have prosecuted more than 100 defendants in more than 70 criminal cases. The Fraud Section has also seized more than $65 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Washington Tech Executive Sentenced for Covid-19 Relief Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A Washington state tech executive was sentenced today in the Western District of Washington to two years in prison for perpetrating a scheme to fraudulently obtain COVID-19 disaster relief loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Mukund Mohan, 48, of Clyde Hill, pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering on March 15. According to court documents, Mohan sought more than $5.5 million through eight fraudulent disaster loan applications. In support of the fraudulent loan applications, Mohan submitted fake and altered documents, including fake federal tax filings and altered incorporation documents. For example, Mohan misrepresented to a lender that, in 2019, his company Mahenjo Inc. had dozens of employees and paid millions of dollars in employee wages and payroll taxes. In support of Mahenjo’s loan application, Mohan submitted false incorporation documents and tax forms suggesting that the company had been in business prior to 2020. In truth, Mohan purchased Mahenjo in May 2020 and at the time he purchased the company, it had no employees and no business activity. The incorporation documents that he submitted to the lender were altered and the federal tax filings he submitted were fake. Five of Mohan’s eight fraudulent loan applications were approved, and he fraudulently obtained nearly $1.8 million in COVID-19 relief funds.
In addition to the prison sentence, Mohan was ordered to pay a fine in the amount of $100,000 and $1,786,357 in restitution.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman for the Western District of Washington; Special Agent in Charge Jay Johnson of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG); Acting Special Agent in Charge Corinne Kalve of IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Inspector General J. Russell George of the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA); and Inspector General Jay N. Lerner of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), made the announcement.
This case was investigated by FHFA-OIG, IRS-CI, TIGTA, and FDIC-OIG.
Trial Attorney Christopher Fenton of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Friedman of the Western District of Washington are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the department’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. In the months since the PPP began, Fraud Section attorneys have prosecuted more than 100 defendants in more than 70 criminal cases. The Fraud Section has also seized more than $65 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Valley resident sentenced for meth chargesRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A 49-year-old Mission resident has been ordered to federal prison for conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of meth, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
The jury deliberated for approximately 40 minutes before convicting Eugenio Perez Jr. following a two-day trial which included three witnesses.
Today, U.S. District Judge Randy Crane, who presided over the trial and sentencing, ordered Perez to serve 135 months in federal prison.
According to the testimony, authorities discovered 1.6 kilograms of meth while investigating a drag racing incident that resulted in a two-car collision.
At trial, the jury heard from a local police officer who explained how Perez crashed into an SUV pulling out of a parking lot. The officer approached Perez after observing him pull a bag from his truck’s cab and place it into the bed of the truck. He instructed Perez to not take anything from the vehicle.
Perez’s daughter arrived on the scene. At that time, she took the bag from the bed of the truck and placed it in her car, according to testimony.
The officer further testified that he stopped her from leaving the area and asked her to show him what was inside the bag. The daughter opened the bag which was found to contain approximately 1.6 kilograms of meth.
The defense attempted to convince the jury that law enforcement had rushed to judgment and did not perform an adequate and thorough enough investigation to convict Perez. The jury disagreed and found him guilty as charged.
Perez will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with the assistance of Palmview Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Mitchell and M. Alexis Garcia prosecuted the case.
United States Coast Guard High-Seas Interdiction Off the Coast of Colombia Results in the Seizure of 973 Kilograms of Cocaine and Arrests of Three South American Nationals Brought to the US Virgin IslandsRead the Press Release
ST. THOMAS, USVI – U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced today that three (3) South American nationals charged by Complaint on August 19, 2021, with possession of cocaine onboard a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States were ordered detained by United States Magistrate Ruth Miller pending trial in this matter.
According to court documents, on July 12, 2021, while on patrol, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Cutter Mohawk intercepted a low-profile vessel located 125 nautical miles south, southwest of Isla De Molpelo, Colombia. The vessel was in international waters and displayed no signs of nationality. It also exhibited suspicious factors including the low-profile construction, no navigation lights, and operation in a known drug vector. The USCG later determined that the vessel was without nationality, thus subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
Upon inspection of the low-profile vessel, three occupants were identified as Ignasio Espana, 30, and Jairo Riascos Preciado, 52, both of Columbia, and Nestor Vera Escalante, 41, of Ecuador. The USCG boarding team removed a bale in plain view inside the hull of the vessel. Two presumptive NIK tests were conducted on the recovered bale and yielded a positive reaction for cocaine. Thereafter, a search of the entire low-profile vessel resulted in the seizure of approximately 793 kilograms of suspected cocaine.
This case is being investigated by the USCG and the Drug Enforcement Agency, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Delia Smith. The investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
United States Attorney Shappert reminds the public that a criminal complaint is merely a charging document and that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Announces Criminal and Civil Enforcement Actions Against Medical Practitioners for Roles in Telemedicine Fraud SchemesRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS – U.S. Attorney Andrew B. Birge announced a series of criminal and civil enforcement actions taken as part of a joint-agency healthcare fraud operation in the Western District of Michigan investigating medical practitioners who signed off on illegitimate orders for medical braces and cancer genetic testing promoted by telemarketers. The ongoing investigation—dubbed Operation “Happy Clickers” to reflect many of the practitioners’ habits of approving these orders with little to no review—resolves alleged fraud losses to date to the Medicare Program of over $7.3 million.
These actions follow nationwide takedowns of so-called marketers and owners of durable medical equipment (“DME”) supply companies and cancer genetic testing laboratories who conducted large-scale fraud schemes designed to defraud the Medicare Program (see press releases for takedowns on April 9, 2019, September 27, 2019, and September 30, 2020). The marketers called Medicare beneficiaries, often through overseas call centers, soliciting them for medically unnecessary braces and cancer genetic testing for screening purposes. The marketers, typically working through locum tenens companies, paid medical practitioners to purportedly review and sign these orders under the guise of telemedicine and then sold those signed orders to the owners of the DME supply companies and laboratories in violation of the federal anti-kickback statute.
The resolutions U.S. Attorney Birge announced involved four of the Michigan practitioners who approved and signed these orders on behalf of the marketers:
Richard Laksonen, N.P., a nurse practitioner from Ishpeming, MI, pleaded guilty on August 6, 2021, to one count of making a false statement relating to health care matters. As part of his guilty plea, Mr. Laksonen admitted that he signed orders for medical braces and cancer genetic testing, attesting that he had performed the assessments and verifying that the orders were reasonably and medically necessary, when, in fact, he typically executed the orders without reviewing the records. For example, Mr. Laksonen admitted that, in a one-week period, he signed approximately 335 separate single-patient files, many containing multiple types of braces, spending on average 18 seconds from the time he opened the record to the time he executed it. Mr. Laksonen continued to approve these orders, even after an investigator for a health insurer warned him that the patient referrals were the result of aggressive telemarketing. The investigation further established that many of these braces and tests were not medically necessary. As part of his plea agreement, Mr. Laksonen admitted that Medicare paid over $5.7 million for the orders he approved and signed. The Court will sentence Mr. Laksonen on November 15, 2021.
Hugh G. Deery II, M.D., of Petoskey, MI, Colleen Browne, D.O., formerly of Portland, MI, and Mosab Deen, D.O., of Royal Oak, MI, resolved civil liability for alleged violations of the False Claims Act by entering into civil settlements with the United States. These physicians approved orders for medically unnecessary braces and cancer genetic testing despite many red flags that these items and services were illegitimate. For example, there were often discrepancies between the brace orders and “examination” notes that the physicians signed and the recorded phone calls between the overseas call centers and the Medicare beneficiaries. Additionally, the marketer often suggested the physicians sign multiple brace orders for each beneficiary, and the physicians were pressured not to deny claims.
Medicare beneficiaries targeted by this fraud scheme complained of being “bombarded” by overseas telemarketing calls offering “free” braces. If the doctors took the time to listen to these recorded phone calls, they would have known that the calls were run by telemarketers and not medical professionals. The orders the physicians signed resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars paid by Medicare for medically unnecessary braces, which beneficiaries often did not want or use.
To resolve their individual liability, Dr. Deery has agreed to pay $301,140, Dr. Browne has agreed to pay $42,000, and Dr. Deen has agreed to pay $28,545. Dr. Browne’s settlement agreement also resolved allegations that she ordered medically unnecessary cancer genetic testing for Medicare beneficiaries for cancer screening purposes. Generally, Medicare does not cover genetic testing solely for the purpose of screening for cancer.
“Given that their approval and signatures are necessary for Medicare to pay for these braces and testing, medical practitioners are the professional backstop against these fraud schemes,” said U.S Attorney Birge. “And when medical practitioners ignore their professional responsibilities, facilitating these fraud schemes in our district, they will be held accountable.”
“The ordering of medically unnecessary services resulting from purported telemedicine visits to Medicare is blatant fraud,” said Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General – Chicago Region. “The OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and federal prosecutors to identify and hold accountable those individuals who choose to execute healthcare fraud schemes, and the practitioners who legitimize these schemes, and waste vital taxpayer dollars.”
“As medical professionals, these defendants had an obligation to conduct a good faith review of the devices and medical tests being ordered on behalf of Medicare patients,” said Timothy Waters, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. “Their failure to do so contributes to the billions of dollars of fraud losses Medicare suffers annually. Collaborative efforts like this one, demonstrate the FBI and our partners resolve to hold accountable those seeking to defraud the Medicare system.”
Operation “Happy Clickers” is an ongoing initiative by HHS-OIG, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan. Assistant U.S. Attorney Raymond E. Beckering III is overseeing and prosecuting the criminal investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew J. Hull is representing the United States in the parallel civil investigations.
Individuals, including medical professionals, who are aware of past or ongoing conduct involving solicitation and fraudulent approval of medical braces and cancer genetic testing through purported telemedicine services can call the U.S. Attorney’s Office Healthcare Fraud Investigator at 616-808-7572 or submit an online complaint to the HHS-OIG Hotline: https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud/
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South Carolina Resident Sentenced in Multi-Million Dollar Health Care Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Fort Mill, South Carolina, was sentenced in federal court for conspiracy to defraud the Pennsylvania Medicaid program and health care fraud, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.
United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon sentenced Tia Collins, 45, to four years’ probation, including six months of home detention for her role in the years-long conspiracy. Collins was also ordered to pay restitution to the Pennsylvania Medicaid program in the amount of $97,907.68.
During her plea hearing, Collins admitted that between 2011 and 2017 she was affiliated with Moriarty Consultants, Inc. (MCI), Activity Daily Living Services, Inc. (ADL), and Everyday People Staffing, Inc. (EPS)—three related entities operating in the home health care industry. MCI, ADL, and a fourth company, Coordination Care, Inc. (CCI), were approved under the Pennsylvania Medicaid program to offer certain services to qualifying Medicaid recipients (“consumers”), including personal assistance services (PAS), service coordination, and non-medical transportation, among other services. Between in and around January 2011 and in and around April 2017, MCI, ADL, and CCI, collectively, received more than $87,000,000 in Medicaid payments based on claims submitted for these services, with PAS payments accounting for more than $80,000,000 of the total amount.
During that time, Collins admitted that she participated in a wide-ranging conspiracy to defraud the Pennsylvania Medicaid program for the purpose of obtaining illegal Medicaid payments through the submission of fraudulent claims for services that were never provided to the consumers identified on the claims, or for which there was insufficient or fabricated documentation to support the claims. As part of the conspiracy, Collins admitted that she fabricated timesheets to reflect the provision of in-home PAS care that, in fact, she never provided to consumers. Collins also admitted that she caused the submission of Medicaid claims in the name of a “ghost” employee for PAS care that was never provided to the consumers specified on the claims. Collins also paid or caused other individuals to pay certain consumers cash kickbacks in exchange for the consumers’ participation in the fraudulent arrangement. Likewise, Collins admitted that she paid additional kickbacks to consumers out of the proceeds of fraudulent transportation reimbursements Collins caused Medicaid to disburse on behalf of the consumers. In total, Collins admitted causing losses to the Pennsylvania Medicaid program in excess of $150,000.
To date, a total of sixteen defendants have been charged in connection with this investigation, twelve of whom have pleaded guilty. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Assistant United States Attorneys Eric G. Olshan and Special Assistant United States Attorney Edward Song are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General – Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, and United States Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation of the defendant.
Second Superseding Indictment Charges Members and Associates of the Byrd Gang with Committing Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering, Conspiracy to Commit Rico and Drug Trafficking, and Other Serious Federal CrimesRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – TIM JACKSON, a/k/a “T-Maf,” JAMES ALEXANDER, a/k/a “Poo,” a/k/a “Black,” a/k/a “Freak,” CHANCE SKIPPER, a/k/a “Duna,” ERNEST THOMAS, a/k/a “E-Maf,” SAMUEL MORTON, a/k/a “Sosa,” TERRAN WILLIAMS, a/k/a “Funky,” TYRONE BOVIA, a/k/a “Sixx,” JAVONTA DOLEMAN, a/k/a “Dutt,” ALLEN GRAY, a/k/a “Kyedi,” and Randy Calvin, a/k/a “Tokey Hefner,” all of New Orleans, Louisiana, were charged in an eleven count second superseding indictment by a Federal Grand Jury on Friday, August 13, 2021.
According to the second superseding indictment, members of this organization and their associates ran a violent drug trafficking ring in and around the City of New Orleans dating back to 2014. During the course of this organization’s life, its members and associates distributed controlled substances, possessed firearms, committed shootings and violent acts, including murder, attempted murder and aggravated battery.
All of the defendants are charged in Counts 1, 2 and 3. Specifically, TIM JACKSON, a/k/a “T-Maf,” JAMES ALEXANDER, a/k/a “Poo,” a/k/a “Black,” a/k/a “Freak,” CHANCE SKIPPER, a/k/a “Duna,” ERNEST THOMAS, a/k/a “E-Maf,” SAMUEL MORTON, a/k/a “Sosa,” TERRAN WILLIAMS, a/k/a “Funky,” TYRONE BOVIA, a/k/a “Sixx,” JAVONTA DOLEMAN, a/k/a “Dutt,” ALLEN GRAY, a/k/a “Kyedi,” and Randy Calvin, a/k/a “Tokey Hefner,” are charged in Count 1 with a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d) (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Conspiracy), for which they face a sentence of up to life imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, up to five years supervised release, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee. They are charged in Count 2 with a violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 (Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances), for which they face a mandatory minimum of 10 years imprisonment up to life, up to a $10,000,000 fine, at least five years supervised release, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee. Finally, all the defendants are charged in Count 3 with a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(o) (Conspiracy to Possess Firearms), for which they face up to 20 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, up to three years supervised release, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.
Defendants TERRAN WILLIAMS, a/k/a “Funky,” TYRONE BOVIA, a/k/a “Sixx,” JAVONTA DOLEMAN, a/k/a “Dutt,” are charged in Counts 4 and 6 with a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(1) (Murder in Aid of Racketeering) for the murders of Wynston Jackson and Lawrence Williams, IV, for which they face a sentence of mandatory life imprisonment or death, up to a $250,000 fine, up to five years of supervised release, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.
Defendants TERRAN WILLIAMS, a/k/a “Funky,” TYRONE BOVIA, a/k/a “Sixx,” JAVONTA DOLEMAN, a/k/a “Dutt,” are charged in Counts 5 and 7 with a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(j) (Causing Death Through the Use of a Firearm) also for the murders of Wynston Jackson and Lawrence Williams, IV, for which they face a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years up to life imprisonment or death, up to a $250,000 fine, up to five years of supervised release, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.
No decision concerning the death penalty has been made at this time. As in all possible capital cases, this case will have to be reviewed by the Department of Justice Capital Crimes Unit in Washington D.C. before the Attorney General makes a final decision on this issue.
JAMES ALEXANDER, a/k/a “Poo,” a/k/a “Black,” a/k/a “Freak,” and TYRONE BOVIA, a/k/a “Sixx,” are charged in Count 8 for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(3) (Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering), which carries a sentence of up to 20 years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, up to three years supervised release, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee. They are likewise charged in Count 9 for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A) (Discharge of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence or Drug Trafficking Crime), which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment up to life, up to a $250,000 fine, up to five years supervised release, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee. This sentence must run consecutive to any other sentence.
Finally, JAMES ALEXANDER, a/k/a “Poo,” a/k/a “Black,” a/k/a “Freak,” is charged in Counts 10 and 11 for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(3) (Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering) and for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A) (Discharge of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence or Drug Trafficking Crime), respectively.
U. S. Attorney Evans reiterated that the second superseding indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendants must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
This second superseding indictment is the culmination of a long federal grand jury investigation that was conducted with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New Orleans Police Department, the New Orleans District Attorney’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The case is being prosecuted out of the Violent Crime Unit by Assistant United States Attorneys David Haller, Inga Petrovich and Liz Privitera.
San Benito man sent to prison for robbing bank via threatening messageRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A 26-year-old local man has been ordered to federal prison for bank robbery, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Gustavo Guadalupe Guevara pleaded guilty May 20.
Today, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. ordered him to serve a 42-month sentence to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard from the victim and noted the seriousness and nature of the offense.
On the morning of Nov. 3, 2020, Guevarra approached a teller at a Lone Star National Bank in Harlingen and handed her a piece of paper with a threatening message. In it, Guevarra also demanded money. The teller feared for her safety and complied. Guevarra then fled the bank.
The investigation led to Guevarra. Law enforcement ultimately found a large amount of U.S. currency at his residence.
Guevara will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBI and Harlingen Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Coronado prosecuted the case.
Rochester Man Sentenced on Gun ChargeRead 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 Herbert L. Brock, 44, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of felon in possession of firearm, was sentenced to 27 months imprisonment by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassie Kocher, who handled the case, stated that at approximately 10:07 p.m. on September 24, 2020 police began investigating a Shotspotter activation in the area of Zimbrich Street in Rochester. During the investigation, police followed a suspect vehicle to Sullivan Street where the driver and sole occupant of the car, later identified as the defendant, exited the vehicle and ran into a home. While the defendant ran into the house he tossed a handgun. Police secured the location and obtained consent to search the vehicle and home. Upon searching the vehicle, officers recovered three fired cartridge cases. The recovered cartridges were compared microscopically with each other and with tests fired in the recovered firearm. Based upon the comparison, a firearms examiner determined that the cartridge cases were fired from the recovered firearm. The defendant was prohibited from possessing a firearm based upon a 2005 felony conviction for Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division.
The case was brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as part of its Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative. PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
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Rochester Man Sentenced for His Role in Arson During May 2020 Violent Protests in RochesterRead 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 Shakell Sanks, 27, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of rioting for his role in violent protests held in the City of Rochester in May 2020, was sentenced to serve five months in prison by U.S. District Judge Larimer.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassie M. Kocher, who handled the case, stated that on May 30, 2020, Rochester Police Department (RPD) officers were assigned to assist with crowd control during protests scheduled at the Public Safety Building (PSB) on Exchange Boulevard. During the late-afternoon/early evening, those protests, being held in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, turned violent and resulted in vandalism, damaged property, looting, and fires.
At approximately 6:00 p.m. on May 30th in downtown Rochester, Sanks assisted others in attempting to light fabric on fire. The fabric was stuffed into the gas tank of a parked car belonging to the City of Rochester Family Crisis Intervention Team (FACIT). At approximately 6:20 p.m., the FACIT car began to smoke and shortly thereafter became engulfed in flames. The car was a total loss.
The sentencing is are the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division; the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan; the Gates Police Department, under the direction of Chief James VanBrederode; the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Todd Baxter; the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Barry Chase; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia; the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office, under the direction of District Attorney Sandra Doorley; the Greater Rochester Area Narcotics Enforcement Team, under the direction of Lieutenant Robert Hill; and the Rochester Fire Department, under the direction of Fire Chief Felipe Hernandez Jr.
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Rochester Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking by ForceRead 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 Peter R. Kiwitt, 62, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa to sex trafficking by coercion. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa M. Marangola, who is handling the case, stated Kiwitt is a registered sex offender who committed this offense while on probation in Monroe County. This investigation commenced in January 2019 after Rochester Police Department officers responded to a residence in the City of Rochester for the report of a fatal overdose involving a minor victim. The owner of the apartment found the minor deceased on his living room floor and called 911. He told officers he brought the minor victim back to his residence to engage in commercial sex acts with her. The investigation determined Kiwitt was sex trafficking the minor victim until shortly before her death, using the victim’s addiction to heroin to coerce her to engage in commercial sex acts with men in the Rochester area.
Sentencing is scheduled for November 22, 2021, at 9:15 a.m. before Judge Siragusa.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia, and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Todd Baxter.
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Repeat Offender Convicted of Unlawful Possession of A FirearmRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – On Friday, a federal jury convicted James Bates (50, of Las Vegas) — who previously had been convicted of multiple felonies in Clark County, Nevada and Broward County, Florida — for unlawful possession of a firearm following a drug transaction.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, in August 2020, Bates unlawfully possessed a 9mm semi-automatic handgun and methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. Bates’ prior felony conviction history includes second degree murder, robbery, burglary of a dwelling, and grand theft. As a result, federal law prohibits him from possessing firearms.
Following a four-day trial, the jury found Bates guilty of two counts of felon in possession of a firearm, one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey presided over the trial and scheduled sentencing for November 29, 2021. At sentencing, Bates faces: up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $1,000,000 for the possession with intent to distribute charge; up to 10 years prison and a fine of $250,000 for the felon in possession of a firearm charges; and for the possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a statutory maximum penalty of life in prison.
Acting U.S. Attorney Christopher Chiou for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Patrick Gorman of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the ATF. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Ihler and Andrew Duncan are prosecuting the case.
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Redding Restaurant Owners Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Forced LaborRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California couple pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit forced labor. According to court documents, Nery A. Martinez Vasquez, 53, and his wife Maura N. Martinez, 53, both of Shasta Lake, are naturalized United States citizens, originally from Guatemala. They owned and operated Latino’s, a restaurant, and Redding Carpet Cleaning & Janitorial Services, a cleaning company that serviced various businesses, including multiple car dealerships, in the Shasta Lake area.
In their plea agreement filed in federal court, the defendants admitted that if the matter proceeded to trial, the government would prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they convinced a Guatemalan relative and her two minor daughters to come to the United States in August 2016 by falsely promising them a better life. The defendants arranged for the victims to enter the United States using temporary visitor visas and then compelled them to overstay their visas and work long hours at Latino’s restaurant and Redding Carpet Cleaning & Janitorial Services for minimal to no pay between September 2016 and February 2018. The defendants conspired with one another to manufacture an inflated debt that they told the victims they owed and instructed them that they could not leave until they repaid this fictious debt. The defendants also abused the legal system by threatening to call the authorities on the victims and have them arrested for overstaying their visas if they did not comply with their requests.
Similarly, the defendants forbade the minor children from attending school because they claimed that immigration authorities were looking to arrest and deport non-citizen children. Instead of attending school, the children worked for the defendants’ businesses. The defendants housed the victims in a dilapidated, unheated trailer with no running water, and degraded and humiliated them in front of others. Finally, the defendants used force and threats of force to intimidate the victims, with Nery Martinez Vasquez even going as far as hitting the minor victims with a stick when angry.
“These defendants used the promise of America to lure the victim and her children to the United States in search of a better life, only to turn around and use that hope to exploit their dreams under cruel conditions,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “There is no place for such cruel conduct in our society, and the Department of Justice remains committed to eradicating human trafficking.”
“These defendants exploited vulnerable victims, forcing them to work in their businesses, failing to pay wages, and depriving them of basic human rights,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office continues its commitment to protect and defend vulnerable members of our society from human trafficking.”
“This case highlights how the dream of coming to the United States to begin a new, promising life can become a nightmare,” said Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI Sacramento Field Office. “The family worked in public view yet were imprisoned by fear and the lies they had been told by their exploiters. No human being — let alone a family — should be forced to work and live as these victims did. The FBI is committed to identifying and investigating human trafficking. We seek justice for victims, regardless of immigration status. We ask the public to report suspected human trafficking and encourage victims to come forward to escape the cycle of exploitation they may feel trapped within.”
The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb on Nov. 8, 2021. They face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The sentence will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. As part of the defendants’ plea, they have agreed to pay $300,000 in restitution to the victims.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine T. Lydon and Tanya B. Syed and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Avner Shapiro are prosecuting the case.
Quincy Man Sentenced to 192 Months Federal Prison for Enticing A Minor to Engage in Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Constantino Charrez, 27, of Quincy, Florida was sentenced to 192 months federal prison for coercing or enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity. The sentenced was announced by Jason R. Coody, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Charrez’s sentence was the result of a federal jury returning a guilty verdict on May 13, 2021, finding Charrez’s guilty on the sole count of coercing or enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity.
“This sentence is yet another example of the unwavering commitment to the protection of our most vulnerable and should serve as a significant deterrent to those who would attempt to harm them,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Coody. “Through concerted efforts like Operation Stolen Innocence we will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute those who prey upon our children.”
“We are grateful to see justice prevail for the victim in this case,” said Chief Lawrence Revell. Charrez’s sentencing is a testament to the judicial systems’ tireless efforts to hold accountable those who break the law and reiterate to the community that human trafficking will not be tolerated."
"Operation Stolen Innocence continues to result in making our communities safer and serves as a premier example of the excellent work being done by HSI and law enforcement partners like the Tallahassee Police Department,” said HSI Tampa Assistant Special Agent in Charge Micah McCombs.
Charrez’s prison sentence will be followed by 10 years of supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender and will be subject to all sex offender conditions.
This conviction was the result of a collaborative investigation by the Tallahassee Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations as part of Operation Stolen Innocence, a multi-agency coordinated effort by the United States Marshal Service, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, and the Office of State Attorney, 2nd Judicial Circuit to combat human trafficking in the Tallahassee area. Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Spaven prosecuted the case.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Prisoner Pleads Guilty to Escaping from Hartford Halfway HouseRead the Press Release
Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Lawrence Bobnick. Acting United States Marshal, announced that JOSE SOSTRE, 41, of Hartford, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to escaping from the custody of the Attorney General.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 28, 2012, Sostre was sentenced in New Haven federal court to 120 months of imprisonment and four years of supervised release for distributing heroin. In September 2020, Sostre was transferred to the Watkinson House Residential Reentry Center in Hartford to complete his prison term. On November 24, 2020, Sostre left the facility without permission and did not return. He surrendered to the U.S. Marshals Service on February 23, 2021.
Judge Meyer scheduled sentencing for November 24, 2021, at which time Sostre faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Gresham.
Postal Employee Charged with Theft of MailRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans, announced that HAROLD SAINTES, JR. age 52, of Franklin, Louisiana was charged on August 23, 2021 in a one count Bill of Information with Theft of Mail.
According to court documents, the Office of Inspector General for the United States Postal Service initiated an investigation into SAINTES and determined that he was stealing packages from the Loranger Post Office from September 1, 2019 through October 19, 2019.
U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans reiterated that a Bill of Information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, SAINTES faces a maximum penalty of five (5) years imprisonment, followed by up to three (3) years of supervised release, up to a $250,000 fine, and a mandatory $100.00 special assessment fee.
U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans praised the work of the U.S Postal Inspection Service, Office of Inspector General in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Julia K. Evans is in charge of the prosecution.
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Port Arthur Man Sentenced for Possessing Stolen Firearm While Under Felony IndictmentRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas – A Port Arthur man has been sentenced to federal prison for firearms violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei today.
Demarcus Dewayne Elam, 23, pleaded guilty on March 2, 2021, to receipt of a firearm while under indictment and was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone.
“Those under a felony drug indictment have no business possessing a firearm, particularly a stolen one,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. “Thanks to the great work of ATF and the Port Arthur Police Department, Jefferson County is a little bit safer.”
According to information presented in court, on May 3, 2020, Elam was pulled over in Port Arthur for a traffic violation. During the traffic stop, the law enforcement officer conducting the stop learned that Elam was wanted on outstanding warrants. Elam was arrested on those outstanding warrants and the officer began to search Elam incident to arrest. Elam informed the officer he had a firearm in his pocket. The officer retrieved the firearm and learned from dispatch the firearm had been reported stolen in Beaumont. Further investigation revealed that on Sep. 24, 2018, Elam had been placed on four years of deferred probation for a felony drug charge. Based on the deferred adjudication, Elam is considered to be under indictment and prohibited from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition.
This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
This case was investigated by the Port Arthur Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Quinn.
Poplar woman admits trafficking oxycodone on Fort Peck Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS – A Poplar woman suspected of being a long-time distributor of oxycodone pills on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation admitted drug trafficking and money laundering crimes today, Acting U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said.
Kaycee Lynn Menz, 31, pleaded guilty to an indictment charging her with possession with intent to distribute oxycodone and with money laundering. Menz faces a maximum 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and three years of supervised release.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. Chief Judge Morris set sentencing for Dec. 8. Menz was released pending further proceedings.
In court documents filed in the case, the government alleged that beginning in June 2014 and continuing through at least May 2020, Menz, and her co-defendant and boyfriend, Jason Tyrell Lee, began selling illegal oxycodone pills from a house they rented in Poplar, on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Law enforcement learned that Lee resided primarily in Minnesota, Menz primarily lived at the Poplar residence and that Lee supplied Menz with the pills she sold. Investigators interviewed many individuals who witnessed Menz and Lee distributing illegal pills. Some individuals occasionally helped with the drug enterprise by driving Menz around to conduct sale and by wiring or transferring drug proceeds to individuals in Minnesota. Menz also sent money using transfer services to individuals in Minnesota and asked others to send money on her behalf. Lee is pending trial in the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan R. Plaut is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice and Montana Highway Patrol.
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Pascagoula Woman Pleads Guilty to Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. – A Pascagoula woman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute narcotics, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Acting Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
According to court documents, Christina Elizabeth Hand, 40, conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine in Jackson County between 2016 through 2021.
Hand is scheduled to be sentenced on November 23, 2021, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI Safe Streets Task Force in Pascagoula is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Annette Williams is prosecuting the case.
Parent in College Admissions Case Agrees to Plead GuiltyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The chief executive officer of a California liquor distribution company has agreed to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge in connection with securing her son’s fraudulent admission to the University of Southern California (USC) as a purported athletic recruit.
Marci Palatella, 66, of Hillsborough, Calif., will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud. According to the terms of the plea agreement, the parties have agreed to a sentence of six weeks in prison, a $250,000 fine, two years of supervised release, with a condition of home confinement for the first six months of supervised release, and 500 hours of community service.
As set forth in the charging document, Palatella agreed with William “Rick” Singer and others to pay $500,000 to facilitate her son’s admission to USC as a football recruit, even though he was not actually being recruited and would not play on the USC football team.
Palatella will be the 33rd parent to plead guilty in the case.
The charge of conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud provides for a sentence of up 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Case information, including the status of each defendant, charging documents, and plea agreements are available here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/investigations-college-admissions-and-testing-bribery-scheme.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Ramsey E. Covington, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston; and Mark Deckett, Resident Agent in Charge of the Department of Education, Office of Inspector General made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin D. O’Connell, Leslie A. Wright, Kristen A. Kearney, Ian J. Stearns, and Stephen E. Frank of Mendell’s Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Orlando Man Sentenced to More Than Three Years in Federal Prison for Possessing A FirearmRead the Press Release
Orlando, FL – U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger has sentenced Leo Joshua Nieves-Ramirez (24, Orlando) to 3 years and 10 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The court also ordered Nieves-Ramirez to forfeit a SCCY 9mm pistol and 7 rounds of ammunition, which were involved in or used in the offense.
Nieves-Ramirez had pleaded guilty on May 28, 2021.
According to testimony and court records, beginning on October 30, 2020, FBI agents observed several photographs and videos posted to Nieves-Ramirez’s Instagram page with Nieves-Ramirez posing and displaying firearms and ammunition. In one photo, Nieves-Ramirez was observed holding a Glock .40 caliber pistol with an extended magazine and an “Auto Sear” (a device used to convert a semi-automatic firearm to fully automatic firing mode) attached to the rear of the firearm. In one video, Nieves-Ramirez was seen pointing and firing what appeared to be the same pistol out of an open front passenger side window in “automatic mode” to a backdrop of numerous tractor trailers.
Nieves-Ramirez was arrested on January 5, 2021. As detectives with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office approached, Nieves-Ramirez fled on foot and discarded a pink firearm into the bushes. The firearm was recovered and determined to be a SCCY 9mm pistol, loaded with 7 rounds of ammunition. The investigation also revealed that the firearm had been reported as stolen. Nieves-Ramirez has multiple prior felony convictions and is therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Beatriz Gonzalez.
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.
Ohio man admits to wire fraud chargeRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Kenneth Werkau, of Clarington, Ohio, has admitted to a wire fraud charge, Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced.
Werkau, 63, pleaded guilty today to one count of “Wire Fraud.” Werkau was employed as an associate at Walmart in Moundsville. Beginning in September 2019 and ending in January 2020, Werkau stole $123,775 in gift cards and activating them without paying for them.
Werkau faces up to 20 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Dane DeMasi-Lemon is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The FBI investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge James P. Mazzone presided.
Newark Man Admits Possessing Firearm in Furtherance of Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Newark man today admitted possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug distribution, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
D’Sean Roper, 27, of Newark, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to an information charging him with one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Jan. 18, 2021, Newark Police Department officers observed a large group of people in front of a house on Fairmount Avenue in Newark. An officer saw what appeared to be a black handle of a gun protruding from Roper's waistband. Officers approached Roper and saw the outline of the object in his pants that appeared to be a gun. He was found to have a Hi-Point 9mm handgun loaded with eight rounds of 9mm ammunition and five bricks of heroin.
The count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime carries a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed, a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, and a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 3, 2022.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, and members of the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Brian O’Hara, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
This case is part of the Violent Crime Initiative (VCI), which was formed in August 2017 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, and the City of Newark’s Department of Public Safety for the purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Newark. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate and pool resources to prosecute violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the ATF, the DEA, the U.S. Marshals, the Newark Department of Public Safety, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, N.J. State Parole, Union County Jail, N.J. State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center, N.J. Department of Corrections, the East Orange Police Department, the Orange Police Department and the Irvington Police Department.
The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel Robert Frazer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime/Gang Unit in Newark.
New York Man Sentenced to 57 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute Heroin, Fentanyl, and MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A New York, man was sentenced today to 57 months in prison for his participation in a heroin mill located in the Bronx, New York, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Johan Manuel Lopez Brito, 34, of the Bronx, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi in Newark federal court to an information charging him with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine. Judge Cecchi imposed the sentence today by videoconference.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Between 2019 and June 2020, Lopez Brito conspired with others to distribute heroin and other drugs to customers in New Jersey and elsewhere. Lopez Brito worked at the mill packaging narcotics for distribution. On June 30, 2020, law enforcement searched the organization’s mill in the Bronx and recovered heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine. The quantity of heroin alone amounted to approximately 8,650 individual doses. Law enforcement seized the drug trafficking organization’s distribution materials, including glassines, tape, scales, cutting agents to mix with narcotics to increase their weight and value, and stamps for the branding of the drugs. Lopez Brito was at the mill during the search and was arrested.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Cecchi sentenced Lopez Brito to three years of supervised release.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jason J. Molina, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Calle of the Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark.
New York Life Insurance Broker Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Securities Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A New York Life insurance broker was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for his role in a scheme to fraudulently use his association with the company to solicit investor money, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Ivan Ramos, 39, of Hillside, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Court Judge Claire C. Cecchi to an information charging him with one count of securities fraud. Judge Cecchi imposed the sentence by videoconference.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Ramos, who worked at New York Life selling life insurance, sought out inexperienced investors seeking low-risk investments. The victims met Ramos after purchasing life insurance through him, or through New York Life marketing events, or through mutual acquaintances. Ramos led his victims to believe, through misrepresentations and omissions, that two entities that he controlled, Invexperts LLC and Wealth Seeds Capital LLC, were associated with New York Life when they were not. The victims believed that the money they entrusted to Ramos would be placed in investments through New York Life, and accordingly multiple victims referenced New York Life on the memo line of their investment checks. One victim, for example, attended a New York Life seminar, then subsequently met with Ramos at his office in Edison, and ultimately invested in Invexperts believing it was associated with New York Life.
Ramos falsely told victims that their investments in Invexperts and Wealth Seeds were no-risk with fixed annual returns. Instead of investing their money as he promised he would, Ramos used the funds for purposes not disclosed to the victims, including, among other things, to pay for personal expenses for Ramos and others, to develop a restaurant called “Frisky Bull Barbeque” in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and to repay other investors.
Ramos obtained over $1 million in investor money through the fraudulent scheme.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Cecchi sentenced Ramos to three years of supervised release.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a civil complaint against Ramos based on the allegations underlying the securities fraud charge.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr., and postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Rodney M. Hopkins in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer S. Kozar of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit.
Nashville Man Charged with Civil Rights Violations for Series of Church ArsonsRead the Press Release
NASHVILLE – A Nashville man was charged today with civil rights violations for his role in the arson of four Nashville area churches, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Mary Jane Stewart for the Middle District of Tennessee and Assistant Attorney General Kristen M. Clarke of the Civil Rights Division.
Alan Douglas Fox, 28, was charged by criminal Information with setting fire to the Crievewood United Methodist Church on June 17, 2019; the Crievewood Baptist Church on June 25, 2019; the Saint Ignatius of Antioch Catholic Church on June 25, 2019; and the Priest Lake Community Baptist Church on June 26, 2019. Fox is also charged with carrying and using a firearm during the arson of the Crievewood Baptist Church.
The Information alleges that Fox intentionally set the fires because of the religious character of the churches.
If convicted, Fox faces up to 20 years in prison for each fire, and a consecutive five-year sentence for the firearms violation.
This case was investigated by the FBI, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, and the Nashville Fire Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Beth Myers and Trial Attorney Kyle Boynton of the Department’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.
The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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Moss Point Man Pleads Guilty to Using Facility to Promote Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. – A Moss Point man pleaded guilty to use of an interstate facility to promote a conspiracy to distribute narcotics, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi.
According to court documents, Rodney Lewis McLeod, 45, used a cell phone to promote and facilitate the carrying on of an unlawful activity, in this case a conspiracy to distribute narcotics.
McLeod is scheduled to be sentenced on November 29, 2021, and faces a maximum penalty of 4 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI Safe Streets Task Force in Pascagoula is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Annette Williams is prosecuting the case.
Mexican National Pleads Guilty to Marijuana Cultivation in the Dutch Oven Creek Area of the Sierra National ForestRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Lester Eduardo Cardenas Flores, 24, of Michoacán, Mexico, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. He also agreed to pay $48,057 in restitution to the U.S. Forest Service for the damage that the cultivation operation had on public land.
According to court documents, the cultivation operation contained 2,307 marijuana plants and was located in the Basin Creek drainage in the Dutch Oven Creek area of the Sierra National Forest. Cardenas and his co-defendant, Luis Madrigal Reyes, 37, also of Michoacán, Mexico, were apprehended at the grow site during the execution of a search warrant.
The cultivation operation caused extensive environmental damage, which serves as the habitat for the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog, an endangered species and the California spotted owl. Agents found lethal banned pesticides, which appeared to have been applied to the marijuana plants. The water from Dutch Oven Creek had also been diverted to irrigate the marijuana plants. Dutch Oven Creek is part of the Chiquito Creek watershed, which drains into the Fresno River before flowing into the San Joaquin River.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) of the California Department of Justice, and the Madera County Sheriff’s Office. The Integral Ecology Research Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to the research and conservation of wildlife and their ecosystems, assisted. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen A. Escobar is prosecuting the case.
Cardenas is scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 15, 2021. Madrigal previously entered a guilty plea and is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 20, 2021. They face a mandatory minimum statutory penalty of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison, as well as a $10 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Memphis Medical Sales Rep Admits Misleading FBIRead the Press Release
LITTLE ROCK—A Florida man pleaded guilty to misleading federal agents investigating his promotion of expensive compounded prescription drugs. Steve Hill, 57, of Port Orange, Florida (formerly of Memphis), entered his plea to making false statements to the FBI today before United States District Judge Brian S. Miller.
A veteran of the medical sales industry based in Memphis, in 2014 Hill began to promote compounded prescription drugs covered by TRICARE. His compensation equaled a fixed percentage of sales generated. When a healthcare provider to whom Hill marketed the drugs went on to prescribe them, Hill earned a share of whatever the insurer reimbursed for the drugs.
Among the healthcare providers Hill solicited was Doctor 1. Unbeknownst to TRICARE, Hill shared his commission on Doctor 1’s prescriptions with Doctor 1’s wife, Spouse 1. Specifically, of the more than $500,000 in commission he earned from Doctor 1’s prescriptions, Hill paid $147,325.25 to Spouse 1 and kept the remaining $345,727.15 for himself.
Around 2016, federal agents began to investigate Hill’s promotion of compounded drugs as well as his financial relationship with Spouse 1. In August 2017, a Special Agent of the FBI travelled to Hill’s Tennessee home to speak with him directly. During that interview, Hill denied having paid Spouse 1, which he knew to be false.
Under the terms of his guilty plea, Hill agreed to forfeit $345,727.15 in illicit proceeds. He will be sentenced at a later date. Making a false statement to the FBI is punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment.
Jonathan D. Ross, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, James A. Dawson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Little Rock Field Office, and Miranda Bennett, Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the guilty plea.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and HHS-OIG. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alexander D. Morgan.
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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at
https://www.justice.gov/edar
Twitter:
@EDARNEWS
Maryland Woman Charged with Stealing Housing and Nutritional Assistance PaymentsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA - A Maryland resident has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of theft of government funds, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.
The two-count Indictment named Briayell Moore, age 40, of Laurel, Maryland, as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment, from approximately June 2010 until approximately May 2017, Moore converted for her own use Housing Assistance Payments that were funded by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and from approximately December 2015 until approximately September 2016, Moore converted for her own use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Payments (aka “food stamps”) from the Department of Agriculture, for which she was ineligible.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than 10 years in prison, a fine of not more than $250,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Nicole A. Stockey is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General and the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Marrero Man Pleads Guilty to Straw Purchase of FirearmRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that BORIS GORDON, age 24 of Marrero, pled guilty on August 19, 2021 to making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(a)(6) and 924(a)(2).
According to court documents, on December 30, 2015, GORDON falsely stated to a federally licensed firearm dealer that he was the actual purchaser of a Glock Model 21, .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol, when he knew that he was not the actual buyer.
GORDON faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years. A fine of up to $250,000 may also be imposed. GORDON may be placed on supervised release after imprisonment for a period of up to 3 years. Additionally, a mandatory $100 special assessment fee will be assessed. U.S. District Court Judge Ashe set sentencing for December 9, 2021.
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.
U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans praised the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan L. Shih is in charge of the prosecution.
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Man Sentenced to 70 Months in Federal Prison for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon and Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily InjuryRead the Press Release
Spokane – Joseph H. Harrington, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Bruce Warren Sampson, Jr., age 38, of Toppenish, Washington, was sentenced today after having been found guilty on May 6, 2021, of assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury following a four-day jury trial. United States District Judge Salvador Mendoza, Jr. sentenced Sampson to a 70-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by a 3-year term of court supervision after he is released from federal prison.
According to information disclosed during court proceedings, Sampson beat and kicked the male victim in the head and chest causing grievous injuries, including eight broken ribs, traumatic brain injury and a broken eye socket. The victim was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington for treatment. The assault occurred in Sampson’s hotel room in Toppenish, Washington, which is within the external boundaries of the Yakama Nation. Sampson initially denied any knowledge of the assault and at trial claimed to have acted in self-defense. Sampson’s claim of self-defense was rejected by the jury.
Acting United States Attorney Harrington said, “The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington commends the law enforcement officers with the Yakama Nation Police Department, Toppenish Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation who investigated this case. Prosecuting violent crime occurring on Indian Reservations in the Eastern District of Washington is a major priority for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
This case was investigated by the Yakama Nation Police Department, Toppenish Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Richard Burson, Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.
Louisville Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing A Firearm While on State ParoleRead the Press Release
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – A Louisville man was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge David J. Hale to 15 years in prison, followed by a five-year term of supervised release, for possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.
According to court documents, Danel Tawan Mathis, Jr., age 31, possessed a firearm on April 13, 2019, in the Western District of Kentucky, Jefferson County, with knowledge that he had previously been convicted of a felony. Court documents allege that Mathis had been convicted of three counts of Robbery in the second degree in Jefferson Circuit Court, case number 05-CR-731, on March 3, 2005, and two counts of Complicity to Robbery in the first degree in Jefferson Circuit Court, case number 06-CR-2667, on August 22, 2006. At the time of this federal offense, Mathis was on state parole.
During his plea, Mathis admitted in open court that he possessed a Hi-Point .380 and ammunition. He further admitted that he knew he was a convicted felon and that he was prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Mathis has three prior convictions for crimes of violence and was sentenced to a 15-year mandatory-minimum term of imprisonment pursuant to the Armed Career Criminal Act. There is no parole in the federal system.
“I commend the ATF and LMPD for their work in this case,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett. “We will continue to strategically utilize federal resources and partner with LMPD to target the most significant drivers of violence in Louisville.”
“Firearms possessed by convicted felons pose a serious threat,” stated ATF Special Agent in Charge R. Shawn Morrow of the Louisville Division. “Together with LMPD, ATF is committing to disarming dangerous felons and making our communities safer. Our partnerships with local law enforcement and the USAO are getting results like this 15-year federal prison sentence.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Judd prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
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Leader of ‘Atomwaffen’ conspiracy sentenced to 3 years in prison for threatening journalists and advocatesRead the Press Release
Seattle – Cameron Shea, 25, a leader of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division, was sentenced today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington to 3 years in prison for federal conspiracy and hate crime charges for threatening journalists and advocates who worked to expose anti-Semitism, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said, “This conduct cannot be tolerated. This kind of conduct has consequences… It is so serious that it requires a serious sentence.”
“The Justice Department will continue to aggressively prosecute threats motivated by religious intolerance, and to prosecute defendants like this one who threatened violence against individuals who work to end discrimination,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to prosecuting to the full extent of the law, violent neo-Nazis and other perpetrators of hate crimes.”
“This hate-filled conduct strikes at the heart of our communities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gorman. “This defendant’s goal was to make people fearful in their own homes, and he recruited and cheered on others who joined his sick scheme. This federal prison sentence underscores the human damage from his crimes.”
Shea pleaded guilty in April 2021, to one count of conspiring to commit three offenses against the United States: interference with federally protected activities because of religion; mailing threatening communications; and cyberstalking. He also pleaded guilty to one count of interfering with a federally protected activity because of religion.
Shea and three co-defendants were charged with conspiring via an encrypted online chat group to identify journalists and advocates they wanted to threaten in retaliation for the victims’ work exposing anti-Semitism. The group focused primarily on those who are Jewish or journalists of color. The group created posters, which featured Nazi symbols, masked figures with guns and Molotov cocktails, and threatening messages, to deliver or mail to the journalists or advocates the group targeted. Shea messaged the group that he wanted Atomwaffen members in different locations to place posters on their victims’ homes on the same night to catch journalists off guard and accomplish a “show of force.” The posters were delivered to victims in Tampa, Seattle and Phoenix. Shea mailed posters to several victims, including a poster sent to an official at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) that depicted a Grim Reaper-like figure wearing a skeleton mask holding a Molotov cocktail outside a residence, with the text “Our Patience Has Its Limits . . . You have been visited by your local Nazis.”
Two of Shea’s co-defendants previously pled guilty to the conspiracy charge and were sentenced. A fourth defendant pled not guilty and is awaiting trial in September 2021.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces in Tampa, Seattle, Houston, and Phoenix with assistance from the Seattle Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Woods and Seth Wilkinson for the Western District of Washington, and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Michael J. Songer, with assistance from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in the Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Texas, District of Arizona, and Central District of California.
Leader of ‘Atomwaffen’ Conspiracy Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Threatening Journalists and AdvocatesRead the Press Release
Cameron Shea, 25, a leader of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division, was sentenced today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington to three years in prison for federal conspiracy and hate crime charges for threatening journalists and advocates who worked to expose anti-Semitism, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said, “This conduct cannot be tolerated. This kind of conduct has consequences…It is so serious that it requires a serious sentence.”
“The Justice Department will continue to aggressively prosecute threats motivated by religious intolerance, and to prosecute defendants like this one who threatened violence against individuals who work to end discrimination,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to prosecuting to the full extent of the law, violent neo-Nazis and other perpetrators of hate crimes.”
“This hate-filled conduct strikes at the heart of our communities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman for the Western District of Washington. “This defendant’s goal was to make people fearful in their own homes, and he recruited and cheered on others who joined his sick scheme. This federal prison sentence underscores the human damage from his crimes.”
Shea pleaded guilty in April 2021, to one count of conspiring to commit three offenses against the United States: interference with federally-protected activities because of religion; mailing threatening communications; and cyberstalking. He also pleaded guilty to one count of interfering with a federally protected activity because of religion.
Shea and three co-defendants were charged with conspiring via an encrypted online chat group to identify journalists and advocates they wanted to threaten in retaliation for the victims’ work exposing anti-Semitism. The group focused primarily on those who are Jewish or journalists of color. The group created posters, which featured Nazi symbols, masked figures with guns and Molotov cocktails and threatening messages, to deliver or mail to the journalists or advocates the group targeted. Shea messaged the group that he wanted Atomwaffen members in different locations to place posters on their victims’ homes on the same night to catch journalists off guard and accomplish a “show of force.” The posters were delivered to victims in Tampa, Seattle and Phoenix. Shea mailed posters to several victims, including a poster sent to an official at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) that depicted a Grim Reaper-like figure wearing a skeleton mask holding a Molotov cocktail outside a residence, with the text “Our Patience Has Its Limits . . . You have been visited by your local Nazis.”
Two of Shea’s co-defendants previously pled guilty to the conspiracy charge and were sentenced. A fourth defendant pled not guilty and is awaiting trial in Sept. 2021.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces in Tampa, Seattle, Houston and Phoenix with assistance from the Seattle Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Woods and Seth Wilkinson and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Michael J. Songer, with assistance from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in the Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Texas, District of Arizona and Central District of California.
Leader of drug trafficking organization headed to prisonRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 47-year-old Mexican citizen has been ordered to federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Dimas DeLeon Rios pleaded guilty Nov. 9, 2017.
Today, U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison imposed a total 15-year sentence. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment. At the hearing, the court found DeLeon was the leader of the drug trafficking organization and tampered with three witnesses during the course of the investigation. Judge Ellison found that firearms were used during the commission of the offense and noted a kidnapping of a U.S. citizen at the hands of members of the Gulf Cartel was part of the case.
The investigation began in 2011 when authorities targeted a drug trafficking organization involved in the transportation and distribution of cocaine and marijuana. Authorities soon found the organization was also stealing loads of cocaine and marijuana from its sources of supply. As part of the scheme, the organization had created fake bundles of drugs and used law enforcement officers to seize them in order to cover up the theft.
DeLeon helped facilitate the distribution of more than 194 kilograms of cocaine during the course of the conspiracy. He and others were hired to transport the cocaine, but instead stole and sold it for profit. To cover up the theft, co-conspirators created fake drug bundles that were placed in an abandoned vehicle. DeLeon paid corrupt law enforcement officers for their participation in the scheme to seize the fake drugs.
This drug trafficking investigation has led to the arrest and prosecution of 20 individuals including six law enforcement officers, one of whom has already received a 10-year prison term. The court found another had played an integral role in the drug trafficking conspiracy, abused and exploited his position of trust and ordered him to serve 166 months in federal prison.
DeLeon will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation dubbed Operation Blue Shame. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey N. MacDonald and Anibal J. Alaniz prosecuted the case.
Lead Defendant in Synthetic Identity Fraud Ring Pleads Guilty to Bank FraudRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – A Knightdale man pleaded guilty today to Bank Fraud, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344.
Acting United States Attorney G. Norman Acker, III stated, “Following a lengthy period of litigation, and delays brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Michael Griffin will finally face justice for his actions. We look forward to the sentencing phase of this case, and an opportunity to seek justice for the victims.”
The indictment charges that defendant Michael Griffin, operating from his business location in Raleigh and home in Knightdale, accepted fees from clients for alleged credit repair services. The indictment alleges that, in reality, Griffin was creating fictitious credit profiles and fraudulently altering client credit data through the use of fictitious police reports.
The indictment further charges that various defendants, many of whom were family members, conspired with Griffin to defraud Synchrony Bank, a Lowe’s credit card provider, by opening credit accounts in the name of fraudulent identities, cashing out the accounts through prepaid card purchases, and then defaulting on the credit accounts. The indictment also charges various defendants with similar frauds against other banks, including Capital One and Discover.
Today Griffin pleaded guilty to Count 14 of the Second Superseding Indictment, which charged a fraud upon Synchrony Bank using a false identity in the name of M.J. and a social security number and date of birth that did not belong to him.
More than ten other defendants also named in the Second Superseding Indictment already pled guilty to related charges earlier this year. Sentencing in Griffin’s case, as well as these related cases, remains pending. Griffin’s sentencing is tentatively set for the September 20, 2021 term, with the exact date and location to be determined. At sentencing, Griffin faces a statutory maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison.
G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement. The investigation was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation with the assistance of the United States Marshals Service and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorney William M. Gilmore represents the United States.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-CR-245-1D(2).
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Kirbyville Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Newton County Mail TheftsRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas – A Kirbyville man has been sentenced to prison for federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei today.
William Cody Shaver, 37, pleaded guilty on May 28, 2021, to possession of stolen mail and possession of fifteen or more stolen access devices and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone.
“Many Americans have either been directly affected by mail and identity theft or have a close friend or family member that has been victimized by mail and identity thieves,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. “EDTX is proud to partner with the Postal Inspection Service to safeguard the public’s personal information and to aggressively prosecute those that would seek to steal or profit from such private information.”
“We understand the impact mail theft can have on our valued customers. Mail theft is a serious crime, and we will work tirelessly to find those responsible and bring them to justice, as represented in this sentencing. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service was created to protect the U.S. Mail, and we will not lose sight of that mission,” said Thomas Noyes, Inspector in Charge of the Fort Worth Division. “The mission is often accomplished through partnerships, and we thank the Newton County Sheriff’s Office for their efforts in this case. We also thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Texas for pursuing this case through to the end.”
According to information presented in court, in September 2020, the Newton County Sheriff’s Office received multiple complaints of stolen mail throughout the area. An investigation led authorities to Shaver and a search warrant was executed at his residence in Kirbyville on Sep. 25, 2020. Shaver was found to be in possession of more than 200 pieces of stolen mail and mail matter including: credit cards, checks, gift cards, personal identification numbers, bank statements, and other miscellaneous items. It was determined that Shaver victimized 82 separate Newton County residents at an estimated potential loss to those victims of more than $200,000. Shaver was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 3, 2021.
This case was investigated by the Newton County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan C. Lee.
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Justice Department Enters Agreement to Ensure Public Transportation for Passengers with Disabilities in the County of HawaiiRead the Press Release
The Justice Department entered into a settlement agreement with the County of Hawaii and the County’s Mass Transit Agency (MTA) to resolve an investigation conducted under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Under the agreement, the County and MTA must make their transit services, including Hele-On, the buses used by the majority of riders, accessible to passengers with disabilities. The agreement requires the County and MTA to ensure that passengers with disabilities have lifts to board buses; paratransit users are provided timely pick-ups and drop-offs; and bus stops are accessible. In addition, the County and MTA must ensure that transit system drivers undergo ADA training and that disability-related complaints are addressed fairly. The County and MTA also must report to the department regarding their compliance with these requirements. Both the County and MTA cooperated in this matter.
“Ensuring the availability of public transit for individuals with disabilities is a key promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Accessible transportation is critical to independence and engagement in civic life, and this agreement helps to make that promise a reality.”
“This agreement will remove accessibility barriers in transit for countless individuals with disabilities living on the Big Island,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Judith Philips for the District of Hawaii. “Our office strongly supports efforts to improve access and inclusion under the ADA.”
This matter was handled by the Disability Rights Section of the department’s Civil Rights Division. The Justice Department plays a central role in advancing the nation’s goal of equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities. For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit the ADA website at http://www.justice.gov/crt. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov. ADA complaints may be filed online at http://www.ada.gov/complaint/.