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5 August 2021
Eleven Methamphetamine Traffickers Are Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Eleven members of a methamphetamine trafficking ring have been ordered to serve prison sentences ranging from 36 months to 210 months for federal drug conspiracy charges, announced William T. Stetzer, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
According to filed court documents and court proceedings, from 2018 to April 2019, the co-defendants were involved in a drug conspiracy that trafficked and distributed methamphetamine in Catawba, Lincoln, Caldwell, and Alexander Counties and elsewhere in Western North Carolina. Over the course of the multi-agency investigation, law enforcement seized at least 23 firearms, and more than $250,000 in drug proceeds.
The 11 defendants, each of whom previously pleaded guilty conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell on Wednesday, August 4, and Thursday, August 5, 2021, as follows:
- Kimberly Deann Bumgarner, 56, of Claremont, N.C., was sentenced to 60 months in prison and two years of supervised release. In addition to the conspiracy charge, Bumgarner also pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
- Ruth Marie Dugger, 38, of Claremont, N.C., was sentenced to 132 months in prison and five years of supervised release. Duggar also pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
- Aaron Douglas Goodson, 30, of Maiden, N.C., was sentenced to 210 months in prison and five years of supervised release. Goodson also pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
- Tiffany Christmas Hirani, 34, of Monroe, Georgia, was sentenced to 210 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
- Priscilla Chapman Lambert, 34, of Hickory, N.C., was sentenced to 151 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
- Brian Duane Martz, 42, was sentenced to 191 months in prison and five
years of supervised release. - Lowell Thomas Messer, 44, of Newton, N.C., was sentenced to 120 months in prison and five years of supervised release. Messer also pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
- Jason Keith Reichard, 39, of Newton, N.C., was sentenced to 36 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
- Cynthia Roxanne Shook, 35, of Catawba, N.C., was sentenced to 60 months in prison and two years of supervised release. Shook also pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
- Thomas Dewayne Simmons, Jr., 35, of Snellville, Georgia, was sentenced to 150 months in prison and five years of supervised release. Simmons also pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
- Samantha Jean Taylor, 26, of Newton, N.C., was sentenced to 120 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
Three other members of the conspiracy have pleaded guilty for their participation in the drug conspiracy. James Kristoffer Cantley, Jonathan Corey Daniel, and Michael James Notheisen, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Cantley and Notheisen have also each pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. A sentencing date for Cantley, Daniel and Notheisen has not been set.
In making today’s announcement Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer thanked the following agencies for their investigative efforts: the DEA in Charlotte, Asheville, and Atlanta; the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; the North Carolina State Highway Patrol; the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office; the Newton Police Department; the Conover Police Department; the Maiden Police Department; the Hickory Police Department; the Longview Police Department; the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office; the Granite Falls Police Department; the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office; the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office; the Huntersville Police Department; the Cornelius Police Department; the Mint Hill Police Department; the Pineville Police Department; the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department; the Monroe Police Department; the Taylorsville Police Department; the Gaston County Police Department; the Georgia Highway Patrol; the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia; the Georgia Bureau of Investigation; the Georgia Department of Corrections; the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia; and the Commerce Police Department in Georgia.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hess, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is prosecuting the case.
El Departamento de Justicia anuncia una investigación de la Ciudad de Phoenix y la Policía de Phoenix.Read the Press Release
El Fiscal General Merrick B. Garland y la Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles, Kristen Clarke, anunciaron hoy que el Departamento de Justicia ha iniciado una investigación de patrones y prácticas de la Ciudad de Phoenix y la Policía de Phoenix (PhxPD).
La investigación evaluará todos los tipos de uso de fuerza por parte de agentes de la PhxPD, incluyendo la fuerza letal. La investigación también intentará determinar si la PhxPD toma represalias contra personas por conductas protegidas por la Primera Enmienda; si la vigilancia policial de la PhxPD es discriminatoria o si la PhxPD, de una forma ilegal, decomisa o se deshace de pertenencias de personas desamparadas. Asimismo, la investigación evaluará los sistemas y las prácticas de la Ciudad y de la PhxPD para responder a personas con discapacidades. La investigación incluirá una revisión integral de las políticas, capacitación, supervisión e investigaciones de fuerza de la PhxPD, así como sus sistemas de rendición de cuentas, lo que incluye la recepción, investigación, revisión, resolución y disciplina en lo que se refiere a demandas por mala conducta.
Funcionarios del Departamento de Justicia informaron a la Alcalde de Phoenix Kate Gallego, el Jefe de la PhxPD Jeri Williams y otros oficiales municipales de la investigación. Como parte de esta investigación, el Departamento de Justicia se comunicará con grupos comunitarios y miembros del público para aprender más sobre sus experiencias con la PhxPD.
«Cuando realizamos investigaciones de patrones y prácticas para determinar si se ha vulnerado la Constitución o una ley federal, nuestro objetivo es la promoción de transparencia y responsabilidad», afirmó el Fiscal General Merrick Garland. «Eso aumenta el nivel de confianza pública, lo que en cambio mejora la seguridad pública. Nosotros sabemos que las autoridades policiales comparten estas metas».
«Una de las prioridades principales de la División de Derechos Civiles es garantizar que cada persona en este país se beneficie de una vigilancia policial legal, eficaz, transparente y libre de discriminación», comentó Kristen Clarke, la Fiscal General Auxiliar. «Oficiales de policía por todo el país deben usar su autoridad de una manera que se adhiera a la Constitución, que cumpla con las leyes de derechos civiles federales y que respeta la dignidad humana».
La investigación se está desarrollando en virtud de la ley de Control de Delitos Violentos y Aplicación de la Ley de 1994, la cual prohíbe que los gobiernos estatales y locales incurran en un patrón o una práctica de conducta por parte de oficiales de policía que prive a individuos de sus derechos protegidos en la Constitución o las leyes federales. Por otra parte, la ley permite al Departamento de Justicia a corregir tal mala conducta mediante litigios civiles. Esta representa la 73º investigación de una agencia policíaca que se ha llevado a cabo al amparo de esta ley desde su promulgación en 1994. El Departamento también evaluará las prácticas de aplicación de la ley en virtud de la Primera, Cuarta y Decimocuarto Enmiendas a la Constitución de los Estados Unidos, así como al amparo de la ley de Calles Seguras de 1968; el Título VI de la ley de Derechos Civiles de 1964; y el Título II de la ley de Estadounidenses con Discapacidades.
La Sección de Litigios Especiales de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia, en Washington, D.C., llevará a cabo esta investigación. Se anima a cualquiera que tenga información relevante a comunicarse con el Departamento de Justicia por correo electrónico a [email protected] o por teléfono a la siguiente línea gratuita: (866) 432-0335. También se puede informarnos de vulneraciones de derechos civiles en conexión con este u otros casos usando el nuevo portal para denuncias en civilrights.justice.gov.
Para información específica sobre el trabajo de reformación policíaca de la División de Derechos Civiles, vaya a: /media/872116/dl?inline.
Corrupt Puerto Rico Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Murder and RacketeeringRead the Press Release
Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that WILLIAM VAZQUEZ-BAEZ, a former member of the Puerto Rico Police Department (“PRPD”), pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court in connection with his years of corrupt assistance to a criminal enterprise known as La Organización de Narcotraficantes Unidos (“La ONU”), including his participation in the May 9, 2007, murder of Anthony Castro-Carrillo in Carolina, Puerto Rico. U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman accepted the defendant’s guilty plea.
U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “William Vazquez-Baez perverted his official position for personal gain, and in so doing brought deadly violence into the homes of the very people he was sworn to protect. Today’s plea represents a milestone in holding Vazquez-Baez responsible for the cold-blooded, murderous violence he wrought.”
According to the allegations in the Information and other filings and statements made in court:
From approximately 1994 until his arrest in connection with this case in May 2017, VAZQUEZ-BAEZ was an active police officer with the PRPD. From in or about 2004 until in or about 2016, members of La ONU shipped thousands of kilograms of cocaine from Puerto Rico to New York, including cocaine that was then distributed out of a Bronx daycare center, and protected their territory and trade through numerous acts of violence. Members of La ONU paid VAZQUEZ-BAEZ a salary to corruptly use his position as a police officer to further the interests of La ONU. For example, VAZQUEZ-BAEZ provided narcotics and intelligence, including information obtained from the police narcotics unit. Members of La ONU would also contact VAZQUEZ-BAEZ, among others, when transporting large quantities of cocaine within the San Juan, Puerto Rico, area to ensure the shipment avoided areas of police activity. VAZQUEZ-BAEZ also distributed payments to other corrupt police officers who assisted La ONU.
VAZQUEZ-BAEZ also assisted La ONU in acts of violence:
In or about 2006 or 2007, VAZQUEZ-BAEZ alerted La ONU members that Freddy Mendez-Rivera, a local resident, had complained to police about drug dealing occurring in his neighborhood, which led to members of La ONU kidnapping and then killing Mendez-Rivera. Around the same time, VAZQUEZ-BAEZ alerted a senior member of La ONU that the kidnapping was being reported over the police radio. VAZQUEZ-BAEZ advised that, because the fact that Mendez-Rivera had spoken with the police was known throughout the Carolina Narcotics division, it was important that the body never be discovered. When later updated about what had happened, VAZQUEZ-BAEZ laughed and remarked, in substance, that Mendez-Rivera would not be giving the police information any further.
On or about May 9, 2007, members of La ONU hired VAZQUEZ-BAEZ to participate in the murder of Anthony Castro-Carrillo in Carolina, Puerto Rico, in exchange for a cash bonus. VAZQUEZ-BAEZ and members of La ONU stormed Castro-Carrillo’s residence while dressed as police officers and shot and killed him.
In or about 2007, VAZQUEZ-BAEZ delivered a confidential informant, who was in VAZQUEZ-BAEZ’s custody, to members of La ONU, who pretended to be other police officers. Those members of La ONU then shot and killed the informant.
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VAZQUEZ-BAEZ, 52, pled guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d), which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to commit murder for hire, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1958, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.
VAZQUEZ-BAEZ is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Furman on December 2, 2021, at 3:00 p.m.
Ms. Strauss praised the investigative work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the New York City Police Department. Ms. Strauss also thanked the United States Attorney’s Office in the District of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico Police Department for their support in this ongoing investigation.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lara Pomerantz, Justin Rodriguez, and Andrew Thomas are in charge of the prosecution.
Concord Man Sentenced to 120 Months for Methamphetamine Trafficking and Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
CONCORD - Jason Manley, 32, of Concord, was sentenced on Tuesday to 120 months in federal prison for attempted possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced today.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in March of 2019, the United States Postal Inspection Service identified Manley as a customer of an illegal drug vendor operating on the internet. Between March of 2019 and July of 2020, postal inspectors intercepted four parcels addressed to Manley at his residence. Pursuant to search warrants, the seized parcels were found to contain a total of over 2.3 kilograms of highly-pure methamphetamine. On July 10, 2020, an undercover agent made a controlled delivery of an intercepted parcel to Manley’s residence. After Manley accepted the parcel, investigators executed a search warrant of his residence and recovered additional methamphetamine, a handgun and ammunition, $54,483 in cash, and additional items consistent with drug distribution activities.
Manley previously pleaded guilty on April 23, 2021. As part of his plea agreement, Manley has agreed to forfeit cash, a firearm, ammunition, jewelry, and other items seized during the investigation.
“Methamphetamine is a highly-dangerous drug that is appearing with increased frequency in New Hampshire,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Farley. “Armed drug dealers who are distributing this dangerous substance are a significant threat to the health and safety of the citizens of the Granite State. In order to protect our community, we are working closely with our law enforcement partners to identify these drug dealers and hold them accountable for their unlawful conduct.”
This matter was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the New Hampshire State Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cam Le.
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Columbia Man Pleads Guilty to Being a Felon in PossessionRead the Press Release
Columbia, South Carolina ---- Acting United States Attorney M. Rhett DeHart announced that Leonard Earl Mitchell, 30, of Columbia, has entered a guilty plea in federal court to being a felon in possession of ammunition. United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis accepted the guilty plea and will impose sentence after she has reviewed the presentence report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
Evidence presented in court established that, on May 23, 2020, after receiving reports of shots fired on Two Notch Road, officers from the City of Columbia Police Department located nine 9mm spent shell casings in a business’ parking lot. While reviewing the surveillance footage, the officers saw that an unknown person discharged two rounds in the direction of Mitchell, as he was exiting the business. Realizing that he was being shot at, Mitchell sought cover near a car in the parking lot, then retrieved a 9mm firearm off his person and discharged 10 rounds at a car traveling northbound on Two Notch Road. After the shooting incident, Mitchell fled from the parking lot.
A City of Columbia police officer was able to identify Mitchell as the person involved in the shooting from a prior encounter with him, as well as from Mitchell’s distinctive facial tattoos.
On June 4, 2020, Mitchell was arrested in his home on other warrants. At the time of his arrest, he had a 9mm pistol on his person that ballistically matched the 9 shell casings found in the business parking lot.
Mitchell has previously been convicted of several felony offenses including Failure to Stop for Blue Lights and Siren, Assault and Battery of a High and Aggravated Nature, Assault and Battery 2nd Degree, Distribution of Marijuana, Assault and Battery, 1st Degree, Possession of Methamphetamine/Cocaine, and Carrying or Concealing Weapon by Inmates. As such, Mitchell is prohibited from possessing a firearm and/or ammunition.
The maximum penalty for a felon in possession of ammunition is imprisonment for 10 years and/or a fine of $250,000.
The case was investigated by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the City of Columbia Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney William K. Witherspoon is prosecuting the case, as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases.
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Charlotte Man Is Sentenced to 22 Years for Carjacking A Vehicle with A Child in the CarseatRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Acting U.S. Attorney William T. Stetzer announced today that Maurice Rakestraw, 31, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 264 months in prison for carjacking and related firearms offenses. In addition to the prison term imposed, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. also ordered Rakestraw to serve five years under court supervision upon his release.
Vincent C. Pallozzi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) join Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer in making today’s announcement.
According to court documents and evidence presented at Rakestraw’s sentencing hearing, on December 5, 2019, Rakestraw was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped by CMPD officers. Over the course of the traffic stop, Rakestraw fled from the scene on foot until he encountered his carjacking victims in a parking lot of an apartment complex. Court documents show that Rakestraw approached the two adult victims, pointed a firearm at one of them and threatened to kill him if he did not give Rakestraw his car. Rakestraw sped off in the stolen vehicle with the victims’ baby still secured in the car seat. Approximately six minutes later, Rakestraw crashed the stolen vehicle into a trailer being pulled by a truck and flipped the vehicle onto its roof. According to evidence presented at the sentencing hearing, Rakestraw crawled out of the car and ran away from the crash scene, leaving the baby in the overturned vehicle. The occupants of the truck were able to pry the vehicle’s door open and remove the baby from the car seat.
According to court documents, CMPD officers encountered Rakestraw shortly thereafter, walking along a sidewalk. An officer attempted to take Rakestraw into custody but Rakestraw fled into nearby woods. Rakestraw was apprehended after he was located in the schoolyard of Merry Oaks International Elementary. Officers also located Rakestraw’s firearm nearby in the woods. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement determined that Rakestraw had stolen the firearm during a domestic violence assault two days prior.
In November 2020, Rakestraw pleaded guilty to carjacking, possession and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, possession of a firearm by a felon, and stealing a firearm. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
Assistant United States Attorneys David Kelly and Erik Lindahl handled the prosecution.
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Earlier this week, in an unrelated armed carjacking case, Judge Conrad ordered Kshune Jackson, 23, and Blaine Cook, 23, both of Charlotte, to serve 125 months in prison each, for taking a car at gunpoint from two victims in Charlotte on January 16, 2020. At the time of this federal offense, Jackson and Cook were both on state post-release supervision after having served prison sentences for armed robbery. Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer thanked Homeland Security Investigations and CMPD for their investigation of this case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kelly.
Catawba County Man Is Sentenced to 13 ½ Years for Robbing Two Hickory Area Businesses at GunpointRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Catawba County man who robbed two Hickory-area businesses at gunpoint in March 2020 was sentenced on Wednesday, August 4, 2021, to 162 months in prison, announced William T. Stetzer, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Lester Deontae Lackey, 30, of Newton, N.C., was also ordered to serve three years under court supervision after he is released from prison. The Honorable Kenneth D. Bell presided over the sentencing hearing.
Vincent C. Pallozzi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, Sheriff Alan C. Jones, of the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office, and Chief Thurman Whisnant of the Hickory Police Department join Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer in making today’s announcement.
According to filed court documents, and statements made in court, on March 21, 2020, at 11:55 p.m., Lackey robbed a Speedway Store located 1835 Hwy 70 SE in Hickory, N.C. Upon entering the store, Lackey pointed a rifle at a store clerk and demanded money. The store clerk complied and handed Lackey $300 in cash and Lackey fled the scene. Court records show that two days later, on March 23, 2020, at approximately 1:50 p.m., Lackey entered a CVS Pharmacy located at 2259 12th Avenue, in Hickory. As with the previous robbery, upon entering the pharmacy Lackey pointed a rifle at the store’s shift manager and another employee and demanded money. The shift manager handed Lackey approximately $252 in cash and Lackey fled the scene. At the time of the robbery, there were multiple customers inside the pharmacy who managed to flee to the rear of the store.
According to court records, law enforcement quicky identified Lackey’s getaway vehicle and a Hickory police officer located Lackey who was still in the Hickory area. Law enforcement attempted to stop Lackey’s vehicle but Lackey proceeded to attempt to evade the police. A pursuit by multiple law enforcement agencies ensued which lasted approximately 30 minutes. During the pursuit, Lackey traveled into Caldwell County and back into the Long View area of Catawba County. Law enforcement arrested Lackey after his vehicle collided with a power pole and Lackey attempted to flee on foot.
On December 4, 2020, Lackey pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery, which is the robbery of a business engaged in interstate commerce, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of the robbery.
Lackey is currently in federal custody. He will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
In announcing the sentence, Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer thanked the ATF, the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office, the Hickory Police Department and the North Carolina Highway Patrol for their investigation of the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hess handled the prosecution.
California Man Sentenced in Cross-Country Marijuana Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH _ A resident of California has been sentenced in federal court to five years’ probation on his conviction of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.
Senior United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Ryan Hendrix, age 33, of Santa Barbara, CA.
According to information presented to the court, the Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies conducted a multi-year investigation of the marijuana trafficking conspiracy of Hendrix and his co-conspirators. From 2012 through 2017, Hendrix and his co-conspirators arranged for marijuana to be supplied from the West Coast and mailed to the Pittsburgh area through the United States Postal Service. Hendrix’s co-conspirators would then distribute the marijuana in the Western District of Pennsylvania, primarily on college campuses, such as Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Cercone stated that the sentence was sufficient but not greater than necessary to achieve the goals of sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorney Tonya Sulia Goodman prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Acting United States Attorney Kaufman commended the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, and the Indiana Borough Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Hendrix.
This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Boone County Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Distributing Heroin and FentanylRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Boone County man was sentenced today to 60 months in federal prison for distributing opioids. The five-year sentence was a significant upward departure from the U.S. Sentencing Guideline Range.
According to court documents and statements made in court, John Massey II, 40, of Seth, sold heroin to a confidential informant in Boone County in January and October 2018. On October 19, 2018, Massey possessed a mixture of heroin and fentanyl at his Seth residence, which Massey admitted he intended to distribute.
At sentencing, the United States sought an upward variance from the Court based largely on Massey’s role in perpetuating the opioid crisis as a dealer, his persistent drug dealing activity while out on bond and his relevant conduct wherein he distributed a particularly potent batch of fentanyl to buyers on December 23, 2017, that resulted in multiple drug overdoses in Boone County, one of which resulted in an overdose death. After hearing the testimony of several witnesses and receiving evidence, including testimony from the Chief Medical Examiner for the State of West Virginia and a paramedic, the Court determined that a “substantial upward variance” from Massey’s original sentencing range of six to twelve months addressed the serious nature of the offense and relevant conduct.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the U.S. 119 Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force.
Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorneys Kristin F. Scott and John File prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:18-cr-00268.
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Billings man admits cocaine trafficking, promoting prostitution crimesRead the Press Release
BILLINGS – A Billings man accused of trafficking cocaine and promoting prostitution in the community by setting up a commercial sex date for an individual admitted charges today, Acting U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said.
Anthony Marcos Chadwell, 27, pleaded guilty to a superseding information charging him with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and with use of a facility in interstate commerce in aid of racketeering. Chadwell faces a maximum 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and three years of supervised release.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided. Judge Watters set sentencing for Dec. 16. Chadwell was detained.
The government alleged in court documents that in 2019, Chadwell became involved in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy and distributed cocaine in Billings and elsewhere. In early 2019, Chadwell was introduced to an individual, identified as Jane Doe 11. At some point Doe 11 began engaging in commercial sex with Chadwell’s assistance. Chadwell used his cellular phone to set up a commercial sex date for Doe 11 at a Billings motel in which Doe 11 engaged in a sex act in exchange for money.
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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Ava Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Meth Trafficking, Illegal FirearmRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – An Ava, Missouri, man has been sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing methamphetamine and a firearm.
Charles D. Kessler, 41, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips on July 29, 2021, to 10 years in federal prison without parole.
On July 2, 2020, Kessler pleaded guilty to one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Kessler admitted he was in possession of 37.8 grams of methamphetamine and a loaded Taurus .380-caliber pistol when law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at his residence on Jan. 5, 2017. The methamphetamine, which Kessler admitted he intended to distribute, was found inside a locked security safe next to a bed in Kessler’s bedroom, along with drug distribution materials. The pistol was found on the headboard of Kessler’s bed.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Kessler has prior felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance, burglary, retail theft, aggravated battery, and theft.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Byron H. Black and Josephine L. Stockard. It was investigated by the Douglas County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Wright County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
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.
Ascension Michigan to Pay $2.8 Million to Resolve False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Ascension Michigan and related hospitals, Providence Park Hospital, St. John Hospital and Medical Center, St. John Macomb Oakland Hospital and Ascension Crittenton Hospital (collectively, Ascension Michigan), all located in Michigan, have agreed to pay $2.8 million to resolve claims that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting or causing the submission of false claims for payment to federal health care programs related to alleged medically unnecessary procedures performed by a gynecologic oncologist (the “Doctor”).
“When hospitals receive payment from federal health care programs for medically unnecessary surgical procedures, they cannot simply retain those payments; they have an obligation to return them,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to ensure that taxpayer funds are used appropriately for the important programs that they support.”
The settlement announced today resolves allegations that, from Feb. 1, 2011, through June 30, 2017, Ascension Michigan knowingly submitted false claims for payment to federal health care programs and improperly retained payment for professional and facility fees related to medically unnecessary radical hysterectomies that the Doctor performed, chemotherapy services that the Doctor administered or ordered that were not medically necessary, and evaluation and management services by the Doctor that were not performed or not rendered as represented. The government alleged that Ascension Michigan had concerns about the quality of care provided by the Doctor due to patient complaints and his suspected higher than average rates of pulmonary embolisms and surgical infections. The government further alleged that, as a result of these concerns, Ascension Michigan engaged a third-party doctor to conduct a peer review of a sample of the Doctor’s patients, which found that, for the majority of the radical hysterectomies and chemotherapy performed by the Doctor, a less aggressive surgery or medical intervention would have been the standard of care.
“Health care providers cannot avoid their obligation to repay government funds owed to federal health care programs,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Saima Mohsin for the Eastern District of Michigan. “We will vigorously pursue those who knowingly fail to repay monies they have received based on services which were not medically necessary or not rendered as billed.”
On June 28, 2018, Ascension Michigan made a submission under the Provider Self-Disclosure Protocol of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) related to professional and facility fees it billed to federal health care programs for services provided by the Doctor. Though Ascension Michigan initially improperly retained the monies that it collected related to its billings, Ascension Michigan cooperated in the government’s investigation and took active steps to address concerns related to the Doctor by: (i) engaging a third-party doctor to conduct the peer review; (ii) placing the Doctor on a performance improvement plan; (iii) ending its contractual relationship with the Doctor; and (iv) submitting the self-disclosure.
“Our agency will continue to hold accountable medical providers who perform medically unnecessary procedures and then inappropriately bill federal health care programs,” said Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of HHS-OIG. “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to investigate such misconduct to protect beneficiaries and the taxpayer-funded health care programs serving those beneficiaries.”
The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought by Pamela Satchwell, Dawn Kasdorf and Bethany Silva-Gomez under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Under these provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Satchwell v. Ascension Health, No. 17-CV-12315 (E.D. Mich.). Relators will receive a combined payment in the amount $532,000.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, with assistance from HHS-OIG and the U.S. Defense Health Agency, Office of Program Integrity.
The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
The matter was investigated by Trial Attorney Denise Barnes of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Bell-Harbin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.Ascension Michigan to Pay $2.8 Million to Resolve False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
Ascension Michigan and related hospitals, Providence Park Hospital, St. John Hospital and Medical Center, St. John Macomb Oakland Hospital and Ascension Crittenton Hospital (collectively, Ascension Michigan), all located in Michigan, have agreed to pay $2.8 million to resolve claims that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting or causing the submission of false claims for payment to federal health care programs related to alleged medically unnecessary procedures performed by a gynecologic oncologist (“the Doctor”).
“When hospitals receive payment from federal health care programs for medically unnecessary surgical procedures, they cannot simply retain those payments; they have an obligation to return them,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to ensure that taxpayer funds are used appropriately for the important programs that they support.”
The settlement announced today resolves allegations that, from Feb. 1, 2011, through June 30, 2017, Ascension Michigan knowingly submitted false claims for payment to federal health care programs and improperly retained payment for professional and facility fees related to medically unnecessary radical hysterectomies that the Doctor performed, chemotherapy services that the Doctor administered or ordered that were not medically necessary, and evaluation and management services by the Doctor that were not performed or not rendered as represented. The government alleged that Ascension Michigan had concerns about the quality of care provided by the Doctor due to patient complaints and his suspected higher than average rates of pulmonary embolisms and surgical infections. The government further alleged that, as a result of these concerns, Ascension Michigan engaged a third-party doctor to conduct a peer review of a sample of the Doctor’s patients, which found that, for the majority of the radical hysterectomies and chemotherapy performed by the Doctor, a less aggressive surgery or medical intervention would have been the standard of care.
“Health care providers cannot avoid their obligation to repay government funds owed to federal health care programs,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Saima Mohsin for the Eastern District of Michigan. “We will vigorously pursue those who knowingly fail to repay monies they have received based on services that were not medically necessary or not rendered as billed.”
On June 28, 2018, Ascension Michigan made a submission under the Provider Self-Disclosure Protocol of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), related to professional and facility fees it billed to federal health care programs for services provided by the Doctor. Though Ascension Michigan initially improperly retained the monies that it collected related to its billings, Ascension Michigan cooperated in the government’s investigation and took active steps to address concerns related to the Doctor by: (i) engaging a third-party doctor to conduct the peer review; (ii) placing the Doctor on a performance improvement plan; (iii) ending its contractual relationship with the Doctor; and (iv) submitting the self-disclosure.
“Our agency will continue to hold accountable medical providers who perform medically unnecessary procedures and then inappropriately bill federal health care programs,” said Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of HHS-OIG. “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to investigate such misconduct to protect beneficiaries and the taxpayer-funded health care programs serving those beneficiaries.”
The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought by Pamela Satchwell, Dawn Kasdorf and Bethany Silva-Gomez under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Under these provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Satchwell v. Ascension Health, No. 17-CV-12315 (E.D. Mich.). Relators will receive a combined payment in the amount $532,000.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch (Fraud Section) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, with assistance from HHS-OIG and the U.S. Defense Health Agency, Office of Program Integrity.
The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrate the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
The matter was investigated by Trial Attorney Denise Barnes of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Bell-Harbin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
4 August 2021
Youth Wrestling Coach and Referee from Ocean County Charged with Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A local youth wrestling coach was arrested today on a charge of receipt and distribution of child pornography, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced today.
Alec Donovan, 24, of Brick, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with receipt and distribution of child pornography. He appeared by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor and was released on $100,000 unsecured bond.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Donovan used a messaging application to share videos containing child pornography over the Internet. From January 2021 through March 2021, Donovan sent three videos containing images of child sexual abuse and received two videos containing images of child sexual abuse via the web-based messaging application. The videos Donovan sent and received depicted sexual acts involving pre-pubescent children.
Donovan also used the web-based messaging application to solicit and engage in conversations with minors, including requesting nude photographs from the minors and sending nude photographs to them.
The charge of receipt and distribution of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.
The FBI’s Newark Field Office is asking anyone with information related to this case or who may be a victim to contact them at [email protected].
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr., with the investigation leading to today’s charge.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicole F. Mastropieri of the Health Care Fraud Unit and Shawn Barnes of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Woman Sentenced for Bogus Airbag ClaimRead the Press Release
MOBILE, AL – The U.S. District Court sentenced a Mobile woman to 3 years of probation, 80 hours of community service, and a $1,000 fine for sending by mail a false claim for personal injuries and vehicle damage allegedly caused by defective Takata airbag inflators that sent shrapnel flying when they deployed.
According to court documents, Tracey Lanette Adams, 48, used pictures she obtained from the internet and altered medical records that she submitted by mail from Mobile to try to obtain over $13,000 from the Takata Individual Restitution Fund (TIRF). The TIRF was established in the Eastern of District of Michigan when Takata Corporation was sentenced for wire fraud. In February 2017, the Court there ordered that Takata Corporation pay $125,000,000.00 into a fund to compensate those injured or who would be injured by its defective airbag deflators. The Special Master appointed to administer the fund oversees the evaluation of claims seeking compensation.
Evaluators saw red flags as it considered Adams’s claim, including photographs Adams had altered from the internet that she said were of her and her injuries. When the TIRF denied her claim, she appealed and submitted once again the false documents and photographs. A face-to-face interview with the Mobile FBI confirmed that she was not the person in the photographs and had not suffered the serious facial injuries depicted. Adams did not receive any compensation.
“The Takata Individual Restitution Fund is for actual victims who suffered or will suffer injuries caused by their defective airbag inflators. This defendant wasted the valuable time of the evaluators that they could have spent considering claims of people who were actually injured by these defective products. And now she’s been convicted of a felony for it and will be under the watchful eyes of federal probation officers for 3 years,” U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello remarked.
FBI Special Agent in Charge James Jewell stated, “The defendant in this particular case has no regard for the real victims and their injuries. Where there are large sums of money there will be fraud, and the men and women of the FBI stand ready to assist our partners in seeing the prosecution of these defendants carried out.” The FBI in the Eastern District of Michigan and in Mobile investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Lankford prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
Williamsport Man Sentenced for Wire FraudRead the Press Release
WILLIAMSPORT - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on August 2, 2021, Benjamin Butler, age 33, of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Matthew W. Brann to one day of imprisonment followed by two- years of supervised release, including four-months of home confinement, for wire fraud. Butler was also ordered to pay $18,850 in restitution.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Butler engaged in a kiting scheme in September and October of 2015, whereby he used multiple credit accounts to fraudulently pay off $18,850 of credit card charges by using the temporary credit on one card to pay off another account even though he did not have the funds to ultimately cover such a payment.
The charges stem from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Geoffrey W. MacArthur prosecuted the case.
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Wetzel County woman indicted on drug chargesRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Kerry L. Sands, of New Martinsville, West Virginia, was indicted today on heroin and fentanyl charges, Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced.
Sands, 37, was indicted on three counts of “Distribution of Heroin and Fentanyl” and one count of “Distribution of Fentanyl.” Sands is accused of selling heroin and fentanyl in March and April 2021 in Wetzel County.
Sands faces up to 20 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000 for each count. 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 Clayton J. Reid is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Marshall County Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Wetzel County man indicted on drug and firearm chargesRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Franklin Keith Dotson, of New Martinsville, West Virginia, was indicted today on methamphetamine and firearm charges, Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced.
Dotson, 43, was indicted on one count of “Distribution of Methamphetamine,” two counts of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine,” and one count of “Unlawful Possession of Firearm.” Dotson is accused of having and selling methamphetamine in Wetzel County in April and July 2021. Dotson, a person prohibited from having firearms because of prior convictions, is accused of having a 9mm pistol in Wetzel County in July 2021.
Dotson faces up to 20 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000 for each of the drug charges. He faces 10 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000 for the firearms count. 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 Shawn M. Adkins is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; the Marshall County Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Wetzel County Sheriff’s Office; and the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office investigated.
An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
ValueWise CEO Michael Mann Sentenced to 144 Months in Prison for $100 Million FraudRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Michael T. Mann, age 51, was sentenced today to 144 months in prison for running a complex scheme that caused more than $100 million in losses to banks, financing companies, and other businesses, and also involved his misappropriation of millions of dollars entrusted to payroll companies that he owned.
The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon and Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Senior United States District Judge Lawrence E. Kahn also ordered Mann to serve 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release, pay restitution to victims in the total amount of $101,038,793.31, and to forfeit assets already seized by the Government, including $14,522,474.90 contained in bank accounts and 30,000 common shares of Pioneer Bancorp Inc.
Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon stated: “Today’s sentence holds Michael Mann accountable for his despicable crimes. For years, instead of growing a legitimate business in Clifton Park, he grew a fraudulent scheme. Mann inflicted major losses on companies that loaned him money. He also stole the paychecks of thousands of hard-working people, and the tax payments of hundreds of small businesses, across the country. Mann caused immense stress for small business owners and fear among employees living paycheck to paycheck, and he justly deserves the term of imprisonment imposed today. This case should be a deterrent to businesspeople who would seek to lie, cheat and steal their way to success.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Janeen DiGuiseppi stated: “Michael Mann's intricate fraud scheme allowed him to manipulate the system to the tune of $100 million. He played a dangerously deceitful game with the paychecks of thousands of hard-working Americans trying to make an honest living. Not only were thousands of employees impacted, but some small business owners lost their livelihoods when they went out of business due to Mann’s criminal scheme. While today’s sentence cannot build back those businesses or give back lost jobs, we can only hope it serves as a resounding message that the FBI, together with our law enforcement partners, will not stand for anyone looking to gamble with the hard-earned incomes of our citizens.”
Mann operated ValueWise Corporation, based in Clifton Park, New York, as well as subsidiary companies including MyPayrollHR.com LLC. He admitted that from 2013 to September 2019, he engaged in a fraudulent scheme to deceive banks and financing companies into loaning his companies tens of millions of dollars. Because Mann could not repay the loans with legitimate business revenues, he expanded the fraud, by stealing and diverting millions of dollars that were entrusted to his payroll companies, and engaging in the daily kiting of millions of dollars among bank accounts he controlled.
Mann’s scheme collapsed in late August and early September 2019, when one of his banks froze his accounts, setting off a chain of events that left his payroll companies unable to process payroll and tax payments for hundreds of small business customers nationwide.
On August 12, 2020, Mann pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, nine counts of bank fraud, and one count of filing a false tax return.
Mann’s scheme had multiple layers, including:
- Mann obtained tens of millions of dollars in loans from three financing companies, located in New York, Colorado and California, respectively, by falsifying his companies’ revenues and receivables. Mann falsely told the financing companies that Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (“UHG”) and its subsidiary OptumInsight Inc. (“Optum”), owed millions of dollars to his companies. Mann created fake invoices reflecting the fictitious debt and assigned them to the financing companies as collateral for the loans.
- Mann fraudulently obtained a line of credit from several Capital Region banks; the line of credit had grown to $42 million by August 2019. To obtain the line of credit, Mann created companies whose sole purpose was to further the fraud by generating fake invoices, disguising sources of funds, and artificially inflating his assets; falsely represented to the banks that his fake businesses had revenues and receivables based on consulting work for Optum/UHG and other well-known companies, including 3M, Best Buy and T-Mobile; hid the tens of millions of dollars in loans he was receiving from the financing companies, and that he was using the line of credit to pay down these loans; and provided false financial statements, and individual and corporate tax returns, to his outside auditor, which in turn made inaccurate reports to the banks.
- Mann misappropriated payroll monies, entrusted to MyPayrollHR and other payroll companies he owned, by changing the instructions for digital Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) files that were supposed to transmit payroll from customers (employers) to the employees of the customers. Although his companies’ contracts with Cachet Financial Services specified that ACH transfers would route payroll funds from the employers’ accounts to a designated Cachet trust account and then directly to the customers’ employees, Mann changed the instructions inside digital ACH files provided to Cachet, in order to divert payroll funds into accounts that he controlled at Pioneer Bank. When Pioneer Bank froze Mann’s corporate accounts on or about August 30, 2019, it froze the payroll funds in those accounts, and caused several thousand people across the country to not receive a payroll payment.
Mann is the first person to be sentenced in connection with this fraud. A co-conspirator, former Optum employee Luke E. Steiner, age 33, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, pled guilty in February 2020 to conspiring with Mann to defraud two financing companies out of millions of dollars.This case was investigated by the FBI, as well as Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Barnett and Cyrus P.W. Rieck.
- Mann obtained tens of millions of dollars in loans from three financing companies, located in New York, Colorado and California, respectively, by falsifying his companies’ revenues and receivables. Mann falsely told the financing companies that Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (“UHG”) and its subsidiary OptumInsight Inc. (“Optum”), owed millions of dollars to his companies. Mann created fake invoices reflecting the fictitious debt and assigned them to the financing companies as collateral for the loans.
Union County Man Charged with Possessing Three Firearms and NarcoticsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Union County resident was charged with possessing three firearms, as well as possessing with intent to distribute narcotics, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced today.
Orlando Perez, 38, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon, and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. Perez appeared by videoconference this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor and was detained.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Dec. 10, 2020, law enforcement officers lawfully searched Perez’s residence and recovered the following: one .38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver loaded with five rounds of .38 caliber ammunition; a .45 caliber Harrington and Richardson semiautomatic carbine; a 20 gauge Browning shotgun; three magazines; approximately 1,500 rounds of ammunition; as well as heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine pills, and drug paraphernalia.
The narcotics offense carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a fine of $1 million. The felon in possession of firearms and ammunition charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents and task force officers with the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark; and officers of the Elizabeth Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Earl Graves, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey E. Zyriek Enriquez of the Violent Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Two North Louisiana Men Headed to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
MONROE, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that two North Louisiana men each have been sentenced to 10 years in prison by United States District Judge Terry A. Doughty for offenses involving drug trafficking and illegal possession of firearms.
Derrick King Brooks, 45, of Monroe, Louisiana, was sentenced to spend 120 months (10 years) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking offense. In February 2020, officers with the Monroe Police Department received a crime stoppers tip that Brooks was supplying cocaine in the Monroe area. Law enforcement agents with the Metro Narcotics Unit began investigating and surveilling the residence where Brooks was staying on Medra Street in Monroe. Through their investigation, agents seized baggies from Brooks’ residence containing chunks of cocaine residue which were sent to the lab for testing and was determined to be cocaine. A search warrant was obtained for the residence and arrest warrant for Brooks. Agents arrested Brooks as he was leaving from the residence and a search of the residence was conducted. In his vehicle, agents found baggies with cocaine, cash and two cell phones. A search of the residence resulted in more bags containing cocaine, other narcotics, a loaded semi-automatic pistol, cash and drug paraphernalia. In total, agents seized over $11,000 in cash, over 2,159 grams of powder cocaine, 29 grams of crack cocaine, and 38 pills.
The ATF and Monroe Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford prosecuted the case.
Anthony Tywan Newton, 38, of Ruston, Louisiana, was sentenced to spend 124 months (10 years, 4 months) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. In March 2020, agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) executed a search warrant at a residence on Eastland Avenue in Ruston. Agents seized plastic bags containing 17.5 grams of methamphetamine, 267 dosage units of MDMA, 7 dosage units of Xanax, 27 dosage units of penicillin, and 15 dosage units of Tylenol with codeine, as well as cash. When examining the serial numbers on the U.S. Currency, agents were able to determine that a portion of it was used in earlier controlled buys conducted by law enforcement agents and involving Newton. In addition to the drugs and cash, agents seized a pistol and rifle in Newton’s residence.
The DEA and ATF conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert F. Moody prosecuted the case.
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Two Men Admit Receiving over $500,000 in Global Robocall Scam that Defrauded Elderly VictimsRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – Two Indian nationals today admitted to conspiracy to commit wire fraud by accepting illegally obtained wire transfers from victims across the country totaling over $600,000, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Zeeshan Khan, 22, and Maaz Ahmed Shamsi, 24, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph Rodriguez in Camden federal court to an information charging each with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
As part of an international fraud scheme, criminal India-based call centers utilized automated robocalls to victims with the intent of defrauding U.S. residents, particularly the elderly. After establishing contact with victims through these automated calls, other members of the conspiracy would coerce or trick the victims into sending large sums of cash through physical shipments or wire transfers to other members of the conspiracy, including Shamsi and Khan. These conspirators used a variety of schemes to convince victims to send money, including impersonating government officials from agencies such as the Social Security Administration, or impersonating law enforcement officers from the FBI or Drug Enforcement Administration, and threatened victims with severe legal or financial consequences if they did not comply. Another method utilized by the callers involved convincing the victims they were speaking with someone from a tech support company and coercing the victims into granting the caller remote access to their personal computers, and through that, to the victims’ bank accounts. By manipulating the victims’ bank accounts, the caller would convince the victims that an overpayment was made to the victims and ultimately instruct them to send money by way of mail or wire transfer to other members of the conspiracy, including Shamsi and Khan.
As part of this scheme, Shamsi and Khan are charged with receiving fraudulent wire transfers from 19 victims across the country totaling approximately $618,000.
The conspiracy to commit wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the amount of the loss, whichever is greatest. Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for Dec. 6, 2021.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General Office of Investigations, New York Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John F. Grasso; and special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York Field Office – El Dorado Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Peter C. Fitzhugh, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Meriah Russell of the U.S. Attorney's Office Criminal Division in Camden.
Three drug traffickers convicted of drug and money laundering conspiracies, as well as illegal gun possession, following a two-week jury trialRead the Press Release
Seattle – Three men were convicted late yesterday of multiple federal felonies for distributing fentanyl disguised as oxycodone pills in Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom Counties, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. The leader of the drug ring, Bradley Woolard, 42, of Arlington, was convicted of 28 counts involving conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, illegal gun possession, and possessing drugs with the intent to distribute them. Co-defendants Anthony Pelayo, 34, of Marysville, and Jerome Isham, 40, of Everett, were also convicted of conspiracies related to drug distribution and illegal gun possession.
The jury deliberated for two days following the ten-day trial. The men are scheduled for sentencing by U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour on November 16, 2021.
According to testimony and exhibits during trial, the case began in the summer of 2018, when law enforcement officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Snohomish Regional Drug and Gang Task Force obtained multiple court-authorized search warrants for Woolard’s home. On July 28, 2018, they found more than 12,000 fentanyl pills designed to look like 30 mg oxycodone prescription narcotic. The pills ultimately tested positive for furanyl fentanyl, an analogue of fentanyl and a controlled substance.
The pills were pale blue in color and had “M” printed on one side and “30” on the other side. Over the course of multiple searches, law enforcement seized more than $1 million in cash and gold from Woolard’s five-acre compound, including cash hidden behind drywall, in the ceilings of outbuildings, and in a hole beneath a dishwasher. Investigators also discovered a hidden room containing 29 firearms ranging from handguns to assault rifles, including four firearm silencers and several thousand rounds of ammunition.
Testimony at trial revealed that in 2015 and 2016, Woolard began buying fentanyl and furanyl fentanyl powder from China after researching how to do so on the Dark Web. He bought a pill press and mixing materials from websites such as Amazon and eBay and taught himself how to make homemade pills. Testimony at trial established that Woolard’s pill making operation was capable of producing more than 2.5 million pills containing fentanyl and furanyl fentanyl, and that he regularly provided thousands of pills to other conspirators for distribution. In 2017, Woolard turned the pill press operation over to Pelayo, who continued the manufacturing at a rural compound in Snohomish County. Woolard retained the role of ordering the fentanyl from China and continued to help Pelayo make and distribute the pills. Woolard continued to distribute the pills while seeking treatment for his own drug addictions at spa-like resorts in Costa Rica and Mexico which cost him between $30,000 and $50,000 per month, which he paid for with the profits of his illicit pill operation.
Jerome Isham was one of the conspiracy’s top distributors. Evidence at trial established that he was responsible for re-distributing close to 100,000 illegal fentanyl and furanyl fentanyl pills over a one-year period between July 2017, and June 2018. Isham also recruited people to receive the shipments of powdered fentanyl and furanyl fentanyl from China. Woolard and Pelayo paid for the drugs by recruiting co-conspirators to wire money to China or by paying with bitcoin.
Pelayo was also convicted of two money laundering conspiracies and multiple counts of money laundering, including using $100,000 of his cash drug proceeds to purchase a luxury RV. He was also convicted of possessing a firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking – resulting in a 5 year consecutive prison term to any other sentence imposed in the case.
Woolard was convicted of being a drug user and drug addict in possession of firearms. Isham was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Conspiracy and possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute is punishable by a mandatory minimum ten years in prison and up to life in prison. Being a felon in possession of a firearm, or a drug user and drug addict in possession of firearms, is punishable by up to ten years in prison. Money laundering is punishable by up to twenty years in prison.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF. The investigation is being led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with assistance from the Snohomish Regional Drug and Gang Task Force (SRDGTF) and the Whatcom County Drug and Gang Task Force. A total of eleven defendants were charged in this case. Eight have pleaded guilty, and two have been sentenced. Woolard, Pelayo, and Isham were the final three defendants in this conspiracy to proceed to trial.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Karyn Johnson and Mike Lang.
Texas Man Sentenced After Pleading Guilty to Making a False Statement to Law EnforcementRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – EDMOND ARZATE, age 29, a resident of Houston, Texas, was sentenced to one year of probation by U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey after pleading guilty to a superseding bill of information charging him with making a false statement to a Special Agent of Homeland Security Investigations in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001 announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.
According to court documents, on October 12, 2017, a suspected drug trafficker informed a Homeland Security Investigations confidential source that a money courier would arrive in the Eastern District of Louisiana to collect funds for a previously conducted drug transaction. That evening, ARZATE contacted the source and instructed him to meet at a Waffle House in Mandeville, Louisiana. The source me with ARZATE and provided gave him with $30,000.00 in government funds as payment for the previously conducted drug transaction. ARZATE departed from the area but the Louisiana State Police conducted a traffic stop and obtained the money from his vehicle. A Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent and Louisiana State Police Trooper interviewed ARZATE regarding the money. ARZATE told the officers that he won the money playing poker at a Louisiana casino. When the officers asked if he had any receipts for the winnings, ARZATE changed his story and said he played “underground poker.” ARZATE then changed his story a second time and said he received the money from a “random guy” and provided no further information.
ARZATE faced a maximum term of imprisonment of five (5) years, a fine of up to $250,000.00 and three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.
This prosecution was part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF is a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security-Office of Homeland Security Investigations and the Louisiana State Police. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney André Jones.
Ten Chicago-Area Residents Charged in Bank Fraud Schemes Involving Counterfeit Postal Service Money OrdersRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — Ten Chicago-area residents have been indicted on federal fraud charges for allegedly scheming to cash counterfeit U.S. Postal Service money orders.
The defendants deposited the counterfeit USPS money orders into various bank accounts to which they had access and then quickly withdrew the funds before the banks learned of the fraudulent nature of the deposits, according to indictments returned July 28, 2021, in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The defendants had purchased or caused to be purchased the money orders from post offices in amounts less than $10, so that the orders could then be altered to higher amounts – typically between $800 and $1,000 – before the deposits, the charges allege.
Charged with bank fraud are NATHAN R. CHAVIS, 29, of Chicago, Ill.; MARVIN L. COLE, 29, of Chicago Heights, Ill.; REGINALD RUSSELL, 29, of Glenwood, Ill.; DARIUS D. GOODWIN, 26, of Country Club Hills, Ill.; VICTOR J. JOHNSON, 27, of Oak Forest, Ill.; LANCE BRANDON COLE, 27, of Richton Park, Ill.; MUNANG O. EKOI, 26, of Lisle, Ill.; SERNARD D. GILL, JR., 26, of Matteson, Ill.; ARMANI M. SPENCER-SPRATTLIN, 32, of Park Forest, Ill.; and ALEXANDER S. COCROFT, 28, of Country Club Hills, Ill.. Most of the defendants have made initial appearances in federal court in Chicago.
The indictments were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and William Hedrick, Inspector-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The Elmhurst, Ill., Police Department provided valuable assistance. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys L. Heidi Manschreck and Ramon Villalpando.
According to the indictments, Chavis caused at least $158,610 in altered and counterfeit money orders to be deposited into third-party bank accounts; Marvin Cole and Russell were responsible for at least $132,593; Goodwin, Johnson, Lance Cole, Ekoi, Gill, and Spencer-Sprattlin were responsible for at least $895,000; and Cocroft was responsible for at least $207,985.
Bank fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in federal prison. If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Tacoma couple caught with more than 23 pounds of methamphetamine sentenced to lengthy prison termsRead the Press Release
Seattle – A Tacoma couple who had large quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine and MDMA in their home were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma for being armed drug traffickers, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Jaymes Arthur Gallagher, 34, was sentenced to 7 years in prison and Brittany Nicole Chipman, 28, was sentenced to 5-and-a-half years in prison. U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle ordered both to be on four years of supervised release following their prison terms. “The quantity of methamphetamine in this case is staggering… and it is not just addicts that are suffering, it is their families too,” Judge Settle said at the Chipman sentencing hearing.
According to records filed in the case, Gallagher came to the attention of law enforcement as a significant distributor of methamphetamine in the Thurston County and Tacoma areas. After some undercover purchases in August 2019, law enforcement obtained a court authorized search warrant for the home Gallagher and Chipman shared. In the home, officers seized 6 pounds of MDMA, more than a pound of cocaine, and more than 4 pounds of methamphetamine. In a detached garage on the property, officers located another 19 pounds of methamphetamine. There was $76,000 in cash in the house as well as a shotgun and a pistol that the couple admit were used to protect their drug operation. Gallagher admitted to officers that he purchased 20-30 pounds of methamphetamine from a California source every week or so, and would then distribute the meth in Western Washington.
The couple was indicted in October 2019, and each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in March 2020.
In her sentencing memo, Assistant United States Attorney Angelica Williams noted that Gallagher “has introduced hundreds of thousands of doses of harmful narcotics into Western Washington. He made a profit. He purchased firearms and kept them loaded to protect his business. He turned a blind eye to the harm he was doing to the community…. His drug distribution has undoubtedly affected many lives.”
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with assistance from the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET).
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Angelica Williams.
Tacoma Landlord Agrees to Pay $16,618 for Overcharging Homeless Veteran Tenant and Fraudulently Obtaining Federal FundsRead the Press Release
Sunrhys, LLC, a landlord and property management company headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, agreed to pay $16,618 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by overcharging a tenant and by fraudulently obtaining federal funds from a federal program designed to provide housing to homeless Veterans.
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and United States Department for Veterans Affairs (VA) jointly administer the HUD-VA Support Housing (HUD-VASH) program. HUD provides rental assistance for Veterans experiencing homelessness, while VA support services assist homeless veterans in identifying, obtaining, and maintaining housing and other needed support services. At the end of Fiscal Year 2020, approximately 80,000 formerly homeless Veterans were receiving permanent housing through the HUD-VASH program.
“In creating the VA’s predecessor agency, President Abraham Lincoln said that we must ‘care for him who shall have borne the battle,’” said Joseph H. Harrington, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. “No Veteran who has served our country and given everything to protect the safety and comfort of Americans should be himself or herself without the safety and comfort of a home. The HUD-VASH program provides important benefits to homeless Veterans. This settlement is an example of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington’s commitment to ensuring the integrity of that program.”
Between July 2019 and April 2020, Sunrhys was a participating landlord in the HUD-VASH program with respect to a Sunrhys rental property in Walla Walla, Washington that Sunrhys rented to Daniel Avila, an eligible Veteran. Each month, Sunrhys collected a portion of the monthly rent for the Walla Walla property from Mr. Avila. Sunrhys then submitted a claim for federal rent support funds for the remainder of the total agreed-upon rent. Pursuant to the Housing Assistance Payment Agreement governing Sunrhys’ participation in the program, Sunrhys was expressly prohibited from seeking or collecting additional rent from Mr. Avila in excess of the eligible amount. The United States alleged that Sunrhys violated the Agreement and the HUD-VASH program requirements by fraudulently overcharging Mr. Avila for monthly rent between July 2019 and April 2020.
Jason Root, Special Agent in Charge at the VA Office of Inspector General, stated, “VA OIG’s joint oversight of HUD-VASH is one of the agency’s highest priorities because of the importance of safeguarding grant programs designed to end veteran homelessness. VA OIG thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington and the HUD Office of General Counsel for their partnership and commitment to protecting at-risk homeless veterans.”
This matter originated when Mr. Avila filed a whistleblower, or “qui tam” complaint in February 2021. When a relator files a qui tam complaint, the False Claims Act requires the United States to investigate the allegations and elect whether to intervene and take over the action or to decline to intervene and allow the relator to go forward with the litigation on behalf of the United States. The relator is generally able to then share in any recovery. Here, the United States intervened in the action contemporaneous with the settlement. Mr. Avila will receive $4,154 of the settlement. Mr. Avila was represented by the Northwest Justice Project, Washington’s largest publicly funded legal aid program, which provides civil legal assistance and representation to low-income people in cases affecting basic human needs such as family safety and security, housing preservation, protection of income, access to health care, education and other basic needs.
“Under the False Claims Act, landlords that overcharge tenants under this program are liable not just to repay the amount that they overcharged their tenants, but for three times the total amount of federal funding that the landlord received in rent support payments plus additional penalties for each month, providing a powerful deterrent to fraud,” added Acting U.S. Attorney Harrington. “I want to especially commend the exceptional investigative work performed by the VA’s Office of Inspector General, Spokane Resident Agency, as well as the excellent work done by the Northwest Justice Project, which represented the whistleblower. Our office will continue to work together with our law enforcement partners, with whistleblowers, and with public interest groups like Northwest Justice Project to hold accountable landlords that abuse critical housing programs.”
The settlement was the result of a joint investigation conducted by the VA Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington, with support provided by HUD’s Office of General Counsel, Office of Program Enforcement and HUD’s Office of Inspector General. The investigation and prosecution for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Dan Fruchter and Tyler H.L. Tornabene. The claims resolved by the civil settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability. The case is captioned United States ex rel. Avila v. Sunrhys, LLC, 4:21-cv-5013-TOR (E.D. Wash.).
Sturgis Man Sentenced to 15 ½ Years for Meth Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Sturgis, South Dakota, man who pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on July 28, 2021, by U.S. District Court Judge Karen E. Schreier.
John Thornberry, age 24, was sentenced to 15 1/2 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
John Thornberry was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury on September 17, 2020. He pleaded guilty on May 7, 2021. The defendant was stopped by law enforcement in June 2020 and found in possession of multiple firearms. He was prohibited from possessing those firearms, which he forfeited as part of his plea agreement.
During his involvement in the conspiracy, methamphetamine was brought to South Dakota by others. The defendant then dispersed methamphetamine to others for use and further distribution, primarily in the Rapid City area.
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.
This case was investigated by the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET), Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. UNET is comprised of law enforcement from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police Department, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, South Dakota National Guard, and the South Dakota Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich prosecuted the case.
Thornberry was immediately returned to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Spirit Lake Man Pleads Guilty in Federal Court to Felon in Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
A Spirit Lake Man was sentenced July 30, 2021 to more than 5 years in federal prison.
Dylan Robert Hurd, age 30, from Spirit Lake, Iowa, received the prison term after a February 18, 2021, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.
At the plea hearing, Hurd admitted to knowing he was restricted from possessing a firearm after being convicted in 2017 of assault causing serious bodily injury in Dickinson County, Iowa. Hurd knowingly possessed a .380 ACP caliber Smith & Wesson M&P handgun.
Hurd was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand to 63 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Hurd is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ron Timmons and was investigated by the Spirit Lake Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 20-4076.
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Sparta Man Sentenced for $600,000 Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Sparta, Missouri, man has been sentenced in federal court for failing to pay more than $600,000 in federal taxes.
Jeffrey Scott Allen, 52, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool on Tuesday, Aug. 3, to two years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Allen to pay $758,517 in restitution.
On Sept. 1, 2020, Allen pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion. Allen admitted that he evaded, and failed to pay, $606,338 in federal taxes and $96,478 in state taxes from 2012 through 2017.
Allen, who operates his own business, has worked as a successful installer for satellite-based internet and television for the past 21 years. According to court documents, he utilizes contract labor with five separate contractors, claims a gross annual profit of $2.1 million, and takes a $6,000 draw each month from the business.
According to court documents, Allen substantially underreported net income from his business and paid most of his and his family’s personal expenses from his business accounts. By underreporting his income, Allen was able to illegally receive federal benefits to which he was not entitled. Allen fraudulently received $15,856 in Medicaid benefits for three of his children, $4,392 in free and reduced school lunches for his children, and $35,453 in federal student aid under the Pell Grant program. Allen is required to repay federal and state agencies for those benefits under the court’s restitution order.
This case was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall D. Eggert. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation, Missouri Department of Revenue – Criminal Tax Investigation Bureau, Missouri Department of Social Services – Welfare Investigations Unit, U.S. Department of Education – Office of Inspector General, and USDA – Office of Inspector General.
Smithfield Man Sentenced to Three Life Sentences for Human TraffickingRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – A Smithfield man was sentenced today to three consecutive life sentences in prison for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion and of a minor; sex trafficking by force fraud and coercion; sex trafficking of a minor; using the internet to promote a prostitution business enterprise (ITAR); and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On March 1, 2021, Jenkins was convicted of those crimes by a jury after a five-day trial. Jenkins was also ordered to pay restitution in an amount of at least $418,361.70.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Jonathan Lynn Jenkins, aka “Max,” 48, and his co-conspirator prostituted many women between November 2014 and October 2015, including minors. The victims were young, vulnerable, and often struggling to survive. After luring the victims with promises of food, shelter, and a better life, Jenkins and his co-conspirator manipulated and controlled the victim’s lives, isolating them, withholding food, and keeping all money the victims earned. The defendant beat and choked the victims, sometimes to unconsciousness. He emotionally and psychologically abused them. Among other threats, he claimed to have magical powers that allowed him to hunt down victims and kill them. He sexually assaulted victims and forced them into sexual acts against their will. And he attempted to murder a man who helped one victim escape.
Before imposing the sentence, Judge Dever described Jenkins as “an extraordinarily dangerous human being” and his crimes as a “form of modern-day slavery.”
Jenkins was convicted of second-degree murder in North Carolina state court in 2006, and first-degree murder charges are pending against him in state court in Johnston County, North Carolina.
G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations, the Raleigh Police Department, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Blondel and Lucy Brown prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:18-CR-451-D.
Shreveport Man Convicted of Illegal Possession of FirearmRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – Lee Antonio Dunlap a.k.a Ra El Bey, 40, of Shreveport, Louisiana, was sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. to spend 60 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm, Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced.
According to information presented to the court at the guilty plea hearing for Dunlap, on or about May 17, 2019, a Shreveport Police Department officer conducted a traffic stop of Dunlap’s vehicle near the intersection of Line Avenue and Olive Street in Shreveport. Dunlap was the driver and only occupant of the vehicle. When the officer approached the vehicle, he observed a firearm in plain view on the passenger seat. The firearm was seized and determined to be loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition.
Dunlap was previously convicted of a felony offense and knew that he was prohibited from possessing the firearm. His previous convictions are for possession with intent to distribute marijuana (2014), possession or introduction of contraband into a penal institution (2011), simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling (2007), and simple arson (2000).
The ATF and Shreveport Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian C. Flanagan prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN is part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.
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Savannah B&B manager accused of embezzling more than half a million dollarsRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA: The former manager of a Savannah bed and breakfast is accused of embezzling more than $500,000 in a 14-count federal indictment.
Chiquita Blake, 46, of Pooler, Ga., is charged with 14 counts of Wire Fraud in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The charges carry a statutory penalty upon conviction of up to 20 years in prison, along with substantial financial penalties, followed by a period of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Historic properties are an essential element of Savannah’s hospitality industry,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “With our law enforcement partners, we will protect these small businesses from the potential financial harm of illegal activities.”
As described in the indictment, Blake was employed as a manager of a bed and breakfast in Savannah’s Historic District. From around May 2015 through December 2020, Blake “knowingly executed and attempted to execute a scheme and artifice” to defraud the inn, “to obtain money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.”
The indictment alleges that Blake fraudulently transferred funds from the inn’s accounts and into bank accounts Blake controlled, and then used those funds for expenditures “such as the defendant’s bills and personal use.”
The indictment specifically charges a portion of those transfers, alleging that from June 24, 2017, to Dec. 20, 2020, Blake made 14 electronic transfers to her personal accounts.
“Fraud committed by those in positions of trust are particularly hurtful,” said Steven R. Baisel, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Office of the U.S. Secret Service. “Their actions are an affront to the societal norms we are all called to live by.”
Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case is being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Bearden.
Rosebud Man Sentenced for Obtaining Controlled Substances by DeceptionRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Rosebud, South Dakota, man convicted of Obtaining Controlled Substances by Deception was sentenced on August 2, 2021, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.
Michael Brian Whirlwind Soldier, age 47, was sentenced to one month in federal prison, one year of supervised release, a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100, and restitution in the amount of $4,428.98 to the Rosebud Ambulance Service and Crow Creek Ambulance Service.
Whirlwind Soldier was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 9, 2020. He pled guilty on August 2, 2021.
The conviction stemmed from incidents that occurred between December 17, 2019, and July 28, 2020, in the District of South Dakota, wherein Whirlwind Soldier, while employed as a paramedic with the Rosebud and Crow Creek Ambulance Services, knowingly and intentionally stole hundreds of vials of fentanyl, morphine, and hydromorphone from the ambulance services. Whirlwind Soldier consumed all of the substances he stole.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook prosecuted the case.
Whirlwind Soldier was ordered to turn himself into the custody of the U.S. Marshals service within one week of sentencing.
Rosebud Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Rosebud, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on August 2, 2021, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.
Todd Eastman, age 33, was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Eastman was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury on July 16, 2020. He pled guilty on April 26, 2021.
From 2015 to 2020, Eastman was involved in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in and around the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation in central South Dakota. Eastman helped to transport the methamphetamine from Nebraska to South Dakota.
This case was investigated by Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Dilges prosecuted the case.
Eastman was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Rhode Island Man Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Credit Card Fraud and Identity Theft OffensesRead the Press Release
Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that HENRY A. FELLELA, JR., 63, of Johnston, Rhode Island, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 48 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for credit card fraud and identity theft offenses, and for violating the conditions of his supervised release from a prior federal conviction.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in March 2018, Fellela was released from federal prison following a 48-month sentence imposed in the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island for credit card fraud, aggravated identity theft and other offenses. Between March 2018 and March 2019, while he was on federal supervised release, Fellela stole credit cards from residents of Connecticut and other states and used the cards to make approximately $48,000 in fraudulent purchases at various retail stores in Connecticut and elsewhere.
On November 5, 2019, Fellela pleaded guilty to one count of access device fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
This is Fellela’s fourth federal conviction.
Fellela was detained from March 8, 2019, to March 23, 2020, when he was released on bond. Judge Meyer ordered him to report to prison on September 20, 2021.
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Margaret Donovan and Sarala Nagala.
Registered Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Federal Charge of Possessing Child Sex Abuse Images and VideosRead the Press Release
Ocala, Florida – Michael Edward Burr, Jr. (29, Homosassa) has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of possessing images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children. Burr faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, and up to, 20 years in federal prison, as well as a potential lifetime term of supervised release. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, federal agents executed a search warrant at Burr’s residence on October 28, 2020. During the search, agents seized a cellular phone used by Burr containing dozens of videos and hundreds of images depicting children being sexually abused. Burr was previously convicted in Grand Traverse, Michigan of possessing child sexual abuse material on October 8, 2014.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William S. Hamilton.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Readout of Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco’s Trip to New Jersey and New YorkRead the Press Release
This week, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa O. Monaco traveled to New Jersey and New York to highlight the Justice Department’s comprehensive strategy to reduce violent crime through a combination of enforcement as well as meaningful community engagement to prevent and deter crime before it happens.
In New Jersey, DAG Monaco visited the U.S. Attorney’s Office and attended a National Night Out event. At the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the DAG met with Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig and the leadership of the office along with federal law enforcement leaders from the FBI, DEA and ATF. On Tuesday evening, DAG Monaco attended Newark, New Jersey’s annual National Night Out (NNO) event hosted by the Newark Public Safety Department where she had the opportunity to meet with local law enforcement officers, community leaders and Newark residents. The goal of NNO, a nation-wide campaign, is to connect law enforcement and neighbors in a positive setting. At the Newark NNO, the DAG heard directly from residents and law enforcement about community-led efforts to prevent violent crime and to build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
Today, DAG Monaco participated in a press conference at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York to highlight the Department’s efforts to go after and dismantle illegal gun trafficking networks. The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the unsealing of charges against several defendants for their involvement in an illegal scheme to traffic guns from Georgia for resale to residents of New York. While the charges are a result of an investigation that predates last month’s launch by the Department of gun trafficking Strike Forces, the case exemplifies the type of coordinated, multi-jurisdictional efforts needed to combat violent crime. Alongside U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss, ATF Special Agent in Charge John B. DeVito, and New York Police Department Inspector Brian Gil, DAG Monaco spoke of the Department’s efforts to reduce violent crime and the gun violence that is often at the core of the problem.
Following the press conference, DAG Monaco participated in a meeting of the newly launched New York area gun trafficking strike force to discuss joint efforts to target and dismantle gun trafficking networks funneling firearms into the New York area. Participants in the meeting included: the U.S. Attorneys from the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the District of New Jersey, the Northern District of Georgia, the Eastern District of Virginia and the District of South Carolina and executives of the ATF, DEA, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, as well as the New York Police Department. The conversation centered around what the Department’s firearms trafficking strike force is seeing along known trafficking corridors to the New York City region and how to best combat violent crime overall.
Immediately following the strike force meeting, DAG Monaco, U.S. Attorney Strauss, Acting U.S. Attorney Kasulis for the Eastern District of New York, and SAC DeVito visited the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) facility, which houses ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC) – an innovative partnership of federal, state and local law enforcement that fuses ATF’s crime gun intelligence with local law enforcement data to combat gun violence. There, DAG Monaco received a briefing on the CGIC’s efforts to trace firearms and ballistics from crime scenes to identify sources of illegal firearms and to identify illegal firearm trafficking corridors. This is the next step in the firearms tracing process that she was briefed on when visiting the ATF’s Mobile Crime Command Center in Washington, D.C., in late July.
“The partnership here at the CGIC, bringing our collective expertise and an all-hands-on-deck approach is what it’s going to take to solve this problem, along with creative and innovative thinking, which is all happening here,” DAG Monaco told members of the CGIC. “I applaud you all for bringing your teams together to one collaborative space to go after the sources of gun violence.”
While she was in New York, the DAG also visited the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan to get a first-hand look at its operations and infrastructure given ongoing concerns. She plans to have further meetings about the facility after her return to Washington.
Rapid City Man and Box Elder Man Sentenced for Unauthorized Access to a Protected Computer to DefraudRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Box Elder, South Dakota, man and a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Unauthorized Access to a Protected Computer to Defraud were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Bryan Bernhold, Box Elder, age 26, was sentenced on July 29, 2021, to 1 year probation, 100 hours of community service, restitution to Microsoft, Inc. in the amount of $22,264.98, a $2,000 fine, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Jacob Sheldon LaFlash, Rapid City, age 26, was sentenced on July 30, 2021, to 2 years of probation, 100 hours of community service, 6 months of home confinement, restitution to Microsoft, Inc. in the amount of $83,652.69, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
LaFlash and Bernhold were indicted by a federal grand jury on January 22, 2020. LaFlash pled guilty on April 23, 2021, and Bernhold pled guilty on May 7, 2021.
The convictions stemmed from incidents between October 27, 2017, and May 1, 2018, when both LaFlash and Bernhold knowingly and with intent to defraud accessed a protected computer without authorization to further their intended fraud and thereby obtain the benefits of Microsoft 0365.
Microsoft Office 365 (“O365”) was the brand name that Microsoft used for proprietary software and related services. O365 was sold in yearly subscriptions for home and business users and allowed users to access the services of that software from anywhere, anytime, on any device. O365 was typically sold for $99 for a one-year subscription, which included upgrades during the subscription period.
LaFlash and Bernhold discovered a means of gaining access to O365 on the Microsoft computers without paying for it. After they established a seller account on eBay, they advertised for sale "Microsoft Office 365 Lifetime License” on eBay for $8.99 and $9.99. LaFlash and Bernhold also established a PayPal account to receive money for the sale of O365. However, they were not authorized by Microsoft to sell any software or other services for any length of time. Between October 26, 2017, and May 1, 2018, LaFlash sold 4,592 fraudulent O365 user accounts and received $71,129.59 from the unauthorized and fraudulent sale of O365 on eBay. Bernhold sold 2,787 fraudulent O365 user accounts and received $22,264.98 from the unauthorized and fraudulent sale of O365 on eBay.
LaFlash and Bernhold accessed the Microsoft protected computers on different dates and in so doing, created more than 7,000 fraudulent O365 user accounts through wire signals that affected interstate and foreign commerce.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.
Porcupine Man Sentenced for Assault on a Federal OfficerRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Porcupine, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault on a Federal Officer was sentenced on July 28, 2021, by Judge Karen E. Schreier, U.S. District Court.
Griffin Lee Cross, age 26, was sentenced to 2 years of probation and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Cross was indicted for the charge by a federal grand jury in September 2020. He pleaded guilty on April 23, 2021.
The conviction stems from an Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety Officer responding to a report of an intoxicated individual at a residence near Porcupine on February 12, 2020. Cross was intoxicated and the officer arrested him. While escorting Cross to the patrol vehicle, Cross threw his head back, making contact with the officer’s forehead and causing the officer to fall backwards.
This case was investigated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Criminal Investigations Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Poppen prosecuted the case.
Pennsylvania Man Pleads Guilty to Traveling to the Binghamton Area Intending to Engage in Sexual Conduct with Two ChildrenRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – James Obelkevich, age 51, of Carbondale, Pennsylvania, pled guilty today to traveling to New York from Pennsylvania for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with two children. The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon and Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
As part of his guilty plea, Obelkevich admitted that from the summer of 2019 until the spring of 2020 he exchanged multiple sexually explicit messages via an online social networking application with an undercover officer posing as the mother of 9-year-old and 13-year-old girls. In these messages, Obelkevich expressed a desire to engage in sexually explicit conduct with both children. Obelkevich further admitted that on March 11, 2020, he traveled from Pennsylvania to New York in order to meet with the children and engage in sexual conduct with them at a location in the Binghamton area. Obelkevich was arrested after arriving at the location and has been in custody since that date.
Sentencing is scheduled for December 8, 2021, in Binghamton, before Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy. Obelkevich faces up to 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life.
A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors. Upon his release from prison Obelkevich will be required to register as a sex offender in any state where he resides, is employed, or is a student.
This case was investigated by the FBI Mid-State Child Exploitation Task Force, comprised of FBI Special Agents and Investigators of the New York State Police, Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI). The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian S. LaRochelle as a part of Project Safe Childhood.
Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Part-time Grant Administrator Sentenced for Converting $57K from FEMA Grant to His Own Use, Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A resident of Hollidaysburg, PA, has been sentenced in federal court to one day in prison in prison and 24 months’ supervised release, with six months of home confinement with electronic monitoring, on his conviction of conversion of government funds and filing false tax returns Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.
United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson imposed the sentence on Anthony DiBona, 58, of Hollidaysburg, PA.
According to information presented to the court, on April 19, 2013, DiBona received and converted falsely to his own use a total of $57,242 in federally funded grant money from Federal Emergency Management Agency, through payments made to him, to which he was not entitled.
Further, when filing his original tax returns for tax years 2013, 2014, and 2015, DiBona omitted all grant income from his form 1040s, and made written declarations under the penalties of perjury, which he did not believe to be true and correct. After the IRS discovered that DiBona had received unreported income from the grant, DiBona was advised the grant income was taxable. Accordingly, DiBona through a tax preparer, filed a first set of amended returns for the relevant tax years and added the grant income to his returns. However, on July 24 to July 25, 2018, DiBona went to a different tax preparer and filed a second set of amended returns removing the grant income, again making written declarations under the penalties of perjury which he did not believe to be true and correct. Similarly, DiBona also filed an original return for tax year 2017 and omitted his grant income. This conduct resulted in a total tax loss of $19,809.
In addition to his supervised release, DiBona was ordered to pay $25,264.07 in restitution to the IRS and $57,242 in restitution to FEMA. As a special condition of his supervised release, he is barred from holding a fiduciary position with the Phoenix Volunteer Fire Company.
Assistant United States Attorney Arnold P. Bernard, Jr. prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Mr. Kaufman commended the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and Department of Homeland Security Investigations-Office of Inspector General for the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of DiBona.
New Orleans Men Sentenced for Conspiring to Distribute HeroinRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – The Honorable Sarah S. Vance sentenced ALLEN ROBERTSON, age 32, and TARON BROWN, age 24, both of New Orleans, Louisiana, for violating the Federal Controlled Substances Act, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. ROBERTSON was sentenced for the violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(B), 846 and BROWN was sentenced for the violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C).
According to court records, ROBERTSON, and TARON BROWN both admitted being caught on federally authorized wire taps targeting a heroin distribution organization operating in New Orleans. They admitted to conspiring to distribute heroin.
District Judge Vance sentenced BROWN to 37 months in the Bureau of Prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and sentenced ROBERTSON to 27 months in the Bureau of Prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Both were ordered to pay a $100 mandatory special assessment cost.
This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney David Haller.
* * *
Naval Seaman Charged with CyberstalkingRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – Naval seaman Sergio Reinaldo Williams was arraigned today on an indictment charging him with cyberstalking a civilian woman. According to the indictment, in October 2020, Williams sent graphic sexual messages via social media to the victim and members of her family, posted sexual videos of her on Pornhub.com without her knowledge or consent, and sent screenshots of the Pornhub.com videos to the victim’s niece. Williams included the victim’s Instagram account and hometown in the videos he posted to Pornhub.com. He also repeatedly threatened the victim, texting her “I'm always around and my eyes are everywhere” and, after she blocked him on social media, “U want it to be over with and this fade away, unblock me and video me. . . . it will only get worse if u don’t.”
“The indictment alleges a disturbing campaign of revenge, harassment and intimidation,” stated Acting United States Randy Grossman. “This Office is committed to protecting victims of cyberstalking and holding perpetrators accountable for malicious internet activity.” Grossman commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Sabrina Fève and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and DOJ teams that diligently pursued this matter.
“NCIS takes seriously any instances of cyberstalking, harassment or intimidation against or by any Department of the Navy service member,” said Joshua Flowers, Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Southwest Field Office. “We will work aggressively with our law enforcement partners to stop the behavior and pursue those responsible.”
Williams is scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda Lopez on Friday, August 6, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. for a detention hearing.
This case was investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service with assistance provided by the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.
Those who have experienced cyberstalking by an active duty service member are urged to contact the following anonymous tip lines: https://www.ncis.navy.mil/Resources/NCIS-Tips/ (Navy and Marines), https://www.cid.army.mil/report-a-crime.html (Army), and https://www.osi.af.mil/Submit-a-Tip/ (Air Force), or call the Department of Defense Hotline at (800) 424-9098. Victims of cyberstalking by non-active duty members should contact local law enforcement or the FBI field office.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 21cr2192-BAS
Sergio Reinaldo Williams Age: 36 Coronado, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Cyberstalking – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 2261A(2)(B)
Maximum penalty: 5 years’ imprisonment and $250,000 fine
AGENCY
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Muncie, Indiana Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Misprision of Felony for Concealing Crime Committed by Another OfficerRead the Press Release
Dalton Kurtz, 31, an officer with the Muncie Police Department (MPD), in Muncie, Indiana, pleaded guilty today to one count of misprision of felony, for concealing and failing to report a fellow officer’s inappropriate use of force.
According to court documents and admissions Kurtz made during the hearing, on June 5, 2018, Kurtz responded to a call involving three juveniles who had fled from officers after crashing a vehicle into a building. Kurtz and another MPD officer, Officer Chase Winkle, chased after one of the juveniles on foot and found him lying face down in a yard, with his arms extended in front of him. While the juvenile was lying with his hands visible and outstretched in front of him, Officer Winkle ran toward the juvenile and kicked him in the head without justification. Kurtz knew that Officer Winkle’s actions constituted a felony, but failed to notify anyone of the crime, and instead took the affirmative step of concealing his knowledge of this felony by writing a false report about the incident.
Kurtz faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for this offense.
Chase Winkle was previously charged, along with other officers, with civil rights and obstruction offenses. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial in January 2022.
The FBI conducted the investigation. Trial Attorneys Mary J. Hahn and Katherine G. DeVar of the Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick Linder are prosecuting the case.
Muncie Police Officer Pleads Guilty for Concealing Crime Committed by Another OfficerRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS - Dalton Kurtz, 32, an officer with the Muncie Police Department, pleaded guilty today to one count of Misprision of Felony, for concealing and failing to report a fellow officer’s inappropriate use of force.
According to court documents and admissions Kurtz made during the hearing, on June 5, 2018, Kurtz responded to a call involving three juveniles who had fled from officers after crashing a vehicle into a building. Kurtz and another MPD officer, Officer Chase Winkle, chased after one of the juveniles on foot, and found him lying face down in a yard, with his arms extended in front of him. While the juvenile was lying with his hands visible and outstretched in front of him, Officer Winkle ran toward the juvenile and kicked him in the head without justification. Kurtz knew that Officer Winkle’s actions constituted a felony, but failed to notify anyone of the crime, and instead took the affirmative step of concealing his knowledge of this felony by writing a false report about the incident.
Kurtz faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison.
Chase Winkle was previously indicted, along with other officers, with civil rights and obstruction of justice offenses. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial in January 2022.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.
Trial Attorneys Mary J. Hahn and Katherine G. DeVar of the Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick Linder are prosecuting the case.
Individuals who believe they are the victim of a criminal violation of their civil rights, such as misconduct by law enforcement officers, a hate crime, or human trafficking, should contact their local FBI office or visit https://fbi.gov/tips
Mission Woman Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Mission, South Dakota, woman convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on August 2, 2021, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.
Renae Jo Pacheco, a/k/a Renae Jo Hopkins, age 52, was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervise release, $1,000 fine, and $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Pacheco was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury on August 11, 2020. She pled guilty on May 10, 2021.
Between 2015 and 2020, Pacheco was involved in a conspiracy with several family members and others to distribute between 500 and 1500 grams of methamphetamine on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation in central South Dakota.
This case was investigated by Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Dilges prosecuted the case.
Pacheco was ordered to self-surrender on August 9, 20201, to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Minnesota Man Sentenced to 15 ½ Years for Meth Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, man who pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on July 28, 2021, by U.S. District Court Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Michael Sherard, age 34, was sentenced to 15 1/2 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Michael Sherard was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury on August 20, 2020. He pleaded guilty on April 5, 2021.
During his involvement in the conspiracy the defendant travelled to Nebraska to obtain methamphetamine, which he then transported to South Dakota. Upon arrival in the Rapid City area, the defendant then dispersed methamphetamine to others for use and further distribution.
This case was investigated by the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET), Drug Enforcement Agency, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. UNET is comprised of law enforcement from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police Department, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, South Dakota National Guard, and the South Dakota Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich prosecuted the case.
Sherard was immediately returned to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Millsboro Man Indicted for Possession of Multiple Bombs and a Stolen AK-47 with an Altered Serial NumberRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – David C. Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment yesterday charging a Millsboro man with possession of four destructive devices and an AK-47 with an altered serial number.
According to the indictment, Job Gillette, 23, had previously been convicted of a crime that prohibited him from possessing any firearms. The indictment alleges that on March 24, 2021, Gillette was found in possession of one intact improvised incendiary device made of a glass bottle containing a yellow-colored ignitable liquid and a white foam-like material, with matches secured to the cap and neck of the bottle. The indictment further alleges that, on the same date, Gillette also possessed the parts to readily assemble three additional devices made of Hennessy Cognac bottles filled with yellow-colored ignitable liquid and a foam-like material. Gillette was also in possession of an AK-47 rifle with an altered serial number.
Gillette is charged with four counts of possession of an unregistered destructive device, one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and one count of possession of a firearm with an altered or obliterated serial number. If convicted, he faces maximum penalties of ten years in prison for each of the first five counts and five years in prison for possession of a firearm with an altered serial number. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Weiss stated, “Law enforcement recovered homemade bombs and an AK-47 from the defendant, who was prohibited from legally possessing any firearms. The officers’ actions thereby ensured that these homemade bombs could never be put to use. Delaware is safer because of their efforts. I am particularly grateful to the concerned citizens who alerted the authorities so the defendant could be held accountable in a court of law.”
“You so often hear us say, ‘if you see something, say something’ that’s exactly what happened in this case and because of that citizen alert we averted a potentially hazardous situation,” said Thomas J. Sobocinski, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “According to this indictment, Mr. Gillette was stock-piling dangerous explosive materials and possessed an illegally acquired AK-47. We are fortunate, through swift law enforcement action, that no one was hurt. The FBI would like to highlight the assistance of our federal, state and local partners who stand ready to identify, disrupt, and dismantle any plans to inflict harm on our communities.”
This case was investigated by the FBI Wilmington Resident Office, with substantial assistance from the Delaware State Police and Delaware State Fire Marshals. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ruth Mandelbaum.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the District of Delaware or on PACER by searching for Case No. 21-cr-33-RGA.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
Mexican Woman Sentenced in Methamphetamine Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Almendra Escobedo-Orozco, 36, of Mexico, was sentenced today in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Escobedo-Orozco to 100 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After her release from prison, she will begin a 2-year term of supervised release. Escobedo-Orozco is subject to deportation by U.S. immigration authorities when she completes her sentence to imprisonment.
In March of 2020, Omaha Police Department narcotics investigators received information that Joseph Rauber was distributing methamphetamine and that he was being supplied by a female, later determined to be Escobedo-Orozco. On May 14, 2020, investigators obtained a warrant to search a residence in Omaha frequented by Escobedo-Orozco. On May 19, 2020, while executing the warrant, investigators arrested two residents. During the search, investigators seized drug ledgers, packaging material, 8,677 grams of marijuana, $4,336.00, Mexican passports, and various identity documents. Escobedo-Orozco, who had just left the residence, was stopped driving a minivan and found with two pounds of methamphetamine. Another residence in Omaha frequented by Escobedo-Orozco was searched. There, officers seized $7,800.00, a box for a digital scale, and 6 grams of methamphetamine.
On May 28, 2020, investigators executed a search warrant at Rauber’s residence in Iowa. The search yielded approximately 83.8 grams of methamphetamine, approximately 3.6 grams of cocaine, 7 long guns, 11 handguns, ammunition, stolen property, digital scales, and $55,035.00 in drug proceeds. All currency seized in this case will be forfeited to the United States. Rauber was also convicted and on June 30, 2021, he was sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 180 months to be followed by a 5-year term of supervised release.
This case was investigated by Omaha Police Department and Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.