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Thursday 27 May 2021
Justice Department Announces Settlement with Ashley Home Store over Discrimination Claims of Indiana Army National GuardsmanRead the Press Release
On Tuesday, the Justice Department resolved a lawsuit in which an Indiana Army National Guardsman, Captain Christopher Robbins, alleged that The Dufresne Spencer Group, a limited liability corporation doing business as Ashley Home Store, violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). Captain Robbins specifically alleged that The Dufresne Spencer Group violated USERRA when it failed to promptly offer him re-employment after a period of active duty military service.
“Federal law protects the right of servicemembers like Captain Robbins to resume their jobs when they return home,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Pamela S. Karlan of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “It guarantees that members of the armed forces are not forced to sacrifice their continued employment on top of the sacrifices they have already made in order to fulfill their military obligations.”
“The Justice Department expects employers to fully comply with their reemployment obligations under the law,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John Childress of the Southern District of Indiana. “Where employers fall short in doing so, we will aggressively vindicate the reemployment rights of servicemembers.”
As alleged in his complaint, in 2014, Captain Robbins began working as a salesman at an Ashley Home Store in Greenwood, Indiana. During the summer of 2017, he provided notice to the company that his military service obligations with the National Guard required him to attend mandatory, out-of-state military training exercises with his unit. Robbins alleged that at the completion of his training obligation, he promptly sought re-employment, but was fired by Ashley Home Store instead. Under the terms of the settlement, the company has agreed to pay Robbins $6,000 in damages. The company will also offer comprehensive training to its supervisors and HR officials on USERRA and post a notice at the store advising employees of their rights under USERRA and the company’s intent to comply with the law.
This lawsuit stems from a complaint that Captain Robbins filed with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), which, after an investigation by its Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, referred the matter to the Justice Department.
The Justice Department gives high priority to the enforcement of servicemembers’ rights under USERRA. Additional information about USERRA can be found on the Justice Department’s websites at https://www.justice.gov/crt/employment-litigation-section and https://www.justice.gov/servicemembers, as well as on the DOL’s website at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/vets/programs/userra.
This case is being handled by Senior Trial Attorney Christopher Woolley of the Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Preston of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana.
Jury Convicts Halfmoon Man of Firearm and Threats Charges in First NDNY Criminal Trial Since Pandemic BeganRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Following a four-day trial, a jury today found Romano McCain, age 48, of Halfmoon, New York, guilty of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a prohibited person and two counts of interstate transmission of threats to injure another person.
The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon; John B. DeVito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); and Chief David Keevern of the North Greenbush Police Department.
This case marked the first federal criminal trial in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York since the COVID-19 pandemic began to take hold in New York, and elsewhere, in mid-March 2020.
The evidence at trial established that in January 2020, McCain and a man had a dispute over the man’s failure to pay $65 for a motorcycle vest. In demanding payment on January 10, 2020, McCain sent the man Facebook messages threatening, “Bro..just have my money....i play with guns..no fighting....and i always have one on me...you on that bs....pay me pay money,” followed by, “i will blow your [expletive] head off.”
Later in the month, McCain had a falling out with another man over money McCain owed the man. On January 31, 2020, McCain sent the second man a Facebook message threatening, “I will kill your dauther..bro..i dont know me....we at the strip in morning..be there...me and my girl...with the heat..see you there.” The man had an infant daughter at the time and “heat” was slang for a gun.
The evidence showed that “the Strip” is an area on River Road in North Greenbush, New York, where motorsport enthusiasts rode ATVs, dirt bikes, and motorcycles. On February 23, 2020, McCain went to the Strip with his girlfriend, was in a fistfight, and then retrieved a rifle from his girlfriend’s truck, which he fired in the direction of a crowd of people; no one was injured in the shooting.
Five days later, in the early-morning hours of February 28, 2020, the ATF and other law enforcement agencies executed a search warrant at McCain’s girlfriend’s house in Latham, New York, where McCain had spent the previous night. In searching a box chest at the foot of the bed in the bedroom, agents discovered a loaded .38 special caliber revolver. A box of ammunition for the revolver was discovered under a couch in the living room. In a number of text messages, McCain threatened the use of firearms and referenced his possession of firearms with his girlfriend, including after the shooting on February 23, when he texted: “We got alot [sic] of guns.” At the time he possessed the revolver and ammunition, McCain was subject to a domestic violence restraining order issued by the Albany City Court in June 2019.
At sentencing scheduled for September 28, 2021, before U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino, McCain faces up to 10 years in prison on the firearm and ammunition conviction; up to 5 years in prison on each of the threat convictions; a fine of up to $250,000; and a term of post-release supervision of up to 3 years.
This case was investigated by the ATF, North Greenbush Police Department, and Colonie Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cyrus P.W. Rieck and Rachel Williams.
Jury Convicts Guatemalan National for Assaulting U.S. Border Patrol Agent Near SandersonRead the Press Release
DEL RIO – A federal jury in Del Rio yesterday convicted 24-year-old Ludwin Artemio Santizo-Escobedo, a Guatemalan national, of assaulting a U.S. Border Patrol agent near Sanderson in 2019.
Evidence presented during the two-day trial revealed that during a traffic stop on State Highway 349 between Dryden and Sanderson on October 22, 2019, a U.S. Border Patrol agent discovered and attempted to arrest the defendant for illegally entering the country. The defendant refused to be arrested and a fight ensued. During the altercation, the defendant got the agent’s baton and repeatedly struck him in the body and head and once of his right eye. The agent shot the defendant once in the left forearm and once in the left shoulder to subdue and arrest the defendant.
“This case illustrates the dangers the brave men and women of the United States Border Patrol face day in and day out while protecting our country,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “Violent assaults on federal law enforcement cannot and will not be tolerated.”
“Every day Border Patrol Agents honorably serve our nation by securing the border. Too frequently, they endure physical assaults for carrying out their sworn duties,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division. “Thanks to the exemplary work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI agents assigned to the Del Rio Resident Agency Office (RA) and El Paso FBI/Midland RA, Santizo-Escobedo will be held accountable for his violent assault.”
Santizo-Escobedo, who remains in custody, faces up to 20 years in federal prison. Sentencing is scheduled for February 10, 2022, before U.S. District Judge Alia Moses in Del Rio.
The FBI conducted this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Kennedy and John Cooper prosecuted this case.
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Judges sentences Franklin County woman for far-reaching scheme involving fraud and money launderingRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – United States District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig sentenced Christen Diane Schulte to 80 months in prison today. The 35-year-old Washington, Missouri resident pleaded guilty, last year, to two counts of wire fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of money laundering.
Schulte was a former bookkeeper and office manager of a farm and trucking companies based in New Haven, Missouri. Between January 2018 and February 2020, Schulte knowingly and intentionally devised and executed a scheme to defraud, and to obtain moneys from, her former employer and others by means of material false and fraudulent representations in that the she, without the knowledge and authority of her former employer, diverted funds for her own personal use. The total loss from this scheme is approximately $727,000.
As part of her scheme, Schulte fraudulently and without permission used the companies’ credit cards for personal expenditures. Schulte also fraudulently caused American Express and FirstBank to issue her new credit cards in the names of the companies. Schulte fraudulently charged more than 1,800 transactions totaling more than $532,000 on these credit cards. Schulte also forged the signatures of the owner and several employees of companies, on checks from several different bank accounts, including personal accounts of the employees. Several of these checks were made payable to Schulte, but some of them she made payable to the companies in order to conceal the lost funds related to her credit card scheme.
Other forged checks were drawn from a bank account held by the Berger Levee District of Franklin County, which is a taxpayer funded levee district responsible for creating flood control projects in Franklin County. Schulte forged the treasurer’s signature of the Berger Levee District on checks she made payable to the companies in order to conceal the lost funds related to her credit card scheme. Schulte used the fraudulently obtained funds for her own personal gain, including purchasing jewelry, a travel trailer, vehicles, and vacation travel.
“White collar crime is not a victimless crime. The court sent a clear message during sentencing that the schemes undertaken by Schulte will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming. “The case was a cooperative effort by many law enforcement agencies, all working together to obtain justice for the many victims affected.”
“Christen Schulte was caught an sentenced to prison yet again for defrauding others who trusted her,” said Special Agent in Charge Richard Quinn of the FBI St. Louis Division. “The victim employer uncovered the theft after an internal audit before Schulte caused irreparable damage to the business. This case highlights the value of having robust internal controls.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Bateman is handling the case.
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Joint Law Enforcement Efforts in Union County Result in Lengthy Sentences for Five Drug and Gun OffendersRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Acting U.S. Attorney William T. Stetzer announced today that five individuals have been sentenced to date on drug and gun charges as a result of proactive investigations led by federal and local law enforcement in Union County.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) partnered with the Union County Sheriff’s Office and the Monroe Police Department in joint investigations to identify drug and gun offenders operating in and around Union County. The investigative teams engaged in undercover operations including controlled buys of narcotics and illegal firearms. Over the course of the investigations, law enforcement also seized methamphetamine, crack cocaine, fentanyl, and 56 firearms.
Of the 13 defendants charged in connection with these investigations, five have been sentenced to date as follows:
- Princeton Patterson, 33, of Wadesboro, N.C., was sentenced today to 188 months in prison and four years of supervised release. Patterson pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a felon. (Docket No. 3:20-cr-221)
- Markiel Tyson, 29, of Pageland, South Carolina, was sentenced today to 120 months in prison and four years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. (3:20-cr-221)
- Cameron Jamal McManus, 29, also of Pageland, was ordered today to serve 120 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. (3:20-cr-221)
- On May 13, 2021, Rico Lorodge Brown, 32, of Monroe, N.C., was sentenced to 180 months in prison and four years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon. (3:20-cr-223)
- Alvin Thomas, Jr., 41, of Charlotte, was sentenced on May 13, 2021, to 120 months in prison and four years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. (3:20-cr-278)
The following defendants have pleaded guilty and are currently awaiting sentencing.
- Santuron Cureton, 39, of Lancaster, South Carolina, has pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon, distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. (3:20-cr-216)
- Jamorris Demonte Sanders, 21, of Chester, South Carolina, has pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, dealing firearms without a license, and distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. (3:20-cr-218)
- Timonth Antonio Flanagan, 35, of Lancaster, has pleaded guilty to crack cocaine trafficking conspiracy and distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. (3:20-cr-218)
- Chareo Demarcus Johnson, 21, of Lancaster, has pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon and distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. (3:21-cr-66)
- Diante Ramon Brown, 22, of Rock Hill, South Carolina, has pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. (3:20-cr-222)
- Elliott Carmel Fincher, 32, of Marshville, N.C., has pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon. (3:20-cr-217)
- Larry Eddie Crowder Jr., 32, of Waxhaw, N.C., has pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. (3:20-cr-219)
- Bridget Cherie Chambers, 32, of Monroe, has pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. (3:20-cr-27).
In making today's announcement Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer commended the ATF, FBI, DEA, the Union County Sheriff's Office and the Monroe Police Department for their investigative efforts.
The prosecution for the government was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kelly and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA) Stephanie Spaugh. Ms. Spaugh is a state prosecutor with the office of the 26th Prosecutorial District and was assigned by District Attorney Spencer Merriweather to serve as a SAUSA with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte. Ms. Spaugh is duly sworn in both state and federal courts. The SAUSA position is a reflection of the partnership between the office of the 26th Prosecutorial District and the United States Attorney’s Office.
Ithaca Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Online Enticement of a MinorRead the Press Release
BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK – Jeffrey Blake, age 50, of Ithaca, New York, pled guilty today to attempted online enticement of a minor.
The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon and Nicholas B. Boshears, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
As part of his guilty plea Blake admitted that between June 12, 2019 and August 23, 2019, he exchanged text messages with an undercover officer he believed was the mother of 9 and 13 year old girls. In those messages, Blake expressed an interest in meeting the children and engaging in sex acts with them. He also communicated by text messaging with the undercover agent posing as each of the children. In those communications Blake assured the children that sex with him would not be painful, and that he would take precautions to keep the 13-year-old from getting pregnant. On August 23, 2019, Blake drove to a pre-determined location in Broome County to meet and have sex with the children. He brought with him vibrators and VCF birth control film as well as necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and stuffed animals that he planned to give to the children as gifts. Blake was then encountered by law enforcement and arrested.
As a result of his conviction, Blake faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a term of supervised release of between five years and life. He will also be required to register as a sex offender. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors. Sentencing is scheduled for September 28, 2021 before Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy.
This case is being investigated by the FBI Syracuse Mid-State Child Exploitation Task Force. This task force is comprised of FBI Special Agents and Investigators of the New York State Police, Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey J. L. Brown as part of Project Safe Childhood. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Insurance Broker Sentenced for $3.8 Million Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A licensed insurance broker and the owner of Benefits Consulting Associates LLC was sentenced to 70 months in prison Wednesday for his role in a scheme to defraud CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield of more than $3.8 million.
On Nov. 8, 2019, following a two-week trial, Tarek Abou-Khatwa, aka Dean Addem, 61, of the District of Columbia, was found guilty of one count of health care fraud, three counts of making false statements related to health care matters, seven counts of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud and five counts of identity theft charged in a March 2018 indictment.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Abou-Khatwa was involved in a scheme to defraud CareFirst BlueCross Blue Shield by creating fictitious employees and altering years of birth of actual employees by as much as 40 years to lower the average age of insured groups and fraudulently obtain lower insurance premiums. He then inflated the rates charged to clients and pocket(ed) the difference, which was in excess of $3.6 million. As part of his scheme, Abou-Khatwa also stole the identities of former employees and clients, lowered their ages, and moved them in and out of shell companies in order to obtain the fraudulently lower premiums. When groups controlled by Abou-Khatwa were audited by CareFirst, he created false census reports, false D.C. wage and tax reports, and false paystubs to coverup his fraud.
In addition to the prison sentence, Abou-Khatwa was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $3,836,709.34 in restitution and forfeit $8,402,966.73.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips of the District of Columbia; Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D’Antuono of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Philadelphia Regional Office; and Commissioner Karima Woods of the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking made the announcement.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case with the help of the D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking.
Trial Attorney Alexander Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ahmed Baset of the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case. Former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Virginia Cheatham and Derrick Williams of the District of Columbia previously handled the prosecution.
The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged more than 4,200 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for nearly $19 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
Insurance Broker Sentenced for $3.8 Million Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A licensed insurance broker and the owner of Benefits Consulting Associates LLC was sentenced to 70 months in prison Wednesday for his role in a scheme to defraud CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield of more than $3.8 million.
On Nov. 8, 2019, following a two-week trial, Tarek Abou-Katwa, aka Dean Addem, 61, of the District of Columbia, was found guilty of one count of health care fraud, three counts of making false statements related to health care matters, seven counts of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud and five counts of identity theft charged in a March 2018 indictment.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Abou-Khatwa was involved in a scheme to defraud CareFirst BlueCross Blue Shield by creating fictitious employees and altering years of birth of actual employees by as much as 40 years to lower the average age of insured groups and fraudulently obtain lower insurance premiums. He then inflated the rates charged to clients and pocketed the difference, which was in excess of $3.6 million. As part of his scheme, Abou-Khatwa also stole the identities of former employees and clients, lowered their ages, and moved them in and out of shell companies in order to obtain the fraudulently lower premiums. When groups controlled by Abou-Khatwa were audited by CareFirst, he created false census reports, false D.C. wage and tax reports, and false paystubs to coverup his fraud.
In addition to the prison sentence, Abou-Katwa was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $3,836,709.34 in restitution and forfeit $8,402,966.73.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips of the District of Columbia; Acting Assistant Director in Charge Steven D’Antuono of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Philadelphia Regional Office; and Commissioner Karima Woods of the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking made the announcement.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case with the help of the D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking.
Trial Attorney Alexander Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ahmed Baset of the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case. Former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Virginia Cheatham and Derrick Williams of the District of Columbia previously handled the prosecution.
The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged more than 4,200 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for nearly $19 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
Indiana man charged with illegally selling fireworks in OhioRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI – A federal grand jury has charged Paul Eberhard, 64, of Shelbyville, Indiana, with crimes related to illegally dealing in fireworks.
The investigation began after the July 4, 2020, death of a Mt. Healthy man. According to reports, the man died after being struck in the head by a fireworks explosive. The Hamilton County Bomb Squad confiscated fireworks from the scene.
According to the indictment, between 2018 and 2020, Eberhard illegally sold display fireworks. He is charged with two federal crimes: dealing in explosive materials without a license and distributing explosive materials to a person without a permit or license. Each crime is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Display fireworks are large fireworks designed primarily to produce visible or audible effects by combustion, deflagration or detonation. Display fireworks contain more than 50 milligrams of flash powder for ground devices, and more than 130 milligrams of flash powder for aerial explosives. Under federal law, a person must have an ATF license or permit to receive or use display fireworks. Individuals with only a permit, like Eberhard, are prohibited from selling or distributing display fireworks.
Eberhard’s case was unsealed this afternoon during his initial appearance in federal court.
Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Roland Herndon, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), announced the charges and commended the work of the Mount Healthy, North College Hill and Shelbyville police departments, the sheriff’s office bomb squads from Hamilton and Butler counties, and the Hamilton County Coroner. Assistant United States Attorney Megan Gaffney Painter is representing the United States in this case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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Holyoke Man Sentenced for Heroin DistributionRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Holyoke man was sentenced in federal court in Springfield today for distributing heroin.
Jose Rodriguez, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to 90 months in prison and four years of supervised release. In October 2020, Rodriguez pleaded guilty to distributing and possessing with intent to distribute heroin.
Rodriguez sold heroin on Sept. 19 and 27, 2018 in Holyoke. Rodriguez also possessed and intended to distribute 100 or more grams of heroin on July 6, 2019 in Holyoke. The charges were the result of an investigation into heroin trafficking in Holyoke.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Holyoke Police Chief Manny Febo made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd E. Newhouse of Mendell’s Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
Heroin Dealer Sent Back to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A Chicago man who intended to distribute fentanyl and a heroin/fentanyl mixture was sentenced today to more than five years in federal prison.
Chanord Hawkins, age 28, from Chicago, Illinois, received the prison term after a November 30, 2020 guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
Evidence at sentencing showed that on September 1, 2016, Hawkins was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment followed by three years of federal supervised release after he had pled guilty to distribution of heroin and crack cocaine in federal court. On September 12, 2020, while he was on federal supervised release, Hawkins was a passenger in a car that was stopped by officers with the Cedar Rapids Police Department in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. During the traffic stop, officers searched a fanny pack belonging to Hawkins and recovered a small baggie that contained 0.5 grams of heroin. Hawkins was arrested and transported to the Linn County Correctional Center. After he arrived at the Linn County Correctional Center, deputies searched Hawkins’ person and located two bags of marijuana in his underwear. As a result, officers conducted a strip search and deputies located multiple small plastic baggies tucked inside Hawkins’ buttocks that contained a total of over 9 grams of fentanyl and 25 grams of a heroin/fentanyl mixture. Hawkins intended to distribute some or all of the fentanyl and heroin/fentanyl mixture to another person.
Hawkins was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Hawkins was sentenced to a total of 70 months’ imprisonment, and he must also serve a six-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Hawkins is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Dillan Edwards and investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA, the Linn County Sheriff's Office, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Marion Police Department, and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 20-CR-00081.
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Ft. Thomas Man Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud and Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
COVINGTON, Ky. — Kevin R. Welsch, 48, of Ft. Thomas, Kentucky pleaded guilty today to federal charges of wire fraud and tax evasion.
In his guilty plea, Welsch admitted defrauding clients of the debt collection business he owned and operated, RCC Services, Inc. Specifically, he admitted to collecting debts on behalf of creditors and keeping the money for his own use. He also admitted to collecting more than debtors owed (sometimes making multiple, unauthorized debits from their accounts) and charging his clients for fees/expenses that he never actually incurred. Finally, Welsch admitted evading taxes in the process.
Carlton S. Shier, IV, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, IRS – Criminal Investigation; James Robert Brown, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, FBI Louisville Field Office and Casey Kilgore, Chief of Police, Ft. Thomas Police Department, jointly made the announcement.
The investigation was conducted by the IRS CI, the FBI, and the Ft. Thomas Police Department. The United States was represented in the case by Assistant United States Attorney Elaine K. Leonhard.
Welsch is currently scheduled to appear for sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Danny C. Reeves, in Covington, on September 2, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. Welsch faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the Court, after its consideration of the United States Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of sentences.
Fresno Woman Charged with COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Benefits FraudRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury brought a six-count indictment against Cecilia Aquino, 34, of Fresno, today charging her with mail fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft for submitting unemployment insurance claims and applications for Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury and Disaster Loans using stolen identities, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, from June through November 2020, Aquino submitted unemployment benefit claims in at least seven states and at least four loan applications that contained misrepresentations. She claimed that the named individuals last worked as self‑employed dancers and owned interior design businesses, and that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they lost their jobs and business revenue, respectively. The state workforce agencies that administer the unemployment insurance system, the SBA, and the United States suffered an actual loss of at least $220,000 and were subject to a potential loss of more than $350,000 because of Aquino’s fraud. Aquino used the money for gambling, rent, shopping, and other personal expenditures.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the SBA Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Barton is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Aquino faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each of the mail and wire fraud counts, and a mandatory two-year sentence consecutive to other counts and a fine of up to $250,000 for each of the aggravated identity theft counts. Any sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations. Aquino is presumed innocent until and unless she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Fort Myers Drug Trafficker Sentenced to Eleven Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Edgar Vazquez (36, Fort Myers) to 11 years in federal prison for possessing with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine. The court also ordered Vazquez to forfeit a firearm and ammunition that were involved in the offense.
Vazquez had been found guilty by a jury on September 15, 2020.
According to evidence presented at trial, in September 2018, Vazquez was driving a vehicle on Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers, when he was stopped by Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies for committing a traffic infraction. After a trained drug canine unit alerted to the presence of drugs in the vehicle, law enforcement conducted a search of the vehicle and recovered approximately 500 grams of cocaine from inside the vehicle. A subsequent search warrant was executed at Vazquez’s residence, where approximately 700 grams of cocaine, cash, and a loaded gun were seized from his bedroom.
This case was investigated by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Simon R. Eth and David P. Sullivan.
Fort Bragg Marriage Fraud Arranger Sentenced for Marriage Fraud and ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NEW BERN, N.C. – An ex-soldier from Fayetteville was sentenced today to 44 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. On August 18, 2020, Ebenezer Yeboah Asane, a/k/a “Ben” pled guilty to marriage fraud and conspiracy.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, Asane, 37, operating from Fort Bragg and his home in Fayetteville, planned and organized the sham marriages of several foreign nationals from Ghana to U.S. Army soldiers based at Fort Bragg. The purpose of the conspiracy was for the foreign-born nationals to evade U.S. immigration laws and obtain lawful permanent residence status and for the soldiers to receive Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) to live off post, as opposed to the barracks.
Asane recruited additional soldiers into the fraudulent scheme to orchestrate photographs to give the appearance the marriages were legitimate and to submit false statements to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service in support of the sham marriages. Once charged, Asane also attempted to obstruct justice by asking a witness he knew had been called to testify to lie under oath.
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 Louise W. Flanagan. The investigation of these cases is ongoing and being conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, the Criminal Investigation Division at Fort Bragg and the EDNC Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabriel Diaz 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. 5:19-cr-00423-FL-1.
Former Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Official Sentenced to over One Year in Prison for Fraud and EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Paul Dignam, 59, of Philadelphia, PA was sentenced to 13 months in prison, one year of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $3,500 fine by United States District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno for a scheme to defraud the City of Philadelphia of approximately $119,000 over the course of several years.
In November 2020, Paul Dignam pleaded guilty to mail fraud and embezzlement from a program receiving federal funds. At the time of the charged offenses, the defendant was a long-time employee of the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation (“PPR”) Department, serving most recently as the Regional Manager for the South Region. In this position, Dignam oversaw and managed the PPR programs and operations in this section of the city including activities for members of the community, fund-raising, general maintenance and supervision of personnel.
In 2011, Paul Dignam opened a bank account that purported to be for use by a recreation advisory council, a commonly used governance structure in PPR that exists to support local recreation centers and playgrounds by helping to raise funds, develop programs, and maintain play sites. Beginning in 2012 and continuing through 2019, the defendant allegedly misused this bank account by repeatedly writing checks on the account made payable to himself. He helped conceal this fraud by having bank statements mailed to his personal residence and having another individual act as a signatory on the account. The defendant then forged the other individual’s signature on the misappropriated checks and falsely noted in the memo line of the checks that they were “reimbursements” for expenses he incurred by making purchases on behalf of PPR. In sum, Paul Dignam wrote himself approximately 102 checks worth approximately $119,000.
Paul’s brother, Leo Dignam, 61, also of Philadelphia and formerly an Assistant Managing Director with the City of Philadelphia, also pleaded guilty in November 2020 to charges of wire fraud and embezzlement from a program receiving federal funds in connection with similar misuse of public money, and was sentenced last week to 15 months in prison.
“Just like his brother, the defendant abused the trust placed in him by his superiors and the citizens of Philadelphia, specifically supporters of Parks and Recreation,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Williams. “Stealing money from a bank account meant to support programming and maintenance of facilities, some in desperate need of repair, is inexcusable – but now he has been held accountable.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Philadelphia Office of the Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Deputy United States Attorney Louis D. Lappen.
Former Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Pleads Guilty to Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ga. – A Preston, Georgia resident and former pediatric nurse practitioner (NP) has pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography in a case involving thousands of images and videos of child pornography.
William Clinton Storey, 41, of Preston, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count distribution of child pornography before U.S. District Judge Clay Land today. Storey faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years up to a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 and a term of supervised release of at least five years up to a lifetime of supervision. Storey will also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from federal prison under the Sex Offender Registration Act. Storey’s sentencing is scheduled for August 17. There is no parole in the federal system.
“William Storey will spend a significant period of time in prison for his role in distributing large amounts of the most depraved depictions of child sexual abuse online—a criminal act made even more disturbing knowing he was a pediatric nurse practitioner at the time of his crimes,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “GBI and FBI agents are to be commended for their urgent and precise investigation into Storey’s activities as a child predator, removing him from his role working with children and helping us obtain justice.”
“Children portrayed in child pornography images are victimized every time those images are distributed or viewed, and this case is exceptionally disturbing because the suspect was a nurse and a family pediatric practitioner,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI will use every resource available, including the partnerships with our federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, to uncover child pornography and those who create, distribute and possess it.”
“The GBI will continue to work tirelessly to protect innocent victims of online exploitation. In this instance the offender was a healthcare provider. We are grateful for the relationships we maintain with our federal partner agencies to bring these predators to justice,” said Vic Reynolds, GBI Director.
According to court documents, the multimedia messaging app Snapchat detected that user clint31824 had uploaded five files of suspected child pornography while using their platform on November 21, 2019. GBI investigated the cybertip and traced the IP used by user clint31824 to the defendant, William Storey. At the time, Storey was employed as a certified family nurse practitioner. Agents executed search warrants at Storey’s home and business on February 18, 2020, seizing seven devices belonging to Storey. A forensic examination of the electronic media seized during the search warrant discovered approximately 6,000 videos and 24,000 images of suspected child pornography. The files contained depictions of babies, small toddlers, minors engaged in bondage, and male and female prepubescent children being sexually abused by adult males.
The case was investigated by the GBI and FBI with assistance from the Webster County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Crawford Seals is prosecuting the case.
Former Owner of Michigan Home Healthcare Business Pleads Guilty to Tax FraudRead the Press Release
A Michigan man pleaded guilty today to filing a false individual income tax return.
According to court documents, Robert Nakfoor, of Lansing, claimed false expenses for his home healthcare business, Jessi Kay Home Care, on his 2011 through 2015 federal individual income tax returns. Nakfoor reported fraudulent business expenses for insurance, legal and professional services, wages, and contract labor that he knew his company did not incur. In total, Nakfoor caused a tax loss to the IRS of $481,465.
Nakfoor is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Andrew B. Birge for the Western District of Michigan made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Melissa S. Siskind of the Justice Department’s Tax Division is prosecuting the case.
Former Minister of Government of Bolivia, Owner of Florida-Based Company, and Three Others Charged in Bribery and Money Laundering SchemeRead the Press Release
Miami, Fl. – Two Bolivian nationals and three United States citizens were arrested last week in Florida and Georgia on criminal charges related to their alleged roles in a bribery and money laundering scheme. The former Minister of the Government of Bolivia and another former Bolivian official are accused of receiving bribes paid by a U.S. company and individuals to secure a Bolivian government contract, and then using the U.S. financial system to launder those bribes.
According to court documents, Arturo Carlos Murillo Prijic, 57, Sergio Rodrigo Mendez Mendizabal, 51, Luis Berkman, 58, Bryan Berkman, 36, and Philip Lichtenfeld, 48, engaged in the bribery scheme between approximately November 2019 and April 2020. During that time, Luis Berkman, Bryan Berkman, and Lichtenfeld paid $602,000 in bribes to Bolivian government officials for the benefit of Murillo, the former Minister of Government of Bolivia, Mendez, the former Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Government of Bolivia, and another Bolivian government official. The bribes were paid so that Bryan Berkman’s Florida-based company would obtain and retain business from the Bolivian Ministry of Defense, specifically, an approximately $5.6 million contract to provide to the Bolivian Ministry of Defense tear gas and other non-lethal equipment. To promote the bribery scheme, Bryan Berkman, Luis Berkman, and Lichtenfeld then laundered the payments to Bolivian government officials through bank accounts in Florida and Bolivia and orchestrated the payment of $582,000 in cash for Murillo and Mendez, according to the charges.
All five individuals are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami office made the announcement.
HSI Miami investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli S. Rubin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Jil Simon and Assistant Chief Gerald M. Moody Jr. of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx P. Calderón is handling asset forfeiture.
The charges in the complaint are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov., under case number 21-mj-06320.
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Former IT Director and Contractor Charged in Federal Court for Roles in Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that the former information technology director of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (SRST) and a contractor were each charged with their respective roles in a bribery scheme. Sven Schreiber, age 52, of Florida and North Dakota, and Arnaldo Piccinelli, age 43 of Florida, were each charged with three counts of Bribery Concerning a Program Receiving Federal Funds.
Schreiber made his appearance on May 20, 2021, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno and entered a plea of not guilty. Piccinelli made his appearance on May 12, 2021, before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Middle District of Florida. The charges are merely accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. Each was released pending trial.
Each charge carries the following maximum penalties: 10 years of imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine; three years of supervised release following release from custody; $100 special assessment; and restitution.
According to the charging document, in or around December 2015, Schreiber became the Director of the Information Technology Department of the SRST. Schreiber’s duties included, among other things, serving as the Tribe’s primary contact with outside vendors and generating bids, contracts, and agreements relating to the work of the Tribe’s Information Technology Department.
Piccinelli provided information technology services on a sole-source, contract basis with the Tribe, by and through its Information Technology Department. Schreiber served as Defendant Piccinelli’s point of contact regarding all of the contracts with the Tribe.
Piccinelli accepted payments from the Tribe, at the direction of Schreiber, via checks made payable to Piccinelli individually or to Piccinelli’s for-profit corporation, Hexagon Code, Incorporated. It is alleged that on more than one occasion, Schreiber agreed to accept a bribe from Piccinelli, who paid the bribe to Schreiber.
The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy R. Jehangiri is prosecuting the case.
The case was brought pursuant to The Guardians Project, a federal law enforcement initiative to coordinate efforts between participating agencies, to promote citizen disclosure of public corruption, fraud, and embezzlement involving federal program funds, contracts, and grants, and to hold accountable those who are responsible for adversely affecting those living in South Dakota’s Indian country communities. The Guardians Project is another step of federal law enforcement’s on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination, and positive action on behalf of tribal communities. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the participating agencies include: Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Offices of Inspector General for the Departments of Interior, Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Agriculture, Transportation, Education, Justice, and Housing and Urban Development; Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division; U.S. Postal Inspector Service; U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General.
For additional information about The Guardians Project, please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at (605) 330-4400. To report a suspected crime, please contact law enforcement at the federal agency’s locally listed telephone number.
Former Contract Postal Worker Pleads Guilty to Stealing MailRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former contractor working for the U.S. Postal Service pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a conspiracy to steal gift cards from the mail.
Tyrone V. Read Jr., 27, of Warrensburg, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to one count of conspiracy to possess stolen mail matter.-
Read was employed as a driver for the trucking company that held the contract to transport mail to and from post offices in Grain Valley, Oak Grove, Odessa, and Concordia, Mo.
By pleading guilty today, Read admitted that he stole $1,820 in cash and gift cards from the mail of 30 postal customers between Dec. 1, 2019, and May 6, 2020. Read gave the stolen gift cards to his girlfriend, co-defendant Kerry K. Swisher, 35, of Warrensburg. Swisher, who pleaded guilty to possessing stolen mail matter, used gift cards to make purchases at various locations for things such as meals, groceries, and gas.
Under federal statutes, Read and Swisher are each subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. Swisher is scheduled to be sentenced on June 8, 2021. Read’s sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rudolph R. Rhodes IV. It was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General.
Fleeing Felon Found in Possession of AmmunitionRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment today against Angelo Joseph Fernandez, 41, of Fresno, charging him with being a felon in possession of ammunition, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, Fernandez was found to be in possession of ammunition after he led Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputies on a high-speed chase throughout Fresno on Feb. 25, 2021, while he was out on bail in another case. Fernandez is a convicted felon and is prohibited from possessing ammunition.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Jean Berger is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Fernandez faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Final Defendant Sentenced in $80 Million Health Care Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A Florida man was sentenced today to 210 months in prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud.
Alberto Orian Gonzalez-Delgado, 46, of Miami, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud on March 4. Gonzalez-Delgado is the last remaining defendant in this case to be sentenced. Eduardo Rubal, 41, of Miami, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and was sentenced to 210 months; Vicente Gonzalez Acosta, 50, of Miami, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and was sentenced to 188 months; Alexander Fernandez, 49, of Miami, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and was sentenced to 120 months; Yaxing Tapanes, 24, of Hialeah, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and was sentenced to 97 months; Jose Carlos Valladares Rivera, 43, of Miami, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and was sentenced to 97 months; Hector Suarez Gonzalez, 45, of Hialeah, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and was sentenced to 78 months; Antonio Jimenez, 54, of Hialeah, was sentenced to 48 months.
According to court documents, these eight individuals and their co-conspirators operated a fraud and money laundering organization responsible for executing a series of frauds in Florida and Michigan through which they billed Medicare for over $80 million, actually receiving approximately $53 million for fraudulent claims.
The organization recruited and directed nominee owners to fraudulently purchase home health agencies, as well as to open sham corporations in their names, along with corresponding personal and corporate bank accounts. After the acquisition of the home health agency was completed, the group began fraudulently billing Medicare for services that were never provided. The home health agencies had no medical staff and provided no services to any beneficiaries. The group, upon receiving the Medicare money, would funnel that through several layers of shell companies and bank accounts in an effort to launder the money before converting it to cash at ATMs and check cashing stores in Miami. Once the nominee owners completed their work, the group required them to permanently move to Cuba to avoid detection and live beyond the jurisdiction of the United States.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division made the announcement.
The FBI and Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General investigated the case, with assistance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Center for Program Integrity.
Trial Attorney Emily Gurskis of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
Federal Judge Sentences Whittier, N.C. Man to Prison for Firearm OffenseRead the Press Release
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Today, Chief U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced Michael James George, 46, of Whittier, N.C., to 30 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for a firearm offense, announced William T. Stetzer, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, on January 17, 2020,
a CIPD officer arrested George in Jackson County on an outstanding Tribal warrant, after the officer observed George driving in a vehicle with false tags. At the time of the arrest, the CIPD officer searched the vehicle and recovered a pistol in the floorboard under the driver’s seat and 19 rounds of ammunition. George has a prior felony conviction and is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition. On October 23, 2020, George pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon.
In making today’s announcement, Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer thanked the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Cherokee Indian Police Department for their investigation of the case.
Assistant United States Attorney John Pritchard, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville, prosecuted the case.
Eugene Man Indicted for Stalking and Mailing Threatening LettersRead the Press Release
EUGENE, Ore.—A federal grand jury in Eugene has returned an indictment charging a Eugene man with stalking and mailing threatening letters to a former teacher.
Gary Franklin, 57, has been charged with stalking and using the U.S. Postal Service to mail threatening communications.
According to court statements, Franklin sent two letters to an adult female victim between December 2020 and May 2021. The first letter contained a printout of what appeared to be a deceased, mutilated female. Handwritten wording above and below the image included racial and sexual orientation slurs and stated, “What I’d like to do to you.” The second letter contained another photograph of a deceased, mutilated female. The handwritten wording around the image stated that the photograph represented Franklin’s fantasy of what he wanted to do to the victim.
A forensic analysis conducted by the Oregon State Police Laboratory found Franklin’s fingerprints on the first letter. In May 2021, the FBI subsequently executed a search warrant on Franklin’s Eugene residence, revealing a collection of knives, violent literature, and white supremacist memorabilia. Franklin was arrested without incident.
Franklin made his initial appearance in federal court on May 21, 2021 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge. He was arraigned, pleaded not guilty, and scheduled for a jury trial to begin on July 27, 2021. On May 24 and 25, 2021, a U.S. Magistrate Judge held detention hearings for Franklin and detained him pending the jury trial.
If convicted, Franklin faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in federal prison for each count, one year of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.
Acting U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam E. Delph is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Stalking is a serious federal crime involving a pattern of behavior directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety. For more information about stalking, including resources for victims, please visit the Stalking Prevention, Awareness, & Resource Center (SPARC) at www.stalkingawareness.org.
Anyone with information about real or perceived threats of violence should call the FBI at (503) 224-4181 or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
For immediate threats to life and safety, please call 9-1-1.
El Paso Doctor Indicted for Distributing Controlled Substances and Health Care Fraud Resulting in Five DeathsRead the Press Release
EL PASO – Today federal authorities arrested 60-year-old Dr. Brian James August of El Paso for allegedly committing health care fraud and distributing controlled substances that resulted in the overdose deaths of five individuals.
A 15-count federal grand jury indictment, unsealed upon his arrest, charges Dr. August with five counts of distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death or serious bodily injury, five counts of distribution of a controlled substance and five counts of health care fraud resulting in death. Upon conviction, Dr. August faces 20 years to life in federal prison for the drug charges resulting in death; up to 20 years in federal prison for each of the remaining drug charges; and up to life in federal prison for each of the health care fraud charges.
The indictment alleges that between December 2012 and March 2018, Dr. August, who practiced Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation aka “physiatry,” prescribed and dispensed controlled substances, including methadone, fentanyl, hydromorphone, morphine, hydrocodone and oxycodone, outside the usual course of medical practice and without legitimate medical purpose, resulting in the deaths of five victims. Dr. August is also alleged to have committed health care fraud by billing for services he did not perform.
U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff, Special Agent in Charge Kyle Williamson of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) El Paso Field Office and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Coburn of the FBI’s El Paso Division made today’s announcement.
The DEA and the FBI with assistance from the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Texas Department of Public Safety Special Investigation Services and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of Texas Attorney General’s Office conducted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation called “Operation Murder He Wrote.”
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.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Debra Kanof and Phillip Countryman are prosecuting this case.
August remains in federal custody. His initial appearance is expected to take place at 2 p.m. tomorrow before U.S. Magistrate Judge Anne T. Berton in El Paso.
An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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El Departamento de Justicia llega a un acuerdo con una compañía de fabricación farmacéutica con sede en Nueva York que resuelve acusaciones de discriminación relacionada con la inmigraciónRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que ha llegado a un acuerdo con LNK International Inc. (LNK), un fabricante de farmacéuticos sin receta médica con sede en Hauppauge, Nueva York. El acuerdo resuelve las acusaciones del Departamento de que LNK vulneró la ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad («INA», por sus siglas en inglés) al discriminar a individuos con autorización para trabajar que no eran ciudadanos de los EE. UU.
Con base en su investigación, el Departamento determinó que LNK, de forma rutinaria, pedía documentos innecesarios y específicos a residentes permanentes legales que la compañía contrataba para trabajar en ciertos departamentos para demostrar su permiso para trabajar en los Estados Unidos. La investigación del Departamento determinó que LNK solicitaba que residentes permanentes legales mostraran sus tarjetas de residencia permanente (a veces conocidas como «tarjetas verdes») para demostrar su autorización para trabajar pero permitía a ciudadanos estadounidenses a escoger entre varios tipos de documentos aceptables. Según el Departamento, LNK también tenía una práctica ilegal de requerir que, con base en su estatus migratorio, refugiados y asilados presentaran una prueba actualizada de su autorización para trabajar, incluso cuando ya habían facilitado documentos que demostraban una autorización continua y permanente para trabajar.
«Los empleadores no pueden discriminar a empleados por motivos de su estatus de ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen a la hora de comprobar que sus empleados cuentan con la autorización debida para trabajar en los Estados Unidos», afirmó la Fiscal General Auxiliar Kristen Clarke de la División de Derechos Civiles. «El Departamento de Justicia anticipa la colaboración de LNK para garantizar su cumplimiento con la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA para que todo empleado quede sujeto a las mismas normas a la hora de demostrar su permiso para trabajar en los Estados Unidos».
Las leyes federales permiten a todo individuo con autorización para trabajar, independientemente de su estatus de ciudadanía, elegir los documentos válidos y legalmente aceptables que desea presentar para demostrar su autorización para trabajar en los Estados Unidos. Muchas personas que no son ciudadanos de los EE. UU., incluyendo a residentes permanentes legales, refugiados y asilados, entre otros, tienen una autorización para trabajar que no vence y son elegibles para varios de los mismos tipos de documentos como lo son los ciudadanos de los EE. UU. (tales como carnets de conducir y tarjetas de seguro social sin restricciones) para demostrar su autorización para trabajar. La disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA prohíbe que los empleadores pidan documentos adicionales o diferentes a los necesarios para demostrar la autorización para trabajar con base en el estatus migratorio o de ciudadanía del empleado o bien por su nacionalidad de origen.
Conforme los términos del acuerdo conciliatorio, LNK pagará una sanción civil a los Estados Unidos que asciende a 200.000,00 $. Asimismo, LNK capacitará a sus empleados en cuanto a los requisitos de la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA, incluyendo una capacitación dirigida por la Sección de Derechos de Inmigrantes y Empleados («IER», por sus siglas en inglés), y será supervisado durante un período de tres años para garantizar que la compañía esté cumpliendo con el acuerdo.
La Sección de Derechos de Inmigrantes y Empleados de la División de Derechos Civiles es responsable de hacer cumplir la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA. La ley prohíbe la discriminación por motivos de estatus de ciudadanía y nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido o reclutamiento o recomendación por comisión, prácticas documentales injustas y represalias e intimidación.
Aquellos aspirantes o empleados que creen haber sido discriminados por motivos de su estatus de ciudadanía o nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido, reclutamiento o verificación de la elegibilidad para trabajar (Formulario I-9 e E-Verify) o sujetos a represalias pueden presentar una denuncia. El público también puede llamar a la línea directa de la IER para trabajadores al 1-800-255-7688; llamar a la línea directa de la IER para empleadores al 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); enviar un correo electrónico a [email protected]; inscribirse a un seminario en línea gratuito; o visitar los sitios web de la IER en inglés o español. Para recibir las últimas noticias de la IER, inscríbase a GovDelivery.
Eagle Butte Man Indicted for Failure to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis Holmes announced that an Eagle Butte, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.
Jasyn Curley, age 26, was indicted on May 11, 2021. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on May 20, 2021, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 10 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, 5 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund on each count. Restitution may also be ordered.
Curley was convicted of Sexual Contact With a Minor in October 2016. As a result of this conviction, he is required to register as a sex offender. The Indictment alleges that between February 25, 2021, and March 13, 2021, Curley, a person required to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, and a sex offender by reason of conviction under Federal Law, failed to properly register as a sex offender and update his registration.
The charge is merely an accusation and Curley is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Miller is prosecuting the case.
Curley was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Dominican National Sentenced for Illegal Reentry After DeportationRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dominican national was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for illegally reentering the United States after deportation.
Antonio Curio-Ruiz, 53, of the Dominican Republic, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to one year and one day in prison and three years of supervised release. Curio-Ruiz also faces deportation upon completion of his sentence. On Feb. 3, 2021, Curio-Ruiz pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien.
Curio-Ruiz was previously deported in December 2007, April 2011 and November 2012. On Oct. 12, 2017, officers encountered Curio-Ruiz and determined him to be illegally present in the United States.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell and Todd M. Lyons, Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of Mendell’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
Dominican National Sentenced for Fentanyl ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dominican national previously residing in Lawrence was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for fentanyl conspiracy charges.
Francis Jimenez Minyetty, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to eight years in prison and four years of supervised release. Jimenez Minyetty will be subject to deportation upon completion of his sentence. In October 2020, Jimenez Minyetty pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more fentanyl, distribution of 40 grams or more of fentanyl, distribution of fentanyl and unlawful reentry of a deported alien.
Investigators conducted a total of seven controlled purchases of fentanyl from Minyetty, who was working with co-defendants Enmanuel Brioso Fabal and Guillermo Aybar-Guerrero. On Nov. 2, 2019, investigators executed a search warrant at a stash house on Jackson Street in Lawrence associated with this drug organization and encountered co-defendant Nieves Guzman, who had a kilogram brick of fentanyl in her purse. At the stash house, investigators also located various drug distribution paraphernalia, including a mixing bowl containing fentanyl, sifters and blenders. In total, Minyetty was responsible for approximately 1,109 grams of fentanyl and 146.6 grams of acetyl fentanyl (a fentanyl analogue).
On May 12, 2021, Guzman was sentenced by Judge Casper to time served (approximately 18 months in prison). Guzman will be subject to deportation upon completion of her sentence.
Brioso Fabal pleaded guilty on April 7, 2021 and is awaiting sentencing.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Graber of Mendell’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.
Detroit Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Detroit, Michigan man pleaded guilty today to a federal drug crime.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 11, 2017 Calvin Allen, 44, sold oxycodone to a person who was working with law enforcement as a confidential informant. The drug sale occurred in Allen’s vehicle in the parking lot of Tractor Supply in Oak Hill, Fayette County.
Allen pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute oxycodone and faces up to 20 years in prison when sentenced on August 23, 2021.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Central West Virginia Drug Task Force.
United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Alex Hamner is handling the prosecution.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:20-cr-0116.
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Convicted murderer, gang member who led drug trafficking organization from inside state prison is sentenced to federal termRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA: A former Savannah resident serving a life sentence in state prison for murder has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for operating a drug trafficking organization while incarcerated.
Eugene Allen, a/k/a “Poncho,” 44, was sentenced to 360 months in federal prison for Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 500 Grams or More of Cocaine and 50 Kilograms or More of Marijuana, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Allen was convicted of the charge by a U.S. District Court jury in August 2019. After completion of his prison term, Allen must serve eight years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Using contraband cell phones to circumvent prison monitoring of his conspiracy, Eugene Allen directed nearly two dozen others outside the prison to bring large amounts of drugs to the Savannah area for distribution throughout the region,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “Our diligent law enforcement partners shut down this poison distribution network, and Allen is the final member of this conspiracy to now find himself in federal prison.”
As described in court documents and testimony, Allen – a high-ranking member of the Gangster Disciples criminal street gang – has been in state prison since 2004 after violating parole on a prior state conviction. In 2006, he was convicted of multiple violent crimes, including murder, and sentenced to life in prison. While incarcerated in Autry State Prison and at Coffee Correctional Facility, Allen used cell phones – dropped in by remote-control drone aircraft, or smuggled via prison guards – to direct the other members of the conspiracy.
In an investigation dubbed Operation Five Hole started in 2014, the FBI, the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team (CNT) and the Savannah Police Department determined that those co-conspirators shipped or delivered kilogram amounts of drugs, including cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin and marijuana, from California to Atlanta, and then to Savannah for distribution throughout the area, often concealing the shipments in candy machines. Co-conspirators also shipped large quantities of vacuum-sealed cash to pay the sources of supply.
Allen and 19 co-defendants were indicted in U.S. District Court in 2017 for their roles in the drug trafficking conspiracy. All have been adjudicated, with17 found guilty and sentenced and two cases dismissed. Another 12 related defendants also have been sentenced. Many of the defendants also were convicted and sentenced for related state charges.
“This sentencing is the result of the hard work and dedication of multiple federal state and local law enforcement agencies, as part of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. As a result, Allen, who continued to wreak havoc in the community even after his state prison sentence will now face federal prison time, without the possibility for parole. Hopefully, this sends the message that the FBI and our partners will go to any length to uphold the law.”
“By directing a drug trafficking network from prison, Allen has shown an obvious disregard for the law which cannot be ignored,” said CNT Director Michael G. Sarhatt, “CNT continues to focus our efforts on targeting criminal organizations such as this one in order to keep these toxic substances from reaching our community. I am thankful for the assistance from our federal, state, and local partners during this investigation.”
Operation Five Hole was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.
The case was investigated by the FBI, CNT, the Savannah Police Department, the Chatham and Effingham County Sheriffs’ Offices, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Marshals Service, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Noah J. Abrams, Frank M. Pennington II, and E. Gregory Gilluly Jr.
Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to 262 Months for Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Thomas E. Kerl, 39, Redgranite, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 262 months for distributing child pornography. This term of imprisonment is to be followed by 25 years of supervised release. Kerl pleaded guilty to this offense on February 25, 2021.
Starting in approximately 2018, Kerl began using multiple platforms to trade what Judge Conley called “extremely graphic images.” The defendant also engaged in disturbing chats about sexually assaulting children and admitted that if he had access to children, he would assault them.
Prior to this case, Kerl was convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting two young children in Columbia County Circuit Court in 2001. Based on his prior convictions and the conduct in this case, Judge Conley found Kerl to be a danger to the community and said a long sentence was necessary to protect the public.
The charge against Kerl was the result of an investigation conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation with assistance from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman.
Convicted Felon Sentenced to 11 Years for Distribution of Methamphetamine and Using a Firearm During a Drug Trafficking OffenseRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – Bruce Matthews, 28, has been sentenced to 137 months in federal prison for distribution of methamphetamine and using a firearm during a drug trafficking offense. Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph C. Murphy Jr., announced the sentence today.
According to information presented in court, between November 2019 and January 2020, undercover agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), began a criminal investigation of Matthews during several controlled purchases of firearms and methamphetamine transactions.
Matthews is a convicted felon, having previously been convicted of aggravated assault and criminal attempt rape of a child. As a result of his prior felony convictions, he is prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.
On February 5, 2021, Matthews pled guilty.
On May 20, 2021, U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Parker sentenced Matthews to 137 months in federal prison to be followed by five years’ supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Assistant U.S. Attorney Wendy K. Cornejo prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
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Contracting Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Federal Offense and Another Business Partner Charged for Roles in Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a former contracting company owner pleaded guilty for his role in a bribery scheme. Kevin Michael Trio, age 58, of Maple Plain, Minnesota, entered his plea of guilty to Making a Materially False Statement to two federal agents with the Department of Justice. U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann presided over the hearing, and his sentencing hearing will be held on August 2, 2021, in the federal courthouse in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
In a separate hearing, another former owner made his appearance in federal court for his role in the same bribery scheme. Michael Nathan Cebulla, age 44, of Buffalo, Minnesota, made his initial appearance on charges of Conspiracy to Commit Bribery Concerning Programs Receiving Federal Funds and of Making a Materially False Statement. He made his appearance on May 20, 2021, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno and entered a plea of not guilty. The charges are merely accusations, and Cebulla is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. He was released pending trial.
Each offense carries the following maximum penalties: five years of imprisonment; a $250,000 fine; or both fine and imprisonment; 3 years of supervised release following release from custody; $100 special assessment; restitution.
According to court documents, the Dakota Nations Development Corporation (“DNDC”) was an agency of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Sioux Tribe, a tribal government that received federal assistance in excess of $10,000 during the one-year period between October 1, 2017, and September 30, 2018. At that time, Daniel Thomas White served as the Director of the DNDC. White’s duties included, among other things, overseeing housing and construction projects of the DNDC.
DNDC established an entity called the SWO Elderly Village Limited Partnership. The purpose of the entity was to obtain tax credit financing to build an elderly village complex on tribal land. On April 22, 2016, SWO’s tribal council passed a resolution authorizing DNDC to pursue low-income housing tax credits for the elderly village complex. The tribe also committed nearly $3,000,000 to the project.
Cebulla, Trio, and John German formed a business on December 15, 2016, called Tatanka Contracting. On October 27, 2017, DNDC contracted with Tatanka Contracting to do the earthwork associated with the elderly village project. The contract was for a guaranteed price of $1,070,740, although a change order increased the total of the contract to $1,129,679.
To secure the dirt work contract, German bribed White and White accepted the bribe. Specifically, in November 2017, German corruptly gave, offered, and agreed to give money to Daniel Thomas White, intending to influence and reward White, who was an agent of the DNDC, in connection with a transaction and series of transactions of the DNDC involving $5,000 or more.
White and German pleaded guilty to their roles in the bribery scheme last year. White will be sentenced by Judge Kornmann on September 27, 2021, and German was sentenced in October 2020 to 84 months in federal custody.
The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy R. Jehangiri prosecuted the case.
The case was brought pursuant to The Guardians Project, a federal law enforcement initiative to coordinate efforts between participating agencies, to promote citizen disclosure of public corruption, fraud, and embezzlement involving federal program funds, contracts, and grants, and to hold accountable those who are responsible for adversely affecting those living in South Dakota’s Indian country communities. The Guardians Project is another step of federal law enforcement’s on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination, and positive action on behalf of tribal communities. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the participating agencies include: Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Offices of Inspector General for the Departments of Interior, Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Agriculture, Transportation, Education, Justice, and Housing and Urban Development; Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division; U.S. Postal Inspector Service; U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General.
For additional information about The Guardians Project, please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at (605) 330-4400. To report a suspected crime, please contact law enforcement at the federal agency’s locally listed telephone number.
Clinton Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Clinton, Missouri, man who was identified and arrested on the same day he shared live video and images of his sexual assault of a toddler with an undercover officer was sentenced in federal court today for producing child pornography.
Gino Alexander Maiorano, 26, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 25 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Maiorano to spend the rest of his life on supervised release following incarceration.
On June 23, 2020, Maiorano pleaded guilty to one count of producing child pornography. Maiorano admitted that he used a 2-year-old victim to produce child pornography on April 12, 2019.
An FBI task force officer in Washington, D.C., acting in an undercover capacity, communicated with Maiorano in an online Kik chat group in April 2019. Maiorano sent two sexually explicit photos and a video of the child victim to the undercover officer on April 12, 2019. The photos and video were shot live during the time Maiorano was chatting with the undercover officer. Investigators immediately began working to identify Maiorano and rescue the child victim.
Emergency disclosure requests were sent to Kik, which led to the identification of a family member of Maiorano. Investigators searching social media accounts found a photograph of a kitchen area that matched the kitchen area depicted in a photograph sent by Maiorano to the undercover agent. Another emergency query to Maiorano’s cell phone provider indicated he had been using his phone at the time he sent the video and images of child pornography to the undercover agent.
Officers arrested Maiorano at his residence on the same day. Officers seized his phone, which contained another video of child pornography involving a different child victim.
This case was prosecuted by Acting U.S. Attorney Teresa A. Moore and Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Barnes. It was investigated by the FBI, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, and the Clinton, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
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 the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
California Man Is Sentenced to 12 Years for Trafficking MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced David Alexander Moralez, Jr., 37, of Fresno, California, to 12 years in prison and five years of supervised release for drug trafficking conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and distribution of methamphetamine, announced William T. Stetzer, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. A federal jury convicted Moralez of the charges in November 2020.
According to evidence presented at trial, other court documents, and statements made in court, Moralez, who worked at a shipping company in Fresno, conspired with other drug traffickers to ship numerous parcels, each filled with multiple pounds of methamphetamine, from Fresno to various locations throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, via the U.S. Postal Service and FedEx. As trial evidence established, two pounds of the shipped methamphetamine was further distributed and subsequently seized by law enforcement in December 2018, in Newton, N.C. and Hickory, N.C. Court records also show that members of the drug conspiracy used Walmart-to-Walmart transfers and Wells Fargo bank deposits to send proceeds back to California.
Judge Bell previously sentenced to prison three of Moralez’s co-defendants for their involvement in the conspiracy:
- Chha Chham, 43, of Mooresville, N.C., was sentenced to 20 years in prison and five years of supervised release.
- Kong Sayavong, 40, of Visalia, California, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release
- Hannah Olivia Secrest, 23, of Morganton, N.C., was sentenced to three years in prison and three years of supervised release.
The defendants were convicted as part of an ongoing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. According to court documents, since 2015, more than 200 individuals have been prosecuted and law enforcement has seized in excess of 200 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, $1 million in U.S. currency and other assets, and several dozens of firearms. 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.
In making today’s announcement Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer thanked the following agencies for their investigative efforts which led to the prosecution of this case: ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Charlotte; HSI in Greenville and Nashville; the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Charlotte Field Office; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Charlotte; the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office; the Burke County Sheriff’s Office; the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office; the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office; the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office; the Davie County Sheriff’s Office; the Johnson County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office; the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office; the Rutherford County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office; the Boone Police Department; the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department; the Gaston County Police Department; the Gastonia Police Department; the Hickory Police Department; the Huntersville Police Department; the Longview Police Department; the Morganton Department of Public Safety; the Mooresville Police Department; the Newton Police Department; and the Troutman Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven R. Kaufman, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
California Executive Sentenced in College Admissions CaseRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A California insurance and private equity executive was sentenced today in connection with using fraud and bribery to cheat on the ACT exam on behalf of his daughter.
Mark Hauser, 60, of Los Angeles, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to two months in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 and 300 hours of community service. In September 2020, Hauser pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.
Hauser agreed with William “Rick” Singer to pay an amount, ultimately totaling $40,000, to facilitate cheating on his daughter’s ACT exam. As part of the scheme, co-conspirator Mark Riddell traveled to Houston, Texas, where Hauser’s daughter took the exam and purported to proctor the test. Instead, Riddell corrected the answers on the exam after she completed it. Two days later, Singer paid an intermediary, Martin Fox, $25,000, with the understanding that Fox would pass part of the payment on to Niki Williams, the test site administrator who allowed the cheating to occur. Singer also paid Riddell $10,000 for his role in the scheme.
Singer and Riddell have previously pleaded guilty and are cooperating with the government’s investigation. In November 2020, Fox was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to three months in prison and in December 2020 Williams was sentenced by Judge Talwani to one year of probation.
Case information, including the status of each defendant, charging documents and plea agreements are available here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/investigations-college-admissions-and-testing-bribery-scheme.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Ramsey E. Covington, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston; and Mark Deckett, Resident Agent in Charge of the Department of Education, Office of Inspector General made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin D. O’Connell, Leslie A. Wright, Kristen A. Kearney, Stephen E. Frank and Karin M. Bell of Mendell’s Criminal Division prosecuted the case.
The details contained in the court documents are allegations and the remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Bronx, New York, Man Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute Heroin and Fentanyl from a Bronx Drug MillRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Bronx, New York, man was sentenced today to 46 months in prison for participating in a conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl from a drug mill in the Bronx to locations in New Jersey, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Jose Antonio Vasquez Pena, a/k/a “Tono,” 48, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to an indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing fentanyl. Judge Salas imposed the sentence by videoconference today. Dilson Vazquez Genao, 23, Eddie Urena Rodriguez, 35, and Francisco Mercedes Gil, 31, also of the Bronx, New York, pleaded guilty before Judge Salas to the same charges in September 2019. Daury Contreras Ulerio, 34, previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced in March 2020.
Two other individuals – Jhan Carlos Capellan Maldonado, 31, and Reimon Genao Rosario, 23 – were indicted on the same charge as Pena in August 2019. Their cases are pending.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In early February 2019, law enforcement officers learned that Maldonado used an apartment in the Bronx to store, mix, and package heroin and fentanyl in distribution quantities. Pena stayed at the apartment in order to safeguard the narcotics and narcotics supplies. Maldonado employed approximately five workers at a time—including Rodriguez, Ulerio, Rosario, Gil, and Genao—to assist in preparing the heroin and fentanyl for distribution, which Maldonado then distributed to customers in New Jersey.
On Feb. 25, 2019, law enforcement officers saw Maldonado drive to a retail store and emerge with several full shopping bags and then drive to the apartment. Genoa came out of the building and met with Maldonado, who got out of his vehicle and gave Genoa the plastic shopping bags. Through its investigation, law enforcement later learned that the plastic shopping bags contained materials to package heroin and fentanyl.
Genoa went back inside the building and was followed by law enforcement officers, who watched as Genoa entered Maldonado’s apartment with a key, still carrying the shopping bags. On Feb. 27, 2019, law enforcement searched Maldonado’s apartment and found seven individuals inside, including Rodriguez, Ulerio, Rosario, Gil, Maldonado, Pena, and Genao. All seven defendants attempted to escape out a window, but all but one – Rosario – were apprehended and arrested by law enforcement officers waiting outside. Rosario was arrested at a later date. Law enforcement recovered nearly a kilogram of fentanyl from the apartment, along with materials to grind and package fentanyl for distribution.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)’s New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jason J. Molina in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason S. Gould, Acting Chief of the Violent Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charge and allegations against Maldonado and Rosario are merely accusations, and those defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Baton Rouge Woman Charged with Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft in Connection with Fraudulent Scheme to Obtain Unemployment BenefitsRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury recently returned a seven-count indictment charging Shawnda Rochelle Augustus, age 39, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for allegedly obtaining and attempting to obtain unemployment benefits following the floods of 2016 and pandemic unemployment benefits in 2020. Augustus appeared for her arraignment and pled not guilty to the pending charges.
In August 2016, the President issued a major disaster declaration for portions of Louisiana devastated by historic flooding. The declaration authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide federal funds for disaster relief programs, including disaster unemployment benefits to those who could no longer work as a result of the floods. In March 2020, the President declared a national emergency as a result of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, and signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act. The CARES Act was designed to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by providing emergency assistance for individuals, including new types of unemployment benefits for those individuals who were not longer employed as a result of the pandemic. In Louisiana, both the disaster unemployment assistance (DUA) and pandemic unemployment assistance (PUA) programs were administered by the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC). In other states, the PUA program is administered by the state’s unemployment insurance agency.
According to the indictment, following the floods of 2016, Augustus engaged in a scheme to defraud and to obtain money from FEMA by submitting fraudulent applications for DUA benefits to the LWC, both in her own name, and in the names of other victims, without their knowledge or consent. As a result of these submissions, Augustus received or attempted to receive approximately $244,036 in fraudulent DUA benefits.
The indictment further alleges that Augustus engaged in multi-state fraud scheme to obtain PUA benefits to which she was not entitled. Specifically, Augustus submitted fraudulent applications for PUA benefits in Louisiana, and in multiple other states, including Arizona, Georgia, Tennessee, Hawaii, and Nebraska, among others. Augustus also obtained the personal identifying information of victims, including names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. Using these stolen identities, Augustus submitted fraudulent applications for PUA benefits in the names of those victims in multiple states. According to the indictment, Augustus received approximately $123,908 in false claims for PUA benefits. Once the funds were transmitted, Augustus allegedly withdrew the funds as cash, or used the funds to pay for hotels, airline tickets, and purchases at restaurants and retail stores.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Department of Labor is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristen L. Craig.
NOTE: An indictment is an accusation by a grand jury. The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless adjudicated guilty at trial or through a guilty plea.
Bank Julius Baer Agrees to Pay More than $79 Million for Laundering Money in FIFA ScandalRead the Press Release
Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd. (BJB or the Bank), a Swiss bank with international operations, has admitted today in federal court in Brooklyn that it conspired to launder over $36 million in bribes through the United States to soccer officials with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and other soccer federations, in furtherance of a scheme in which sports marketing companies bribed soccer officials in exchange for broadcasting rights to soccer matches. The proceeding was held before U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen.
The Bank made these admissions and entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the department in connection with a criminal information filed today in the Eastern District of New York charging the Bank with conspiring to commit money laundering. As part of this agreement, the Bank has agreed to pay more than $79 million in penalties (including a fine of $43,320,000 and forfeiture of $36,368,400) to resolve the investigation into its involvement in a money laundering conspiracy that fueled this international soccer bribery scheme.
Jorge Luis Arzuaga, a former BJB relationship manager who worked in the Bank’s Montevideo, Uruguay, and Zurich, Switzerland, offices pleaded guilty in June 2017 for his role in this conspiracy and was sentenced in November 2020. That case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen of the Eastern District of New York, as is this case.
“Today’s resolution sends a strong message to all banks and other financial institutions that if they knowingly misuse our financial system to hide their clients’ criminal proceeds or to promote a corrupt scheme, they will be held to account,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “From the time of the first FIFA-related indictment, the department has promised to hold accountable the financial institutions involved in this global criminal scheme. We are delivering on that promise.”
“BJB and its employees facilitated bribes and its compliance department turned a blind eye to glaring red flags of money laundering,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Mark J. Lesko for the Eastern District of New York. “This office will hold accountable those corporations or individuals that use the American banking system for corrupt ends. As today’s resolution makes clear, financial institutions that become complicit in their clients’ efforts to launder illicit funds face significant penalties.”
“Bank Julius Baer pursued the profit it could make laundering corrupt funds derived from a criminal scheme run by powerful FIFA officials,” said Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. of the FBI’s New York Field Office. “Their behavior has earned them the equivalent of a red card, and the money the bank now owes the U.S. government is more than double what it admits to laundering. The FBI operates globally with our international partners, and our message to those who may be looking to profit from similar schemes – the penalties for this type of play are steep. Stay within the rules.”
“Bank Julius Baer aided corrupt FIFA officials in laundering over $36 million,” said Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Korner of the IRS-Criminal Investigation. “Banking officials that are a conduit for criminal activity undermine their own profession and the health of our financial system. The Bank's admissions show that IRS-Criminal Investigation will relentlessly pursue corruption across borders, including financial institutions that facilitate or conceal criminal activity. This should put other banks on notice that aiding in corruption will cost you millions.”
According to admissions in the publicly-filed statement of facts, from approximately February 2013 to May 2015, BJB, through Arzuaga, conspired with sports marketing executives — including Alejandro Burzaco, the controlling executive of Torneos y Competencias S.A. (Torneos), a sports media and marketing company headquartered in Argentina — to launder through the United States at least $36 million in bribes to soccer officials in exchange for broadcasting rights to soccer matches. BJB conspired to execute these illegal transactions through accounts at the Bank to conceal the true nature of the payments and promote the fraud. Burzaco pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and other offenses in November 2015 in connection with his involvement in paying bribes to soccer officials.
For example, Burzaco and co-conspirators agreed to pay approximately $30 million to the senior vice president of FIFA, who was also the president of the Asociación del Fútbol Argentina, for his support in the award of regional broadcasting rights to the 2018, 2022, 2026 and 2030 editions of the World Cup. As part of the conspiracy, BJB, through Arzuaga, transferred approximately $25 million of this money into a sub-account at the Bank and held it there for this senior FIFA official.
Torneos and its co-conspirators also agreed to pay tens of millions of dollars in bribes to several officials of the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL) — all of whom were also FIFA officials — for the rights to the Copa América tournament (including the 2015, 2019 and 2023 editions of the tournament and the 2016 Copa América Centenario, a commemorative centennial edition of the tournament played at stadiums across the United States). The officials who were to receive bribes included, among others, Eugenio Figueredo, a member of FIFA’s executive committee and former president of both CONMEBOL and the Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol, the Uruguayan soccer federation; Marco Polo Del Nero, another member of FIFA’s executive committee and a former president of the Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF), the Brazilian soccer federation; and José Maria Marin, a member of multiple FIFA standing committees and another former president of the CBF.
Burzaco and Torneos also paid bribes through BJB to numerous CONMEBOL officials in furtherance of a scheme to obtain the broadcasting rights to the Copa Libertadores tournament. In addition to the aforementioned soccer officials, bribes were also paid to, among others, Juan Ángel Napout, who served as a FIFA Vice President, a member of FIFA’s Executive Committee, and president of CONMEBOL and Romer Osuna, a member of the FIFA audit and compliance committee and former treasurer of CONMEBOL.
At the time of the conduct, BJB’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) controls failed to detect or prevent money laundering transactions related to the bribery schemes. Had Arzuaga’s supervisors or compliance personnel meaningfully reviewed Arzuaga’s due diligence on Torneos and his responses to transaction alerts, they would have known there were multiple, significant red flags, including facially false contracts, payments to third parties at the direction of a FIFA official, and services purportedly rendered by shell corporations — all of which would have alerted the Bank to the bribery, money laundering or other illegal activity.
According to BJB’s admissions, the Bank knew that Arzuaga’s clients’ accounts were associated with international soccer, which was generally understood to involve high corruption risks. Nevertheless, a BJB executive directed the opening of these accounts be fast tracked in the hope that these clients would provide lucrative business.
As outlined in the deferred prosecution agreement, the department reached this resolution with BJB based on a number of factors, including BJB’s failure to voluntarily disclose the conduct to the department; the nature and seriousness of the conduct including that the Bank played an essential role in this scheme for over two years; and the bank’s prior criminal history. BJB did not receive any cooperation credit because it made misleading representations about relevant facts in the case, which had the effect of hindering the department’s investigation, and it did not come forward with all evidence pertaining to the involvement of senior management. However, the Bank received some credit for its significant effort to remediate its compliance program. Accordingly, the total criminal penalty reflects a five percent reduction off the bottom of the applicable U.S. Sentencing Guidelines fine range.
The agreement announced today is part of an investigation led by the FBI’s New York Field Office and the IRS-Criminal Investigation’s Los Angeles Field Office.
Trial Attorney Christian J. Nauvel of the Bank Integrity Unit of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Howard Elbert, Samuel P. Nitze and Brian D. Morris of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York prosecuted the case. Former MLARS Trial Attorney Michael P. Grady of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the Swiss Federal Office of Justice, and the Swiss Office of the Attorney General provided significant assistance in this matter.
MLARS’s Bank Integrity Unit investigates and prosecutes banks and other financial institutions, including their officers, managers and employees, whose actions threaten the integrity of the individual institution or the wider financial system.
Bank Julius Baer Admits Laundering over $36 Million in Bribes in FIFA CaseRead the Press Release
BROOKLYN, NY – Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd. (“BJB” or “the Bank”), a Swiss bank with international operations, admitted today in federal court in Brooklyn that it conspired to launder over $36 million in bribes through the United States to soccer officials with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and other soccer federations. These bribes were in furtherance of a scheme in which sports marketing companies bribed soccer officials in exchange for broadcasting rights to soccer matches. The proceeding was held before United States District Judge Pamela K. Chen.
The Bank has entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the government in connection with a criminal information filed today in the Eastern District of New York charging the Bank with conspiring to commit money laundering. As part of this agreement, the Bank has agreed to pay more than $79 million in penalties (including a fine of $43,320,000 and forfeiture of $36,368,400) to resolve the investigation into its involvement in a money laundering conspiracy that fueled this international soccer bribery scheme.
Jorge Luis Arzuaga, a former BJB relationship manager who worked in the Bank’s Montevideo, Uruguay and Zurich, Switzerland offices, pleaded guilty in June 2017 for his role in this conspiracy and was sentenced by Judge Chen to three years’ probation in November 2020.
Mark J. Lesko, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Nicholas L. McQuaid, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Ryan L. Korner, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Los Angeles Field Office (IRS CI), announced the agreement.
“BJB and its employees facilitated bribes and its compliance department turned a blind eye to glaring red flags of money laundering,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Lesko. “This Office will hold accountable those corporations or individuals that use the American banking system for corrupt ends. As today’s resolution makes clear, financial institutions that become complicit in their clients’ efforts to launder illicit funds face significant penalties.”
“Today’s resolution sends a strong message to all banks and other financial institutions that if they knowingly misuse our financial system to hide their clients’ criminal proceeds or to promote a corrupt scheme, they will be held to account,” stated Acting Assistant Attorney General McQuaid. “From the time of the first FIFA-related indictment, the Department has promised to hold accountable the financial institutions involved in this global criminal scheme. We are delivering on that promise.”
"Bank Julius Baer pursued the profit it could make laundering corrupt funds derived from a criminal scheme run by powerful FIFA officials,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “Their behavior has earned them the equivalent of a red card, and the money the bank now owes the U.S. government is more than double what it admits to laundering. The FBI operates globally with our international partners, and our message to those who may be looking to profit from similar schemes is simple – the penalties for this type of play are steep. Stay within the rules.”
“Bank Julius Baer aided corrupt FIFA officials in laundering over $36 million. Banking officials that are a conduit for criminal activity undermine their own profession and the health of our financial system,” stated IRS CI Special Agent-in-Charge Korner. “The Bank's admissions show that IRS Criminal Investigation will relentlessly pursue corruption across borders, including financial institutions that facilitate or conceal criminal activity. This should put other banks on notice that aiding in corruption will cost you millions.”
According to admissions in the statement of facts, from approximately February 2013 to May 2015, BJB, through Arzuaga, conspired with sports marketing executives—including Alejandro Burzaco, the controlling executive of Torneos y Competencias, S.A. (Torneos), a sports media and marketing company headquartered in Argentina—and others, to launder through the United States at least $36,368,400 in bribes paid to soccer officials in exchange for broadcasting rights to soccer matches. BJB conspired to execute these illegal transactions through accounts at the Bank to conceal the true nature of the payments and promote the fraud. Burzaco pleaded guilty in November 2015 to racketeering conspiracy and other offenses in connection with his involvement in paying bribes to soccer officials.
For example, Burzaco and co-conspirators agreed to pay approximately $30 million to the senior vice president of FIFA, who was also the president of the Asociación del Fútbol Argentina, for his support in the award of regional broadcasting rights to the 2018, 2022, 2026 and 2030 editions of the World Cup. As part of the money laundering conspiracy, BJB, through Arzuaga, transferred approximately $25 million of this money into a sub-account at the Bank and held it there for this senior FIFA official.
Torneos and its co-conspirators also agreed to pay tens of millions of dollars in bribes to several officials of the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL)—all of whom were also FIFA officials—for the rights to the Copa América tournament (including the 2015, 2019, and 2023 editions of the tournament, and the 2016 Copa América Centenario, a commemorative centennial edition of the tournament played at stadiums across the United States). The officials who were to receive bribes included, among others: Eugenio Figueredo, a member of FIFA’s executive committee and former president of both CONMEBOL and the Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol, the Uruguayan soccer federation; Marco Polo Del Nero, another member of FIFA’s executive committee and a former president of the Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (“CBF”), the Brazilian soccer federation; and José Maria Marin, a member of multiple FIFA standing committees, and another former president of the CBF.
Burzaco and Torneos also paid bribes through BJB to numerous CONMEBOL officials in furtherance of a scheme to obtain the broadcasting rights to the Copa Libertadores tournament. In addition to the aforementioned soccer officials, bribes were also paid to, among others: Juan Ángel Napout, who served as a FIFA Vice President, a member of FIFA’s Executive Committee, and president of CONMEBOL, and Romer Osuna, a member of the FIFA audit and compliance committee and former treasurer of CONMEBOL.
At the time of the conduct, BJB’s Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) controls failed to detect or prevent money laundering transactions related to the soccer bribery schemes. Had Arzuaga’s supervisors or compliance personnel meaningfully reviewed Arzuaga’s due diligence on Torneos and his responses to transaction alerts, they would have known there were multiple, significant red flags, including facially false contracts, payments to third parties at the direction of a FIFA official, and services purportedly rendered by shell corporations—all of which would have alerted the Bank to the bribery, money laundering, or other illegal activity.
According to BJB’s admissions, the Bank knew that Arzuaga’s clients’ accounts were associated with international soccer, which was generally understood to involve high corruption risks. Nevertheless, a BJB executive directed the opening of these accounts be fast-tracked in the hope that these clients would provide lucrative business.
As outlined in the agreement, the Department reached this resolution with BJB based on a number of factors, including BJB’s failure to voluntarily disclose the conduct to the Department; the nature and seriousness of the conduct, including that the bank played an essential role in this scheme for over two years; and the bank’s prior criminal history. BJB did not receive any cooperation credit because it made misleading representations about relevant facts in the case, which had the effect of hindering the Department’s investigation, and it did not come forward with all evidence pertaining to the involvement of senior management. However, the Bank received some credit for its significant efforts to remediate its compliance program. Accordingly, the total criminal penalty reflects a five percent reduction off the bottom of the applicable U.S. sentencing guidelines fine range.
The agreement announced today is part of an investigation led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the FBI’s New York Field Office and the IRS-CI’s Los Angeles Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Howard Elbert, Samuel P. Nitze and Brian D. Morris of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Trial Attorney Christian J. Nauvel of the Bank Integrity Unit in the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) prosecuted the case. Assistant United States Attorney Michael P. Grady of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia (former MLARS attorney), the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the Swiss Federal Office of Justice, and the Swiss Office of the Attorney General provided significant assistance in this matter.
The Defendant:
BANK JULIUS BAER & CO. LTD.
Zurich, Switzerland
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-CR-273 (PKC)Arkansas Woman Pleads Guilty to Unemployment Benefits FraudRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Deborah Shannell Hollimon, 44, of West Memphis, Arkansas, pleaded guilty today to committing mail fraud in connection with California state unemployment insurance benefits, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, from September 2012 through September 2015, Hollimon and others filed over 100 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims with the California Employment Development Department (EDD) seeking approximately $882,991 using fictitious businesses. Hollimon created fictitious employers with EDD and then submitted information to EDD reporting fake employees for the businesses. Almost all, of the individuals reported as employees of the companies were actually victims of identity theft. Hollimon subsequently filed unemployment claims in her own name and in the names of the fake employees in order to collect the benefits. Approximately $569,168 in fraudulent benefits was paid out by EDD.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and the California Employment Development Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shea J. Kenny is prosecuting the case.
Hollimon is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley on Aug. 19. Hollimon faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Anchorage Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Attempted Child Sexual ExploitationRead the Press Release
ANCHORAGE – An Anchorage man was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Sharon L. Gleason to 10 years in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for the attempted sexual exploitation, coercion and enticement of a minor.
According to evidence presented at trial, detectives assigned to the Anchorage Police Department (APD) Crimes Against Children Unit (CACU) received a report that Eric Larsen, 51, solicited a 13-year-old girl for oral sex and had exposed himself to her.
APD detectives assumed the identity of the girl and continued to communicate with him. Larsen used text messages and phone calls to negotiate a time and place to meet with the girl, for the purpose of engaging in sexual intercourse. On February 14, 2019, Larsen arrived at a prearranged location. Instead of meeting the girl, Larsen was met by APD officers and arrested. At the time of his arrest, Larsen was found to be in possession of condoms, personal lubricant, a vibrator, methamphetamine, a glass pipe and a loaded handgun.
“Child sexual exploitation is a serious problem in our community, but thanks to the dedication of skilled investigators and coordination between local, state and federal law enforcement partners offenders like Mr. Larsen should know that they will be brought to justice,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bryan Wilson of the District of Alaska.
The Anchorage Police Department conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Alexander and James Klugman prosecuted the case.
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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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Alaska Defendant Pleads Guilty for Threatening Los Angeles SynagogueRead the Press Release
An Alaska defendant pleaded guilty today to making threats to a synagogue and attempting to obstruct the free exercise of religious beliefs in Los Angeles, California.
On May 5, William Alexander, 50, of Anchorage, Alaska, entered a guilty plea before U.S. District Court Judge Matthew McCrary Scoble to an indictment charging them with one count of making threatening interstate communications and one count of intentionally obstructing and attempting to obstruct persons in the enjoyment of their free exercise of religious beliefs through the threatened use of force.
According to information presented at the guilty plea hearing, on Nov. 1, 2019, while in Anchorage, Alexander used their cellular phone to call a Los Angeles area synagogue. Alexander left a voice message stating that they were going to kill the synagogue’s congregants, while repeatedly using slurs referring to people of Jewish faith. Alexander intended the voice message to be viewed as a threat. At the plea hearing, Alexander admitted committing this act with the intent to obstruct the synagogue’s congregants from enjoying the free exercise of their religious beliefs. Alexander’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 23.
“One of the greatest truths about our nations is that everyone has the right to be free from threats of violence because of their religious beliefs,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Those individuals who are driven by hate to violate that right will be brought to justice. The defendant’s conviction in this case sends a strong message that hate crimes will not be tolerated in our free society.”
“For centuries, religious freedom has been a pillar of American society and a beacon for those persecuted for their faith,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bryan Wilson for the District of Alaska. “We are committed to protecting this freedom and individuals or groups who threaten it will be held accountable for their actions. Violence and intimidation are abhorrent and have no place in this country.”
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Anchorage Field Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonas Walker of the District of Alaska and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Sanjay Patel.
17 Defendants Charged in Drug Trafficking Probe Targeting Heroin and Cocaine Sales in ChicagoRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A joint federal and local drug trafficking investigation has resulted in federal charges against 17 individuals for distributing or attempting to distribute heroin and cocaine in Chicago.
During the multi-year probe, dubbed “Operation Tragic Blow,” law enforcement seized multiple kilograms of heroin and cocaine, including a 14-kilogram cocaine seizure in Chicago’s Belmont Cragin neighborhood and a two-kilogram heroin seizure in a high-rise apartment building in Chicago’s Buena Park neighborhood. The joint federal and local investigation, led by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations and the Chicago Police Department, utilized extensive undercover and covert surveillance operations to shut down the defendants’ drug trafficking activities.
Many of the 17 federal defendants were arrested Wednesday and have begun making initial appearances in U.S. District Court in Chicago. In addition to the 17 federal defendants, two other individuals were charged in state court as part of this investigation.
The federal charges were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Angie Salazar, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of HSI; and David Brown, Superintendent of CPD. Substantial assistance was provided by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron Bond, Erin Kelly, and Brian Kerwin represent the government.
This investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.
Charged with a federal drug offense are: YARNELL ALLEN, 41, of Dolton, Ill.; ULISES AVINA, 32, of Chicago; OSCAR BALDERAMA, 42, of Chicago; CELESTINO BARAHONA-SERRANO, 38, of Chicago; DIEGO GALEANA-GONZAGA, 35, of Mexico; MARGARITO GALEANA-GOMEZ, 36, of Mexico; JOSE GONZAGA, 58, of Chicago; RAFAEL MEDELLIN, JR., 32, of Chicago; RICHARD C. RINCON, 39, of Oak Lawn, Ill.; JUAN ROSAS-CABRERA, 31, of Mexico; SERGIO SANCHEZ-CHAVEZ, 36, of Mexico; FRANCISCO SANCHEZ-YANEZ, 32, of Chicago; ANTONIO SEGURA, 39, of Oak Lawn, Ill.; JORGE A. VALDEZ, 40, of Chicago; VIRGINIA VAZQUEZ-PEREZ, 37, of Cicero, Ill.; DELVIN WILLIAMS, 42, of Chicago; and RAFAEL ZARCO-PICAZO, 33, of Chicago.
According to criminal complaints unsealed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Zarco-Picazo sold distribution levels of cocaine to Jorge Valdez, who in turn re-sold it in smaller quantities to customers in Chicago. Law enforcement on Jan. 30, 2021, seized 14 kilograms of cocaine from Zarco-Picazo’s Nissan Z sedan, which was parked at a residence in the 2300 block of North Menard Avenue in Chicago, the charges allege. The cocaine was packed into several bricks and hidden behind a speaker console, the complaint states.
The complaint also describes the heroin seizure in the high-rise apartment building in the 4200 block of North Marine Drive in Chicago. Galeana-Gomez and Gonzaga had allegedly conspired to sell nearly two kilograms of heroin to an undercover law enforcement officer and an individual who was surreptitiously cooperating with law enforcement. On the afternoon of Sept. 17, 2020, Gonzaga attempted to sell the heroin, which was wrapped in two vacuum-sealed bricks, to the undercover officer and the cooperating individual in the building’s underground parking garage. Law enforcement arrested Gonzaga and then searched two apartments on the 27th-floor of the building, where they discovered supplies used to package narcotics, including a heat sealer, vacuum sealer rolls, and a digital scale, the complaint states.
Other alleged illicit transactions cited in the charges include a two-kilogram cocaine deal on April 30, 2020, involving Segura and Allen behind a residence in the 6100 block of South Talman Avenue in Chicago’s Chicago Lawn neighborhood, and a kilogram of heroin distributed by Galeana-Gonzaga in two separate deliveries – 720 grams to Williams at an apartment building in the Chicago suburb of Brookfield, and 280 grams to Vazquez-Perez in a vehicle in the 2900 block of North Cicero Avenue in Chicago’s Belmont Cragin neighborhood.
The public is reminded that a complaint contains only charges and 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. If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Wednesday 26 May 2021
Zachary Man Sentenced to 200 Months in Federal Prison for Gun and Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Ellison C. Travis announced that U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles sentenced Eddie Darnell Jones, Sr., age 47, of Zachary, Louisiana, to 200 months in federal prison following his convictions for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The Court further sentenced Jones to serve four years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment and ordered that the firearm involved be forfeited.
According to admissions made as part of his guilty plea, on March 8, 2019, deputies with the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office initiated a traffic stop of a Mercedes-Benz C240, in the Banks Town area of Baton Rouge. At the time of the stop, Jones was the driver and registered owner of the vehicle. As the deputies made contact with the vehicle’s occupants, they smelled marijuana emanating from the vehicle and observed a digital scale and clear plastic baggie containing what appeared to be four Xanax pills, in plain view on top of the center console. Jones was immediately advised of his Miranda rights and detained.
During a subsequent search of Jones’ vehicle, the deputies recovered a loaded, SCCY CPX-2, 9mm handgun, found on the driver’s floorboard; more than $20,000 in small denominations of cash in various locations throughout the vehicle; and distribution quantities of methamphetamine and marijuana. The deputies also found numerous clear plastic sandwich bags throughout the vehicle. Following the search, Jones admitted that everything found in the vehicle, including the aforementioned firearm, belonged to him.
Prior to possessing the firearm, Jones was convicted in East Baton Rouge Parish in 2016 of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, MDMA, cocaine, and alprazolam, and one count of attempted possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Additionally, Jones had several other prior felony convictions in the 19th and 20th Judicial District Courts for the State of Louisiana.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ellison Travis stated, “This conviction and sentence of a repeat offender reaffirms our commitment to fight violence by investigating, arresting, and prosecuting convicted criminals who decide to illegally possess firearms and sell drugs. Great credit goes to our partnership with local authorities for this result. I want to thank our prosecutor, the ATF, and the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office for their work on this case.”
“The sentence imposed today sends a message to repeat offenders, like Eddie Darnell Jones, Sr., who are prohibited from possessing firearms that they will be held accountable for their actions,” said ATF New Orleans Field Division Special Agent in Charge Kurt Thielhorn. “The collaborative effort of federal and local law enforcement in Baton Rouge, including the U.S. Attorney’s Office, has ultimately made our community safer.”
This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Caroline Gardner.
West Virginia and Detroit residents indicted for drug trafficking operationRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Doriawn Eduane-Draphel Rogers, of Detroit, Michigan, appeared in federal court today after being charged with 10 others in a drug conspiracy, Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced.
Eleven people were indicted in April 2021 and charged with an alleged drug conspiracy that distributed methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl from December 2019 to August 2020 in Marion County and elsewhere. Those charged are:
• Kevin Lawrence Jarrett, also known as “Six,” 30, of Detroit, Michigan
• Lamarr Devaughn Charleston, 43, of Detroit, Michigan
• Derek David Henderson, 41, of Detroit, Michigan
• Mariah Yaray Barber, 33, of Detroit, Michigan
• Justin Paul Thompson, 37, of Fairmont, West Virginia
• Shawn Harper Warren, also known as “S.J.,” 23, of Detroit, Michigan
• Leroy Raymund Charleston, 38, of Detroit, Michigan
• Kaemon Bernard-Donyell King, also known as “Twin,” 19, of Detroit, Michigan
• William D. Charleston, also known as “Jay,” 41, of Detroit, Michigan
• Doriawn Eduane-Draphel Rogers, 20, of Detroit, Michigan
• Nathaniel Lee Williams, also known as “Sticks,” 63, of Fairmont, West VirginiaThey are accused of distributing the controlled substances, sometimes near public housing, schools, and parks.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon S. Flower is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Three Rivers Drug Task Force and the Fairmont Police Department investigated.
An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. Attorney’s Office and State and Local Partners Announce Expansion of Firearms Prosecution Initiative Targeting Gun Violence in BaltimoreRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Today, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner announced a significant expansion of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s collaborative initiative with state and local law enforcement to prosecute the illegal possession of firearms in Baltimore. The expansion of the initiative, known as Project EXILE, includes state funding to hire additional prosecutors to bring firearms-related offenses in federal court and for a media campaign supporting outreach efforts into Baltimore neighborhoods. This collaborative firearms prosecution initiative brings prosecutors from the Maryland Office of the Attorney General and Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office into the U.S. Attorney’s Office to focus on individuals illegally possessing firearms in Baltimore.
At a press conference today with federal, state and local partners, Acting U.S. Attorney Lenzner also announced that, despite the pandemic which resulted in the Grand Jury being cancelled for several months, the U.S. Attorney’s Office charged 73 federal gun possession cases in Baltimore during the 2020 calendar year, and 11 additional firearms cases as of April 30, 2021.
One of the reasons for the success of the program in Baltimore is the use of Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys (SAUSAs) provided by the Maryland Attorney General’s Office and the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City and funded through grants from the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth & Victim Services. These SAUSAs, who almost exclusively handle federal gun and violent crime cases, are force multipliers in the fight against violent crime. In addition to taking the lead in prosecuting violations of federal firearms law arising in Baltimore City, the SAUSAs have also assisted the Baltimore Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) in 31 separate homicide and non-fatal shooting investigations in Baltimore City.
As a result of the number of firearms cases brought in the past year by the unit of SAUSAs, the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, & Victim Services has agreed to fund in Fiscal Year 2022 a total seven Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys to focus on Baltimore gun cases—an increase from FY 2021 of three additional SAUAs.
“Reducing violent crime in Maryland is our number one priority, and we take personally every homicide and non-fatal shooting that occurs in our district,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner. “While we are proud of the work we have done, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, we recognize that we have a long way to go to reduce the gun violence in our communities. In Baltimore, our relentless focus on reducing the gun crime that plagues the City has resulted in more federal gun possession cases charged in 2020 than during the entirety of 2019—and we are continuing to move forward. We are grateful to the Governor for funding the prosecutors that have been an integral part of our violent crime strategy, and to Attorney General Frosh and State’s Attorney Mosby for their partnership in prosecuting gun crimes. We are committed to working with Commissioner Harrison, ATF Special Agent in Charge Jones and their teams to focus on prosecuting the violent offenders who wreak havoc in our communities.”
“Our partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office has enabled us to tap into additional resources to investigate and prosecute violent crime,” said Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh. “It has helped provide justice for victims and a greater measure of safety for communities in our state.”
“Reducing violent crime in the city is a multi-pronged effort that requires strong partnerships,” said Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby. “We are grateful for the collaboration with the US Attorney on gun violence and applaud the office’s commitment to improving public safety for the citizens in Baltimore City.”
“Reducing gun violence in Maryland, especially Baltimore City, is critical for citizens and neighborhoods to be able to grow and thrive. Every day ATF focuses our efforts on identifying criminals who threaten the safety of these communities and each successful prosecution of a felon who violates federal law is one step further in this mission,” said ATF Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Tim Jones. “The additional resources and SAUSAs assigned to the EXILE program will work hand in hand with the cases ATF investigates, expand the success of this partnership, and have a positive impact on the community.”
“The Baltimore Police Department is thankful for the ongoing partnership with our local, state and federal partners in tackling gun violence and reducing violent crime in Baltimore,” said Commissioner Michael Harrison. “Our department will continue to work collaboratively in pursuing those illegally carrying guns in our city and to strengthen cases to ensure that felons who are arrested for gun crimes are held accountable. I look forward to this continued partnership as we work together to create a safer city.”
While the use of federal resources and statutes, which carry significant terms of imprisonment—with no suspended sentences, and no parole—is especially helpful in prosecuting repeat violent offenders with guns, who pose the greatest threat to public safety, we must also reach out to the community to prevent violent crime.
A coalition of federal, state, and local government officials, including the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, and the Baltimore Police Department, are participating in a violence reduction program, I Care Baltimore. I Care Baltimore is a multi-faceted program designed to reduce violent crime by empowering community members, by highlighting programs that are making a difference in the City of Baltimore by offering alternatives to violence, and by increasing awareness of the consequences of federal prosecution for violent repeat offenders. The initiative, funded by a grant to the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) from the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services, builds on our collaborative efforts to remove guns from the hands of criminals.
In addition, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will work with our state and local community partners to coordinate municipal services in communities where enforcement efforts have taken place. To help returning citizens transition back into the community, the United States Attorney’s Office has a comprehensive directory of reentry services across Maryland, which is now standard-issue to federal and state probation and parole agencies. The U.S. Attorney’s Office plans to continue to sponsor job and resource fairs, which bring together a host of social services in one location so that returning citizens can learn about reentry services, obtain IDs, learn about GED and job training opportunities, and access other social services.
The United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners are continuing our efforts to address gun violence by using federal statutes prohibiting felons from possessing firearms. These types of reactive gun cases are one component of Maryland’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (“PSN”), our violent-crime reduction strategy. The United States Attorney’s Office, through the use of Project Safe Neighborhoods, will continue to pursue felons with guns who constitute a clear and present danger to the safety and welfare of the citizens of Maryland.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/priorities and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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U.S. Attorney’s Office Secures Asset for Victims of Four Winds FraudRead the Press Release
SAN ANTONIO – Yesterday U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra granted a motion by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas (USAO) to disburse $171,448.24 plus all accrued interest to the victims of the Four Winds fraud scheme. The proceeds will be applied to defendant Gary Cain’s restitution judgment, concluding three years of litigation over Cain’s only significant asset that was at one time valued at over $1.2 million.
In 2018, the USAO obtained a restraining order to prevent the sale of Cain’s house in Bentley Manor based on its belief that Cain used a sham company to hold title and avoid paying restitution. The USAO alleged that for over a decade Cain had resided in and made all payments for the house while utilizing a series of nominees, trusts, and companies to conceal his ownership interest. Just three weeks prior to Cain’s sentencing in 2018, which would include $6.3 million in restitution owed to eight victims, the home was transferred to a newly created company purportedly managed by Cain’s brother with his two youngest daughters as the beneficial owners. Although several parties contested the order, the Court found that the company was the nominee of Gary Cain earlier this year.
“Our congressional mandate is to pursue restitution orders aggressively, recognizing the impact of crime on victims,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “The tenacity in this case demonstrates our commitment to recovering victim losses and should signal to defendants that cooperation, not concealment, is the preferred approach.”
During the enforcement action, the USAO joined nine other parties, five of which asserted some type of interest in the Bentley Manor house. The parties reached a settlement earlier this month, recognizing only two interests in the property in addition to the U.S.
In February 2018, a jury found Cain and former state senator Carlos Uresti guilty on all charges for their roles in a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors out of millions of dollars after they made false representations in soliciting and later misleading investors concerning their investment into a company called Four Winds Logistics. Prior to trial, co-conspirator and former Four Winds Logistics Chief Executive Officer Stanley P. Bates pleaded guilty to eight separate federal charges including securities fraud and money laundering. The defendants accepted investor funds but used them to pay earlier investors and personal expenses including gifts, travel, luxury automobiles, controlled substances, and to hire prostitutes.
Through its Financial Litigation Unit (FLU), the USAO exercises several remedies to ensure that criminal defendants prioritize compensating their victims. The FLU also litigates against those defendants who hide their assets or refuse to pay.
The USAO and the Department of Justice Tax Division worked together to reach this resolution, culminating with the Court agreeing with the government's motion for summary judgment establishing that the company selling the home was Cain's nominee.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Seward, Todd Keagle and Mark Tindall along with DOJ Tax Attorney Herb Linder handled the post-judgment enforcement proceedings.
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