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28 April 2021
Martin County Registered Sex Offender Detained Pending Federal Trial on Child Exploitation ChargesRead the Press Release
MIAMI – On April 23, 2021, a federal magistrate judge in Ft. Pierce ordered Gernard Keiwon Clark, Sr., 46, of Stuart, Florida, detained pending trial on charges of using an underaged girl to produce child pornography.
According to court records, on August 31, 2020, a report of alleged child abuse led law enforcement officers to Clark, a registered sex offender. A forensic analysis of the SD card of Clark’s cellular telephone showed over 500 sexually explicit photographs and over 40 sexually explicit videos of a particular underaged girl.
An indictment unsealed on April 15, 2021, charges Clark with two counts of producing child pornography, one count of possessing child pornography, and two counts of committing a felony involving a minor by a registered sex offender. If convicted, Clark faces a statutory minimum mandatory sentence of 35 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
FBI Miami -- in particular, FBI Miami’s Child Exploitation Task Force -- investigated this case, Martin County Sheriff’s Office assisted. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rosa C. Rodriguez-Mera is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about the Project Safe Childhood initiative and for information regarding Internet safety, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
An indictment is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-14015.
Manhattan Man Arrested for $5.8 Million Scheme to Defraud Loan Program Intended to Help Small Businesses During COVID-19 PandemicRead the Press Release
Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Eastern Region Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA-OIG”), and Jonathan D. Larsen, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), and Patricia Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Region Office of the Inspector General of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC-OIG”), announced today the unsealing of a criminal complaint charging MARCUS FRAZIER with major fraud against the United States, bank fraud, wire fraud, making false statements, and money laundering, for carrying out a fraudulent scheme to obtain $5.8 million in government-guaranteed loans designed to provide relief to small businesses during the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. FRAZIER was arrested this morning and presented before United States Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein this afternoon.
U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “As alleged, Marcus Frazier sought millions of dollars in unsecured SBA-guaranteed loans for which his businesses did not qualify. Frazier allegedly did this by lying about the number of people employed by his businesses, the salaries they were paid, even that these employees existed. Further, Frazier allegedly used the loan proceeds he did obtain not to pay allowable expenses, but rather, to fund his lavish lifestyle. Now Marcus Frazier stands to learn the true cost of his alleged conduct.”
FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “As alleged, Frazier fraudulently sought approximately $5.8 million in PPP loans through a government program designed to help small businesses continue to pay their employees during the pandemic. Rather than use the proceeds he ultimately secured for this purpose, he used the funds for personal expenses that included luxury hotels and travel. With today’s action, the only place he’ll travel is the courthouse in Lower Manhattan to face justice and the possibility of a lengthy stay in federal prison.”
SBA-OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite said: “Lying to gain access to economic stimulus funds will be met with justice. Greed has no place in SBA’s programs that are intended to provide assistance to the nation’s small businesses struggling with the pandemic challenges. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and pursuit of justice.”
IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge Jonathan D. Larsen said: “Instead of using these vital CARES Act funds to keep his purported businesses afloat, the defendant allegedly drowned himself in luxuries. I applaud the speed with which the federal law enforcement community uncovered these alleged abuses. The arrest today should be an unequivocal message about the consequences that await those engaged in related alleged criminal activities.”
FDIC-OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Patricia Tarasca said: “These charges represent blatant falsehoods, fraud, and other criminal conduct that sought to take advantage of tax dollars meant to help the nation recover from the ongoing pandemic. We appreciate the work of our law enforcement partners on this important case.”
According to the allegations in the Complaint[1] unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other business expenses through the Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”). The PPP allows qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive unsecured SBA-guaranteed loans. PPP loan proceeds must be used by businesses on payroll costs, mortgage interest, rent, and/or utilities, among other specified expenses. Pursuant to the CARES Act, the amount of PPP funds a business is eligible to receive is determined by the number of employees employed by the business and their average payroll costs. Businesses applying for a PPP loan must provide documentation to confirm that they have in the past paid employees the compensation represented in the loan application.
Between in or about May 2020 and in or about April 2021, FRAZIER submitted at least seven applications for PPP loans for various businesses he controlled (collectively, the “Frazier Companies”). These applications relied upon fraudulent statements regarding the number of employees of each business and the amount of payroll involved in each business and were submitted, in many cases, alongside fake bank statements, designed to support FRAZIER’s false statements. These fake bake statements included, among other things, fraudulent account statements for a checking account that showed balances far greater than the account actually held, and depicted payroll withdrawals that never occurred. FRAZIER also submitted lists of employees on the purported payrolls of the Frazier Companies, which included names and Social Security numbers that do not match the records of the Social Security Administration, suggesting that FRAZIER fabricated the employee records. On at least one occasion, FRAZIER also provided documents purporting to show that one of the Frazier Companies had been in existence for approximately 10 years. In truth and in fact, however, the corporate entity had not been registered until on or about July 2020, months after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
FRAZIER sought more than approximately $5.8 million in PPP loans and was awarded at least approximately $2.17 million. A substantial portion of the funds awarded were spent not on payroll for the Frazier Companies but, rather, on FRAZIER’s personal expenses. During the period between on or about June 18, 2020, shortly after his first PPP loan was funded, and on or about April 7, 2021, FRAZIER utilized PPP funds to spend approximately $124,982 on hotels, including more than approximately $88,791 at a luxury hotel located in Miami, Florida. During the same period, FRAZIER spent approximately $63,000 on restaurants and food service, approximately $17,000 on transportation with Uber, approximately $16,519 on airline travel, and approximately $11,000 on clothing. During this same period, FRAZIER collected approximately $21,000 in unemployment benefits.
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FRAZIER, 47, of New York, New York York, is charged in the Complaint with (1) major fraud against the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1031, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; (2) bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison ; (3) wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; (4) making false statements to a bank, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1014, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; (5) making false statements, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; (6) making false statements to the SBA, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 645, which carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison and (7) money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.
Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI, SBA-OIG, IRS-CI, and FDIC-OIG in this case.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Reilly is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint, and the description of the Complaint set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Man suspected in shooting on Crow Indian Reservation appears on assault chargesRead the Press Release
BILLINGS – A man suspected of shooting and wounding a pedestrian from his vehicle in Crow Agency, on the Crow Indian Reservation, had an initial appearance on a criminal complaint today, Acting U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said.
Fabian Cruz Dawes, 31, a transient, is accused by a criminal complaint of assault with a dangerous weapon. If convicted of the most serious crime, Dawes faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan presided. Judge Cavan ordered Dawes detained pending further proceedings.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
In a criminal complaint and affidavit filed in the case, the government alleged that on April 7, near the Teepee Service gas station and a laundromat in Crow Agency, the victim, an adult male, was walking with another person, when Dawes approached in a vehicle and stopped near the victim. The victim approached the driver’s side door and engaged in a short conversation with Dawes. The government further alleged that Dawes fired a single shot at the victim, striking him in the leg. Dawes then drove from the scene. The victim was treated for injuries at the Indian Health Services hospital in Crow Agency.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Suek is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs.
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Local, State, Federal Law Enforcement; Social Service Agencies and Financial Institutions Unite to Raise Awareness of Increased Risk of Elder Fraud Related to Covid-19Read the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – In an effort to raise awareness and prevent the financial exploitation of elders, local, state and federal law enforcement are partnering with social service organizations and financial institutions to train local bank tellers and loan officers to be aware of behaviors that may indicate that an older person could be a victim of financial exploitation. Last week, these organizations conducted a virtual training with banking institutions in Springfield to emphasize the importance of fraud prevention and reporting attempted scams and abuse.
“Increased isolation related to Covid-19 has been identified as a primary cause of a significant increase in the number of older Americans targeted for scams and fraud and of those who fall victim to these crimes,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Doug Quivey. “Fraudsters use the internet and phone to reach vulnerable elder citizens and persuade them to give money to a charitable cause, to someone with whom they’ve developed a romantic connection, to access large winnings through a sweepstakes or lottery, and to pose as government employees who claim the victim owes taxes or social security.”
Sangamon County State’s Attorney Dan Wright stated, “ For a variety of reasons, older citizens may not always be able to protect themselves from the increasing prevalence of financial scams or other exploitation, particularly those who suffer from memory impairment. Older individuals too often become targets for creative fraudsters out to take advantage of the vulnerable. Financial institutions are critical partners in the identification and reporting of crimes against the elderly.”
Signs of financial exploitation include an elder customer’s sudden change in banking activity to include frequent ATM withdrawals, wire transactions, gift cards purchases, or cryptocurrency purchases; a nervous or confused senior on the phone or in the bank; an elder customer who exits and immediately returns to the lobby; and elders who are elusive with details about why and to whom they are sending money or are confused about “missing funds.”
Timely reporting to law enforcement is critical; if a banking transaction related to a fraud is reported within the first 72 hours, law enforcement may be able to stop the transaction and retrieve the money. As time passes, the likelihood of recovering the money decreases.
In addition to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Sangamon County States Attorney’s Office, those who presented training to local banks and credit unions included the Illinois Attorney General’s Office; Senior Services of Central Illinois; and, agents and officers with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Secret Service, and the Springfield Police Department.
If a senior or friend or relative of a senior believes a senior is at risk for imminent danger or financial exploitation, they should call 9-1-1. Reports of financial exploitation and abuse should be reported to the non-emergency number at the Springfield Police Department (217-788-8311.) The Adult Protective Services Hotline number to report elder fraud is 866 800-1409. Elder fraud may also be reported to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office at 800-243-5377. Internet-based fraud should be reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center IC3, https://www.ic3.gov/Home/FileComplaint Useful information about elder frauds and scams is available at www.uspis.gov and www.ftc.gov.
Lewiston Drug Trafficker Sentenced to over 26 YearsRead the Press Release
COEUR D’ALENE – Christopher William Bounds, 38, of Lind, Washington, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 322 months in federal prison, Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr. announced today. Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye also ordered Bounds to serve ten years of supervised release following his prison sentence, pay a $2,400 fine, and ordered the forfeiture of sixteen firearms. In August 2020, a federal jury sitting in Coeur d’Alene convicted Bounds on six federal charges, including conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, unlawful possession of a firearm by a drug addict, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, and for possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Evidence presented during the four-day trial established that Quad Cities Drug Task Force detectives worked with the Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Office to stop Bounds’ vehicle when Bounds was leaving Lewiston, Idaho. Officers searched Bounds’ vehicle and seized two pounds of pure methamphetamine, one pound of heroin, cash, and sixteen loaded firearms. Testimony at trial showed that the drugs were valued at over $32,000. Bounds’ cell phone was also seized and a search revealed that Bounds was a wholesale distributor of methamphetamine and heroin in Idaho and Eastern Washington. The jury also heard evidence that Bounds used an assault rifle for protection when meeting with cartel-level drug traffickers a couple days before the traffic stop. Bounds has multiple felony convictions which prohibit him from possessing firearms.
Multiple law enforcement agencies contributed to the prosecution of this case including the Nez Perce County Prosecutor’s Office, Lewiston Police Department, Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Office, Clarkston Police Department, and Whitman County Sheriff’s Office, who are all part of the Quad Cities Drug Task Force, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, who are not part of the task force but participate with it on a regular basis. The Quad Cities Drug Task Force is a multi-jurisdictional group of law enforcement officers working together to target drug trafficking in Lewiston and Moscow, Idaho, and Clarkston and Pullman, Washington.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
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Leader of Brooklyn Chapter of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters Convicted in Union Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that SALVATORE TAGLIAFERRO, the president of Local 926 chapter of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (the “Union”), was found guilty today in Manhattan federal court of honest services wire fraud, conversion of union assets, and conspiracy, in connection with his involvement in a scheme to solicit cash bribes from hundreds of prospective members in exchange for union membership. The jury convicted TAGLIAFERRO today following a one-week trial before U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty. TAGLIAFERRO is scheduled to appear for sentencing before Judge Crotty on July 27, 2021.
U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “As a unanimous jury has now found, Salvatore Tagliaferro is guilty of old-fashioned corruption – betraying his duty to the union and the trust of its hard-working members by taking cash bribes to line his own pockets.”
As reflected in the Indictment, public filings, and the evidence presented at trial:
From at least in or about 2017 up through and including in or about June 2019, TAGLIAFERRO, as the President of the Local 926 chapter of the Union in Brooklyn, abused his position as an officer and employee of the Union by soliciting and accepting cash bribes from prospective Union members in exchange for securing the bribe payors’ admission to the Local 926. Working with other co-conspirators, including John DeFalco, the former Vice President of the Local 157 chapter of the Union in Manhattan, TAGLIAFERRO identified prospective members and solicited cash payments in amounts ranging from $600 to $2,000. Once prospective members had paid bribes, TAGLIAFERRO then used his authority to ensure they were admitted into the Local 926 and received Union membership cards. Over the course of the scheme, the Local 926 ballooned by over 800 new members, but for two years more than half of the new members never worked a single Union job. TAGLIAFERRO and DeFalco split the cash bribes obtained from the bribe payors’ during clandestine early morning meetings outside a construction site in lower Manhattan, and each received at least $70,000 as a result of the scheme.
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TAGLIAFERRO was found guilty of one count of conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; one count of conversion of union assets, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and one count of honest services wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Ms. Strauss praised the investigative work of the Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General, the Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, and the New York City Department of Investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas McKay and Jarrod Schaeffer and are in charge of the prosecution.
Jackson Woman Pleads Guilty Under Project EJECT to Concealing Information about an Armed RobberyRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – Rasheena Romegan Carter, 33, of Jackson, Mississippi, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Kristi H. Johnson to misprision of a felony, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Michelle A. Sutphin, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi.
Carter concealed information concerning an armed robbery at a business that occurred on August 21, 2018. Carter assisted in concealing the armed bandit by driving him from the robbery and concealing him from law enforcement. Instead of reporting the crime, and relaying the information she possessed, Carter concealed the information for months. Under federal law it is a felony for any person to fail to notify authorities about the commission of a felony crime and to affirmatively act to conceal information they have about that crime.
Carter is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Johnson on Wednesday, July 18, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. and faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison and a $250,000.00 fine.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew W. Eichner and Charles W. Kirkham.
This case is part of Project EJECT, an initiative by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) and Project Guardian. EJECT is a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to fighting and reducing violent crime through prosecution, prevention, re-entry and awareness. EJECT stands for “Empower Justice Expel Crime Together.” PSN is bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities.
Ithaca-Area Man Arrested on Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
ITHACA, NEW YORK – Randolph Bullock, 64, of Dryden, New York, was arrested today on a complaint charging him with possession of child pornography, announced Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon and Thomas Relford, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The criminal complaint alleges that Bullock possessed images of child pornography on his desktop computer at his former place of employment.
The charge against Bullock carries a sentence of up to ten years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life, and registration as a sex offender. The 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.
Bullock appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Thérèse Wiley Dancks for an initial appearance today and was detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for May 3, 2021. The charge in the complaint is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Mid-State Child Exploitation Task Force, comprised of FBI Special Agents and Investigators of the New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI), with assistance from the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Department and Village of Dryden Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Grabowski.
Members of the public who have information regarding Bullock are asked to call the Federal Bureau of Investigation at (607) 274-5050.
This case is prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Iowa Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Producing and Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – An Iowa man today was sentenced to 300 months in prison for producing and possessing images of child sexual abuse, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Donavon Oliphant, 38, of Independence, Iowa, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman to an information charging him with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of possession of child pornography. Judge Hillman imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In August 2019, Oliphant produced 11 images and four videos of child sexual abuse. The videos depicted sexual acts involving a pre-pubescent child and an adult male. Oliphant then used a peer-to-peer file-sharing program to share these images and videos with an individual located in Gloucester County, New Jersey. When law enforcement accessed Oliphant’s file-sharing account, they found more than 1,700 videos and 200 images of child sexual abuse.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Hillman sentenced Oliphant to a lifetime term of supervised release, ordered him to pay restitution of $3,000, and ordered him to register as a sex offender.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jason J. Molina in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel A. Friedman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Camden.
Individual Arrested and Charged with Operating Notorious Darknet Cryptocurrency “Mixer”Read the Press Release
A dual Russian-Swedish national was arrested Tuesday at Los Angeles International Airport on criminal charges related to his alleged operation of the longest-running bitcoin money laundering service on the darknet.
According to court documents, Roman Sterlingov, 32, operated Bitcoin Fog since 2011. Bitcoin Fog was the longest-running cryptocurrency “mixer,” gaining notoriety as a go-to money laundering service for criminals seeking to hide their illicit proceeds from law enforcement. Over the course of its decade-long operation, Bitcoin Fog moved over 1.2 million bitcoin – valued at approximately $335 million at the time of the transactions. The bulk of this cryptocurrency came from darknet marketplaces and was tied to illegal narcotics, computer fraud and abuse activities, and identity theft.
Sterlingov is charged by complaint with money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and money transmission without a license in the District of Columbia.
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 Special Agent in Charge Darrell J. Waldon of IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); and Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D’Antuono of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.
The IRS-CI District of Columbia Cyber Crime Unit and the FBI Washington Field Office are investigating the case. Essential support was provided by Excygent; the IRS-CI Los Angeles Field Office, Van Nuys Post of Duty; FBI Los Angeles Field Office; Homeland Security Investigations; Customs and Border Patrol; the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Central District of California, Northern District of California, and Southern District of New York; and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Department of Treasury. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided invaluable assistance, as did Europol; the Swedish Economic Crime Authority, the Swedish Prosecution Authority, and the Swedish Police; and the General Inspectorate of Romanian Police, Directorate for Combatting Organized Crime and the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism.
Trial Attorney C. Alden Pelker of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher B. Brown of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Chad Byron. Former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Youli Lee and Zia Faruqui made invaluable contributions during their tenures on the case team. The team also appreciates the previous support of Trial Attorney S. Riane Harper of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section; Paralegal Specialist Kenny Nguyen; former Paralegal Specialists Toni Anne Donato and Bianca Evans; and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Allen O’Rourke over the course of this long-running investigation.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Individual Arrested and Charged with Operating Notorious Darknet Cryptocurrency "Mixer"Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON - A dual Russian-Swedish national was arrested Tuesday at Los Angeles International Airport on criminal charges related to his alleged operation of the longest-running bitcoin money laundering service on the darknet.
According to court documents, Roman Sterlingov, 32, operated Bitcoin Fog since 2011. Bitcoin Fog was the longest-running cryptocurrency “mixer,” gaining notoriety as a go-to money laundering service for criminals seeking to hide their illicit proceeds from law enforcement. Over the course of its decade-long operation, Bitcoin Fog moved over 1.2 million bitcoin – valued at approximately $335 million at the time of the transactions. The bulk of this cryptocurrency came from darknet marketplaces and was tied to illegal narcotics, computer fraud and abuse activities, and identity theft.
Sterlingov is charged by complaint with money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and money transmission without a license in the District of Columbia.
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 Special Agent in Charge Darrell J. Waldon of IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); and Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D’Antuono of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.
The IRS-CI District of Columbia Cyber Crime Unit and the FBI Washington Field Office are investigating the case. Essential support was provided by Excygent; the IRS-CI Los Angeles Field Office, Van Nuys Post of Duty; FBI Los Angeles Field Office; Homeland Security Investigations; Customs and Border Patrol; the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Central District of California, Northern District of California, and Southern District of New York; and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Department of Treasury. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided invaluable assistance, as did Europol; the Swedish Economic Crime Authority, the Swedish Prosecution Authority, and the Swedish Police; and the General Inspectorate of Romanian Police, Directorate for Combatting Organized Crime and the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism.
Trial Attorney C. Alden Pelker of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher B. Brown of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Chad Byron. Former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Youli Lee and Zia Faruqui made invaluable contributions during their tenures on the case team. The team also appreciates the previous support of Trial Attorney S. Riane Harper of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section; Paralegal Specialist Kenny Nguyen; former Paralegal Specialists Toni Anne Donato and Bianca Evans; and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Allen O’Rourke over the course of this long-running investigation.
Home health aide sentenced to more than 5 years in prison for using her position to steal more than $200k from disabled victimRead the Press Release
Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Brennan announced that Jamie Kidd-Dunbar, 40, of Grafton, Ohio, was sentenced today by U.S. Judge Donald C. Nugent to 61 months of imprisonment and ordered to pay $217,096.52 in restitution. Kidd-Dunbar pleaded guilty in October of 2020 to exploiting her position as a home health aide to steal more than $200,000 from a blind and physically disabled person in her care.
“Our aging and disabled family members and friends must be able to trust those who are hired to assist them, said Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Brennan. “The fact that Ms. Kidd-Dunbar exploited that trust for her own personal gain, and ignored the needs of two women, one of whom was both blind and physically disabled and the other 90 years old, highlights the egregiousness of her conduct and underscores the need for a significant term of incarceration.”
"This defendant will now serve a significant amount of time behind bars for taking advantage of an elderly, physically disabled woman in her care," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric B. Smith. "Maybe spending 5 years in confinement will allow Ms. Kidd-Dunbar time to reflect on her morally corrupt and heartless criminal behavior. Our elderly and vulnerable population needs to be cherished and protected, the FBI will continue working with our partners to educate and root out elder fraud."
According to court documents, in or around March of 2016, Kidd-Dunbar became the paid home health aide for Victim 1, then 60 years old, after Victim 1 suffered a series of strokes that left her blind and dependent on the use of a wheelchair. As Victim 1’s home health aide, Kidd-Dunbar was trusted with Victim 1’s debit card information so Kidd-Dunbar could purchase groceries and other household supplies for Victim 1.
In January 2018, Kidd-Dunbar began using Victim 1’s debit card to make small, unauthorized purchases. Over time, the theft escalated to include larger cash withdrawals and significant purchases from various businesses, including Amazon, PlayStation and Rent-A-Center.
During the same period, Kidd-Dunbar also assisted Victim 1’s 90-year old aunt, who is identified in court documents as Victim 2. Kidd-Dunbar was similarly given Victim 2’s credit card information so Kidd-Dunbar could make authorized purchases of groceries and other supplies for Victim 2. After Victim 2 passed away in 2017, Kidd-Dunbar continued to use Victim 2’s credit card to make unauthorized personal purchases. Kidd-Dunbar used Victim 1’s bank card to pay the balance on Victim 2’s credit card.
In June of 2019, a different home health aide substituted for Kidd-Dunbar while Kidd-Dunbar was away on vacation. This home health aide asked Victim 1 about certain charges on Victim 1’s statements, which led Victim 1 to discover Kidd-Dunbar’s numerous and unauthorized purchases, withdrawals and credit card payments. As a result of Kidd-Dunbar’s theft, Victim 1 suffered a total loss of $217,096.52.
This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Elyria Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. McDonough and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew A. Kern. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio would like to acknowledge and thank the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office for its cooperation with this matter.
Hardy County man admits to drug chargeRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Matthew Curtis Delawder, of Moorefield, West Virginia, has admitted to a methamphetamine charge, Acting U.S. Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced.
Delawder, 37, pleaded guilty today to one count of “Distribution of Methamphetamine.” Delawder admitted to selling methamphetamine in Hardy County in October 2020.
As a part of the plea agreement, Delawder also agreed to forfeit three firearms, ammunition, and $4942 in cash believed to be proceeds from the crime.
Delawder is facing up to 20 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Potomac Highlands Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the West Virginia State Police investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.
Guatemalan National Sentenced for Illegal Re-entry, Failure to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE – A Guatemalan national previously convicted in Rhode Island state court for participating in two gang rapes, who failed to register as a sex offender, and who re-entered the United States illegally after being deported, was sentenced today to 30 months in federal prison.
According to court documents, in 2003, Manuel Pablo Alonzo, 37, participated in the gang rape of two women in separate incidents on the same night. One of the victims was stabbed. Alonzo was convicted in Rhode Island state court in March 2005 on four counts of first-degree sexual assault and one count of kidnapping.
After serving a 15-year sentence in state prison, Alonzo was deported to Guatemala on February 20, 2014.
According to information presented to the court, on January 3, 2020, Alonzo was arrested for driving under the influence in Warwick. An investigation determined that Alonzo re-entered the United States illegally and had been living in Providence with family members. Further investigation determined that Alonzo failed to register as a sex offender, as previously ordered by a Rhode Island state court judge.
Alonzo pleaded guilty on January 5, 2021 to illegal re-entry after deportation and failure to register as a sex offender. He was sentenced today to 30 months in federal prison to be followed by one year of federal supervised release. Alonzo will again face deportation proceedings following completion of his term of incarceration.
Alonzo’s sentence, imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy, is announced by Acting United States Attorney Richard B. Myrus, United States Marshal Wing Chau, Homeland Security Investigations Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker, and Warwick Police Chief Colonel Bradford Connor.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Zechariah Chafee.
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Grant County man admits to drug chargeRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Peter Sanford Layne, of Cabins, West Virginia, has admitted to a drug charge, Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced.
Layne, 48, pleaded guilty today to one count of “Distribution of Methamphetamine.” Layne admitted to selling methamphetamine in January 2019 in Grant County.
Layne faces up to 20 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Potomac Highlands Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated. The task force consists of the FBI, West Virginia State Police, Mineral County Sheriff’s Office, Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office, Grant County Sheriff’s Office, and the Keyser Police Department.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.
Fulton County Felon Admits to Unlawfully Possessing FirearmsRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Robert H. Stone, age 53, of Mayfield, New York, pled guilty today to unlawfully possessing three firearms as a felon and to possessing and intending to sell marijuana.
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 New York State Police Acting Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen.
Stone, who has prior felony convictions for drug and weapons offenses, admitted that in October 2020, he possessed two shotguns and a rifle at his residence in Gloversville, and 3.8 kilograms of marijuana and 1,395 rounds of pistol, rifle and shotgun ammunition on his 46-acre property in Mayfield, New York.
Stone faces up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of between 2 years and life, when he is sentenced on August 25, 2021 by Senior United States District Judge Lawrence E. Kahn. 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.
This case was investigated by ATF and the New York State Police, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emmet O’Hanlon.
Former Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Sexually Abusing a Young ChildRead the Press Release
A Sapulpa man scheduled to begin trial Tuesday in federal court opted instead to plead guilty to sexually abusing a young child, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
Bradley Don Goodin, 46, pleaded guilty to abusive sexual contact with a child under 12 in Indian Country. As part of the plea agreement, the defendant agreed to a sentence of 15 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell will make the final sentencing determination at a hearing set for Aug. 11, 2021.
“Bradley Goodin was a danger to children, but now thanks to the Sapulpa Police Department, Creek County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, and my office, he is a convicted child predator who will spend significant time in federal prison,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
In a child forensic interview, the girl described two incidents when Goodin sexually abused her on Oct. 5, 2019. During the second incident, the victim’s mother walked in. The girl was afraid to tell her mother what was happening at the time because she feared he would harm them. She later disclosed the abuse. With the aid of a neighbor, the mother fled the home with her children and contacted the Sapulpa Police Department. At the time of the incident, Goodin was an officer with Bristow Police Department. He has not been employed with the department since November 2019.
In a February 2021 superseding indictment, Goodin was charged with sexually abusing a total of three minors. He was also charged with being a felon in possession of 21 firearms. Goodin chose to plead guilty rather than go to trial.
The Sapulpa Police Department, Creek County Sheriff’s Office and FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey A. Gallant and Matilda Villalobos are prosecuting the case. Ms. Villalobos is a prosecutor from the District of New Mexico. She volunteered to assist prosecution efforts here in the Northern District of Oklahoma due to increased jurisdictional responsibilities regarding crimes involving Native American victims or defendants and that occur within the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and Cherokee Nation Reservations.
Former Owner of a Temporary Employment Agency Facing Federal Charges for Allegedly Defrauding Lenders and for Failing to Pay to the IRS the Employment Taxes Withheld from Employees’ WagesRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – A federal criminal information has been filed charging Crystal Jones, a/k/a Crystal Powell-Jones, age 53, of Laurel, Maryland, for the federal charges of wire fraud and failure to pay to the IRS employment taxes withheld from employees’ wages. The criminal information was filed on April 26, 2021.
The criminal information was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner and Acting Special Agent in Charge Darrell Waldon of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Washington, D.C. Field Office.
According to the criminal information, Jones was the owner and managing partner of JAG Professional Resources, a temporary employment agency doing business in Howard County, Maryland and elsewhere from 2012 through August 2107. As JAG’s managing partner, Jones exercised control over all aspects of JAG’s business, including its finances. A relative of Jones was a silent minority partner in JAG.
As detailed in the criminal information, from at least February 2013 through October 2016, Jones obtained factoring services from Victim Lender 1 for JAG. Factoring is a means by which cash intensive businesses, like JAG, could obtain cash quickly and reliably by leveraging accounts receivable. JAG was a cash intensive business because JAG had to pay its temporary employees weekly or biweekly, but typically did not receive payment from JAG’s clients until at least 30 days after services had been rendered, which meant that JAG could be short of the cash flow needed to pay its employees each week, but its business model was theoretically profitable if all outstanding invoices had been paid. Specifically, JAG sold its account receivables to Victim Lender 1 and, in return, JAG received cash advances from Victim Lender 1 totaling approximately 90% of JAG’s accounts receivables. Upon receiving payments from JAG’s clients on the outstanding invoices, Victim Lender 1 sent JAG the remaining 10% of the invoice that had been purchased, less fees Victim Lender 1 charged for its factoring services.
The criminal information alleges that from March 2016 to about May 2016, Jones caused JAG to sell Victim Lender 1 fraudulent invoices totaling more than $350,000 for services that JAG had purportedly provided to a City in Ohio. The City in Ohio had contracted with JAG for temporary employment services beginning in February 2013, but JAG’s relationship with the City in Ohio ended in about February 2016.
To execute the scheme, Jones allegedly created false paystubs purportedly issued by JAG and fraudulent invoices that purported to represent services that JAG had provided, so Jones could obtain loans for her own benefit and the benefits of others. Jones allegedly sent emails to representatives of Victim Lender 1 falsely stating that payments on the false and fraudulent invoices were coming, to lull Victim Lender 1 into a false sense of security about the outstanding collections. Further, Jones allegedly appropriated the names, signatures, and personal identifying information of her silent partner and others for Jones’s own benefit.
In addition, the criminal information alleges that from January 2014 to October 2016 Jones withheld payroll taxes from the wages paid to JAG employees, but neglected to pay the taxes withheld over to the Internal Revenue Service, resulting in a tax loss to the United States of at least $523,244.38.
If convicted, Jones faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud; and a maximum of five in federal prison for failure to pay over employment taxes. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Jones is expected to have an initial appearance and arraignment in U.S. District Court in Baltimore before U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III, although no date has been scheduled.
A criminal information is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by criminal information is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended the IRS-CI for their work in the investigation. Mr. Lenzner thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dana J. Brusca and Harry M. Gruber, who are prosecuting this case.
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Former Irvine Resident Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Defraud Afghan Government on U.S. Funded Contract to Build Power SubstationsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A former Orange County resident pleaded guilty Tuesday for his role in a scheme to defraud the government of Afghanistan out of more than $100 million. The funds were provided to Afghanistan by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for the purpose of constructing an electric grid in Afghanistan, in connection with the long-standing U.S. effort to strengthen that country’s basic infrastructure.
Saed Ismail Amiri, 38, who currently lives in Granite Bay, but until last year was a resident of Irvine, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud before United States District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr.
According to court documents unsealed Tuesday afternoon, Amiri was at various times either the owner or senior consultant of Assist Consultants Incorporated (ACI), an Afghan company that had received over $250 million in U.S.-funded contracts since 2013. In or around January 2015, USAID, in connection with the U.S. effort to assist Afghanistan and its people, authorized the national power utility of Afghanistan, Da’ Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), to solicit bids on a U.S.-funded contract to construct five electric power substations to connect Afghanistan’s Northeastern and Southeastern electric grid systems. Bids were sought only from companies that had substantial experience building electric power substations. Specifically, the contract criteria required bidders, such as ACI, to have previously worked on two electric substations of 220 kilovolts or more.
In 2015 and 2016, Amiri, ACI employees and others engaged in a scheme to obtain the contract by submitting a false work history and fraudulent supporting documents to deceive DABS into believing that ACI met the required contract criteria.
Specifically, in July 2015, ACI submitted a bid on the contract for $112,292,241, underbidding its competitors by more than $20 million. In its bid, ACI stated that it had worked as a subcontractor to a prime contractor on two 220 kilovolt substations for a cement factory in Uganda and a textile company in Nigeria. In fact, the alleged prime contractor was a fictitious company that ACI had invented and controlled, ACI had never worked to build a substation in Africa, and neither the Ugandan cement factory nor the Nigerian textile company existed.
In February 2016, after Amiri had returned to Irvine, DABS contacted ACI and requested supporting documents to verify ACI’s work history. Amiri then sent emails to co-conspirators outside California, including emails in which he advised that some of them would need to go to Uganda and Nigeria to obtain false documents to respond to DABS. Amiri thereafter departed the United States and, in furtherance of the scheme, emailed documents to DABS he knew were false and altered, including ACI’s purported subcontract to work on the Ugandan substation, coordinates of the substation, photographs, false bank records, and a false letter purporting to be from a Ugandan government official.
After submitting the fake records to DABS, Amiri met with U.S. law enforcement at the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan and falsely stated, among other things, that he had learned the prior month that ACI had bid on the contract. Shortly thereafter, Amiri withdrew ACI’s bid. In a subsequent interview with law enforcement, Amiri also falsely stated that another ACI employee had submitted the false documents to DABS, when, in truth and in fact, Amiri had emailed the false documents himself.
Amiri is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Blumenfeld on August 10, at which time he will face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Judge Blumenfeld will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This matter was investigated by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction and the USAID Office of Inspector General.
Assistant United States Attorney Jeff Mitchell of the Major Frauds Section and DOJ Trial Attorney Matt Kahn of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
Former Georgia Deputy Pleads Guilty in Firearms Case Resulting from Investigation into Violent Extremist GroupRead the Press Release
MACON, Ga. – A former Georgia Deputy pleaded guilty to possessing unregistered firearms resulting from an FBI-led investigation into a violent extremist group, said Peter D. Leary, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia.
Cody Richard Griggers, 28, of Montrose, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count possession of an unregistered firearm before U.S. District Judge Tilman “Tripp” Self on Monday, April 26. Griggers faces a maximum ten years of imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release and a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on July 6. There is no parole in the federal system. Griggers was detained at his pretrial hearing and remains in custody.
“This former law enforcement officer knew that he was breaking the law when he chose to possess a cache of unregistered weapons, silencers and a machinegun, keeping many of them in his duty vehicle. Coupled with his violent racially motivated extreme statements, the defendant has lost the privilege permanently of wearing the blue,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “I want to thank the FBI, ATF and Wilkinson County Sheriff’s Office for their work investigating this case.”
“All law enforcement officers swear an oath to uphold the law and protect each and every citizen they serve,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Griggers clearly violated his oath with his egregious actions and has no place in law enforcement.”
“We are committed to keeping our communities safe,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge John Schmidt, ATF Atlanta Field Division. “This investigation demonstrates how ATF investigates the illegal possession and manufacturing of illegal firearms by partnering with our local and federal counterparts, in this case the Wilkinson County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Preventing the illegal possession of firearms is a key focus of ATF’s strategy to combat violent crime.”
As part of a California investigation into a man making violent political statements on social media, FBI agents discovered a group text with Griggers, who was a Deputy with the Wilkinson County Sheriff’s Office. In the group text, Griggers made statements that he was manufacturing and acquiring illegal firearms, explosives and suppressors. He also expressed viewpoints consistent with racially motivated violent extremism, including the use of racial slurs, slurs against homosexuals and making frequent positive references to the Nazi holocaust.
On November 19, 2020, agents executed a search warrant at Griggers’ residence and searched his Wilkinson County Sheriff’s Office duty vehicle. Inside his duty vehicle, officers found multiple firearms, including a machinegun with an obliterated serial number. The machinegun was not issued to the defendant, and he was not allowed to have the weapon in his law enforcement car. An unregistered short barrel shotgun was found in his home. In all, between the defendant’s residence and duty vehicle, officers found 11 illegal firearms.
The case was investigated by FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the Wilkinson County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Will R. Keyes is prosecuting the case.
Former Executive Director of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and Husband Plead Guilty to Bank FraudRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Jeanine Henderson Arnett, 43, the former Executive Director of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and her husband, Diallo Arnett, 47, pled guilty on April 20, 2021 and April 28, 2021, respectively, to a charge stemming from her embezzlement of over $150,000, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips.
Jeanine Henderson Arnett and Diallo Arnett, of the Commonwealth of Virginia, pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to Bank Fraud. The Honorable Randolph D. Moss scheduled sentencing for July 29, 2021. The charge carries a statutory penalty of up to thirty years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000 or twice the pecuniary gain or loss of the offense.
“While Delta Sigma Theta and its members were committed to a mission of public service, the defendants were committed to a mission of personal benefit, stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars to use for their own pleasure” said Acting U.S. Attorney Phillips. “The defendants – and others who steal from non-profit organizations to enrich themselves – will be caught, prosecuted, and punished for the damage they cause.”
“The Arnetts pleaded guilty to stealing money from this historic women’s organization and used the funds for their own benefit,” said James A. Dawson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division. “Their selfish actions not only betrayed the dedicated members, but also dishonored the core mission and values of the sorority.”
According to the statements of offense submitted to the Court, Jeanine Henderson Arnett was employed as the Executive Director of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a 501(c)(7) organization located in the District of Columbia. Jeanine Henderson Arnett and Diallo Arnett admitted that, between approximately October 3, 2017 and September 15, 2019, she misappropriated more than $150,000 from Delta Sigma Thetas’s bank accounts through, among other things, ACH money transfers and credit card transactions. This included unauthorized and fraudulent charges for personal items and expenses at, among other places, Amazon, Avis Rent a Car, Century Twenty-One, Coach, GEICO, and T-Mobile. In addition, the Arnetts used the Square Cash App to make 9 transactions to transfer $14,162.50 to their account.
In announcing the plea, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillips acknowledged the work of Paralegal Angeline Thekkumthala of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Rothstein and David Kent, who investigated and prosecuted this matter.
Former Director of Perry County Family Center Sentenced to Fifteen Months’ Imprisonment for EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that the former Executive Director of the Perry County Family Center, Shelley A. Dreyer-Aurila, age 55, of New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 15 months’ imprisonment by U.S. District Court Judge Sylvia H. Rambo for embezzlement of funds involving federal programs.
According to Acting United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Dreyer-Aurila previously admitted that between 2010 and 2017, she embezzled and converted to her own personal use more than $150,000 that was under the care and control of the Center. During that period, the Center annually received more than $10,000 in federal grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Human Services, to fund programs like its Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program and its Child Abuse Prevention program.
Dreyer-Aurila was also ordered to pay $127,764.56 in restitution. She had previously repaid $22,520.
The case was investigated by the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Enforcement and Investigation, Charitable Investigation Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlo D. Marchioli and former Assistant U.S. Attorney James T. Clancy prosecuted the case.
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Former Austin Company CFO’s Ex-Husband Headed to Federal Prison and Ordered to Pay over $20M in Restitution for Embezzlement SchemeRead the Press Release
A federal judge sentenced Lakeway resident 49-year-old Robert “Scott” Villarreal to 87 months of imprisonment for a scheme to embezzle millions of dollars from a company headquartered in Austin where his ex-wife served as Chief Financial Officer.
During sentencing yesterday in Austin, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman also ordered the defendant to pay $15,941,452.87 in restitution to Richardson Enterprises, Ltd. (Richardson), which owns and operates automobile dealerships in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, and $4,243,649 in restitution to the IRS. The defendant and his ex-wife used the embezzled funds to support a lavish lifestyle.
According to court records, an investigation conducted by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS CI) revealed that in 2009, Tamra Maurine Villarreal (aka Tamra Creighton Villarreal) and Scott Villarreal began stealing money from the company and using it for their personal benefit even though Tamra was paid an annual salary in excess of $400,000. The Villarreals used the stolen money to purchase a $2.7 million residence featured in the 2008 Parade of Homes. They also used the fraudulently obtained funds to pay for travel, hotels, restaurant tabs, vehicles, lavish jewelry, rare American coins from the 1800’s, gold bars, art, a collection of designer handbags and clothes valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars along with firearms and illegal controlled substances. During a four-day period from July 30, 2016 to August 2, 2016, Scott and Tamra Villarreal charged a total of $72,578.27 for three meals at a Houston restaurant on a company credit card. This amount was 13.6% of their reported income for 2016.
"Thanks to the efforts of the FBI and IRS CI, these defendants will no longer live an extravagant lifestyle paid for by their illegal fleecing of innocent victims. Instead, they will be held accountable for their crimes - by serving prison time and paying more than $20 million in restitution," said U.S. Attorney Hoff.
“Scott Villarreal’s life of luxury and extravagance, financed by shamelessly stealing millions of dollars from a business, has now come to an end, thanks to the hard work of the FBI, IRS CI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division. “While serving his lengthy prison sentence, the defendant will have plenty of time to contemplate the reality of his new life as a convicted felon.”
In April 2018, law enforcement executed a search warrant on the Lakeway residence and recovered many valuables purchased by the Villarreals during the scheme.
On August 18, 2020, Scott Villarreal pleaded guilty to a three-count Information charging him with money laundering, possession with the intent to distribute cocaine and making and subscribing to a false income tax return. By pleading guilty, Villarreal admitted that from 2009 to January 2018, he schemed to embezzle funds from Richardson bank accounts and used that money for personal enrichment. Specifically, Villarreal helped to divert monies from Richardson bank accounts to those belonging to him and his ex-wife.Villarreal also admitted that he subscribed to a false 2013 federal income tax return wherein he and his spouse claimed $433,747 in earnings when in truth their income that year far exceeded that amount when the proceeds received from their fraud scheme were included.
“No matter what the source of income, all income is taxable, even embezzled income,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Goss, Houston Field Office. “The prosecution of individuals who intentionally conceal their illegally obtained income and evade Federal income taxes, such as Mr. Villareal has done, is a vital element of IRS’ enforcement strategy.”
In December 2020, Judge Pitman sentenced Tamra Villarreal to 63 months imprisonment for her role in the same scheme as well as equal responsibility for $15,941,452.87 in restitution to the Richardson family and $4,243,649 in restitution to the IRS.
The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation jointly investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Fernald and Robert Almonte II prosecuted this case.
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Fentanyl Dealer Pleads Guilty to Distributing Narcotics Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – Jared Collins (27, Wesley Chapel) has pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl to an individual, resulting in that individual’s death. He faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 20 years, and up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
According to the plea agreement, on December 16, 2019, Collins distributed narcotics to an individual in Wesley Chapel who injected the narcotics and then died. Family members found the individual and immediately called 911. The Pasco Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and located a hypodermic syringe and a plastic bag, both of which tested positive for fentanyl. Law enforcement also recovered a cellphone, which showed Collins had supplied the individual with the narcotics earlier that day. The Medical Examiner’s Office for Pasco and Pinellas County determined that the individual died from fentanyl toxicity.
The following day, December 17, 2019, Collins was arrested as he was attempting to distribute narcotics. Following his arrest, law enforcement officers found two syringes in his car, and two hypodermic syringes and a spoon with residue in his pocket, all of which tested positive for fentanyl. Law enforcement officers also executed a federal search warrant at Collins’s residence, recovering numerous items of drug paraphernalia, empty capsules containing traces of fentanyl, assorted spoons, straws, clear baggies, and approximately 20 syringes, all of which were found in Collins’ bedroom.
On March 26, 2020, after bonding out of state custody, Collins again distributed fentanyl.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Pasco and Pinellas County Medical Examiner’s Offices. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes. This case is part of the Middle District of Florida’s anti-opioid strategy to combat opioid trafficking and abuse.
Federal Inmate Convicted of Engaging in a Mutiny in a Federal Penal InstitutionRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – A federal jury convicted a federal inmate housed at the Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina (“FCI Butner I”) with participating in a mutiny inside a federal penal institution.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on April 22, 2020, Rene Moreno-Castillo, an inmate at FCI Butner I, pulled a fire extinguisher from the wall during an open disagreement with staff about housing assignments and sprayed them and the housing unit with its chemical contents. After spraying the staff, inmate Moreno-Castillo barricaded the unit door with lockers which he ripped from the wall and slid against the door, tied the door shut with a bed sheet, and continued to spray the fire extinguisher, filling the unit with the thick powder contents. FCI Butner I staff, including a tactical Complex-wide Quick Response Force, were emergently called to the scene to regain control of the unit.
At the time of the mutiny, FCI Butner I staff were working tirelessly to ensure the safe and effective incarceration of inmates housed in the Butner Complex, while simultaneously managing the damaging effects of the global COVID-19 crisis within the walls of a federal prison.
Moreno-Castillo has been convicted of multiple federal crimes including being an alien in the United States after deportation having been previously convicted of an aggravated felony, possession with the intent to distribute more than 100 kilos of marijuana, and another conviction for being an alien unlawfully in the United States .
Moreno-Castillo faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when sentenced.
G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle accepted the verdict. Federal Bureau of Prisons officials investigated the case, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mallory Brooks Storus and Genna Petre 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.5:20-CR-210-BO.
Federal Indictments Target Street Gang for Alleged Crack Cocaine Distribution and Firearm Offenses at Housing Projects in WattsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – Law enforcement this morning arrested 19 defendants, most of whom are members and associates of the Bounty Hunter Bloods (BHB) street gang named in a series of federal grand jury indictments charging them with manufacturing and distributing crack cocaine in and around their “territory” of the Nickerson Gardens public housing projects in the Watts neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles.
The 19 people arrested this morning are among 22 defendants charged in nine indictments unsealed today that allege violations of federal narcotics and firearms laws. The defendants arrested today are expected to be arraigned on the indictments this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
In addition to those arrested during “Operation Loyalty Matters,” one defendant is already in custody on unrelated charges. Authorities are continuing to search for two defendants.
During the investigation, law enforcement seized 26 firearms – including five “ghost guns,” or firearms lacking serial numbers – 1 kilogram of crack cocaine and 12 pounds of methamphetamine.
The case’s main indictment centers on the alleged drug manufacturing and distributing activities of Damion Baker, 43, a.k.a. “Fatts,” and Tony Carr, 49, a.k.a. “T-Bone,” both of whom are documented Watts-based BHB gang members. The 15-count indictment also charges Baker’s alleged network of narcotics suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors.
From August 2019 to May 2020, Baker obtained powder cocaine from suppliers and, along with Carr, manufactured or “cooked” crack cocaine in Nickerson Gardens, then prepared and packaged crack cocaine for other distributors and customers in the housing complex, according to the indictment. The conspirators allegedly collected proceeds from the crack cocaine sales after distributing the drugs to customers via hand-to-hand transactions.
“Because of the highly dangerous and lucrative nature of crack cocaine trafficking, individuals who worked together in the distribution of crack cocaine often had established relationships through their membership or association with the BHB,” the indictment alleges.
Baker, Carr and the indictment’s 10 other defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine. Baker faces eight additional felony charges in the indictment, while Carr is charged with six additional felonies, including narcotics distribution and firearms-related offenses.
The remaining eight indictments charge an additional 10 defendants with violating federal narcotics and firearms laws.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Fourteen defendants, including all 12 defendants charged in the lead indictment, face potential sentences of life imprisonment if they are convicted of conspiracy to distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine, and they potentially face mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years in federal prison for that offense. Four additional defendants face mandatory minimum sentences of five years in federal prison if convicted of charges of conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Today’s arrests were made by the FBI’s Los Angeles Metropolitan Task Force on Violent Gangs, which consists of the FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Assistant United States Attorney Amy E. Pomerantz of the Violent and Organized Crime Section is prosecuting this case.
Federal Grand Jury Returns a Superseding Indictment Adding New Charges in the Conspiracy to Kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen WhitmerRead the Press Release
Note: A full copy of the superseding indictment can be viewed
here.WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury in Michigan returned a superseding indictment today that adds new charges of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction against three defendants and adds federal firearms violations against two defendants in the case alleging a conspiracy to kidnap the governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer.
According to court documents, Adam Fox, 40, of Wyoming, Michigan; Barry Croft Jr., 45, of Bear, Delaware; and Daniel Joseph Harris, 23, of Lake Orion, Michigan, are charged with knowingly conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction against persons or property in addition to the kidnapping conspiracy charged in October 2020. The superseding indictment further alleges that Fox, Croft and Harris intended to use the devices to destroy a nearby bridge, in effect, harming and hindering the governor’s security detail and any responding law enforcement officers.
The superseding indictment also alleges that on Sept. 13, 2020 in Lake County, Michigan, Croft and Harris knowingly possessed a destructive device that was not registered to them in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record as required by federal law. Harris is alleged to have possessed, between July 10, 2020 and Sept. 13, 2020, an Anderson Manufacturing, Model AM-15, .223/5.56 mm caliber semiautomatic assault rifle with a barrel of less than 16 inches in length, that was not registered to him.
Defendant Ty Garbin entered a guilty plea in December 2020 to the original indictment charging him with conspiracy to kidnap Governor Whitmer. Garbin faces up to life in prison for his conviction and awaits sentencing.
Defendants Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta each face up to life in prison if convicted of the kidnapping conspiracy. Fox, Croft, and Harris each face up to life in prison if convicted of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction. Croft and Harris each face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of possession of an unregistered destructive device. Harris faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of possession of an unregistered short barrel rifle. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The new charges arise from an ongoing investigation conducted by the FBI, with valuable assistance provided by the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, including the Michigan State Police.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Federal Grand Jury Returns A Superseding Indictment Adding New Charges in the Conspiracy to Kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen WhitmerRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — United States Attorney Andrew Birge announced today that a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment that adds new charges of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction against three defendants and adds federal firearms violations against two defendants in the case alleging a conspiracy to kidnap the governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer.
According to court documents, Adam Fox, 40, of Wyoming, Michigan; Barry Croft Jr., 45, of Bear, Delaware; and Daniel Joseph Harris, 23, of Lake Orion, Michigan, are charged with knowingly conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction against persons or property in addition to the kidnapping conspiracy charged in October 2020. The superseding indictment further alleges that Fox, Croft and Harris intended to use the devices to facilitate their plot to kidnap the governor by harming and hindering the governor’s security detail and any responding law enforcement officers.
The superseding indictment also alleges that on Sept. 13, 2020 in Lake County, Michigan, Croft and Harris knowingly possessed a destructive device that was not registered to them in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record as required by federal law. Harris is alleged to have possessed, between July 10, 2020 and Sept. 13, 2020, an Anderson Manufacturing, Model AM-15, .223/5.56 mm caliber semiautomatic assault rifle with a barrel of less than 16 inches in length, that was not registered to him.
Defendant Ty Garbin entered a guilty plea in December 2020 to the original indictment charging him with conspiracy to kidnap the governor. Garbin faces up to life in prison for his conviction and awaits sentencing.
Defendants Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta each face up to life in prison if convicted of the kidnapping conspiracy. Fox, Croft, and Harris each face up to life in prison if convicted of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction. Croft and Harris each face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of possession of an unregistered destructive device. Harris faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of possession of an unregistered short barrel rifle. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The new charges arise from an ongoing investigation conducted by the FBI, with valuable assistance provided by the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, including the Michigan State Police.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Federal Employee Indicted by Federal Grand Jury on Charges of Kidnapping His Wife in 2016 in Abduction that Resulted in Her DeathRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – A federal grand jury today returned an indictment that charges a Covina man with kidnapping his wife in 2016 in an incident that resulted in her death.
Eddy Reyes, 35, who lived with his wife in Santa Ana when she was last seen, was arrested in this case on April 15 pursuant to a criminal complaint that also charged him with kidnapping.
Reyes, an employee of U.S. Customs and Border Protection who has been held without bond since his arrest, is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment on May 3 in United States District Court in Santa Ana.
The indictment alleges that Reyes kidnapped his wife, 21-year-old Claudia Sanchez Reyes, on May 6, 2016.
According to court documents, Claudia Reyes was last seen leaving work on the night of May 6, 2016. After Reyes filed a missing person report four days later, the Santa Ana Police Department conducted an investigation that revealed co-workers heard Claudia Reyes fighting with her husband on May 6 soon before he picked her up in a rented SUV, according to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, which notes detectives later found a drop of Claudia Reyes’ blood in that vehicle and a cadaver dog indicated that a dead body had been in the SUV.
The affidavit also documents a history of alleged domestic abuse by Reyes against his wife, including several threats to kill her, as well as temporary restraining orders Claudia Reyes obtained against her husband in 2014 and 2016.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
If he were to be convicted of the charge of kidnapping resulting in death, Reyes would face potential sentences of the death penalty or life in federal prison without parole.
The investigation in this matter is being conducted by the Orange County Violent Gang Task Force, which is comprised of several federal, state and local agencies.
Assistant United States Attorneys Gregory W. Staples and Daniel H. Ahn of the Santa Ana Branch Office are prosecuting this case.
Fayetteville, North Carolina Physician Agrees to Pay $300,000.00 to Resolve Allegedly Fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid Claims Involving Autonomic Nervous System TestsRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – The Acting United States Attorney, G. Norman Acker, III, announced today that Benjamin C. Udoh and Hanora Medical Center, PLLC, an internal medicine practice that Dr. Udoh operates in Fayetteville, North Carolina, have agreed to pay $300,000.00 to settle civil claims under the Federal and North Carolina False Claims Acts concerning allegations that they submitted false claims to the Medicare and Medicaid Programs for Autonomic Nervous System (“ANS”) Testing.
Specifically, the United States and the State of North Carolina alleged that during a four-and-a-half-year period between January 2016 to May 2020, Dr. Udoh and Hanora Medical Center submitted false or fraudulent claims for ANS Testing using Current Procedural Terminology codes 95921, 95923, 95925, 95927, 93922, and 93923 when the testing services were not medically necessary and/or the medical record did not support medical necessity. As a result, Dr. Udoh and his medical practice allegedly received funds to which they were not entitled.
In addition to the monetary portion of the settlement, Dr. Udoh and Hanora Medical Center have entered into an Integrity Agreement with the Office of Inspector General for the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
“Medical providers have a duty to provide services that are medically necessary for a patient’s care, not services that will simply help pad the provider’s wallet. Our office will continue to root out those providers who attempt to take advantage of their patients in an effort to bilk government programs. Those who fail to comply with the law in order to increase their own bottom line will be pursued by the Department of Justice,” said Acting United States Attorney, G. Norman Acker, III.
The Federal and North Carolina False Claims Acts authorize the Governments to recover triple the money falsely obtained, plus substantial civil penalties for each false claim submitted.
It should be noted that the civil claims resolved by settlement here are allegations only, and that there has been no judicial determination or admission of liability.
This matter was investigated by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina and the Medicaid Investigations Division of the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office (“MID”). Special Deputy Attorney General Michael M. Berger, who also serves as a Special Assistant United States Attorney, represented the United States and the State of North Carolina.
The MID investigates and prosecutes healthcare providers that defraud the Medicaid Program, patient abuse of Medicaid recipients, patient abuse of any patient in facilities that receive Medicaid funding, and misappropriation of any patients’ private funds in nursing homes that receive Medicaid funding. To report Medicaid fraud or patient abuse in North Carolina, please call the MID at 919-881-2320.
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Erie Man Pleads Guilty and is Sentenced to Prison for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A resident of Erie, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children and was sentenced to 36 months in prison, 10 years supervised release and ordered to make restitution in the amount of $18,000 to the victims, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.
Charles Przybyszewski, 54, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter.
In connection with the guilty plea and sentencing, the court was advised that from July 2018 to July 2020, Przybyszewski possessed computer images depicting prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
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 (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Przybyszewski.
Eagle Butte Man Indicted for Assaulting Federal OfficersRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that an Eagle Butte, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Assaulting Federal Officers.
Floyd Alex High Hawk, Jr., a/k/a Cactus, age 33, was indicted on October 14, 2020. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on April 27, 2021, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 20 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
On August 17, 2020, High Hawk was detained at a jail in Eagle Butte, and he assaulted two detention officers who were attempting to move him to a different cell. High Hawk punched one detention officer in the face and wrestled with another, causing an injury to his knee.
The charge is merely an accusation and High Hawk is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook is prosecuting the case.
High Hawk was released on bond pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Dothan Pharmacist Sentenced to 87 Months in Prison Following Drug Distribution ConvictionRead the Press Release
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA – On April 27, 2021, Richard Allen Strickland, a 55-year-old resident of Hartford, Alabama, was sentenced to 87 months in prison for illegal drug distribution, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Stewart. In addition to his prison sentence, Strickland was ordered to serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court records, Strickland, a licensed pharmacist, owned and operated Allen’s Pharmacy in Dothan, Alabama. In November of 2019, the Dothan Police Department Narcotics Division received an anonymous tip regarding someone selling prescription medications without a prescription to individuals from the pharmacy. Further investigation by Dothan PD and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) indicated that Strickland was selling Schedule II controlled substances, including oxycodone and hydrocodone, without a prescription. On July 14, 2020, Strickland was indicted by a federal grand jury for the illegal distribution of a controlled substance. Strickland pleaded to the charge on January 21, 2021. As part of his plea agreement, Strickland specifically admitted that on July 3, 2020, he sold 14 hydrocodone pills to an individual without a prescription in exchange for cash.
“Diverting legitimate drugs for illegal purposes feeds the addiction cycle that is gripping our nation and places lives in danger,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Stewart. “Medical professionals need to understand that they are not exempt from criminal laws that prohibit the illegal distribution of controlled substances. My office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute drug dealers, no matter where they may operate or what title they may have.”
This case was investigated by the Dothan Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alice Shih LaCour and Jonathan S. Ross prosecuted the case.
Dodge County Strip Club Owner & Former Manager Charged with Federal OffensesRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Richard G. Frohling announced that on April 27, 2021, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Wisconsin indicted Radomir Buzdum (61), formerly of Watertown, Wisconsin, and Timothy J. Miller (49), of Watertown, for offenses related to the operation of the TNT / Wild Rose strip club, which had been located in Lebanon (Dodge County), Wisconsin.
The indictment contains three counts. Count One alleges that between July 2012 and January 2019, Buzdum (the owner of the club) and Miller (a former manager) conspired with each other and others to use facilities in interstate commerce to promote, manage, and carry on unlawful prostitution offenses, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 371 & 1952(a)(3). According to the indictment, the purpose of the conspiracy was to generate revenue by making areas of the club for unlawful prostitution activity, including oral sex, full intercourse, and fetish activities. The indictment further alleges that members of the conspiracy hired and employed dancers willing to perform sex acts, including women they knew were working for pimps, and allowed customers to use credit cards to pay for private rooms and to obtain cash back to pay dancers directly for sex acts.
Counts Two and Three allege that Buzdum made and subscribed materially false tax returns for Tequila Nights, Inc. (TNI) for tax years 2015 and 2016. According to the indictment, Buzdum was the sole shareholder of TNI, through which he operated both TNT and the Dew Drop Inn, a tavern located in Watertown. The indictment alleges that for each year, Buzdum willfully underreported gross receipts and business income from his strip club and his tavern.
If convicted of Count One, Buzdum and Miller each would face up to five years in prison. If convicted of Count Two or Count Three, Buzdum would face up to three years in prison per count of conviction. All three counts also carry a maximum fine of $250,000 and a maximum term of three years of supervised release following any prison sentence.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Dodge County Sheriff’s Office, Racine Police Department, United States Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, Hartford Police Department, and Federal Deposition Insurance Corporation – Office of Inspector General, with the assistance of the Wisconsin Department of Justice –Division of Criminal Investigation, Watertown Police Department, Milwaukee Police Department and United States Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erica J. Lounsberry and Acting U.S. Attorney Richard G. Frohling.
The public is cautioned that an indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
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Denton County Woman Sentenced for Bank FraudRead the Press Release
PLANO, Texas – A Pilot Point woman was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei today.
Kristine Irene Lynch, 44, pleaded guilty on Nov. 12, 2020 to bank fraud and was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Sean D. Jordan. As part of her sentence, Lynch was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $467,280.00.
“Schemes like this can cripple an institution,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. “One person’s greed can wreak havoc on countless others.”
According to the court documents, Lynch was employed at the North Texas Medical Center (NTMC) from 2006 until August 2017 as Comptroller. As Comptroller, she was able to print checks herself, or have checks printed on her behalf. Lynch devised a scheme to printing checks for personal use, or to have employees print them for her, drawn against the NTMC bank account. Lynch then voided the checks in the accounting system after they cleared the bank in order to disguise her scheme. Lynch spent the proceeds derived from the fraudulent checks for her own personal use. A later audit revealed that Lynch was responsible for a total of 113 fraudulent checks, resulting in a total loss of $467,280.00.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William R. Tatum.
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Congolese Man Sentenced to over Three Years in Prison in Second Federal Fraud CaseRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Maine: A citizen of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was sentenced today in federal court for conspiring to commit mail fraud, Acting U.S. Attorney Donald E. Clark announced.
U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby sentenced Mukonkole Huge Kifwa, aka Adrien Ndowa, 36, to 40 months in prison, five years of supervised release and restitution in the amount of $247,583. Kifwa pleaded guilty on November 10, 2020.
According to court documents, from about March 2015 until November 2016, Kifwa participated in a conspiracy to obtain money through a fraudulent credit card scheme using an international mail carrier. Kifwa and his co-conspirators obtained unauthorized access to bank accounts belonging to unwitting individuals in the United Kingdom, with cash advances using fraudulent credit cards.
The Scarborough Police Department; the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service; Homeland Security Investigations; and the City of London (U.K.) Police investigated the case.
In January 2016, Kifwa, formerly of South Portland, was convicted following a jury trial of federal charges involving visa fraud, bank fraud and firearms. Kifwa was sentenced in that case to 46 months imprisonment and payment of approximately $15,000 in restitution.
Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Illegal Exports to Northwestern Polytechnical UniversityRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Chinese national pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston in connection with illegally procuring and causing the illegal export of $100,000 worth of U.S. origin goods to Northwestern Polytechnical University (NWPU), a Chinese military university that is heavily involved in military research and works closely with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on the advancement of its military capabilities.
Shuren Qin, 44, a Chinese national residing in Wellesley, who gained admittance into the United States through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program in 2014, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully export items from the United States to NWPU without first obtaining the required export licenses; one count of visa fraud; two counts of making false statements to law enforcement agents regarding his customers and the types of parts he caused to be exported from the United States to the People’s Republic of China (PRC); four counts of money laundering; and two counts of smuggling hydrophones from the U.S. to the PRC. U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper scheduled sentencing for Sept. 8, 2021.
“The People’s Republic of China has an insatiable appetite for our country’s most sensitive products and technologies – particularly those with military applications,” said Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell. “By exporting key anti-submarine warfare products to a Chinese military university, Mr. Qin created a threat to our national security and broke the law. That warrants federal prosecution, without a doubt.”
“Qin took advantage of the open marketplace in the United States to purchase sensitive technologies for a Chinese military university. In addition, he lied on his visa application and to U.S. customs officers,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers. “When individuals illegally pursue personal profit at the expense of U.S. national security, DOJ will disrupt such conduct and punish those involved.”
Qin established LinkOcean Technologies, LTD., which he used to import goods and technology with underwater and marine applications into the PRC from the United States, Canada and Europe. NWPU has been involved in the development of unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles and missile proliferation projects. Since 2001, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has designated NWPU on its Entity List for national security reasons. Qin communicated with and received taskings from NWPU to obtain items used for anti-submarine warfare. Between approximately July 2015 and December 2016, Qin caused at least 60 hydrophones (devices used to detect and monitor sound underwater) to be exported from the United States to NWPU without obtaining the required export licenses from the DOC. Qin and his company, LinkOcean, did so by concealing from the U.S. manufacturer of the hydrophones that NWPU was the true end-user and by causing false end-user information to be filed with the U.S. government. In addition, on four occasions in connection with the export of hydrophones to NWPU, Qin engaged in money laundering by transferring or causing the transfer of more than $100,000 from Chinese bank accounts to bank accounts located in the United States with the intent to promote and facilitate his unlawful export scheme.
Additionally, in July 2016, Qin engaged in visa fraud in connection with his application to remove conditions on his U.S. Permanent Resident Status (Form I-829) by falsely certifying that he had not committed any crime for which he was not arrested since becoming a conditional permanent resident when, in fact, he had caused the illegal export of hydrophones from the United States to NWPU in December 2015. In addition, Qin made false statements to federal agents on two occasions regarding LinkOcean’s customers and its export activities. Specifically, during a November 2017 interview with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers, Qin falsely stated that he only exported instruments that attach to a buoy. However, Qin had exported and caused the export of remotely-operated side scan sonar systems, unmanned underwater vehicles, unmanned surface vehicles, robotic boats and hydrophones. The items that Qin concealed from CBP during this interview have military applications and several of these items were delivered to military end-users in China. For instance, Qin exported a U.S.-manufactured remotely-operated side scan sonar system to a PLA Troop in November 2015. On or about July 21, 2018, Qin lied to investigators during an interview when he stated that he did not have any customers on the DOC’s Entity List. In fact, Qin had at least two such customers – NWPU and the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT). NUDT is involved in national defense research for the PLA and responsible for modernizing the PRC’s armed forces. Since 2015, it has been designated on DOC’s Entity List.
Prior to entering his guilty plea in this case, Qin moved to suppress evidence seized from his laptop and iPhone during a border search and statements he made to CBP officers during a secondary inspection upon his return to the United States from the PRC at Logan Airport in November 2017. On Nov. 30, 2020, after eight days of evidentiary hearings, Judge Casper issued a decision denying Qin’s motion, finding that “at a minimum, the agents had reasonable suspicion for the search and seizure on November 24, 2017 and, any statements made by Qin were non-custodial statements not in contravention of the Fifth Amendment.” In so doing, Judge Casper found that the “Chinese Navy” was one of Qin’s customers according to LinkOcean’s website and when the border search occurred, agents had testified that they were “concerned that Qin was involved [in] working on behalf of the Chinese Navy to procure items from the United States, export them to China so that they could be used or incorporated in systems the Chinese Navy or research institutes were developing to be used in electronic warfare, anti-submarine warfare.” Judge Casper further found that by the end of the summer of 2017, investigators had learned that Qin was interested in procuring both AUVs and sonobuoys, which raised concerns for the agents as they learned that Ultra Electronics was at that same time developing “an AUV that worked in conjunction with [a] sonobuoy … strictly for military use by the U.S. Navy.” Qin also lied when questioned during the secondary inspection at the border regarding the types of parts he exported, concealing his “interest in procuring side scan sonar systems, AUVs, and sonobuoys.”
The charge of conspiring to violate U.S. export laws provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. The charges of visa fraud and smuggling both provide for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of making false statements provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge or money laundering provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000 fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting U.S. Attorney Mendell; NSD AAG Demers; William S. Walker, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Homeland Security Investigation, Boston Field Office; Patrick Hegarty, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office; William Higgins, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement, Boston Field Office; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Michael West, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney B. Stephanie Siegmann, Chief of Mendell’s National Security Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Casey, also of National Security Unit, are prosecuting the case.
Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Illegal Exports to Northwestern Polytechnical UniversityRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Chinese national pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston in connection with illegally procuring and causing the illegal export of $100,000 worth of U.S. origin goods to Northwestern Polytechnical University (NWPU), a Chinese military university that is heavily involved in military research and works closely with the People’s Liberation Army on the advancement of its military capabilities.
According to court documents, Shuren Qin, 44, a Chinese national residing in Wellesley, Mass., gained admittance into the United States through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program in 2014 and established LinkOcean Technologies, LTD., which he used to import goods and technology with underwater and marine applications into the PRC from the United States, Canada and Europe. Today, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully export items from the United States to NWPU without first obtaining the required export licenses; one count of visa fraud; two counts of making false statements to law enforcement agents regarding his customers and the types of parts he caused to be exported from the United States to the People’s Republic of China (PRC); four counts of money laundering; and two counts of smuggling hydrophones from the U.S. to the PRC.
“Qin took advantage of the open marketplace in the United States to purchase sensitive technologies for a Chinese military university,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers for the Justice Department's National Security Division. “In addition, he lied on his visa application and to U.S. customs officers. When individuals illegally pursue personal profit at the expense of U.S. national security, DOJ will disrupt such conduct and punish those involved.”
"The People’s Republic of China has an insatiable appetite for our country’s most sensitive products and technologies – particularly those with military applications,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell for the District of Massachusetts. “By exporting key anti-submarine warfare products to a Chinese military university, Mr. Qin created a threat to our national security and broke the law. That warrants federal prosecution, without a doubt.”
NWPU has been involved in the development of unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles and missile proliferation projects. Since 2001, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has designated NWPU on its Entity List for national security reasons. Qin communicated with and received purchase orders from NWPU to obtain items used for anti-submarine warfare. Between approximately July 2015 and December 2016, Qin caused at least 60 hydrophones (devices used to detect and monitor sound underwater) to be exported from the United States to NWPU without obtaining the required export licenses from the DOC. Qin and his company, LinkOcean, did so by concealing from the U.S. manufacturer of the hydrophones that NWPU was the true end-user and by causing false end-user information to be filed with the U.S. government. In addition, on four occasions in connection with the export of hydrophones to NWPU, Qin engaged in money laundering by transferring or causing the transfer of more than $100,000 from Chinese bank accounts to bank accounts located in the United States with the intent to promote and facilitate his unlawful export scheme.
Additionally, in July 2016, Qin engaged in visa fraud in connection with his application to remove conditions on his U.S. Permanent Resident Status (Form I-829) by falsely certifying that he had not committed any crime for which he was not arrested since becoming a conditional permanent resident when, in fact, he had caused the illegal export of hydrophones in 2015. In addition, Qin made false statements to federal agents on two occasions regarding LinkOcean’s customers and its export activities. Specifically, during a November 2017 interview with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers, Qin falsely stated that he only exported instruments that attach to a buoy. However, Qin had exported and caused the export of remotely operated side scan sonar systems, unmanned underwater vehicles, unmanned surface vehicles, robotic boats and hydrophones. The items that Qin concealed from CBP during this interview have military applications and several of these items were delivered to military end-users in China. On or about July 21, 2018, Qin lied to investigators when he stated that he did not have any customers on the DOC’s Entity List when he had at least two such customers – NWPU and the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT). NUDT has been designated on DOC’s Entity List and is involved modernizing the PRC’s armed forces
Prior to entering his guilty plea, Qin moved to suppress evidence seized from his laptop and iPhone during a border search and statements he made to CBP officers during a secondary in November 2017. Judge Casper found that the “Chinese Navy” was one of Qin’s customer’s according to LinkOcean’s website and when the border search occurred, agents testified that they were “concerned that Qin was involved [in] working on behalf of the Chinese Navy to procure items from the United States, export them to China so that they could be used or incorporated in systems the Chinese Navy or research institutes were developing to be used in electronic warfare, anti-submarine warfare.”
By the end of the summer of 2017, investigators had learned that Qin was interested in procuring both AUVs and sonobuoys, which raised concerns for the agents as they learned that Ultra Electronics was at that same time developing “an AUV that worked in conjunction with [a] sonobuoy … strictly for military use by the U.S. Navy.” Qin also lied when questioned during the secondary inspection at the border regarding the types of parts he exported, concealing his “interest in procuring side scan sonar systems, AUVs, and sonobuoys.”
The charge of conspiring to violate U.S. export laws provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. The charges of visa fraud and smuggling both provide for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of making false statements provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge or money laundering provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000 fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant U.S. Attorney B. Stephanie Siegmann, Chief of Mendell’s National Security Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Casey, also of National Security Unit, are prosecuting the case. Valuable assistance was provided by the Justice Department's National Security Division.
Charleston Woman Sentenced for Role in Wire Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston woman was sentenced today to eight months of home confinement and five years of probation for her role in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $48,509.
According to court documents, Lois Brotherton, 65, once provided bookkeeping and accounting services to a Kanawha County non-profit organization that formally dissolved in 2014. In 2019, Lois Brotherton asked her daughter, Misty Brotherton-Tanner, to write her checks from the non-profit’s bank account. Lois Brotherton knew she was not entitled to those funds and that there were no funds available for her use. Misty Brotherton-Tanner agreed to steal the money and provide it to her mother. Lois Brotherton would receive the checks as though the non-profit organization had paid her money and would then electronically deposit the stolen money into her personal account. To cover the wire fraud, Misty Brotherton-Tanner would electronically transfer money from three different companies for which she provided accounting services without the companies’ knowledge, consent, or permission. As a result of this fraud scheme, Lois Brotherton conspired to steal at least $48,509.
Misty Brotherton-Tanner, 41, also of Charleston, pleaded guilty in federal court on April 13, 2021 to two felony counts of wire fraud and one felony count of money laundering. Brotherton-Tanner’s guilty plea related to this scheme with Lois Brotherton as well as other criminal activity that she was engaged in apart from her mother. She is scheduled to be sentenced on July 15, 2021 and faces up to 50 years in prison, a $750,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Brotherton-Tanner has also agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $537,173.
Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and praised the investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the West Virginia State Tax Department-Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Erik Goes and Katie Robeson prosecuted the case.
Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. imposed the sentence.
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 Nos. 2:20-cr-00147 (Brotherton) and 2:20-cr-00146 (Brotherton-Tanner).
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California Man Pleads Guilty to Scheme to Defraud Afghan Government on U.S. Funded ContractRead the Press Release
A California man pleaded guilty Tuesday for his role in a scheme to defraud the government of Afghanistan of over $100 million. These funds were provided to Afghanistan by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for the purpose of constructing an electric grid in Afghanistan, in connection with the long-standing U.S. effort to strengthen that country’s basic infrastructure.
According to court documents, Saed Ismail Amiri, 38, of Granite Bay, was at various times either the owner or senior consultant of Assist Consultants Incorporated (ACI), an Afghan company that had received over $250 million in U.S. funded contracts since 2013. In or around January 2015, USAID, in connection with the U.S. effort to assist Afghanistan and its people, authorized the national power utility of Afghanistan, Da’ Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), to solicit bids on a U.S. funded contract to construct five electric power substations to connect Afghanistan’s Northeastern and Southeastern electric grid systems. Bids were sought only from companies that had substantial experience building electric power substations. Specifically, the contract criteria required bidders, such as ACI, to have previously worked on two electric substations of 220 kilovolts or more.
In 2015 and 2016, Amiri, ACI employees, and others engaged in a scheme to obtain the contract by submitting a false work history and fraudulent supporting documents in an effort to deceive DABS into believing that ACI met the required contract criteria. More specifically, in July 2015, ACI submitted a bid on the contract for $112,292,241.05, and ACI underbid its competitors by more than $20 million. In the bid, ACI stated that it had worked as a subcontractor to a prime contractor on two 220 kilovolt substations for a cement factory in Uganda and a textile company in Nigeria. In fact, the alleged prime contractor was a fictitious company that ACI had invented and controlled, ACI had never worked to build a substation in Africa, and neither the Ugandan cement factory nor the Nigerian textile company existed.
In February 2016, Amiri returned to his residence in the Los Angeles area, at which time DABS had contacted ACI and requested supporting documents to verify ACI’s work history. Amiri then sent emails to co-conspirators outside California, including emails in which he advised that some of them would need to go to Uganda and Nigeria to obtain false documents to respond to DABS. Amiri thereafter departed the United States and, in furtherance of the scheme, emailed DABS documents he knew were false and altered, including ACI’s purported subcontract to work on the Ugandan substation; coordinates of the substation; photographs; false bank records; and a false letter purporting to be from a Ugandan government official. After submitting the fake records to DABS, Amiri met with U.S. law enforcement at the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan. During that meeting, Amiri falsely stated, among other things, that he had learned the prior month that ACI had bid on the contract. Shortly thereafter, Amiri withdrew ACI’s bid. In a subsequent interview with law enforcement, Amiri also falsely stated that another ACI employee had submitted the false documents to DABS, when in truth and in fact, Amiri had emailed the false documents himself.
Amiri pleaded guilty to wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Tracy Wilkison of the Central District of California; Inspector General John F. Sopko of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR); and Acting Inspector General Thomas J. Ullom of the USAID Office of Inspector General (USAID-OIG) made the announcement.
SIGAR and USAID-OIG are investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Matt Kahn of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Mitchell of the Central District of California are prosecuting the case.
Brockton Man Pleads Guilty to Operating Nationwide Scheme to Steal Social Media Accounts and CryptocurrencyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Brockton man pleaded guilty today to conducting a scheme to take over victims’ social media accounts and steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency.
Eric Meiggs, 23, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, four counts of wire fraud, one count of computer fraud and abuse and one count of aggravated identity theft. U.S. Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. scheduled sentencing for Sept. 15, 2021.
Meiggs and co-conspirators targeted victims who likely had significant amounts of cryptocurrency and those who had high value or “OG” (slang for “Original Gangster”) social media account names. Using an illegal practice known as “SIM-swapping,” Meiggs and others conspired to hack into and take control of these victims’ online accounts to obtain things of value, including OG social media account names and cryptocurrency.
As alleged in the indictment, “SIM swapping” attacks involve convincing a victim’s cell phone carrier to reassign the victim’s cell phone number from the SIM card (or Subscriber Identity Module card) inside the victim’s cell phone to the SIM card inside a cell phone controlled by the cybercriminals. Cybercriminals then pose as the victim with an online account provider and request that the provider send account password-reset links or an authentication code to the SIM-swapped device now controlled by the cybercriminals. The cybercriminals can then reset the victim’s account log-in credentials and use those credentials to access the victim’s account without authorization, or “hack into” the account.
According to the indictment, Meiggs and his co-conspirators targeted at least 10 identified victims around the country. Members of the conspiracy stole (or attempted to steal) more than $530,000 in cryptocurrency from these victims. Meiggs also took control of two victims’ “OG” accounts with social media companies.
The charge of conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $$250,000. The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of computer fraud and abuse provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of aggravated identify theft provides for a mandatory sentence of two years in prison to be served consecutive to any other sentence imposed, up to one year of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Acting Assistant Attorney Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Ramsey E. Covington, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Kosto, Deputy Chief of Mendell’s Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit, and Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Justice Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and are prosecuting the case.
Bristol Man Sentenced to 7 Years in Federal Prison for Soliciting Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JEFFREY L. BACON, 61, of Bristol, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 84 months of imprisonment, followed by a lifetime term of supervised release, for soliciting child pornography.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in October 2018, Bacon began communicating with a 15-year-old girl through the Kik messaging application after he had met the girl in a Kik chat group for teens. Knowing that he was communicating with a minor, Bacon sent the girl sexually explicit pictures of himself and described various sexual acts that he wanted to engage in with the girl. The girl told her mother who reported the communications to the police.
On October 30, 2018, a law enforcement officer assumed the girl’s Kik identity to continue to correspond with Bacon. Bacon asked the undercover officer, who was posing as the girl, to remind Bacon of her age. The officer responded with “15.” From October 30 to November 1, Bacon repeatedly sent sexually explicit pictures and videos of himself to the undercover officer. Bacon also requested sexually explicit pictures in return. During their conversations, Bacon asked the undercover officer if he could pick her up from school so he could see her. Bacon suggested they could go to the mall where the girl could try on clothes while Bacon watched and engaged in a sexual act. Bacon also discussed going to a motel with the girl to engage in sexual acts with her.
On November 19, 2018, Bacon was arrested on related state charges. During a subsequent forensic examination of Bacon’s laptop computer, investigators found images of child pornography, including images depicting prepubescent females engaged in sexual acts with adults.
Bacon was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on July 26, 2019. On November 24, 2020, he pleaded guilty to one count of soliciting child pornography.
At the conclusion of today’s sentencing, Bacon, who was released bond, was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service to being serving his sentence.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force and the Enfield Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel.
This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.
Brainerd Man Sentenced to Prison, $12 Million in Restitution for Minneapolis Police Third Precinct ArsonRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Brainerd man was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for his role in the arsons at the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct building.
According to court documents, on the night of May 28, 2020, Dylan Shakespeare Robinson, 23, went to the Third Precinct where a crowd of hundreds had gathered. At one point, the crowd began shouting, “Burn it down, burn it down.” Soon after, a fence that was designed to keep trespassers out of the Third Precinct was torn down. Robinson, along with other co-conspirators, breached the fence and entered the building. Robinson, assisted by an unidentified co-conspirator, lit an object held by the unidentified co-conspirator who threw it toward the Third Precinct building with the intent that it would start a fire or fuel an existing fire.
“On the night of May 28, 2020, Mr. Robinson chose to depart from lawful protest and instead engaged in violence and destruction. The arson at the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct put lives at risk and contributed to widespread lawlessness in Minneapolis,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Anders Folk. “With today’s sentence, Mr. Robinson is held accountable for his actions.”
“ATF is committed to investigating the civil unrest arsons of 2020 that occurred throughout the Twin Cities,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jeff Reed, of the ATF St. Paul Field Division. “Arson, being inherently violent, is a serious crime that put many of our community members at risk, and it cannot be tolerated.”
“The danger posed by the defendant in this case was very real,” said Michael Paul, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Minneapolis field office. “Today’s sentencing sends a clear message—regardless of motivation, when someone is intent on conducting a violent act that breaks federal law, the FBI and our law enforcement partners will move assertively to hold them accountable. This type of behavior puts public servants and our entire community in danger, and we simply will not let it go unaddressed.”
On December 15, 2020, Robinson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit arson. As part of his sentencing today, Robinson was ordered to serve two years of supervised release and pay $12 million in restitution.
Co-conspirators Bryce Michael Williams, 27, Davon De-Andre Turner, 25, and Branden Michael Wolfe, 23, have all pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit arson for their roles in the arson at the Third Precinct building. They will be sentenced at a later date.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted jointly by the ATF, the FBI, the Minneapolis Police Department, and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harry M. Jacobs and David P. Steinkamp.
Belle Fourche Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Belle Fourche, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession of Child Pornography with a Prior Child Pornography Conviction was sentenced on April 15, 2021, by Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.
Karl Koster, age 39, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Koster will also be required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
The conviction stems from South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force receiving two Cybertips from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children identifying the suspect user as Koster. Koster was previously convicted in Pennington County, South Dakota, for Make/Sale/Possess Child Pornography and was on parole at the time of his arrest. Forensic examination of Koster’s devices revealed multiple images of child pornography, age-difficult images and internet searches associated with obtaining child pornography.
The investigation was conducted by the South Dakota Department of Corrections, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, Rapid City Police Department, and the Pennington County Sheriff’s office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah B. Collins prosecuted the case.
Koster was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Aurora Man Sentenced to 10.5 Years in Federal Prison for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
DENVER – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Eber Uriel Perez-Ramirez, age 29, of Aurora, CO, was sentenced to 10.5 years in federal prison following his prior guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846.
According to the plea agreement and court documents, the defendant acted as a lieutenant in a drug trafficking organization from October of 2019 until February 12, 2020, when he was arrested by agents working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation assigned to the Denver OCDETF Strike Force. The drug trafficking organization brought to Colorado large quantities of illegal drugs from Mexico, including methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl. The organization employed a network of interstate load runners, local couriers, multi-pound drug customers, and lieutenants, including the defendant, to coordinate its activities.
On three occasions between October 15, 2019 and December 5, 2019, the defendant delivered pound quantities of methamphetamine to a confidential informant working with the FBI. The defendant also monitored the interstate transportation of a load run of narcotics between October 21 through October 23, 2019. Specifically, he delivered a real-time report to the organization concerning Utah law enforcement actions regarding the load vehicle. Ultimately, the load — 53 pounds of methamphetamine — was transferred to another vehicle, which was stopped by the Colorado State Patrol in Colorado.
Additionally, on January 22, 2020, the defendant sought to pick up a package containing more than five kilograms of methamphetamine that was being held at a leasing office in Denver, Colorado. The FBI seized the package before the defendant was able to retrieve it.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office remains committed to making communities safer by prosecuting members of drug trafficking organizations,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Matt Kirsch. “Together with our law enforcement partners, we are working to disrupt these organizations by making drug traffickers face significant jail time.”
“Friday’s sentencing of Perez-Ramirez is a direct result of the dedication and collaboration by FBI Denver and our partners to combat drug trafficking organizations who distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and fentanyl in our communities. The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Strike Force will aggressively investigate individuals and groups who further the scourge of drugs in our community,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider. “FBI Denver would like to extend our appreciation to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, DEA, HSI, ICE ERO, IRS and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for sharing their resources and expertise to fight dangerous drug trafficking organizations and bringing them to justice.”
“HSI working with the OCDETF task force helped disrupt a transnational drug trafficking organization with direct ties to a Mexican cartel that sought to bring illegal drugs into Colorado,” said Steven Cagen, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Denver. “Strong partnerships among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies are critical to identifying and dismantling criminal enterprises that profit from illicit drugs. We’re grateful to the United States Attorney’s Office for ensuring Perez-Ramirez faced justice.”
“This sentencing is another step toward a safer community. Not only is Perez-Ramirez going to prison for his crimes but the government seized a significant amount of narcotics and kept them off the streets of Colorado,” said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Andy Tsui. “IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to stop the flow of illegal narcotics and bring these drug traffickers to justice.”
United States District Court Judge Raymond Moore sentenced Perez-Ramirez on April 23, 2021.
Agents and deputies assigned to the Strike Force from the FBI, ICE ERO, HSI, IRS, and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation and were assisted by officers and deputies from the Colorado State Patrol and the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Cyrus Chung handled the prosecution of the case.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Case Number: 20-cr-28-RM
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Arizona Man Arrested on Alaska Federal Drug Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
FAIRBANKS – Daniel Torres-Zubia, 41, of Phoenix, Arizona, was arrested by Alaska and Arizona federal agents on charges that he conspired to send large quantities of methamphetamine for re-distribution in Fairbanks, Alaska.
According to charging documents, the Fairbanks Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) office began investigating Torres in 2019 for allegedly trafficking large amounts of methamphetamine into the Fairbanks area from Las Vegas and Arizona. The investigation revealed that Torres sold about 60 pounds of methamphetamine to a Fairbanks area drug dealer between 2019 and 2020. Investigators also noted that Torres was able to supply large wholesale amounts of methamphetamine quickly, indicating he may be part of larger drug trafficking operation.
If convicted, Torres faces a statutory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison for the most serious charges. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Fairbanks Police Department, the Alaska State Troopers, the North Pole Police Department and the Arizona Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation leading to the charges in this case.
This case is part of Alaska’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). HIDTA was established in 2018 to enhance and coordinate efforts among local state and federal law enforcement agencies, providing equipment, technology and additional resources to combat drug trafficking and its harmful consequences in critical regions of Alaska.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan D. Tansey.
The charges in the indictment and criminal complaint are merely allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Apple Valley Resident Sentenced to 60 days in Custody and Ordered to pay $1,200 for Smuggling PesticidesRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Melanie K. Pierson (619) 546-7976
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – April 28, 2021
SAN DIEGO – Saul Flores Banuelos of Apple Valley, California, was sentenced yesterday to 60 days in custody and ordered to pay $1,200 restitution for smuggling illegal pesticides across the border on April 21, 2020. The order of restitution was to cover the cost of disposal of the pesticides.
In pleading guilty in September of 2020, Flores Banuelos admitted that he entered the United States at the San Ysidro Port of Entry driving a GMC Yukon. After he advised the primary inspector he was not bringing anything from Mexico, inspectors found eight one-liter bottles of the Mexican pesticide Qufuran, three bottles of alcohol and four kilograms of various medications that had not been declared. According to sentencing documents, a subsequent search of Flores Banuelos’s vehicle uncovered receipts for two previous purchases approximately six months earlier of 15 bottles of Qufuran.
The pesticides imported by Flores Banuelos were labeled in Spanish and did not bear any EPA registration number, as required by law for pesticides intended for use in the United States. Pesticides with the active ingredient found in the Qufuran imported by Flores Banuelos may not be legally imported, sold, or distributed in the United States. In addition, the lawful importation of pesticides requires a Notice of Arrival to be provided to U.S. Customs pursuant to 19 CFR § 12.112. Flores Banuelos provided no such Notice of Arrival for the pesticides in question.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the pesticides involved were acutely toxic. Carbofuran, the active ingredient in Qufuran, is classified by EPA as Toxicity Category I, the highest toxicity category, based upon its lethal potency from absorption by ingestion, contact with skin, and inhalation. The use of these chemicals pose a danger to humans and wildlife that might come in contact with them, as well as cannabis users who ingest products treated with them. Moreover, these chemicals are known to have injured law enforcement officers engaged in the eradication of illegal marijuana cultivation sites in California.
“Illegal pesticides are extremely toxic and harmful,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “We will continue to enforce smuggling laws to protect people, animals and the environment from these harmful chemicals.” Grossman praised Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanie Pierson, DOJ trial attorney Stephen Da Ponte and agents from Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division for their excellent work on this case.
“The pesticides involved in this case pose serious public health and environmental dangers,” said Special Agent in Charge Scot Adair of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division in California. “The sentence in this case demonstrates that individuals who intentionally violate smuggling and environmental protection laws will be held responsible for their crimes.”
“Illegal pesticides contain very dangerous and toxic chemicals, and their use jeopardizes public safety, pollutes the environment, and puts people’s health at risk,” said Cardell T. Morant, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “These unregistered substances can be very harmful, and HSI and our partners at EPA-Criminal Investigation Division, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are committed to working together to stop these deadly pesticides from entering the United States.”
Flores Banuelos was ordered to begin serving his sentence on July 26, 2021.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Melanie K. Pierson and Department of Justice Trial Attorney Stephen Da Ponte.
DEFENDANT Case Number 20cr2179-JLS
Saul Flores Banuelos Age: 56 Apple Valley, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Smuggling – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 545
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine
AGENCIES
Homeland Security Investigations
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division
Additional Leaders of Latin Kings Set Charged in Manhattan Federal Court with Racketeering, Narcotics, and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and Dermot Shea, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing of a fifteen-count Superseding Indictment charging 18 defendants with committing various racketeering, narcotics, and firearms offenses, as well as violent crimes in aid of racketeering. Eleven of the defendants were previously indicted in December 2019 by a grand jury in the Southern District of New York with racketeering conspiracy, narcotics conspiracy, and possessing firearms in furtherance of a narcotics conspiracy. Five of the seven newly-indicted defendants were arrested today and will be presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein in Manhattan federal court. Defendant MARK WOODS, a/k/a “Smokey,” is currently in state custody and will be presented at a later date. Defendant WILLIAM GONZALEZ, a/k/a “Bori,” remains at large. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni.
The defendants arrested today include the most senior members—known as the “Dons”—of a Latin Kings set currently operating in New York.
U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “As alleged in the Superseding Indictment, the defendants in this case include the leaders of a violent set of the Latin Kings gang. They are alleged to have engaged in acts of violence, robberies, narcotics trafficking, and the use of firearms. Thanks to the efforts of our partners at the FBI and NYPD, the defendants now face federal charges for these very serious crimes.”
As alleged in the Superseding Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court and statements made in court filings[1]:
CARMELO VELEZ, a/k/a “Jugg,” CHRISTOPHER RODRIGUEZ, a/k/a “Taz,” LUIS SEPULVEDA, a/k/a “Red,” EMMANUEL BONAFE, a/k/a “Eazy,” ALBERTO BORGES, a/k/a “AB,” JUAN HERNANDEZ, a/k/a “Guerra,” JESUS HERNANDEZ, a/k/a “Goldo,” EZEQUIEL OSPINA, a/k/a “Izzy,” RAIMUNDO NIEVES, a/k/a “Double-R,” DEESHUNTEE STEVENS, a/k/a “Kay,” HECTOR BONAPARTE, a/k/a “June,” DIEGO MATEO, a/k/a “Casa,” JUPANKY PIMENTEL, a/k/a “Panky,” WILLIAM GONZALEZ, a/k/a “Bori,” MARK WOODS, a/k/a “Smokey,” RICARDO RICUARTE, a/k/a “Nino,” RAUL CUELLO, a/k/a “2B,” and PAUL CUELLO, a/k/a “Flip,” are members and associates of a racketeering enterprise known as the Latin Kings, and specifically, the set, or “tribe” of the Latin Kings known as the Black Mob, which operates in the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and Long Island. In order to enrich the enterprise, protect and expand its criminal operations, enforce discipline among its members, and retaliate against members of rival gangs, members and associates of the Black Mob committed, conspired, attempted, and threatened to commit acts of violence; distributed and possessed with intent to distribute narcotics, including heroin, fentanyl, and crack; committed robberies; and obtained, possessed, and used firearms. Some of the defendants are also charged with committing assaults in aid of racketeering, including assaults in connection with gunpoint robberies of drug dealers and gambling parlors.
The Black Mob has a recognized leadership hierarchy and a code of conduct that members must follow. The leadership structure resembles the traditional leadership structure of other Latin King tribes. Leaders in the Black Mob are referred to as “Crowns,” with the respective Crowns ranked as “First Crown,” “Second Crown,” etc. The gang’s leadership structure also includes “Coppos,” which are the Black Mob members in charge of members in a certain geographic borough. Even higher than the Crowns and Coppos are the “Dons.” The Dons are either founding members of the Black Mob or longtime members who have earned a higher level of respect. As alleged, three of the Dons—MATEO, PIMENTEL, and GONZALEZ—and four Crowns or Coppos—RICUARTE, WOODS, and the CUELLO brothers—have been charged in the Superseding Indictment.
Charts containing the names, charges, and maximum penalties for the defendants are set forth below. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and NYPD.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Adam Hobson, Elinor Tarlow, and David Robles are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
COUNT
DEFENDANT(S)
MAX. TERM OF IMPRISONMENT
Count One: Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering (18 U.S.C. §§ 1962(d), 1963)
All defendants except STEVENS and BONAPARTE
Life imprisonment
Count Two: Narcotics Conspiracy (21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(b)(1)(A))
All defendants
Life imprisonment; Mandatory minimum sentence of ten years
Count Three: Brandishing and Discharging Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Offense (18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A) and 2)
All defendants except STEVENS and BONAPARTE
Life imprisonment; Mandatory minimum sentence of ten years, which must run consecutively to any other sentence
Count Four: Possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense (18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A) and 2)
STEVENS and BONAPARTE
Life imprisonment; Mandatory minimum sentence of five years, which must run consecutively to any other sentence
Count Five: Assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering (18 U.S.C. §§ 1959(a)(3) and 2)
WOODS
Twenty years’ imprisonment
Count Six: Brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence (18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A) and 2)
WOODS
Life imprisonment; Mandatory minimum sentence of seven years, which must run consecutively to any other sentence
Count Seven: Assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering (18 U.S.C. §§ 1959(a)(3) and 2)
VELEZ, RODRIGUEZ, SEPULVEDA, BONAFE, JESUS HERNANDEZ, PIMENTEL, and WOODS
Twenty years’ imprisonment
Count Eight: Assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering (18 U.S.C. §§ 1959(a)(3) and 2)
WOODS
Twenty years’ imprisonment
Count Nine: Brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence (18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A) and 2)
WOODS
Life imprisonment; Mandatory minimum sentence of seven years, , which must run consecutively to any other sentence
Count Ten: Assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering (18 U.S.C. §§ 1959(a)(3) and 2)
WOODS
Twenty years’ imprisonment
Count Eleven: Brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence (18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A) and 2)
WOODS
Life imprisonment; Mandatory minimum sentence of seven years, which must run consecutively to any other sentence
Count Twelve: Assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering (18 U.S.C. §§ 1959(a)(3) and 2)
VELEZ, SEPULVEDA, WOODS
Twenty years’ imprisonment
Count Thirteen: Brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence (18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A) and 2)
VELEZ, SEPULVEDA, WOODS
Life imprisonment; Mandatory minimum sentence of seven years, which must run consecutively to any other sentence
Count Fourteen: Assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering (18 U.S.C. §§ 1959(a)(3) and 2)
WOODS, OSPINA
Twenty years’ imprisonment
Count Fifteen: Brandishing and Discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence (18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A) and 2)
WOODS, OSPINA
Life imprisonment; Mandatory minimum sentence of ten years, which must run consecutively to any other sentence
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Superseding Indictment constitutes only allegations, and every fact described herein should be treated as an allegation.
23 Indicted on Federal CARES Act Unemployment Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va. – A federal grand jury in Abingdon returned an indictment today charging 23 individuals with their roles in a large conspiracy to defraud the United States government by filing fraudulent claims for more than $499,000 in pandemic unemployment benefits, mail fraud and associated offenses.
According to court documents, the defendants conspired to file claims for pandemic unemployment benefits through the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) website. The scheme involved submitting claims for various individuals who were not eligible to receive pandemic unemployment benefits, including for numerous inmates incarcerated in southwest Virginia regional jails.
Conspiracy members lied on the filings as part of the scheme to make filers appear eligible for benefits. Because pandemic unemployment benefits were paid weekly, each of those filings re-verified and re-certified the false statements on numerous occasions throughout the scheme.
In all, the conspiracy filed fraudulent claims for approximately 37 individuals, causing at least $499,000 in false claims to be have been paid. In addition to those indicted, eight co-conspirators have already entered into plea agreements with the United States.
Those charged by the grand jury today include:
- Jeffrey R. Tackett, 29, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of emergency relief fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, two counts of aggravated identify theft, one count of obstruction of justice, and one count of making false statements.
- Jimmy W. Barnette, 28, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of emergency relief fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of making false statements.
- George L. Buckles, 31, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of emergency relief fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of making false statements.
- Joshua S. Carroll, 31, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of emergency relief fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
- Darrell D. Davis, 66, of Lebanon, Va., one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of emergency relief fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of making false statements.
- Melinda R. Davis, 58, of Lebanon, Va., one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of emergency relief fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
- Eugene A. Grizzle, 19, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of emergency relief fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
- Joseph N. Hall, 42, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of emergency relief fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
- Wesley W. Hickman, 24, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of emergency relief fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
- Jacob B. Hicks, 35, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of emergency relief fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
- Timothy H. Hileman, 29, of Castlewood, Va., one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of emergency relief fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, one count of aggravated identify theft, one count of obstruction of justice, and one count of making false statements.
- Ajay Johnson, 25, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of emergency relief fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
- John C. Johnson, Jr., 33, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of emergency relief fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
- John C. Johnson, Sr., 57, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of emergency relief fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
- Randall D. Johnson, 41, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of emergency relief fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
- Marissa L. Kiser, 26, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of emergency relief fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
- Curtis E. Mullins, 25, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of emergency relief fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
- Danny L. Mullins, 49, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of emergency relief fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
- James B. Mullins, 31, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of making false statements..
- Steven J. Mullins, 33, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of emergency relief fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
- Veronica S. Mullins, 47, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of emergency relief fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, three counts of aggravated identify theft, one count of obstruction of justice, and one count of making false statements.
- Patrick A. Payne, 42, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
- Jeffery D. Wiseman, 27, one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, one count of mail fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of making false statements.
Acting U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Bubar of the Western District of Virginia, Jonathan Mellone, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Philadelphia Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and Acting Special Agent in Charge is Darrell J. Waldon of the Internal Revenue Service- Criminal Investigation made the announcement.
The Department of Labor-Office of the Inspector General and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the Norton Police Department, and the Russell County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Murphy is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
27 April 2021
Woman Admits Selling Opioids from Her Aliquippa HomeRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA-- A resident of Aliquippa, PA, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.
Thaijenelle Smith, 27, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge Robert J. Colville.
In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that Smith was selling narcotics from her Aliquippa residence and possessed with intent to distribute approximately 55 grams of fentanyl, carfentanil and heroin.
Judge Colville scheduled sentencing for Sept. 30, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. The law provides for a maximum sentence 40 years in prison, a fine of $5,000,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the Court continued Smith on bond.
Assistant United States Attorney Brendan J. McKenna is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Thaijenelle Smith.