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2 April 2021
Previously convicted felon pleads guilty to federal firearm charge after shooting rifle out of apartment window near Albuquerque High SchoolRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Roy Thundercloud, 38, of Albuquerque, plead guilty in federal court on March 26, to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
According to public court records, Thundercloud fired several shots from a rifle out of his apartment window near Albuquerque High School on May 31, 2020. Thundercloud also tried to dispose of the rifle shell casings by throwing them in the apartment complex’s dumpster. Thundercloud eventually surrendered after police responded to the scene to secure the area and detain him.
Thundercloud could not lawfully possess the rifle or ammunition based on previous felony convictions for possession with intent to distribute marijuana, burglary and aggravated driving while intoxicated.
Thundercloud is currently in custody pending sentencing. He faces up to 10 years in prison.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Task Force and Albuquerque Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Mease is prosecuting the case.
Philadelphia Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking CrimeRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – James Nelson Peeples, Jr., 35, of Philadelphia, Mississippi, pled guilty today before U.S. Chief District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Kurt Thielhorn, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
On July 15, 2018 a woman called the Philadelphia Police Department and reported that a man she knew as “P James” was at her house threatening her with a gun. An officer responded immediately and spoke with the woman. The officer then left the woman’s residence and quickly located Peeples nearby driving a black Honda Accord. The officer stopped Peeples and when he approached Peeples’ vehicle saw Peeples attempting to hide a handgun. Peeples also appeared to be trying to put a bag of marijuana in his pants.
Peeples was arrested and a search was conducted of his person and his vehicle. Methamphetamine, Marijuana and three handguns were found. Peeples has multiple felony convictions in Neshoba County for drug sale offenses and for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Peeples later gave a full confession to officers with PPD, a DEA Task Force Officer and an ATF Special Agent. Peeples admitted that he sold methamphetamine and that he had taken two of the guns found in trade for methamphetamine. Peeples also admitted that he was willing to use firearms to settle his disputes on the street.
Peeples was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 15, 2020.
He will be sentenced on July 23, 2021 by Judge Jordan and faces a minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of life in prison, as well as a $250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charles W. Kirkham.
Owners and Former Employee of Heath Care company Facing Federal Charges for Allegedly Paying Kickbacks to Homeless Patients and Fraudulently Billing MedicaidRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – A federal criminal complaint has been filed charging Julius Bakari and his wife Mboutchock Kabiwa a/k/a Eugenie Bakari, both age 43, of Silver Spring, Maryland, with health care kickbacks and conspiracy to receive unlawful kickbacks, in connection with their company Holy Health Care Services, LLC (“Holy Health”). Dominic Forka, age 56, of Lanham, Maryland, a Community Support Worker (CSW) employed by Holy Health, is charged with health care kickbacks, conspiracy to receive unlawful kickbacks, and health care fraud.
The criminal complaint was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Special Agent in Charge James A. Dawson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon, Office of Investigations, Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS OIG); and Inspector General Daniel W. Lucas, District of Columbia, Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Bakari owns and operates Holy Health and is the company’s Chief Executive Officer and President. Kabiwa is the Vice President of Holy Health. Dominic Forka was a Community Support Worker (“CSW”) for Holy Health. Holy Health entered into Medicaid Provider Agreements with the District of Columbia’s Department of Health Care Finance (“DHCF”), which permit Holy Health to provide healthcare services to D.C. Medicaid recipients. Holy Health is also certified by the District of Columbia’s Department of Behavioral Health (“DBH”) to perform mental health services. After services are performed, Holy Health documents notes for these services utilizing an electronic health record (“EHR”) system for DBH providers. Holy Health then submits batches of notes in invoices for those services to DHCF, which processes the invoices and pays Holy Health. Holy Health was authorized to provide services from two separate locations in Washington, D.C. (Premises 1 and Premises 2).
The affidavit alleges that beginning in at least April 2017, Holy Health paid homeless people to physically go to Premises 1 and sign in as patients, then fraudulently billed the Medicaid plans of those homeless individuals for mental health treatment services that Holy Health did not provide. According to witnesses, Holy Health allegedly operated a van service to transport the homeless individuals from a park near the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C. to Premises 1. According to witnesses, after signing in, on some occasions, the witnesses saw a doctor who asked general questions about the witness’s health. On other occasions, the witnesses did not meet with a doctor or any other healthcare provider, and instead received payment for signing in on a Holy Health sign-in sheet. Patients allegedly received $25 for attending three appointments during each week. Specifically, they received $10 for each of the first two days and $5 for the third day. The affidavit alleges that Holy Health did not provide mental health services to the homeless individuals and continued to bill Medicaid for mental health services even after the individuals stopped attending appointments.
As detailed in the affidavit, from March 2019 to November 2019, two confidential sources conducted undercover, recorded appointments inside Holy Health at Premises 1. The affidavit alleges that Confidential Source 1 (“CS1”) attended nine appointments at Premises 1 as part of the investigation and each time, Holy Health billed CS1’s Medicaid Plan for unrendered services. In addition, Holy Health allegedly used CS1’s personal identifying information (“PII”) to bill Medicaid for an additional 25 appointments that CS1 never attended. Between September 19 and November 22, 2019, CS2 allegedly conducted 11 appointments at Premises 1 and on several occasions saw an individual who informed CS2 that he was CS2’s caseworker. According to the affidavit, after each of CS2’s visits, Holy Health billed CS2’s Medicaid plan for unrendered services. As was allegedly the case with CS1, Holy Health billed CS2’s Medicaid plan for approximately 60-minute treatment sessions, when the video and audio recordings show that the sessions in fact lasted only minutes. According to the affidavit, Holy Health has used CS2’s PII to bill Medicaid for an additional 32 appointments that CS2 never attended. According to the affidavit, the electronic health records show that Forka accessed Holy Health’s EHR system to input the 32 appointments that CS2 never attended, all for services purportedly rendered by Forka. As detailed in the affidavit, Holy Health also issued two prescriptions to CS2 that were filled at a pharmacy in Hyattsville, Maryland. CS2 did not request or fill the prescriptions.
Finally, the affidavit alleges that Bakari and Kabiwa utilized funds from a non-profit organization to provide kickback payments to patients, which Bakari and Kabiwa referred to as “stipends.” As detailed in the affidavit, Kabiwa founded and ran the Agatha Foundation, a non-profit organization, which listed Bakari as Vice President. According to its website, Agatha is “a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Africa that provides various key activities in the U.S. … in order to bring positive changes to the lives of at-risk groups in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and in Africa.” Agatha is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland and operates at Premises 1. Kabiwa allegedly transferred money from Agatha’s bank account to Holy Health employees to provide kickback payments to Holy Health patients.
If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for conspiracy to receive unlawful kickbacks, and a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for health care kickbacks. Forka also faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for health care fraud. 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. The defendants had an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gina L. Simms in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt today. The defendants were released pending trial.
A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended the FBI, the HHS OIG, and the District of Columbia OIG’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for their work in the investigation. Mr. Lenzner thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Catherine K. Dick and Erin B. Pulice, who are prosecuting the case.
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Oklahoma City Man Sentenced to Serve 36 Months in Federal Prison for Possessing a Firearm While Using Illegal SubstanceRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – Today, BARRY ROWLAND TITUS, II, 39, of Oklahoma City, was sentenced to serve 36 months in federal prison for being a prohibited person unlawfully in possession of a firearm, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
On October 1, 2020, Titus pled guilty to one count of unlawfully possessing a firearm while being an unlawful user of a controlled substance. Specifically, Titus admitted that, on or about November 25, 2015, he possessed a firearm in violation of federal law because he was an unlawful user of a controlled substance at the time of possession.
Today, U.S. District Judge Scott L. Palk sentenced Titus to serve 36 months in federal prison, followed by three years supervised release. In announcing the sentence, Judge Palk noted the nature and circumstances of the offense, as well as the history and characteristics of Titus. Judge Palk specifically highlighted the danger that is present when the possession of firearms is combined with the use of illegal substances.
This case is a result of an investigation by partnering law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the United States Marshals Service, and Oklahoma City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew P. Anderson, Jacquelyn M. Hutzell, and Danielle M. Connolly prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods and Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiatives to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. The case is also part of "Operation 922," the district’s local implementation of Project Safe Neighborhoods and Project Guardian. "Operation 922" prioritizes firearms prosecutions connected to domestic violence, including domestic violence abusers who possess a firearm and are subject to a victim protective order or have been previously convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
Reference is made to court filings for further information.
North Andover Woman Pleads Guilty to Performing Illegal Silicone InjectionsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A North Andover woman pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to performing illegal silicone injections in exchange for money.
Gladys Araceli Ceron, 72, pleaded guilty to five counts of delivery for pay of an adulterated or misbranded medical device received in interstate commerce with the intent to defraud or mislead. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for Aug. 5, 2021. Ceron was charged by criminal complaint and arrested in May 2019. A federal grand jury subsequently returned an indictment.
From approximately 2004 to 2019, Ceron, who operated her business in Lawrence, performed illegal bodily injections using “gluteal material” that she obtained from a source in Florida. Lab tests of the material subsequently confirmed that it contained silicone oil – a substance that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns can travel through blood vessels and cause a stroke, death or permanent disfigurement.
In 2018, Ceron agreed to perform buttock enhancing and facial injections for an individual. During a recorded meeting on May 24, 2018, Ceron told the individual that she charged $500 for buttock injections and $60 for each wrinkle-filling injection. A search of Ceron’s business in Lawrence the following month resulted in the seizure of several bottles and syringes of a substance that tests revealed to be silicone oil. Numerous uncapped, used syringes were also recovered from the business.
Ceron performed illegal injections to augment the buttock or fill wrinkles of four other women in exchange for money and misled her victims about her qualifications and the identity and safety of the material she was injecting.
The charging statute provides for a sentence on each count of up to three years in prison, three years 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; Jeffrey J. Ebersole, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, New York Field Office; and Justin C. Fielder, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, Miami Field Office made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Y. Hemani of Mendell’s Health Care Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.
NDTX Round up: March 26 - April 1Read the Press Release
SENTENCING – ELIZABETH ANN EDWARDS
On March 26, Elizabeth Ann Edwards, 35, was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison for distribution of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine. Edwards drove an individual to a location to purchase methamphetamine from a woman. When they arrived, Edward parked the care and called the woman over. The passenger in the Edwards’ vehicle paid the woman for the methamphetamine which was delivered in a green baggie. The DEA and the Texas Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson prosecuted the case.
SENTENCING – CHRISTY LYNN HERPECHE
On March 26, Christy Lynn Herpeche, 36, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for distribution of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine. On January 20, 2020, Herpeche entered into negotiations with another individual to sell them methamphetamine. She made four transactions of methamphetamine. The DEA and the Texas Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson prosecuted the case.
SENTENCING – ALEXIS GONZALEZ-BANALES
On March 26, Alexis Gonzalez-Banales, 23, was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison for illegal transportation of an alien. The Wichita Falls Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop of a sport utility vehicle driven by Gonzalez-Banales. The vehicle was found to contain multiple illegal aliens who were all citizens of Mexico. Gonzalez-Banales was transporting the group to various locations in across the United States including Arizona, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. HSI and Wichita Falls Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Levi Thomas prosecuted the case.
GUILTY PLEA – JORGE LUIS GONZALEZ
On March 30, Jorge Luis Gonzalez, 27, plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Lancaster police officers were dispatched concerning a shooting complaint. When officers arrived at a location, the victim advised officers that they had been shot at by two men from a residential location. Law enforcement responded to the location of the shooting where they recovered several shell casings in the driveway. Additionally, law enforcement made contact with Gonzalez. He was arrested after officers located methamphetamine in his pants pockets. Inside the residence, law enforcement seized methamphetamine, heroin, promethazine, and methamphetamine in the conversion process from liquid to crystal form. Gonzalez faces up to 20 years in federal prison for his crimes. The DEA and Lancaster Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Myria Boehm is prosecuting the case.
SENTENCING – BEI-JING TASHAWNA WALKER
On March 31, Bei-Jing Tashawna Walker, 27, was sentenced to 4 years probation for accessory after the fact. In February 2018, Walker was driving her vehicle and the front passenger, Donnie Orlondo Ferrrell, fired a handgun from the passenger window in the direction of another motorist. Walker witnessed the other motorist crash his vehicle into a concrete retaining wall after the shots were fired by Ferrell. She continued to drive to her residence and allowed Ferrell to stay while he attempted to avoid law enforcement detection. It was not until police arrested Ferrell at Walker’s residence that she learned the motorist had been killed by a bullet fired from Walker’s handgun. The United States Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys P.J. Meitl and John Kull prosecuted the case.
Minnesota man charged with possession of fraudulent identification documents and counterfeit checksRead the Press Release
Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Brennan announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Toledo returned a six-count indictment charging Ronald Lee Jenkins, 38, of Blaine, Minnesota, with possession with intent to unlawfully use false identification documents, unlawful production of identification documents and possession of counterfeit securities.
Court documents state that on February 14, 2021, the Defendant was stopped by an officer with the Maumee Police Department after committing several traffic violations. Following the stop, it was determined that Defendant had active warrants out of Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Defendant was detained, and his vehicle searched. During the search of his vehicle and a subsequent search of a hotel room he had rented in Maumee, officers located 13 Social Security cards; 183 Armed Forces of the United States identification cards; 10 South Carolina driver’s licenses; and several personal checks. It is alleged in the indictment that the identification documents were fraudulent, and the checks forged and counterfeit.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted, Defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including Defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, Defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation.
In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum, and in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
This investigation was conducted by the Maumee Police Department and the United States Secret Service. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert N. Melching and Deyana F. Unis.
Michigan Hotel Manager Indicted for Tax Fraud and ObstructionRead the Press Release
Two defendants indicted on tax fraud and obstruction charges made their first appearances in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan today.
According to the indictment returned on March 3, 2021, Harold Walls, of Clare, Michigan, managed the day-to-day operations of the Days Inn Clare, a hotel owned by his father, Karl Walls. Rather than pay himself regular wages through the hotel’s payroll system, Harold Walls allegedly caused himself to be paid by other means, including by paying personal expenses from the hotel’s operating account. Harold Walls then allegedly filed individual income tax returns for 2013 through 2017 that did not report any income from the hotel. Rather, Harold Walls allegedly only reported wages from his employment as a professor of hospitality management and income from the rental of farmland.
The indictment further charges that Karl Walls reported income and expenses for the Days Inn Clare on Schedules C attached to his individual tax returns. From 2012 through 2017, Harold Walls allegedly provided and caused his father to provide false and incomplete information to Karl Walls’ return preparer, which resulted in the preparation of Schedules C for the hotel that understated its gross receipts and overstated its expenses. In particular, the information allegedly provided to the tax return preparer did not include revenue for 11 “off book” rooms that were not tracked in the hotel’s reservation system and, as a result, the revenue for these rooms was not reported on the Schedules C. The information allegedly provided to the tax return preparer also included inflated expense figures for the hotel’s property taxes for 2013, 2014, and 2017.
Finally, the indictment charges that both Harold Walls and Karl Walls attempted to obstruct the criminal investigation of Harold Walls. In January 2017, after IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) special agents notified Harold Walls that he was the subject of a criminal tax investigation, Harold Walls allegedly made false statements to the special agents about his work at the hotel and attempted to cause a hotel employee to make similar false statements. In October 2018, Karl Walls also allegedly attempted to corruptly persuade two witnesses to provide false testimony to the grand jury regarding his son’s employment at the hotel.
Harold Walls is charged with filing false tax returns, aiding in the preparation of false tax returns, and endeavoring to obstruct the IRS. If convicted, Harold Walls faces a maximum term of imprisonment of three years on each of the tax and obstruction charges. Karl Walls is charged with two counts of witness tampering. Karl Walls faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count of witness tampering. Both defendants also face a period of supervised release and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
IRS-CI is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Melissa S. Siskind and Samuel B. Bean of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are 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.
Man Sentenced to 35 Years for Sexual Exploitation of a ChildRead the Press Release
A former executive director for a university’s donor relations and fundraising programs in New York was sentenced today to 35 years in prison for multiple child pornography crimes, including his participation in the sexual abuse of a 6-year-old.
According to court documents, on July 22, 2015, Scott Lane, 37, of New York, New York, and others were on a particular video-conferencing platform when a man in Pennsylvania, co-conspirator William Augusta, began sexually abusing a 6-year-old boy. Lane and others encouraged Augusta to sexually abuse the boy for everyone to watch live. Specifically, Lane, using the alias “NYC Perv,” instructed Augusta to “make out with him,” and further instructed Augusta to engage in specific sexual acts with the boy. An undercover Toronto Police detective constable observed the sexual abuse via the video-conferencing platform, and the following day, law enforcement rescued the child and arrested Augusta, who had been sexually abusing the child for approximately two years. A subsequent search of Lane’s electronic devices revealed that Lane possessed multiple videos of prepubescent child pornography.
“The successful prosecution of the 15 individuals in this case, many of whom were responsible for the reprehensible sexual abuse of a 6-year-old child on a live-streaming, video-conferencing platform, demonstrate the Department of Justice’s unwavering commitment to targeting dangerous sexual abusers of children, however they commit their crimes,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “We will continue to work closely with our domestic and foreign law enforcement partners to identify, prosecute, and hold accountable those who exploit children, no matter the technological means they use to commit their heinous crimes.”
“This defendant and his co-conspirators engaged in truly hideous behavior toward a child,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bruce D. Brandler of the Middle District of Pennsylvania. “The lengthy sentence imposed today, and the lengthy sentences imposed earlier, reflect our office’s commitment to protecting vulnerable victims and punishing individuals who engage in this type of abhorrent behavior. I want to thank all the prosecutors and law enforcement agents who worked tirelessly to make sure justice was served in this case.”
“Today’s sentence demonstrates the severity of the crimes committed in this case,” said Special Agent in Charge Brian A. Michael for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Philadelphia. “The defendant perpetuated unspeakable crimes against the most vulnerable of victims, a child. Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners are devoted to identifying, investigating, and prosecuting offenders like the defendant ensuring they will never harm another child. We hope today’s sentencing can bring some solace to the victim in their recovery.”
In May 2016, 15 individuals were charged in an 18-count superseding indictment by a grand jury in the Middle District of Pennsylvania with multiple child exploitation offenses, many of which related to 14 co-conspirators’ involvement in using the video-conferencing website to produce, advertise, distribute, and/or receive child pornography. Twelve of the defendants pleaded guilty prior to trial, and two went to trial in January 2018. The defendants were sentenced to between six and a half years and 60 years. One defendant died after pleading guilty but before sentencing, and another defendant died before trial.
Lane pleaded guilty to six counts of child pornography crimes on Jan. 11, 2018, including conspiracy to produce and production of child pornography. In addition to the prison sentence, he was ordered to serve 15 years of supervised release and to pay $50,000 of restitution to the then-6-year-old victim as well as $476.95 to another victim.
HSI Philadelphia, the Toronto Police Service, the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office, and the North Middleton Police Department investigated the case, with assistance from the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section’s (CEOS) High Technology Investigative Unit.
CEOS Trial Attorney Austin M. Berry and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Ford of the Middle District of Pennsylvania prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.
Man Charged with Shooting with Intent to KillRead the Press Release
A man has been charged in federal court for shooting a woman Saturday near Sheridan Road and Interstate 244, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
Isaiah Matthew Drywater, 23, was charged by criminal complaint with shooting with intent to kill in Indian Country and with being an unlawful user of controlled substances in possession of a firearm. He is scheduled to make an initial appearance today in federal court at 2 pm.
On March 27, 2021, just after 7 pm, Tulsa police officers responded to the shooting. Officers observed two individuals lying on the ground, including a female victim who had sustained four gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to a hospital for care. Drywater, whose clothing matched the description reported to authorities, was also lying on the ground with a Smith & Wesson 9 mm pistol a few feet away. Officers ran a records check on the firearm and discovered it was reported stolen in October 2020.
According to the charging document, officers spoke to four witnesses during their investigation. One heard the shots and looked in the direction of the crime, seeing a man and woman. He stated that it looked like the male shot the victim and recognized the man as a person called “Happy.” He said he saw “Happy” pulled the trigger then empty his handgun’s magazine. He then saw the man lie on the ground and throw the gun away from himself.
During an interview, officers explained to Drywater they were investigating a shooting and that he was a suspect. The defendant denied shooting anyone but said he thought his friend and her dog had been shot. He said the two had met through a mutual acquaintance. According to court documents, Drywater stated that he had used methamphetamine and PCP that day and that he had a Smith & Wesson 9 mm firearm and almost a full magazine that he carried in his waistband or backpack to conceal it. The defendant explained that he traded drugs and money for the gun. He also allegedly told officers that he remembered hanging out with an acquaintance and the victim and the next thing he remembered was being in a police car. Officers terminated the interview when the defendant asked for an attorney.
This matter will proceed in U.S. District Court in Tulsa, where the criminal complaint is currently pending. A complaint is a temporary charge alleging a violation of law. For the case to proceed to trial, the United States must present the charge to a federal grand jury within 30 days. Once a grand jury returns an indictment, a defendant has a right to a jury trial at which the United States would have the burden of proving the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The Tulsa Police Department is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Heatherman is prosecuting the case.
Leader of Drug Trafficking Organization Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Trafficking Charges and BriberyRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – Russell Stanley III, age 40, of Bowie, Maryland, pleaded guilty on March 31, 2021 to the federal charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, and bribery of a government official.
The guilty plea was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Postal Inspector in Charge Peter R. Rendina of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Special Agent in Charge Imari R. Niles of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, Assistant and Interim Chief Hector Velez of the Prince George’s County Police Department.
According to Stanley’s guilty plea, in August 2018 the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began a joint investigation regarding the importation of cocaine into Maryland through the United States mail. Investigators identified Stanley as the leader of the drug trafficking organization (DTO) in Maryland. Stanley admitted that he conspired with others to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine in Maryland. Stanley further admitted that he had others assisting him with facilitating his distribution of cocaine in Maryland. Among those Stanley DTO members was Jovan Kirk Louis Savage, age 35, of Bowie, who picked up cocaine parcels in exchange for $500 per parcel from Stanley and assisted with delivering proceeds of the drug sales to pay off Stanley’s drug debt.
The investigation revealed that two U.S. Postal Service (USPS) letter carriers, Zakiyya Holloman, age 37, of Middle River, Maryland and Maurice Vaughn, age 34, of Washington, D.C. agreed to divert U.S. Priority Mail parcels, containing cocaine, sent to addresses on their routes, to Stanley or a member of the Stanley DTO in exchange for money. Holloman serviced a route in Bowie from April 2017 to October 2019, and Vaughn serviced a route in Bowie from July 2018 to October 2019. As USPS letter carriers, Vaughn and Holloman were public officials and were expected, among other things, to deliver each package to the addressee at the proper address and to keep an accurate record of their deliveries. Holloman began diverting packages containing cocaine to Stanley in approximately April 2018, after being introduced to Stanley by a mutual acquaintance. Holloman received $500 from Stanley for each parcel diverted. Hollman diverted cocaine parcels on at least six occasions, receiving a total of at least $3,000 from Stanley. In an effort to conceal the scheme, Holloman scanned the parcels as delivered to the addressees, despite delivering those parcels to Stanley.
As detailed in the plea agreement, at least once a month from December 2018 until October 2019, Vaughn diverted a U.S. Priority Mail parcel containing two kilograms of cocaine to the Stanley DTO. Specifically, on February 15, 2019, Vaughn delivered to Stanley’s vehicle, a U.S. Priority Mail parcel containing two kilograms of cocaine addressed to a Bowie address on Vaughn’s postal route. After Vaughn delivered the parcel to Stanley’s vehicle, Vaughn was paid $200 via Cash App. Similarly, Vaughn delivered U.S. Priority Mail parcels containing two kilograms of cocaine each on August 29, 2019, and October 2, 2019. Savage picked up each of the parcels, conducting counter-surveillance to make sure that law enforcement was not in the area. Vaughn was paid $200 in exchange for diverting each of those cocaine parcels to the Stanley DTO. In an effort to conceal the scheme, Vaughn scanned the United States Priority Mail parcels as delivered to the addressees, despite delivering those parcels to the Stanley DTO or to particular locations for pick-up by the Stanley DTO.
To help ensure that the letter carriers would not report their criminal activity, Stanley and a co-defendant required letter carriers to provide them with the letter carriers’ home addresses. Stanley discussed with a co-defendant that they should also tell the letter carriers that they knew the location of the letter carriers’ children's daycares.
In October 2019, Postal Inspectors intercepted a United States Priority Mail parcel destined for an Upper Marlboro address that contained the same contents as previous parcels including, edible peanuts, blue-and-white drinking straws, styrofoam plates and cups, and two kilograms of cocaine inside a Tupperware container. Law enforcement executed a search and seizure warrant, seizing the two kilograms of cocaine from the package. On October 9, 2019, Stanley and Savage worked together to pick up the parcel, not knowing that the cocaine had already been seized by law enforcement. They conducted counter-surveillance to make sure that law enforcement was not in the area, but before they could pick up the package, they detected the presence of law enforcement who were conducting surveillance of the Upper Marlboro package’s delivery. Stanley fled the scene in his vehicle, but Savage was arrested.
On October 9, 2019 investigators executed a search warrant at the shared residence of Stanley, Savage, and another member of the DTO. Among the items that investigators found and seized were approximately 15 grams of cocaine in a clear baggie and two digital scales from a kitchen cabinet as well as a money counter. Investigators searched Stanley upon his arrest, seizing $3,196 from his person. Stanley admitted that during the course of the conspiracy at least 40 kilograms of cocaine were attributable to him.
Jovan Kirk Louis Savage, age 35, of Bowie, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and faces a maximum sentence of life in federal prison. Maurice Vaughn and Zakiyya Holloman each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and to bribery. They face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for the conspiracy charge and a maximum of 15 years in federal prison for bribery. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Judge Xinis has not yet scheduled sentencing dates for Savage, Vaughn, or Holloman.
Co-defendant Barrington Albert Edwards, Jr. age 37, of Bowie, Maryland, is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, and bribery. Co-defendant Delonte Andre Gomez, a/k/a Turk, age 39, also of Bowie, is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base. An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
Stanley and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Stanley will be sentenced to 11 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has scheduled sentencing for Stanley on June 29, 2021 at 10:00 a.m.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended the USPIS, the DEA, the U.S. Postal Service OIG, and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Lenzner thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samika N. Boyd and Jason D. Medinger, who are prosecuting the case.
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Lawrence Woman Arrested for Identity Theft and Unemployment Fraud Related to COVID-19 PandemicRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Lawrence woman was arrested today in connection with her alleged involvement in a scheme to fraudulently obtain COVID-19-related unemployment assistance.
Raquel Pena, 40, was charged in a criminal complaint with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Pena was released on conditions after an initial appearance in federal court in Boston.
According to the charging documents, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) created a temporary federal unemployment insurance program called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). PUA, administered by the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance, provides unemployment insurance benefits for individuals who are not eligible for other types of unemployment benefits (e.g., the self-employed, independent contractors or gig economy workers). As alleged in the complaint, Pena and others conspired to file fraudulent claims for PUA using others’ personally identifiable information. Pena recruited acquaintances to receive the proceeds of the fraudulent claims into their bank accounts, withdraw all or a portion of those funds and give the cash to Pena. The investigation allegedly connected Pena and her co-conspirators to more than $300,000 in unemployment claims between May 2020 and March 2021.
The charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of aggravated identity theft provides for a mandatory sentence of two years in prison to be served consecutively to any other sentenced imposed, 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; Joseph R. Bonavolanta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Office; and Michael Mikulka, Special Agent in Charge of Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations made the announcement today. The Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance provided assistance in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Markham of Mendell’s Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Kansas City Man Sentenced to 144 Months Imprisonment for Distributing HeroinRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas City man has been sentenced on federal charges of distribution of heroin, Acting U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard said today.
TITUS SANDERS, 24, of Kansas City, Missouri, was sentenced on April 1, 2021 to 144 months in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release. Sanders entered a guilty plea on October 19, 2020. According to court records, this investigation began when Westwood, Kansas police responded to a Walmart and found a man suffering from a drug overdose. The victim later died as result of the overdose. Information contained on the victim’s cell phone led police to Sanders as the source of the heroin purchase.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Westwood, Kansas Police Department, Fairway, Kansas Police Department, Kansas City, Kansas Police Department, Overland Park Police Department, Lee’s Summit, Missouri Police Department and Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Trent Krug and Kim Flannigan prosecuted the case.
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Inmate at USP Lee Sentenced for Unlawfully Possessing WeaponsRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va. – Daniel Lee Wade, an inmate at the United States Penitentiary (USP) Lee in Jonesville, Virginia, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Abingdon to 48 months in prison for unlawfully possessing weapons inside the prison, Acting United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar announced today.
Wade, 26, of Greenville, North Carolina, pleaded guilty on October 28, 2020 to one count of possessing contraband inside a prison.
According to court documents, Wade possessed two prison made knives on March 28, 2020. One weapon measured 6-and one-half inches in length and 1-inch in width and was made from grey metal sharpened to a knife edge point. The other weapon measured 6-inches long and came to a sharpened point. Both had cloth handles and one had a black boot string attached as a lanyard.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Special Assistant United States Attorney Debbie Stevens prosecuted the case for the United States.
Individual Indicted for Two Armed Robberies and A Carjacking in Bayamón and Toa BajaRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On March 30, 2021, a federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment charging Jesús Abdiel Feliciano-Candelario with offenses related to two robberies and a carjacking, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. On April 1, the U.S. Marshals took Feliciano-Candelario into federal custody.
According to the Government’s allegations:
- In July 2019, at around 11:00AM, a man parked in front of an auto parts store in Bayamón with his 13-year old son. In the back of his car, the father had auto batteries that were going to be sold to the auto parts store as part of his business. While the father was in the store, Jesús Abdiel Feliciano-Candelario approached the 13-year-old boy and told him that he was going to take the batteries. When the father attempted to intervene, Mr. Feliciano-Candelario brandished a gun. Mr. Feliciano-Candelario and his accomplice then stole several car batteries from the victim’s vehicle.
- In August 2019, a couple arrived at their home in Bayamón around 8:30PM. While they were parking their car in the driveway, Mr. Feliciano-Candelario approached the wife, drew a knife, took her purse and demanded the keys to their van. When the husband refused to provide the keys, Mr. Feliciano-Candelario threatened to kill him. Mr. Feliciano-Candelario then drove off in the car, which contained over $1,700 in cash from the couple’s business.
- In September 2020, at around 11:20PM, Mr. Feliciano-Candelario and two accomplices robbed at gun point a To Go Store gas station in Toa Baja. They stole over $300 and merchandise.
The five-count indictment charges carjacking, violations of the Hobbs Act, and related firearm offenses.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeanette Collazo of the Violent Crimes Section is in charge of the prosecution of the case. The FBI is in charge of the investigation. If convicted, the defendant faces a sentence of up to fifteen years for the carjacking, up to 20 years for the Hobbs Act robberies, and not less than fourteen years in prison for the firearm offenses.
An indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Fresno Man Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Illegal Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Joel Jose Rueda, 28, of Fresno, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd to 37 months in prison for illegally possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony offense, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, on July 29, 2019, law enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop on a car that Rueda was driving. Because Rueda was on parole, the officers conducted a parole-compliance check and searched him and the car. Inside the engine compartment, behind the driver’s side headlight, officers located several rolled-up t-shirts concealing a loaded handgun with an obliterated serial number. Rueda is prohibited from possessing firearms because of multiple felony convictions for drug and firearm offenses. He was charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and pleaded guilty on Jan. 13, 2020.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Kerman Police Department, and the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin J. Gilio is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.
Fort Myers Felon Sentenced to Prison for Possessing Loaded AR-15 PistolRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, FL – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Kwameaine Rashad Brown (28, Fort Myers) to 6 years and 11 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. The court also ordered Brown to forfeit the firearm and 87 rounds of ammunition involved in the offense.
Brown had pleaded guilty on December 21, 2020.
According to court documents, on the night of December 31, 2019, officers from the Fort Myers Police Department (FMPD) observed Brown on city surveillance cameras openly carrying a firearm and placing it in the trunk of a vehicle. Brown later entered the vehicle, which was subsequently stopped by FMPD officers patrolling the area. The firearm Brown had been holding was identified as a Springfield Armory Saint 5.56 mm AR-15 pistol, which was equipped with a high-capacity drum-style magazine and loaded with more than 80 rounds of ammunition. At the time, Brown was a convicted felon and therefore prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Fort Myers Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon R. Eth.
This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence and enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes. For more information on Project Guardian visit www.justice.gov/projectguardian.
Former State Department Employee Indicted for Concealing Information in Background InvestigationRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Paul Michael Guertin (“Guertin”), 40, of Arizona and former resident of Washington, DC, was indicted on March 29, 2021 by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia for wire fraud and obstructing an official proceeding. The indictment was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Special Agent in Charge Elisabeth Heller, of the U.S. Department of State, Office of Inspector General.
Guertin was a Foreign Service Officer who served on multiple State Department assignments, including overseas postings to U.S. diplomatic missions in Shanghai, China and Islamabad, Pakistan, and a posting to the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at State Department headquarters in Washington, DC. As a condition of his employment, Guertin was required to apply for and maintain a Top Secret security clearance. According to the indictment, Guertin intentionally concealed information on his SF-86 background investigation questionnaires and in interviews with State Department background investigators. He withheld information about several categories of conduct, including an undisclosed sexual relationship with a Chinese national, whose U.S. visa application was adjudicated by Guertin while he was serving as a consular officer in Shanghai, China; undisclosed gambling debts; and an undisclosed $225,000 loan from two Chinese nationals, who were directed by Guertin to provide $45,000 of the initial disbursement in the form of cash in $100 bills.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of State, Office of Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Brown and Thomas Gillice, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Chad Byron.
Former Sioux City Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent Sentenced to Federal Prison for Violating the Clean Water ActRead the Press Release
The former Superintendent of the Sioux City Wastewater Treatment Plant, who conspired to cheat on environmental testing at the plant, was sentenced on April 1, 2021, to three months in federal prison.
Jay Earnest Niday, age 63, from Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, received the prison term after a October 6, 2020 guilty plea to one count of conspiracy and one count of knowingly falsifying, tampering with, and rendering inaccurate a monitoring device or method required to be maintained under the Clean Water Act.
The evidence at Niday’s guilty plea and sentencing hearings showed that Niday was employed as the Superintendent of the Sioux City Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). The WWTP is a large regional sewage treatment plant for wastewater from industrial, commercial, and residential sources throughout Siouxland, including Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, South Sioux City, Nebraska, North Sioux City, South Dakota, and Dakota Dunes, South Dakota. The WWTP’s more than 20 industrial users produce a large volume of high-strength wastewater. Under a Clean Water Act (CWA) permit, the WWTP was required to treat wastewater before discharging it into the Missouri River, which has heavy local recreational use. Between March 15 and November 15 each year, when public use of the Missouri River was at its highest levels, the WWTP was also required to disinfect its wastewater to remove potentially dangerous human pathogens, including fecal coliform bacteria or E. coli.
The WWTP treated its wastewater with liquid chlorine, which kills bacteria but is potentially toxic to aquatic life. The WWTP’s permit required the WWTP to periodically test its wastewater not only for the presence of fecal coliform bacteria or E. coli, but also total residual chlorine (TRC) levels, to ensure that the Missouri River was not polluted.
Beginning no later than 2011, and continuing until at least June 2015, Niday and others knowingly withheld from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) serious problems with the WWTP’s new treatment process, known as “the MLE process.” Niday and others concealed this fundamental problem with the MLE process from the IDNR.
Niday and others knew that the WWTP did not work properly and could not consistently disinfect the millions of gallons of wastewater that the WWTP was discharging into the Missouri River each day. In March 2013, an engineering firm prepared a “draft master plan” contemplated under a $1 million contract with the City and provided it to Niday and another person. The draft master plan discussed the disinfection problems at the WWTP at length and concluded the WWTP’s treatment process could not provide adequate disinfection of the WWTP’s influent given the apparently high toxicity in its significant industrial users’ effluent. Instead of following the recommendations in the draft master plan, Niday instructed the engineering firm to not finalize the report.
Niday and his coconspirators employed a fraudulent testing procedure that ensured the WWTP would always pass its effluent tests for fecal coliform, E. coli, and TRC. Specifically, early in the morning on testing days for bacteria, Niday and a subordinate manager, Shift Supervisor Patrick Schwarte, instructed first‑shift operators at the WWTP to increase the rate of liquid chlorine supplied to the wastewater. After an hour or two passed, and an artificially high level of chlorine was fully mixed into wastewater, they ordered the WWTP’s first-shift operators to use hand-held colorimeters to gauge the levels of chlorine. Only when the colorimeter “maxed out” would the Superintendent take a sample for fecal coliform or E. coli. This fraudulent procedure allowed for the chlorine in the wastewater to reach sufficient concentrations to avoid showing elevated levels of fecal coliform or E. coli, which would violate the WWTP’s CWA permits. The WWTP never reported any exceedances of its CWA permit limits for bacteria or residual chlorine after July 2012.
The liquid chlorine rate was increased from about 2.5 gallons per hour, to somewhere between 70 to 120 gallons per hour, for up to two hours. On non-testing days, WWTP employees maintained the chlorine feed rate at minimal levels, well below the designed feed rate of the WWTP and at a rate clearly insufficient to ensure the WWTP consistently and adequately disinfected its wastewater, as the WWTP’s CWA permits required. Then, in the afternoon on fecal coliform or E. coli testing days, well after the high amounts of chlorine had dissipated from the WWTP’s chlorine contact basin, and when an insufficiently low rate of liquid chlorine was supplied to the basin, Niday and Schwarte would test again for TRC. In the afternoon, they were certain the TRC would pass, because only a minimal rate of liquid chlorine was supplied to the chlorine contact basin at that time. Again, this minimal rate was clearly insufficient to ensure the WWTP consistently and adequately disinfected its wastewater, as required.
Niday was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Niday was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment and fined $6,000. He must also repay $2,500 in court-appointed attorney fees and serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Jay Niday deliberately worked with others to cheat on environmental tests, knowing he was polluting the Missouri River,” said Acting United States Attorney Sean R. Berry. “His actions not only put recreational users of the river at risk, but also endangered the river’s aquatic life. Niday’s blatant disregard for the law, the safety of the community, and his reprehensible treatment of a vital waterway was outrageous.”
“By intentionally tampering with the disinfection processes at the Sioux City Wastewater Treatment Plant, Jay Niday placed the community and its natural resources in jeopardy of sustaining significant environmental damage,” said Special Agent in Charge Lance Ehrig of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division for Iowa. “Today’s sentencing demonstrates that such violations will be vigorously prosecuted.”
“Jay Niday knowingly manipulated data at a wastewater treatment plant that received millions of dollars in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency state revolving funds,” said Daniel Hawthorne, Special Agent in Charge of the EPA Office of Inspector General’s Western Region Field Office. “This sentencing fulfills the
OIG’s commitment with our law enforcement partners to ensure that falsifying data and undermining the integrity of taxpayer dollars will not be tolerated.”
Niday was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy L. Vavricek and Matthew J. Cole and investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division, the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 20-CR-4081-LTS.
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Former Nursing Home Employee and Home Health Aide Arrested in Two Separate Cases Involving Financial Exploitation of Elderly and Vulnerable AdultsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Valerie Nicole Williams, 31, was arrested on March 22, 2021 and charged via criminal complaint with felony Financial Exploitation of an Elderly Person and Financial Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult, in violation of D.C. Code § 22-933.01. On March 23, 2021, Mechille R. Akinkuotu (a.k.a. Mechille R. Tate), 53, was arrested and charged via criminal complaint with felony Financial Exploitation of an Elderly Person, in violation of the same code provision.
The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips; Karl Racine, Attorney General for the District of Columbia; and Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia.
According to Court records, Williams was the Business Officer Coordinator at Transitions Healthcare Capital City, a skilled nursing facility in the District. Between October 2018 and August 2019, she used her position to steal $7,421 from seven elderly residents and four vulnerable adult residents at the facility. Williams forged the signatures of these residents to withdraw funds from the residents’ accounts managed by the facility. In two instances she also redirected money orders intended for residents into her own account.
Also according to Court records, Akinkuotu was the home health aide for an elderly man with limited mobility. Between January and April 2020, she stole $8,076.78 from the victim by using his debit card for unauthorized transactions including purchases at Target, Mary Kaye Cosmetics, and nail salons, as well as ATM withdrawals. Status hearings for both Williams and Akinkuotu have been scheduled for late August 2021.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
In announcing the relevant charges on March 22 and 23, 2021, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillips, Attorney General Racine, and Inspector General Lucas commended the work of those who investigated the cases from the District of Columbia’s Office of the Attorney General and Office of the Inspector General. They also cited the efforts of Special Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer C. Mika, on detail from the Office of the Attorney General to handle financial crimes cases involving elderly victims, who investigated and is prosecuting both cases for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
This prosecution is part of the Office’s wider efforts to combat crimes against seniors and vulnerable adults. In 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia simultaneously launched initiatives to address the abuse and exploitation of older adults. The Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation Initiative at the U.S. Attorney’s Office expanded its response to criminal and civil violations targeting older adults. The initiative has enabled the U.S. Attorney’s Office to develop and coordinate further its prosecution of these cases and enhance its overall support of older or vulnerable victims. The team consists of experienced prosecutors and victim advocates from across the Office, to include the Superior Court, Criminal, and Civil Divisions, as well as the Victim Witness Assistance Unit. This prosecution is indicative of the continued collaboration between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Attorney General to prosecute cases of this kind.
Former Airport Employee Sentenced to 24 Months in Prison on Drug ChargeRead the Press Release
St. Croix, USVI – Lamech Matthew, age 28, of St. Croix, was sentenced in the St. Croix District Court on April 1, 2021, after pleading previously guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Possess a Controlled Substance With Intent to Distribute, United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced. Matthew originally entered his guilty plea on January 22, 2019.
Chief Judge Wilma A. Lewis sentenced Matthew to a federal prison term of 24 months, followed by 3 years of supervised release, a $3,500 fine, and a $100 special assessment.
According to court documents, on November 2, 2016, while investigating a passenger found with cocaine in his carry-on luggage, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents reviewed surveillance footage from the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix. They were able to determine that Matthew, a Worldwide Flight Services employee, was involved with the passenger. After Matthew was advised of his rights, he admitted that he brought the cocaine into the restroom in the pre-departure area and left the cocaine in a stall to be retrieved by the passenger. Laboratory analysis confirmed the substance was cocaine hydrochloride (cocaine powder) with a net weight of 5,132.4 grams, or over 5 kilograms.
The case was investigated by Customs and Boarder Protection and Homeland Security Investigations. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Southeast Laboratory in Miami analyzed the cocaine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel H. Huston prosecuted the case.
Federal and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Announce Operation ScarecrowRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the York County District Attorney’s Office, and the York City Police Department announced a joint initiative (Operation Scarecrow) that targets individuals who illegally purchase and possess firearms in York County. Operation Scarecrow will focus on individuals who are prohibited from possessing firearms due to a prior felony conviction who use third parties (“straw parties”) to purchase firearms on their behalf. Under federal and state law, such transactions are illegal and both the prohibited person and the straw party are subject to criminal prosecution for engaging in this type of behavior.
Operation Scarecrow began on January 20, 2021 and has thus far resulted in 19 firearms being recovered. As a result of the operation, the U.S. Attorney's Office has charged the following individuals:
- Jahzaire Jahzaire Gilliam, age 19, York, PA, charged with conspiring to make a false statement during the purchase of a firearm; two counts of receipt of firearm by person under indictment; possession of firearm by unlawful user of controlled substance; distribution of marijuana; possession with intent to distribute marijuana; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking;
- Hannah Lapham, age 22, York, PA, charged with conspiring to make and making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm;
- Donte Christian, age 45, of Baltimore, MD, charged with four counts of making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm; and
- Nijee Baskins, age 21, York, PA, charged with two counts of making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm.
The investigations are continuing, and numerous other individuals are expected to be charged in both federal and state court in the near future.
“Taking illegal guns off the streets is a high priority of the Department of Justice,” stated Acting United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler. “Illegal guns fuel the epidemic of violence we see too often in York, and around the nation. We will work with all our state and local partners to reduce gun violence and investigate any and all suspicious straw party transactions that result in felons or other prohibited persons illegally possessing firearms.”
“When a person chooses to purchase a firearm under false pretenses, these firearms more often than not end up on the streets and into the hands of criminals,” said Matthew Varisco, Special Agent in charge of ATF’s Philadelphia Field Division. “Successful investigations like these, exemplifies ATF’s dedication to our local, state and federal partners in working together to keep our streets safe from gun violence. I would like to thank the York City Police Department, the York County Drug Task Force, the York County District Attorney’s Office and the United States Attorney’s Office for their continued support in our important mission to protect the public.”
The indictments are the result of an investigation by ATF, York City Police Department, the York County Drug Task Force, and the York County District Attorney’s Office.
These cases are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
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Farson Man Indicted for Tax FraudRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Bob Murray announced today that SEAN D THOMAS, age 49, of Farson, Wyoming, was indicted on April 2, 2021, under U.S. District Court Docket Number 21-CR-45-NDF, charged with multiple counts of tax evasion and failure to file federal income tax returns. Thomas had his initial appearance today via videoconference before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Honorable Mark L. Carman.
According to the charges outlined in the indictment, it is alleged that between June 2014 through at least 2018, Thomas was employed and filed a Form W-4 falsely claiming withholding allowances which caused his employer to not withhold federal income taxes from Thomas’ wages. Thomas then failed to file an Internal Revenue Service Form 1040 tax return reporting his income for each of the years alleged in the indictment.
Each count of tax evasion carries a penalty of up to 5 years, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Each count of failure to file tax returns carries a penalty of up to 1 year in prison, up to one year of supervised release, and a fine of up to $100,000. Thomas is scheduled to appear for an arraignment hearing on April 8, 2021, in front of Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Kelly H. Rankin. A jury trial will be scheduled at the arraignment.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eric Heimann.
An indictment merely contains allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Davenport Couple Charged with $5.8 Million COVID Relief FraudRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney Karin Hoppmann announces the filing of a criminal complaint charging Julio Lugo (44) and Rosenide Venant (37), both of Davenport, with conspiracy and making false statements to a financial institution. Lugo has also been charged with an illegal monetary transaction relating to the illegal use of coronavirus relief funds to pay off a note on a luxury car purchased during the conspiracy. If convicted, Lugo faces a maximum penalty of 45 years in federal prison; Venant faces up to 35 years’ imprisonment.
According to the complaint, beginning in or about March 2020, Lugo and Venant conspired to defraud the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) out of millions of dollars in coronavirus relief funds. Lugo and Venant used their home IP-address to submit at least 70 false and fraudulent loan applications seeking funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) program. The fraudulent loan applications requested more than $5.8 million, including for shell companies established by Lugo, Venant, and their relatives. The conspirators also secured coronavirus relief funds for a defunct tax-preparation company that Lugo had previously used to perpetrate a tax fraud in or around 2015. Once the emergency loans were secured, the conspirators misused the PPP and EIDL funds by paying off a luxury vehicle, spending more than $62,000 at casinos, and for other personal purposes. Additionally, the conspirators withdrew at least $320,000 in cash. Lugo publicized the misuse of the SBA funds in a Facebook video featuring a hotel room littered with $100 bills and at least $5,000 in merchandise from Louis Vuitton.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act is a federal law enacted March 2020. It is designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act is the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the PPP. In April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding. In response to COVID-19, small business owners, including agricultural businesses, and nonprofit organizations in all U.S. states, Washington D.C., and territories were also authorized to apply for loans and grants through the COVID-19 EIDL program.
A complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Tampa Field Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kristen A. Fiore and Suzanne Nebesky.
Cohoes Man Sentenced for Interstate ThreatsRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Patris Derville, age 22, of Cohoes, New York, was sentenced yesterday to 13 months in prison for transmitting an interstate threat to injure another person, announced Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon and Thomas F. Relford, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
As part of his previously entered guilty plea, Derville admitted that on January 15, 2020, he used his Facebook account to transmit a Facebook Live video over the internet during which Derville threatened to shoot another person, and that he posted the video for the purpose of communicating that threat to that person.
Chief United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby also sentenced Derville to a 3-year term of supervised release, which will commence after Derville is released from prison.
This case was investigated by the FBI and its Capital District Safe Streets Gang Task Force, which includes FBI Special Agents and members of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Troy Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashlyn Miranda and Alicia Suarez.
Carjacking conviction sends Savannah man to federal prisonRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA: A Savannah man will spend nearly eight years in federal prison after admitting to a carjacking that left the vehicle crashed and the defendant in the hospital.
Jaquan Shakur Singleton, 26, of Savannah, was sentenced to 94 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to Interstate Transportation of a Stolen Vehicle, and Using and Carrying a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge William T. Moore also ordered Singleton to pay $9,652.82 in restitution, and to serve five years of supervised release after completion of his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Two of Jaquan Singleton’s siblings died as a result of gun violence, yet that knowledge didn’t deter him from committing violent gun crime on his own,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “The community will now be a safer place while he is behind bars, contemplating the bad choices that put him there.”
As described in court documents and testimony, Singleton pointed a handgun at a motorist in a Savannah parking lot in February 2018, stealing the victim’s car and driving away. A short time later, Singleton crashed the vehicle in Hardeeville, S.C., and after being treated at a hospital was taken into custody.
“This kind of threat to any citizen is unacceptable and will be investigated and prosecuted,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “With the help of the Savannah Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Georgia, Singleton will be punished to the fullest extent of our laws.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Savannah Police Department, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcela C. Mateo.
Canton Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of a Child, and Distribution and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jacob Leonard, age 30, of Canton, New York, pled guilty today to one count of sexual exploitation of a child, one count of distribution of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography.
The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon; Thomas F. Relford, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and New York State Police Superintendent Keith Corlett.
Leonard, who remains detained pending his sentencing scheduled for August 5, 2021, faces at least 15 years and up to 70 years in prison. Chief United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby will also impose a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors. Leonard would also have to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.
As part of his guilty plea, Leonard admitted that while using a social media messaging application on his phone, he sent an image of child pornography – which he created – to another individual over the internet. A subsequent search of Leonard’s phone revealed that he was in possession of 33 images and 18 video files depicting child pornography.
Leonard’s case was investigated by the FBI Syracuse Mid-State Child Exploitation Task Force, comprised of FBI Special Agents and Investigators from the New York State Police, Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) and Computer Crimes Unit (CCU). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey J. L. Brown as a part of Project Safe Childhood.
Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Brothers Sentenced for Smuggling Disaster that Resulted in Tragic Deaths of Three SistersRead the Press Release
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – April 2, 2021
SAN DIEGO – Two brothers from Chihuahua, Mexico, were sentenced in federal court today to 66 months in prison and a $500 special assessment for smuggling three sisters across treacherous terrain along the U.S.-Mexico border in an ill-fated trek that resulted in the tragic deaths of the young women - Juana Santos Arce (age 35), Margarita Santos Arce (age 32) and Paula Santos Arce (age 29) of Oaxaca, Mexico.
Cecilio and Ricardo Rios-Quinones pleaded guilty in August 2020 to Transportation of Aliens Resulting in Death, Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain and Conspiracy.
Calling this one of the worst human smuggling scenarios she has seen in 15 years as a judge, U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo stated that “three women froze to death because defendants sought to benefit from their need to come here. It is tragic that someone wants to come here to work and dies, but it is more tragic that there are people who benefit from this, who treat them like cargo.”
Judge Bencivengo found it significant that when events turned horrific, defendants did not immediately seek help and turn around. She recognized the presence at the sentencing hearing of several agents who engaged in the rescue operation, noting that they put their own lives at risk only to find two women dead and one barely alive, and despite their best efforts they could not get off the mountain in time to save her.
“The smugglers with whom individuals entrust their lives care only about money and not safety,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “We pledge to fervently seek justice for victims following these calamities, but we cannot bring back those who were lost or end the suffering of grieving families. I implore others not to entrust their lives or the lives of their loved ones to these smugglers.” Grossman praised the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Charlotte Kaiser, Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Border Patrol in prosecuting this case as well as all the agents and first responders who worked tirelessly and at risk to themselves to locate and rescue the sisters.
“Human smugglers prey on the desperation of people hoping for a better life in the United States,” said Cardell T. Morant, special agent in charge of HSI San Diego. “This case exemplifies the ruthlessness of smugglers, and should serve as a warning to people considering putting their lives in their hands. HSI will continue to work tirelessly to hold unscrupulous smugglers accountable and bring them to justice.”
“We are pleased that justice was served and that these criminals will be placed behind bars,” stated United States Border Patrol San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke. “May this sentencing serve as a strong message to others contemplating smuggling that this activity will not be tolerated.”
According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, the women occasionally came to the U.S. for work. According to family members, Paula, the youngest of the three sisters, was married and had an 18-month-old daughter at the time of her death.
As part of their plea agreements, the defendants admitted that they conspired with others to serve as foot guides in order to smuggle individuals illegally into the United States, and that they were ill-prepared when they guided the three sisters through a remote, mountainous region during a snow storm.
According to the plea agreements, the defendants guided the three sisters across the border from Mexico through the boundary fence in a remote area within the Southern District of California. They encountered cold, windy and rainy weather. It then began to snow. They lacked proper clothing, shoes, shelter, and other food and equipment to remain or hike in this cold, remote, mountainous environment.
According to reports, agents from the Border Patrol, Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) unit initiated a rescue operation due to a distress call in the Boulevard Border Patrol Station’s area of operation on February 10, 2020, at approximately 1:50 p.m. The call concerned five individuals who were lost and experiencing hypothermia. BORSTAR agents initially encountered the two defendants in a snowy area approximately 20.5 miles east of the Tecate, California port of entry, more than 12 miles north of the border. The defendants pointed agents to the direction of the three sisters. Agents subsequently found the three sisters lying on the ground on a ridge.
Two of the sisters were already dead. The third sister was responsive but suffering from severe hypothermia. She later died despite gallant efforts of members of BORSTAR, Border Patrol Agents from the Campo/Boulevard area and the City of San Diego Fire & Rescue Department, who placed their own lives at risk while trying to keep the distressed sister alive as temperatures dropped and winds accelerated. Autopsies confirmed the three sisters died due to environmental hypothermia.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 20cr0868-CAB
Cecilio Rios-Quinones Age: 38 Chihuahua, Mexico
Ricardo Rios-Quinones Age: 23 Chihuahua, Mexico
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Transportation of Aliens Resulting in Death – Title 8, U.S.C., Section 1324(a)(1)(A)(i) and (B)(iv)
Maximum penalty: Life in prison or death and $250,000 fine.
Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain – Title 8, U.S.C., Section 1324(a)(2)(B)(ii)
Maximum penalty: Three years mandatory minimum, 10 years maximum, and $250,000 fine.
Conspiracy – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 371
Maximum Penalty: Five years in prison and $250,000 fine.
AGENCIES
Homeland Security Investigations
U.S. Border Patrol, Intelligence Unit
Bristow Man Sentenced for Assaulting his Domestic PartnerRead the Press Release
A Bristow man was sentenced today for assaulting his former girlfriend and causing substantial bodily injury, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
“The fear and control domestic abusers exert on their victims is terrifying. Bobby Thompson threatened the victim and her family, beat her, and attempted to strangle her,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “Thompson will spend the next 24 months in prison where he will no longer be able to intimidate and harm this victim or her family.”
U.S. District Judge John F. Heil III sentenced Bobby Brian Thompson, 39, to 24 months in federal prison followed by three years supervised release.
Thompson pleaded guilty to assault resulting in substantial bodily injury to a spouse, intimate partner, dating partner in Indian Country in December. In his plea agreement, Thompson admitted that on or about June 11, 2020, in Bristow, Oklahoma, he assaulted his dating partner. Specifically, he admitted to striking the victim with his fists and strangling her. The victim suffered substantial bodily injury as a result of his assault upon her.
The FBI and Bristow Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard M. Cella prosecuted the case.
Beckley Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug CrimeRead the Press Release
BECKLEY, W.Va. – A Beckley man pleaded guilty today to distributing cocaine base in Raleigh County. Eric Ledon Brown, 53, was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2020.
Pursuant to the plea agreement and statements made in court, Brown sold cocaine base to a confidential informant on August 25, 2020. Brown admitted to selling the drugs from his residence on South Heber Street in Beckley. Brown also admitted to selling cocaine base on two other occasions within the Southern District of West Virginia. As further part of the plea, Brown admitted that a search warrant was executed at his residence on September 30, 2020. During the execution of the search warrant, law enforcement officers found a quantity of cocaine base that Brown admitted that he intended to distribute and two firearms that Brown was prohibited from possessing due to a prior felony conviction in the state of Ohio.
Brown faces up to 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on August 6, 2021.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit, which is comprised of officers from the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department, the Beckley Police Department and the West Virginia State Police, conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Boggess is in charge of the prosecution. United States District Judge Frank W. Volk presided over the hearing.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-cr-00192.
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Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Issues Statement on Death and Injury of Capitol Police OfficersRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland today issued the following statement:
“The entire Department of Justice mourns with the U.S. Capitol Police and the family of Officer William Evans. Our thoughts are also with the other brave officer injured in the attack.
“As the members of the U.S. Capitol Police have demonstrated this year, they will give their all to defend the seat of our democracy. The Washington Field Office of the FBI is assisting the Metropolitan Police Department with their investigation of this tragic attack.”
Albany Felon Arrested for Possessing FirearmsRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Roderick Jones, age 41, of Albany, was ordered detained today on a federal complaint charging him with two separate instances of unlawful possession of firearms.
The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon; John B. DeVito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); and Chief Eric Hawkins of the Albany Police Department.
The complaint alleges that on January 17, 2019, Jones possessed a loaded .380 caliber handgun in his vehicle when he was arrested on impaired driving charges. The complaint further alleges that on September 29, 2019, Jones possessed a 9mm pistol that he discharged four times at an occupied residence. On both occasions, Jones was a felon who was prohibited from possessing firearms.
Jones was arrested on the complaint on Wednesday, and appeared for a detention hearing today in Albany before United States Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart. Following a detention hearing, Jones was ordered detained pending trial.
The charges in the complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Jones was previously convicted of unlawful possession of the .380 pistol in Albany County Court, but that conviction was overturned in July 2020, by the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division’s Third Department. The court ruled that the search of Jones’s vehicle, leading to the recovery of the .380 pistol, was not a valid inventory search. At time of his arrest on the federal complaint, Jones was facing charges in Albany County Court related to the possession and discharge of the 9mm pistol in September 2019. Those charges will be dismissed by the Albany County District Attorney’s Office in light of the federal complaint.
The charges filed against Jones carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a maximum 3-year term of supervised release. 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 is being investigated by the Albany Police Department and ATF. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emmet O’Hanlon.
Akwesasne Man Sentenced for Fleeing Port of EntryRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK - Brennan J. Thompson, age 43, of Cornwall Island, Ontario, was sentenced today to time served (approximately 2 months in jail) for driving away from the Massena Port of Entry while Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers attempted to search his vehicle.
The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon and Robert Dwyer, CBP Director of the Massena Port of Entry.
As part of his earlier guilty plea, Thompson admitted that on May 13, 2020, he was operating a silver Lincoln sedan when he approached the Massena Port of Entry, seeking to enter the United States from Canada. When asked to open the vehicle’s trunk for inspection, Thompson quickly accelerated away from the inspection booth, made a U-turn and sped back into Canada. Thompson was arrested on June 28, 2020.
Chief United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby also sentenced Thompson to a 3-year term of supervised release.
The case was investigated by CBP and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Collyer.
1 April 2021
Woman from Santa Fe pleads guilty to assaulting a minor in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Brittany Huizar, 20, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, pleaded guilty in federal court on March 31 to a charge of assault resulting in substantial bodily injury in Indian Country.
A grand jury indicted Huizar on Nov. 4, 2020. According to the indictment, on Dec. 31, 2019, Huizar and eight other individuals assaulted a child, who is an enrolled member of the Nambe Pueblo, multiple times before the child was able to escape. The assault began at Valdez Park on the Santa Clara Pueblo.
Huizar faces up to 5 years in prison.
The Santa Fe Resident Agency of the FBI investigated this case with assistance from the New Mexico State Police and the Espanola Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison C. Jaros is prosecuting the case.
Woman Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Money from D.C. Law FirmRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Katherine Emma Ross, 29, formerly of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from a D.C. law firm. The guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips, Matthew S. Miller, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, and Metropolitan Police Department Acting Chief Robert J. Contee III.
According to the Statement of Facts filed in conjunction with Ross’ guilty plea, Ross was employed by the Victim-Law-Firm as an hourly employee in a non-lawyer capacity. Without permission of the Victim-Law-Firm or its owner, Ross wrote checks to herself in amounts that she was not owed, forged signatures on those checks, and cashed the checks at bank branches in the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland. She acknowledged that she stole at least $320,000 from the Victim-Law-Firm and its owner through her scheme.
Ross pled guilty to one count of bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344. The maximum sentence for bank fraud is thirty years of imprisonment. Under federal sentencing guidelines, however, she faces a likely recommended sentence of between 30 and 41 months in prison. The Honorable Reggie B. Walton, who accepted Ross’ guilty plea, scheduled sentencing for June 29, 2021.
In announcing the guilty plea, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillips, Special Agent in Charge Miller, and Acting Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Secret Service’s Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Michon Tart, Forensic Accountant Bryan Snitselaar, and Assistant United States Attorney Kondi Kleinman.
Two Miami Residents Arrested for Their Alleged Role in $8 Million Scheme to Defraud Prescription Drug Coupon ProgramsRead the Press Release
Miami, Florida -- William Clero, 44 and Cesar Armando Perez Amador, 51, residents of Miami, Florida, were arrested today for their alleged participation in a scheme to defraud prescription drug cost savings (coupon) programs offered by pharmaceutical manufacturers to reduce the cost of prescription drugs for consumers.
On February 25, 2021, Clero and Perez were indicted by a Grand Jury in the Southern District of Florida and charged with participating in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering offenses, and six counts of money laundering.
According to court documents, Clero and Perez were the beneficial owners of 15 retail pharmacies located in Miami, Florida, and concealed their ownership and control of the pharmacies by enlisting “nominee” owners. It is alleged that from approximately December 2014 through February 2021, Clero and Perez submitted and caused the submission of fraudulent claims for reimbursement to prescription drug coupon programs that falsely and fraudulently represented that prescription drugs had been prescribed by physicians and were being dispensed to patients by the pharmacies. As a result of the scheme, prescription drug coupon programs paid more than $8 million to the pharmacies. Further, Clero and Perez conspired with each other and with others to launder the proceeds of the scheme through shell companies and to engage in monetary transactions to spend the fraud proceeds on themselves and others, according to the allegations.
Both defendants had their initial appearances today in federal magistrate court. Clero’s arraignment and a pretrial detention hearing are set for April 7, 2021. Perez’s arraignment is set for April 12, 2021. These hearings will take place in federal magistrate court in Miami.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, (HSI) Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
This case is being investigated by HSI Miami. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aimee Jimenez of the Southern District of Florida.
An indictment and criminal complaint are charging instruments containing allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-20112.
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Texas Syndicate cocaine trafficker returns to prison for over 10 yearsRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 39-year-old Robstown gang member and convicted felon has been ordered to federal prison for conspiring to traffic 17 kilograms of cocaine, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Rudy Reyna pleaded guilty Jan. 7.
Today, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos sentenced him to serve a 121-month sentence to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional statements that described Reyna's role during the cocaine-trafficking conspiracy and membership in the dangerous Texas Syndicate gang. In imposing the sentence, Judge Ramos noted Reyna's previous violent criminal conduct.
In July 2020, Reyna was involved in a conspiracy with others to possess with intent to distribute nearly 20 kilograms of cocaine. He helped protect or transport cocaine or currency with others. During the course of the conspiracy, authorities seized over $250,000.
Reyna was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with assistance from U.S. Marshals Service, Nueces County District Attorney’s Criminal Interdiction Unit, Texas Department of Public Safety and Corpus Christi Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Manning prosecuted the case.
Texas Man Sentenced to 21 Months for Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK - Tyler C. King, age 32, of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for falsifying evidence and obstructing justice at his November 2019 jury trial.
The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon and Thomas F. Relford, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
As part of his previously entered guilty plea, King admitted to obstructing justice by falsifying evidence for use in his November 2019 federal jury trial in Albany. Following that trial, King was convicted of conspiracy to commit computer fraud, computer fraud, and aggravated identity theft in connection with his hacking of a New York-based technology company, and sentenced to serve 57 months in prison. The 21-month term of imprisonment imposed today will run consecutive to the 57-month term, for a total term of imprisonment of 78 months.
For the obstruction conviction, Chief United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby also sentenced King to a 2-year term of supervised release, to begin following his term of imprisonment, and a $7,500 fine.
This case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua R. Rosenthal.
Statewide robbery spree lands Columbus man in federal prisonRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA: A Columbus man who crisscrossed Georgia while committing a series of robberies has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.
Lawrence Dominique Franklin, 37, of Columbus, Ga., was sentenced to 240 months in prison by U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr. after pleading guilty to Armed Bank Robbery, Bank Robbery, and Interference with Commerce by Robbery, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. After completion of his prison term, Franklin will be required to serve five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
“A previously convicted armed robber, Lawrence Franklin had been out of prison for barely four months before he took up a weapon and threatened store clerks and bank employees in multiple violent robberies across Georgia,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “Our law enforcement partners did an outstanding job in identifying Franklin and bringing him to justice, once again removing this menace from our streets.”
“In the course of a week, Lawrence Franklin charted a path of violence and mayhem from one end of Georgia to the other,” said Kurt R. Erskine, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. “Thankfully, quick and collaborative action on the state and federal levels led to the defendant’s capture and has brought him to justice.”
“This violent criminal will be imprisoned for many years, without parole, where he will no longer be able to threaten our communities,” said Peter D. Leary, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. “I commend our federal, state and local law enforcement officers for tracking this defendant across the state and bringing him to justice.”
As described in court, documents, and testimony, Franklin was released in July 2019 after serving more than 11 years in state prison for armed robbery. He then began a violent crime spree that started November 25, 2019, when he entered a Wells Fargo Bank in Columbus, Ga. wearing a construction worker vest, pointed a gun at the manager and threatened to “blast” several bank employees. Before departing, he stole thousands of dollars from multiple teller stations.
Three days later, again wearing a construction worker vest, he robbed a Dollar General store in Savannah, forced an employee to open the store safe, and fled with a large amount of cash. The next day, he robbed a Wells Fargo Bank in Newnan, Ga., again by revealing a gun from underneath a construction worker vest and threatening to shoot bank employees.
Franklin told law enforcement officials that, to facilitate his crimes, he kidnapped a woman and threatened to hurt her children unless she drove him from one robbery to the next and helped him escape.
Within three days of the Newnan robbery, Franklin was arrested in Atlanta. After grand juries returned separate federal indictments for the robberies, the cases were consolidated for plea and sentencing in the Southern District of Georgia.
“Franklin decided to continue his life of crime even after serving nearly a dozen years in prison,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “He clearly did not learn his lesson and continued to terrorize innocent civilians who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hopefully, those victims are able to take some comfort in the fact that he is going back to prison and won't be a threat to them for a long time.”
The case was investigated by the FBI, Savannah Police Department, Columbus Police Department, Newnan Police Department, and Atlanta Police Department. It is being prosecuted for the United States by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia; by Northern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg; and by Middle District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Williams.
St. Louis man pleads guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearmRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Montell Keith, 23, of St. Louis, Missouri, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Keith appeared, today, before United States District Court Judge Stephen R. Clark.
On December 8, 2019, officers from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department were notified a white Toyota Camry, reported stolen on December 3, was parked at an apartment complex in the 5700 block of Goodfellow Place. While canvassing, officers located the Camry parked on the south parking lot, parked and exited their patrol car. Keith, identified by officers as the driver, drove away from the parking lot. The officers got back in their patrol car to follow and observed Keith running from the Camry. While running, the officers watched Keith throw a pistol on the ground.
Officers chased Keith and eventually arrested him. An officer returned to where he saw Keith throw the pistol and found a loaded 9mm pistol. The officer discovered the pistol had been reported stolen on December 2, 2019.
Prior to December 8, 2019, Keith was convicted of at least one felony crime.
Judge Clark has set sentencing for July 15, 2021 at 11:00 a.m.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Szczucinski is handling the case.
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Springdale Man Sentenced to over Nine Years in Federal Prison for Firearms PossessionRead the Press Release
Fayetteville, Arkansas – David Clay Fowlkes, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas announced that Trent Guida, age 37, of Springdale Arkansas was sentenced today to 110 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release on one count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm. The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing today in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.
In January of 2020, detectives with the 4th Judicial Drug Task Force learned that Guida was staying at a hotel in Springdale Arkansas. Knowing that Guida had a search waiver on file, detectives located and approached Guida while he entered his room. While speaking with Guida, he spontaneously admitted to everything in the room belonging to him. During the search of Guida’s room and vehicle, Detectives located 2 firearms, approximately 2.2 grams of heroin, and drug paraphernalia.
Guida was indicted by a federal grand jury in July of 2020 and entered a guilty plea in December of 2020.
This case was investigated by the State of Arkansas Fourth (4th) Judicial District Drug Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney David Harris prosecuted the case for the Western District of Arkansas.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
South Texas pair admit to multiple counts of child exploitationRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas - A man and woman have entered guilty pleas to production of child pornography and coercion and enticement of a minor, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Reid Etheridge, 41, McAllen, admitted he filmed himself committing the sexual abuse and assault of two minor children from on or about Jan. 1, 2020, to approximately Oct. 1, 2020. As part of her guilty plea, Alicia Cronkhite, 29, Edinburg, admitted she took photographs of one minor victim’s exposed genitals and transmitted those photographs to Etheridge at his request.
Etheridge and Cronkhite pleaded guilty to two counts and one count of production of child pornography, respectively. Etheridge also admitted to coercion and enticement of a minor, while Cronkhite entered her plea to aiding and abetting the coercion and enticement of a minor.
The investigation led authorities to an IP address in McAllen that had uploaded images and videos depicting minor children engaged in sex acts. On Oct. 2, 2020, law enforcement executed a search warrant and encountered Etheridge at the residence. He soon admitted he had filmed himself sexually assaulting one minor victim.
Further investigation revealed communication between Etheridge and Cronkhite detailing the sexual exploitation of another minor victim. Authorities searched her residence, at which time she admitted she produced multiple images of a minor victim and transmitted the images to Etheridge.
U.S. District Judge Randy Crane will impose sentencing June 15. At that time, both Etheridge and Cronkhite face a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to life in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
They have been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.
Homeland Security Investigations - Rio Grande Valley Child Exploitation Investigations Task Force conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Mitchell is prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page.
Rochester-Area Man Pleads Guilty to Fraud, Money Laundering and Tax OffensesRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Michael Bartusek, age 58, of Fairport, New York, pled guilty today to wire fraud, money laundering, and filing a false tax return.
The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon of the Northern District of New York; United States Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. of the Western District of New York; Thomas Relford, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Inspector in Charge Joseph Cronin, Boston Division, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); and Jonathan D. Larsen, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Office, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).
As part of his guilty plea, Bartusek admitted that, from the summer of 2015 through the end of 2016, he defrauded his employer of approximately $776,000 which he used to invest in a high-risk scheme to purchase and sell diamonds from overseas, hoping to profit personally from their sale and return the money he stole from his employer before his fraud was discovered. Instead, the diamond investment failed, and the money was lost. Bartusek also admitted that, as part of his diamond scheme, he and two others solicited investments for a company called Integra Diamonds by materially false and fraudulent representations in an effort to recover investment funds that had been lost, including the money Bartusek stole from his employer.
In addition to the fraud and money laundering charges, Bartusek pled guilty to filing a false tax return for tax year 2015, and he admitted that he underreported his total income that tax year by approximately $123,000. He admitted further that he underreported his total income for the 2016 tax year by approximately $46,000.
Sentencing is set for July 28, 2021, before Senior United State District Court Judge Thomas J. McAvoy. Bartusek faces upon to 20 years in prison on the fraud conviction, 10 years in prison on the money laundering conviction, and 3 years in prison on the tax conviction. The judge also could impose a term of supervised release of up to three years. In addition to imprisonment and supervised release, Bartusek faces a fine of up to $250,000, and as part of his plea agreement Bartusek agreed to be subject to a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $946,000. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statutes the defendant violated, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Gadarian and Nicolas Commandeur of the Northern District of New York and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Kruly of the Western District of New York.
Reptile Dealer Arrested on Lacey Act and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
A South Carolina man was arrested on March 30 on Lacey Act and firearms charges. A federal judge in the Middle District of Georgia, unsealed the indictment today.
Ashtyn Michael Rance, 35, of Dalzell, was charged by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Georgia on March 9 for trafficking vipers and turtles, as well as illegally possessing two firearms. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) agents arrested Rance in Dalzell on a warrant to face the charges in the Middle District of Georgia.
The indictment alleges that in February 2018, Rance sold 16 spotted turtles and three eastern box turtles to a buyer in Florida. He shipped the reptiles from Valdosta in a package falsely labeled as containing tropical fish and lizards. The indictment also alleges that in May 2018, Rance sent a second package to Florida with a label stating that it contained harmless reptiles and ball pythons. In reality, Rance had shipped 15 Gaboon vipers, which are venomous snakes. Finally, the indictment alleges that on May 11, 2018, law enforcement authorities executed a search warrant at Rance’s Valdosta home, where they recovered a Bushmaster Carbine .223 caliber rifle and a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun. It is a violation of federal law for a convicted felon to possess a firearm, and Rance has a prior felony conviction.
“Rance’s reckless shipment of venomous snakes and illegal possession of firearms demonstrate the dangers of wildlife trafficking,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jean E. Williams of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “I applaud our federal and state law enforcement partners for keeping the public and delivery couriers safe.”
“Illegal wildlife trafficking can have devastating effects, and our office will prosecute individuals found in violation of the Lacey Act and other environmental protection laws,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia. “I want to thank the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ATF and Georgia DNR for their work investigating this case.”
“Wildlife trafficking is a serious crime that impacts species at home and abroad,”said Special Agent in Charge Stephen Clark for the USFWS Office of Law Enforcement. “I would like to thank the Justice Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Georgia and South Carolina Departments of Natural Resources for their assistance with this case. Together, we have stopped highly venomous snakes, and our nation’s own wildlife, from being smuggled.”
Rance possessed and sold the reptiles in violation of Georgia laws. The federal Lacey Act is the nation’s oldest wildlife trafficking statute and prohibits, among other things, transporting wildlife in interstate commerce if the wildlife was possessed illegally under state laws. It also is a Lacey Act violation to falsely label a package containing wildlife.
The spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata) is a semi-aquatic turtle native to the eastern United States and Great Lakes region. The eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) is endemic to forested regions of the East Coast and Midwest. Collectors prize both species in the domestic and foreign pet trade market. The Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica) is native to central Sub-Saharan Africa. Its venom can cause shock, loss of consciousness or death in humans.
The maximum sentence under the Lacey Act and firearms charges are five and 10 years’ imprisonment, respectively, and a $250,000 fine for each charge.
The USFWS Office of Law Enforcement in Vero Beach, Florida; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources conducted the investigation as part of Operation Middleman. The operation focused on the trafficking of reptiles from the United States to China.
Trial Attorney Ryan Connors of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sonja Profit for the Middle District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is only an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven otherwise before a jury at trial.
Reptile Dealer Arrested on Lacey Act and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
VALDOSTA, Ga. – A reptile dealer, with a residence in Valdosta, Georgia, appeared in Columbia, South Carolina, federal court on Wednesday, March 31, for his initial appearance on Lacey Act and firearms charges arising from an indictment unsealed today in the Middle District of Georgia, said Acting U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia (USAO-MDGA).
Ashtyn Michael Rance, 35, of Dalzell (Sumter County), South Carolina, was charged by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Georgia on March 9, for trafficking vipers and turtles, as well as illegally possessing two firearms. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) agents arrested Rance on Tuesday, March 30, on a warrant to face the charges in the Middle District of Georgia. The maximum sentence under the Lacey Act and firearms charges are five and 10 years of imprisonment, respectively, and a $250,000 fine for each charge.
The indictment alleges that in February 2018, Rance sold 16 spotted turtles and three eastern box turtles to a buyer in Florida and shipped the reptiles from Valdosta, Georgia, in a package falsely labeled as containing tropical fish and lizards. The indictment also alleges that in May 2018, Rance sent a second package to Florida with a label stating that it contained harmless reptiles and ball pythons when in reality, Rance had shipped 15 Gaboon vipers, which are venomous snakes. Finally, the indictment alleges that on May 11, 2018, law enforcement authorities executed a search warrant at Rance’s Valdosta home, where they recovered a Bushmaster Carbine .223 caliber rifle and a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun. It is a violation of federal law for a convicted felon to possess a firearm, and Rance has a prior felony conviction.
An indictment is a set of allegations based upon a finding of probable cause by a grand jury. A defendant is presumed innocent until convicted.
“Illegal wildlife trafficking can have devastating effects, and our office will prosecute individuals found in violation of the Lacey Act and other environmental protection laws,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Leary. “I want to thank the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ATF, and the Georgia and South Carolina Departments of Natural Resources for their work investigating this case.”
“Rance’s reckless shipment of venomous snakes and illegal possession of firearms demonstrate the dangers of wildlife trafficking,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jean E. Williams of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “I applaud our federal and state law enforcement partners for keeping the public and delivery couriers safe.”
“Wildlife trafficking is a serious crime that impacts species at home and abroad,” said Special Agent in Charge Stephen Clark for the USFWS Office of Law Enforcement. “I would like to thank the Justice Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Georgia and South Carolina Departments of Natural Resources for their assistance with this case. Together, we have stopped highly venomous snakes, and our nation’s own wildlife, from being smuggled.”
The federal Lacey Act is the nation’s oldest wildlife trafficking statute and prohibits, among other things, transporting wildlife in interstate commerce if the wildlife was illegal under state laws. The indictment against him alleges that Rance possessed and sold the reptiles in violation of Georgia laws. It also is a Lacey Act violation to falsely label a package containing wildlife.
The spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata) is a semi-aquatic turtle native to the eastern United States and Great Lakes region. The eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) is endemic to forested regions of the East Coast and Midwest. Collectors prize both species in the domestic and foreign pet trade market. The Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica) is native to central Sub-Saharan Africa. Its venom can cause shock, loss of consciousness or death in humans.
The case is being investigated by USFWS Office of Law Enforcement in Vero Beach, Florida, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources as part of Operation Middleman. The operation focuses on the trafficking of reptiles from the United States to China.
Trial Attorney Ryan Connors of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sonja Profit of the Middle District of Georgia are prosecuting the case, with support from Assistant U.S. Attorney Winston Holliday of the District of South Carolina. Questions can be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603 or Melissa Hodges, Public Affairs Director (Contractor), United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 765-2362.
An indictment is only an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven otherwise before a jury at trial.
Prison Inmate, Two Others Charged in Amphetamines Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE – An ACI inmate who is alleged to have continued to operate a drug trafficking business while incarcerated at the ACI, the inmate’s girlfriend, whom he allegedly instructed by telephone from inside the ACI on how to continue to operate the business, and an alleged supplier of amphetamine pills for them to sell, have been charged by way of federal criminal complaints filed in U.S. District Court.
Arrested today as he exited the ACI on charges of conspiracy to possess amphetamines with intent to distribute and possession of amphetamine with intent to distribute, Ronald M. Kramer, 36, of Providence, is also charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. It is alleged in court documents that Kramer, previously convicted and sentenced on state robbery, breaking and entering/domestic, and felony assault charges, instructed his girlfriend, Rebecca L. Beauchamp, 36, of North Providence not only on how to continue his drug trafficking business, but also about how to locate and sell a firearm he owned. Beauchamp allegedly sold the gun to an undercover ATF agent.
It is alleged in court documents that on February 18, 2021, the same day Kramer was detained at the ACI on drunk driving, obstruction, and resisting arrest charges following his arrest by Providence Police, he began a long series of telephone conversations, often multiple times a day, with Beauchamp instructing her on contacting his supplier of amphetamine drugs and his customers, guiding her on executing drug transactions, and about how to locate and sell his gun.
According to court documents, at Kramer’s direction, numerous sales of varying quantities of amphetamines were allegedly conducted, including several sales made to undercover ATF agents.
As part of the investigation, on March 19, 2021, law enforcement agents executed a federal court-authorized search at the home of Davith Hoy, 41, of Cranston, the alleged supplier of amphetamines to Kramer and Beauchamp. Agents seized approximately 3,900 amphetamine (Adderall) pills, 110.6 grams of pills that tested positive for the presence of fentanyl, a pill press, and various items used in the packaging and sale of drugs. Hoy shares the residence with his wife and their three young children.
Hoy was arrested on charges of possession of amphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute. Hoy was ordered detained in federal custody.
Today, law enforcement agents executed a court-authorized search at the North Providence residence of Rebecca Beauchamp, and arrested Beauchamp on charges of conspiracy to possess amphetamines with intent to distribute and possession of amphetamine with intent to distribute. Agents seized a small amount of amphetamine pills and approximately $11,000 in currency. Beauchamp was released on unsecured bond following an initial appearance in U.S. District Court.
The arrest and filing of criminal complaints in this matter against Kramer, Beauchamp, and Hoy are announced by Acting United States Attorney Richard B. Myrus, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Kelly D. Brady, and Providence Police Chief Colonel Hugh T. Clements, Jr.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Ferland.
A federal criminal complaint is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Acting United States Attorney Myrus acknowledges and thanks the Office of the Rhode Island Attorney General, Rhode Island Department of Corrections, United States Postal Inspection Service, United States Marshals Service, Rhode Island State Police, and the Pawtucket, Providence, Cranston, and North Providence Police Departments for their assistance in the investigation of this case.
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Ponte Vedra Man Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Prison for Investment SchemeRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan today sentenced Robert H. Hendricks (64, Ponte Vedra) to six years and six months in federal prison for wire fraud. As part of his sentence, the court also entered a money judgment of $2,682,924.34, the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct. In addition, the court ordered Hendricks to pay $3,879.881.34 in restitution.
Hendricks had pleaded guilty on September 28, 2020.
According to court documents, Hendricks was a licensed real estate broker in the Middle District of Florida. Hendricks told two of his victims, a husband and wife who were his longtime friends, that he had been successful with commercial property development and needed money for another commercial property deal in central Florida. In October 2014, the husband paid Hendricks $300,000 as an investment in two commercial property ventures. Hendricks never used the funds for an investment. Instead, he used the funds for his personal benefit.
On March 21, 2016, Hendricks received a wire of $200,000 from another victim, who was also a friend. Hendricks told that victim that Wawa, a chain of convenience stores and gas stations, was establishing locations in Jacksonville and offered the victim a deal for four to five stores. The victim believed that three of the five locations were completed based, in part, on a contract Hendricks provided referencing a Wawa at the St. Johns Town Center (SJTC), as well as other representations Hendricks made. However, the store at the SJTC had already been built at the time of the investment. Hendricks was not involved in that or any other project involving Wawa locations at the SJTC.
On April 18, 2016, Hendricks received a wire of $490,000 from a lender for a property he obtained from a longtime friend through misrepresentations. The victim had agreed to temporarily transfer the property to Hendricks to enable him to pay for cleanup and obtain special insurance, but Hendricks did not need to pay for any cleanup and no special insurance was required. Instead, once the property was in Hendricks’ name, he mortgaged the property for his benefit and failed to repay that loan. The lender then foreclosed the property and took title after an auction.
On February 13, 2017, Hendricks received a wire of $388,962.17 from a victim for another purported commercial property venture. Hendricks falsely claimed he had an interest in an LLC that owned a Home Depot and the victim could invest in it. However, the money went to an LLC Hendricks had created solely to further his scheme, and Hendricks did not own any interest in the unrelated LLC that actually owned the Home Depot.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington.
Philadelphia Man Sentenced for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
WILLIAMSPORT - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Markeese Askew, age 28, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 192 months' imprisonment followed by a six-year term of supervised release by U.S. District Court Judge Matthew W. Brann on drug trafficking charges.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Davidson pleaded guilty in october 2020 to conspiring to distribute heroin and a mixture of heroin and carfentanil. During a three-day period in June 2017, there was a reash of drug overdoses in Williamsport. At the time, UPMC Susquehanna in Williamsport and Wellsboro reported treating 51 such cases within a 48-hour period.
Two of Davidson’s co-conspirators, Wayne Davidson and Nathan Crowder also pleaded guilty in October 2020 to the same charge. They were both sentenced to 210 months’ imprisonment in March 2021. Raymond Howard was convicted after a five-day jury trial and awaits sentencing.
In total, Askew and the three co-conspirators were charged with delivering a mixture of heroin and carfentanil that resulted in serious bodily injury to eight individuals.
The case was investigated by the Lycoming County District Attorney’s Office Narcotics Enforcement Unit, Montoursville Police Department, Old Lycoming Township Police Department, South Williamsport Police Department, Williamsport Bureau of Police, Pennsylvania State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Alisan V. Martin and Geoffrey W. MacArthur prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce crime. This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin.
This case was also brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.
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Pekin Man Indicted for Allegedly Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
PEORIA, Ill. – An indictment returned by a federal grand jury charges a Pekin, Ill., man, Kenin Edwards, with allegedly underreporting his income on federal and state tax returns filed for tax years 2014 to 2018. Edwards made his initial appearance in federal court in Peoria today via videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan E. Hawley. The indictment was returned by the grand jury on March 15, 2021, but remained sealed pending Edwards’ initial court appearance today. A trial in the case is scheduled on June 1, 2021.
According to the indictment, from early 2014 to late 2017, Edwards worked as a contractor for logging businesses and was paid a commission for the deals he negotiated between landowners and third-party timber purchasers. In late 2017, Edwards formed a partnership known as “Edwards & Sons Log Purveyors.”
The indictment alleges that from as early as April 2015 and continuing to at least the end of May 2019, for tax years 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018, Edwards willfully underreported the income he made in the logging business to reduce his tax liabilities. According to the indictment, Edwards underreported his personal and business income on returns he filed with the Internal Revenue Service and with the Illinois Department of Revenue.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas F. McMeyer is representing the government in the prosecution. The IRS, Criminal Investigation Division, and the Illinois Department of Revenue conducted the investigation.
The indictment specifically charges four counts of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and seven counts of making a false tax return. If convicted, for the offenses of mail fraud and wire fraud, the maximum statutory penalty for each count is up to 20 years in prison; for making a false tax return, the maximum penalty is up to three years in prison.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation; the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Oklahoma City Man Sentenced to 80 Years in Federal Prison After Five Years of Criminal ConductRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – Today, DOMINIC EUGENE HUNT, aka "Dime Sack," 26, of Oklahoma City, was sentenced to 80 years in prison on numerous firearms, ammunition, and drug-related charges after five years of criminal conduct, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
On November 6, 2019, a Third Superseding Indictment charged Hunt with nine counts of various firearms, ammunition, and drug-related charges from four separate episodes of criminal conduct spanning from 2014 to 2019. The Third Superseding Indictment charged Hunt with the following: Counts 1 & 5) Drug User in Possession of a Firearm; Count 2) Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises; Counts 3 & 6) Possession with Intent to Distribute; Counts 4 & 7) Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; and Counts 8 & 9) Felon in Possession of Ammunition.
On September 4, 2020, Hunt pleaded guilty to Counts 1-3 before the case went to trial. On September 11, 2020, after a four-day trial, the jury returned guilty verdicts on the remaining six counts.
Evidence at trial showed Hunt possessed three different firearms, including an assault rifle, on at least two separate occasions in 2014, in furtherance of his intent to distribute marijuana. Evidence also showed the ammunition Hunt possessed in Count 8 was the ammunition used in a January 2019 shooting, the victim of which survived. Finally, evidence showed the ammunition Hunt possessed in Count 9 was used in a drive-by shooting on February 2, 2019, which resulted in the death of Conilius “Tubby” Wright.
Today, U.S. District Judge David L. Russell sentenced Hunt to serve 80 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
This case is the result of investigations by the Oklahoma City Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives, and Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Oklahoma City Field Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacquelyn M. Hutzell and David McCrary prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws.
Reference is made to court filings for further information.