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Tuesday 26 January 2021
Burlington County Man Admits Interfering with Law Enforcement Officers During Civil DisorderRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Burlington County, New Jersey, man today admitted attempting to interfere with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder when he attempted to set fire to a police vehicle during a riot in the City of Trenton, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Killian F. Melecio, 20, of Columbus, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti to an information charging him with one count of attempting to obstruct, impede, or interfere with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder affecting commerce.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On May 31, 2020, large-scale protests were held throughout the United States, including in Trenton, in response to the death of George Floyd. Although the May 31st protest in Trenton was peaceful earlier in the day, violence erupted later. A group of individuals proceeded down East State Street in downtown Trenton and began to riot, smashing store fronts, looting stores, and attacking multiple marked Trenton Police Department vehicles parked on the 100 Block of East State Street.
A City of Trenton street camera and other video footage taken by an individual present on the street captured Kadeem Dockery light an explosive device and throw it through the open front driver’s side window of a Trenton Police Department vehicle. Dockery then removed his shirt and handed it to Melecio, who then attempted to stuff the shirt in the gas tank of the police vehicle and ignite it. Melecio was then assisted by Justin Spry in attempting to set fire to the police vehicle. Law enforcement officers on scene arrested Spry, but Melecio and Dockery fled. Law enforcement later identified Melecio and Dockery through analysis of street camera and other video footage. They were arrested on Aug. 5, 2020.
The charge of attempting to interfere with law enforcement officers during a civil order carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Scheduling is scheduled for May 26, 2021.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the FBI and task force officers of the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr., with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. She also thanked officers of the Trenton Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Sheilah Coley; troopers of the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan; and officers of the New Jersey Department of Corrections, under the direction of Commissioner Marcus O. Hicks, for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander E. Ramey and Michelle S. Gasparian of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.
The charges and allegations remaining against Kadeem Dockery and Justin Spry are merely accusations, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Brookings Man Sentenced for Distribution and Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Brookings, South Dakota, man convicted of Distribution and Receipt of Child Pornography was sentenced on January 25, 2021, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Tyler Powers, age 26, was sentenced to 75 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Powers was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 8, 2019. He pleaded guilty on July 20, 2020.
The conviction stemmed from internet activity on May 30, 2019, when Powers downloaded child pornography onto his computer. When law enforcement searched his residence, they discovered an extensive collection of child pornography on an external hard drive.
This case was investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.
Powers was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Broken Arrow Woman Pleads Guilty to Child Abuse and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
A woman pleaded guilty this morning after abusing and assaulting a Native American minor female while under the influence of alcohol, announced U.S. Attorney Trent Shores.
Jamie Lea Keahbone, 40, of Broken Arrow, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge John E. Dowdell. Her sentencing is set for April 27, 2021.
“Jamie Keahbone was a real-life nightmare to her victim. Keahbone repeatedly punched a child, intentionally pressed an arm against the child’s neck until the child lost consciousness, poured water over the child’s face causing the child to struggle to breathe, and struck the child with a table lamp,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. “I commend this victim for her courage in seeking help and applaud law enforcement for answering the call.”
In her written plea agreement, Keahbone admitted that she assaulted the girl on October 14, 2020.
The FBI and the Broken Arrow Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chantelle Dial is prosecuting the case. Ms. Dial is a prosecutor from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Washington. She volunteered to assist prosecution efforts here in the Northern District of Oklahoma due to the increased volume of cases since the Supreme Court’s ruling which stated the Creek Nation Reservation had never been officially disestablished by Congress. The United States and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation have jurisdiction of all cases that occur on the reservation involving Native American victims or defendants.
Bridgeport Felon Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Federal Gun OffenseRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MARQUES MILTON, also known as “Biz,” 36, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 48 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 1, 2018, Bridgeport police officers arrested Milton in connection with a gunpoint threatening incident that occurred in February 2018. At the time of his arrest, Milton possessed a fully loaded Beretta 9mm pistol, an additional 18 rounds of ammunition, and a quantity of marijuana.
Prior to March 2018, Milton was convicted in state court of robbery in the first degree and unlawful restraint in the first degree. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
State forensic examiners have connected the Beretta 9mm pistol to shell casings recovered after a shooting incident on Linwood Avenue in Bridgeport on February 19, 2018. On that date, one of approximately 10 shots that were fired grazed a cable company employee who was working on a nearby utility pole. Milton has been charged in state court in connection with this incident, and also in connection with alleged shooting incidents on April 25, 2018, in Bridgeport, and on June 2, 2018, in Waterbury, both of which caused serious injuries to victims.
This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the assistance of the Bridgeport Police Department, Waterbury Police Department, and the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Vizcarrondo.
This prosecution 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 neighborhoods safer for everyone.
Bourbon County Man Pleads Guilty to Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. - A Paris, Ky., man, Johnathan Scott Mason, 27, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, before U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell, to the production of child pornography.
According to his plea agreement, in March 2020, law enforcement officers became aware of Mason’s activity on the social media application, Kik. On this app, Mason expressed a sexual interest in children and said that he had sexually explicit images of minors that he had produced. Mason admitted that he used a minor victim to produce visual depictions of the minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and that the depictions were then transported using the Internet.
Mason was indicted in July 2020.
Carlton S. Shier, IV, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Jerry Templet, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and Acting Commissioner Lt. Colonel Phillip Burnett, Kentucky State Police; jointly announced the guilty plea.
The investigation was conducted by Department of Homeland Security-HSI and KSP-Electronic Crimes Branch. The U.S. Attorney’s Office was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Marye.
Mason is scheduled to be sentenced on April 7, 2021. He faces a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison, in addition to a maximum $250,000 fine. However, any sentence will be imposed by the Court, after its consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal sentencing statutes.
This case was prosecuted 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 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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Armed Drug Trafficker and Prior Felon Going to PrisonRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Lorenzo Watson, 29, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of possessing with intent to distribute cocaine, and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, was sentenced to serve 67 months in prison by U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Moynihan, who handled the case, stated that the Watson was arrested on September 26, 2019, after New York State Parole Officers went to his residence on Bauman Street in Rochester for a compliance check. Officers did not locate Watson at the residence; rather, they saw him walking on Bauman Street with his hands in his sweatshirt pockets. The officers approached Watson and searched him and found a pill bottle, which contained 40 small bags of a substance later identified as cocaine, and a handgun, in one of the sweatshirt pockets. The handgun, which had a defaced serial number, was loaded with eight rounds of ammunition. Officers also found $507.00 in United States currency in Watson’s pants pocket.
Watson was previously been convicted in Monroe County Court of felony drug and weapon possession crimes, and as a result of those convictions, he was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm.
The matter was brought by the United States Attorney’s Office as part of its Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative. PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, under the direction of Acting Commissioner Anthony J. Annucci; the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division.
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Anchorage Man Convicted for International Parental KidnappingRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced today that Leo James Chaplin, 62, of Anchorage, was found guilty of International Parental Kidnapping after a two-day federal bench trial. Chaplin was charged by criminal complaint June 23, 2017 in the District of Alaska and later indicted by a federal grand jury on October 18, 2019. Sentencing is scheduled for April 28, 2021 before United States District Court Judge Sharon L. Gleason.
According to evidence presented at trial, Chaplin kidnapped two children he shared with his then-spouse during a family vacation to the Philippines in November of 2014. Both children were born and lived in Anchorage prior to their kidnapping. Chaplin retained the children in the Philippines with intent to obstruct their mother’s exercise of lawful parental rights until July of 2019, a period of over four-and-a-half years. Chaplin was deported from the Philippines and returned to the United States in September of 2019. He was arraigned on the criminal complaint in the Central District of California September 25, 2019.
"There is no safe haven for parents who abduct their children and hide them in foreign countries. I cannot fathom the emotional tragedy of these separations. In this case, the mother and her children were apart for over 4 years. That is time this family will never get back,” said U.S. Attorney Schroder. “We are committed to working with the FBI and foreign governments to ensure the return of abducted children and holding the kidnappers accountable."
“The FBI takes crimes against children seriously, including international parental kidnappings,” said Robert Britt, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. “Chaplin sought to deprive his children’s mother of lawful parental rights, which can have a destructive impact on the entire family. These children have been returned home due to the far-reaching and combined resources of the FBI and our law enforcement partners.”
As part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Crimes Against Children Human Trafficking Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Customs and Border Protection, United States Department of State, and United States Marshals Service conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of this case. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Allison O’Leary and George Tran.
To learn more about the FBI’s Crimes Against Children Program, visit fbi.gov. For more information and resources on International Parental Kidnapping, visit DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section webpage.
Albuquerque man facing federal carjacking and firearms chargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Santiago JonDaniel “Hush” Rooks, 21, of Albuquerque, made his initial appearance in federal court on Jan. 25 where he was charged with carjacking, brandishing a firearm during the commission of a violent crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Rooks will remain detained pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for Jan. 27.
According to a criminal complaint, on Jan. 4, Rooks allegedly approached a victim in a driveway in southwest Albuquerque, pulled a gun from his waistband and demanded the keys for the victim’s truck. The victim relinquished his keys and Rooks allegedly fled in the vehicle.
A Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Deputy located the truck on I-25 and briefly gave chase before ceasing pursuit for safety after the vehicle left the interstate. Following the direction the vehicle had taken, the deputy found the truck abandoned with the doors left open. A loaded pistol was found inside the truck.
Rooks has prior felony convictions for receiving and/or transferring a stolen vehicle and aggravated assault. As a convicted felon, Rooks cannot legally possess a firearm or ammunition.
A complaint is only an allegation. A defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Rooks faces a minimum of seven years and up to life in prison.
The FBI and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Outler is prosecuting the case.
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Monday 25 January 2021
West Virginia Woman Sentenced for Willful Retention of Top Secret National Defense Information and International Parental KidnappingRead the Press Release
Elizabeth Jo Shirley, of Hedgesville, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 97 months of incarceration for unlawfully retaining documents containing national defense information and 36 months of incarceration for international parental kidnapping.
Shirley, 47, pleaded guilty to one count of willful retention of national defense information and one count of international parental kidnapping in July 2020. Shirley admitted to unlawfully retaining a National Security Agency (NSA) document containing information classified at the Top Secret/Secret Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) level relating to the national defense that outlines intelligence information regarding a foreign government’s military and political issues. Shirley also admitted to removing her child, of whom she was the non-custodial parent, to Mexico with the intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of the custodial father’s parental rights.
“Shirley betrayed the trust of the American people when she took classified information from her work with the Intelligence Community,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers for the National Security Division. “She then sought to profit from her betrayal by seeking to sell this information to Russia, one of America’s foremost adversaries, in order to further her criminal abduction of her daughter. This sentence will hold Shirley accountable for her violations of the American people’s trust, and serves as a warning to others who would seek unlawful profit at America’s expense.”
“Shirley held a position that required the highest level of trust,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Powell for the Northern District of West Virginia. "When she committed these crimes, she not only broke that trust, she potentially endangered the very people who employed her and her neighbors. National security is one of our highest priorities. Shirley deserves her sentence and not a day less.”
“Ms. Shirley was trusted with our nation’s highest-level documents when she was given a high-level security clearance," said Special Agent in Charge Michael Christman of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office. "But she betrayed that trust and put our country at risk by stealing classified national security documents, which she later hoped she could sell to Russian officials. We must safeguard this information from foreign adversaries. Today’s sentence shows the FBI will not let anyone get away with putting the lives of American citizens at risk.”
Shirley served on active duty with the U.S. Air Force, and in August 1994, the Air Force granted Shirley her first TS/SCI security clearance. After leaving active duty, Shirley served in the U.S. Air Force Reserves and later in the U.S. Navy Reserves. While serving in the Air Force, she worked on assignments with the NSA. From May 2001 to August 2012, Shirley held various positions with the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Intelligence, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force, and at least five different cleared defense contractors. In connection with these positions, Shirley held TS/SCI security clearances at various times.
In July 2019, Shirley took her six-year-old daughter to Mexico with the intent to contact representatives of the Government of Russia to request resettlement in a country that would not extradite her to the United States. Shirley took with her to Mexico national defense information, which she had unlawfully retained. While in Mexico, Shirley prepared a written message to Russian government officials, referencing “an urgent need” to have “items shipped from the USA related to [her] life’s work before they are seized and destroyed.”
On Aug. 13, 2019, the U.S. Marshals Service and Mexican law enforcement located Shirley and her daughter at a hotel in Mexico City. Mexican authorities arrested Shirley pursuant to an arrest warrant the West Virginia State Police (WVSP) had obtained on a charge of concealment of a minor from a custodian.
The FBI subsequently executed search warrants on numerous of Shirley’s electronic devices, including devices she took to Mexico in July 2019 and devices the FBI seized from her Martinsburg storage unit in August 2019. Pursuant to the search of the storage unit, the FBI located the NSA document underlying the willful retention of national defense information offense. In addition, pursuant to searches of the electronic devices, the FBI found an Office of Naval Intelligence PowerPoint presentation containing information classified at the secret level and messages Shirley had drafted to Russian government officials while in Mexico, the latter of which the Central Intelligence Agency has determined to include information classified at the secret level.
The FBI Pittsburgh field office and WVSP investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jarod J. Douglas and Lara K. Omps-Botteicher and Trial Attorney Evan N. Turgeon with the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Webster County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office cooperated in the investigation and prosecution of the case. Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.
Warning Issued by U.S. Attorney and IRS Criminal Investigation Pertaining to New Wave of COVID-19 Scams as Second Round of Economic Impact Payments are DeliveredRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI – Gretchen C.F. Shappert, United States Attorney for the District of the Virgin Islands, and Tyler R. Hatcher, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement today in an effort to prevent taxpayers from falling victim to criminals engaged in fraud schemes.
In the last several months, IRS-CI has seen a variety of Economic Impact Payment (EIP) scams and other financial schemes designed to steal money and personal information from taxpayers. Criminals are taking advantage of the second round of Economic Impact Payments – as well as the approaching tax filing season – to trick honest taxpayers out of their hard-earned money.
“With the roll-out of additional Economic Impact Payments intended to relieve the adverse impact of the coronavirus pandemic, con artists and scammers are using every opportunity to take advantage of innocent people. All Americans should take care to protect their personal information—especially during tax season—and to resist ‘to-good-to-be-true’ claims related to COVID-19 and Economic Payment scams,” said U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert. “We encourage concerned citizens to contact local or federal law enforcement if they receive emails, text messages, or phone calls which seem suspicious. If you see something, say something.”
Tyler R. Hatcher, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-CI Miami Field Office warned, “Economic relief efforts are meant to assist those in most need who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Criminals think these funds are an easy target to take advantage of innocent people. But we have other plans for those who try to prey on the public, and we are committed to hold them accountable for their criminal actions. Report any phone calls, emails, or text messages asking for your personal information or offering a deal that seems too good to be true.”
Some common COVID-19 scams include:
- Text messages asking taxpayers to disclose bank account information under the guise of receiving the $1,200 Economic Impact Payments.
- Phishing schemes using email, letters and social media messages with key words such as “Coronavirus,” “COVID-19,” and “stimulus” in varying ways. These communications are blasted to large numbers of people and aim to access personally identifying information and financial account information (including account numbers and passwords).
- The organized and unofficial sale of fake at-home COVID-19 test kits (as well as offers to sell fake cures, vaccines, pills, and professional medical advice regarding unproven COVID-19 treatments).
- Fake donation requests for individuals, groups and areas heavily affected by the disease.
- Bogus opportunities to invest in companies developing COVID-19 vaccines while promising that the “company” will dramatically increase in value as a result.
Although criminals are constantly changing their tactics, taxpayers can help protect themselves by acting as the first line of defense. The best way to avoid falling victim to a scam is knowing how the IRS communicates with taxpayers. The IRS does not send unsolicited texts or emails. The IRS does not call people with threats of jail or lawsuits, nor does it demand tax payments on gift cards.
IRS-CI continues investigating hundreds of COVID-19-related cases with law enforcement agencies domestically and abroad and educating taxpayers about scams.
COVID-19 scams should be reported to the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or submitted through the NCDF Web Complaint Form. The NCDF is a national coordinating agency within the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division dedicated to improving the detection, prevention, investigation and prosecution of criminal conduct related to natural and man-made disasters and other emergencies.
Taxpayers can also report fraud or theft of their Economic Impact Payments to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). Reports can be made online at TIPS.TIGTA.GOV.
Taxpayers who receive unsolicited emails or social media attempts to gather information that appear to be from either the IRS or an organization closely linked to the IRS, should forward the message to [email protected]. Taxpayers are encouraged not to engage potential scammers online or on the phone.
To learn more about COVID-19 scams and other financial schemes visit IRS.gov. Official IRS information about COVID-19 and Economic Impact Payments can be found on the Coronavirus Tax Relief page, which is updated frequently.
Virginia Man Sentenced for Cyberstalking Tulsa MayorRead the Press Release
A Virginia man who sent harassing and intimidating emails directed toward Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum and his family was sentenced today in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Trent Shores.
U.S. District Judge Claire V. Eagan sentenced Adam Maxwell Donn, 41, of Norfolk, Virginia, to 15 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Eagan further ordered the defendant to pay restitution in the amount of $2,380 to the victim.
“Words can and do lead to violence. That was the fear of the Bynum family as they received Adam Donn’s vile and violent threats to inflict harm upon them. This sentence sends a clear message that there are real life consequences in the form of federal prison time for anyone who wants to engage in cyberstalking,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. “Sadly, we see far too many instances of online harassment, threats, and cyberstalking in today’s society. I hope Adam Donn’s prison sentence will deter others from engaging in similar conduct.”
At a change of plea hearing in October, the defendant admitted that he sent Mayor Bynum and his wife 44 emails and left 14 phone messages from June 11 through June 22, 2020, that were meant to harass, annoy, threaten and intimate the Bynum family. He also admitted that the threatening messages made numerous references to Bynum’s young children and their home address. Donn believed the threats would coerce Bynum into cancelling President Donald Trump’s campaign rally scheduled for June 20, 2020.
Initial charges were filed against Donn in July 2020. You can find the press release here.
The Tulsa Police Department and FBI conducted the investigation. U.S. Attorney Trent Shores and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Nassar are prosecuting the case.
Vidor Woman Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison Following Opioid Overdose DeathsRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas – A 62-year-old Vidor, Texas woman has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei today.
Catherine Ardis pleaded guilty on Sep. 10, 2020, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, namely hydromorphone, and was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on Jan. 22, 2021.
According to information presented in court, federal agents began an investigation of Ardis and others in June of 2019 after three persons died as a result of opiates purchased from Ardis at her residence on FM 105 North in Vidor, Texas. Medical examination of the deceased persons determined that the victims died from poly-drug toxicity resulting from the use of hydromorphone pills, also referred to as Dilaudid. As part of the factual basis for the plea, Ardis admitted to selling the hydromorphone pills that resulted in the death of the three victims.
“Prescription opiates require a doctor’s consultation and care for a reason,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. “Those that put the public at risk for a quick buck will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
“This case is a tragic reminder that the abuse of opioids and other prescription pills is just as deadly as illicit narcotics, and those who traffic in diverted pharmaceuticals are held equally responsible under the law,” stated DEA Special Agent in Charge, Steven S. Whipple. “We hope that this case serves as a warning to those who illegally distribute pharmaceuticals or those who may abuse them.”
This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Vidor Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Beaumont Police Department, Port Arthur Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Anderson.
United States Attorney’s Office Resolves Criminal and Civil Cases Against Murray DoctorRead the Press Release
Salt Lake City- Dr. Nicholas (“Nick”) Carl Greenwood, 43, of Salt Lake City, Utah, pleaded guilty to one felony count of distributing a schedule III narcotic for a non-legitimate medical purpose outside of the standards of medical practice. In addition, Greenwood entered into a consent agreement in order to resolve a civil complaint related to his unlawful practice of prescribing controlled substances from his Murray, Utah, office.
In the criminal case, Greenwood pleaded guilty to one felony count of distribution of a controlled substance in a Utah federal court. In the plea agreement, Greenwood admitted that he intentionally prescribed and distributed Buprenorphine, a schedule III controlled substance, to a purported patient knowing the prescription was for a non-legitimate medical purpose and was outside of the standards of medical practice. Greenwood was ordered to serve 24 months of probation and to pay a $500 fine.
In the civil case against Greenwood, a federal court in Utah entered a consent judgment and permanent injunction ordering Greenwood to permanently cease dispensing opioids or other controlled substances and to pay $500,000 in civil penalties. Under the court’s order, Greenwood will also surrender his registration with the DEA and will never seek renewal. The consent order resolves a complaint filed by the United States alleging that Greenwood repeatedly wrote prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances in violation of the Controlled Substances Act.
In the complaint, the United States alleged that several confidential sources who were working for the DEA obtained prescriptions for Buprenorphine by simply asking Greenwood for them. The confidential sources received dozens of prescriptions for hundreds of pills without ever receiving any medical treatment. In most cases, the confidential sources paid cash for prescriptions they picked up from Greenwood’s office staff that were pre-written and signed. In the few times Greenwood did see the confidential sources, he offered no treatment, allowed the confidential sources to bargain for prescriptions, and coached the confidential sources on how to trade and sell the powerful opioids he prescribed them. The complaint further alleged that Greenwood followed this same pattern with other customers, and wrote prescriptions for dangerous combinations and for doses far in excess of those needed for proper treatment, while ignoring urinalysis tests and writing prescriptions for a form of medication more susceptible to abuse.
“Healthcare professionals should be looked upon as heroes. Unfortunately, in this matter the physician abused his position of trust, and cast a shadow on the profession,” said United States Attorney John W. Huber. “The addiction epidemic continues to cause despair in American homes and communities. In partnership with the DEA, we will bring accountability to those who exploit the vulnerable.
“This investigation highlights the cooperative efforts between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and members of the DEA Salt Lake City District Office in combatting the illegal distribution of controlled substances in Utah, said DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Tinkler. The DEA is committed to ensuring that those individuals prescribing regulated medications do so in a safe and legal manner.”
Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Utah U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the civil and criminal cases against Dr. Greenwood. Special agents and Diversion Investigators from the DEA conducted the investigation.
U.S. Attorney's Office Recovers Nearly $70 Million in 2020Read the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas – Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei announced today that the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas (EDTX) collected $68,064,639.91 in criminal, civil, and asset forfeiture actions in 2020.
In criminal cases, EDTX collected $6,587,484.79 of restitution for crime victims, and recovered an additional $52,557,961.91 through civil enforcement actions for the American taxpayer. Working with partner agencies and divisions, the Eastern District also collected $8,919,191.00 through asset forfeiture. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice’s Asset Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.
“I am proud of the Eastern District’s aggressive approach to collecting debts for victims of crime and for the government,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. “Despite the challenges presented by the COVID pandemic, the Eastern District focused on working to ensure that crime victims receive what they are owed and that defendants pay for their crimes.”
The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the Department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the federal government and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. Restitution is paid to the victim; criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims Fund, which then distributes the funds collected to federal and state victim compensation and assistance programs.
The Justice Department, as a whole, collected more than $15.9 billion in civil and criminal actions in 2020. This amount is more than five times the approximately $3.2 billion appropriated budget for all 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the main litigating divisions of the Justice Department. The total includes all monies collected through Justice Department-led enforcement actions and negotiated civil settlements. It also includes more than $13.5 billion in payments made directly to the Justice Department and more than $2.4 billion in indirect payments made to other federal agencies, states, and other designated recipients.
U.S. Attorney Announces Extradition of Kenyan National for Large-Scale Trafficking of Rhinoceros Horns and Elephant Ivory and Heroin DistributionRead the Press Release
Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that MANSUR MOHAMED SURUR, a/k/a “Mansour,” a Kenyan citizen, was extradited from Kenya and arrived in the United States this morning. SURUR was arrested by Kenyan authorities on July 29, 2020, in Mombasa, Kenya, on charges of conspiracy to traffic in rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory, both endangered wildlife species, which involved the illegal poaching of more than approximately 35 rhinoceros and more than 100 elephants. In addition, SURUR was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 10 kilograms of heroin. SURUR’s co-defendant, Moazu Kromah, a/k/a “Ayoub,” a/k/a “Ayuba,” a/k/a “Kampala Man,” a citizen of Liberia, was previously deported to the United States from Uganda on June 13, 2019. Co-defendant Amara Cherif, a/k/a “Bamba Issiaka,” a citizen of Guinea, was extradited to the United States from Senegal on April 3, 2020. Co-defendant Abdi Hussein Ahmed, a/k/a “Abu Khadi,” a citizen of Kenya, remains a fugitive. SURUR is expected to be arraigned later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “Mansur Mohamed Surur is alleged to be a member of an international conspiracy to traffic in rhino horns, elephant ivory, and heroin. The enterprise is allegedly responsible for the illegal slaughter of dozens of rhinos and more than 100 elephants, both endangered species. The excellent work of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the DEA has put an end to this operation.”
According to allegations in the Indictment[1]:
Kromah, Cherif, SURUR, and Ahmed were members of a transnational criminal enterprise (the “Enterprise”) based in Uganda and surrounding countries that was engaged in the large-scale trafficking and smuggling of rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory, both protected wildlife species. Trade involving endangered or threatened species violates several U.S. laws, as well as international treaties implemented by certain U.S. laws.
From at least in or about December 2012 through at least in or about May 2019, Kromah, Cherif, SURUR, and Ahmed conspired to transport, distribute, sell, and smuggle at least approximately 190 kilograms of rhinoceros horns and at least approximately 10 tons of elephant ivory from or involving various countries in East Africa, including Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, and Tanzania, to buyers located in the United States and countries in Southeast Asia. Such weights of rhinoceros horn and elephant ivory are estimated to have involved the illegal poaching of more than approximately 35 rhinoceros and more than approximately 100 elephants. In total, the estimated average retail value of the rhinoceros horn involved in the conspiracy was at least approximately $3.4 million, and the estimated average retail value of the elephant ivory involved in the conspiracy was at least approximately $4 million.
The defendants exported and agreed to export the rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory for delivery to foreign buyers, including those represented to be in Manhattan, in packaging that concealed the rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory in, among other things, pieces of art such as African masks and statues. The defendants received and deposited payments from foreign customers that were sent in the form of international wire transfers, some which were sent through U.S. financial institutions.
On a number of occasions, Kromah, SURUR, and Ahmed met with a confidential source (“CS-1”), both together and separately, concerning potential purchases of elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn. During these meetings and at other times via phone calls and electronic messages, CS-1 discussed with Kromah, SURUR, and Ahmed, in substance and in part, the terms of such sales, including the price, weight, or size of the rhinoceros horns, as well as payment, destination, and delivery options. CS-1 also discussed with Cherif via phone calls and electronic messages, in substance and in part, the terms of the sales, as well as how to send payment for rhinoceros horns from a United States bank account located in New York, New York. On or about March 16, 2018, law enforcement agents intercepted a package containing a black rhinoceros horn sold by the defendants to CS-1 that was intended for a buyer represented to be in New York, New York. From in or about March 2018 through in or about May 2018, the defendants offered to sell CS-1 additional rhinoceros horns of varying weights, including horns weighing up to approximately seven kilograms. On or about July 17, 2018, law enforcement agents intercepted a package containing two rhinoceros horns sold by the defendants to CS-1 that were intended for a buyer represented to be in New York, New York.
Separately, from at least in or about August 2018 through at least in or about May 2019, SURUR and Ahmed conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than approximately 10 kilograms of heroin to a buyer represented to be located in New York.
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SURUR, 60, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wildlife trafficking and two counts of wildlife trafficking, which each carry a maximum sentence of five years; one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years; and one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. In addition, she thanked law enforcement authorities and conservation partners in Uganda as well as the Kenyan Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Kenyan Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for their assistance in the investigation. Ms. Strauss also thanked the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs for their assistance, and noted that the investigation is continuing.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Sagar K. Ravi and Jarrod L. Schaeffer are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and its description set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Two Sentenced for Conspiring to Distribute Methamphetamine in Crawford CountyRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Jeffrey Costillo, 33, Blaine, Minnesota, and Denise Kraimer, 27, Columbia Heights, Minnesota, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley for conspiring to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
Costillo was sentenced on January 20, 2021 to 84 months in federal prison for his role in the conspiracy. He pleaded guilty to this charge on October 8, 2020. Kraimer was sentenced today to 60 months in federal prison. She pleaded guilty on October 1, 2020. Costillo and Kraimer’s prison terms will each be followed by 4 years of supervised release.
On August 13, 2019, law enforcement officers worked with a confidential informant to set up the purchase of approximately three ounces of methamphetamine from a female identified as Denise Kraimer. The confidential informant had purchased methamphetamine from Kraimer in the past and said she was usually accompanied by a male. Kraimer agreed to drive from Minnesota to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, to complete the sale of methamphetamine.
On the early morning of August 14, 2019, Kraimer and Jeffrey Costillo parked their car at the location agreed upon with the confidential informant. Law enforcement officers quickly made contact with Kraimer and Costillo and searched their car. Inside the glove box, officers located two clear plastic bags which contained over 107 grams of methamphetamine. Drug paraphernalia consistent with drug trafficking was also located in the glove box.
When interviewed, Kraimer denied any involvement in drug trafficking. However, a later search of her Facebook account revealed many conversations involving Kraimer setting up sales of methamphetamine, with quantities up to a quarter pound. Costillo claimed to be there more as Kraimer’s bodyguard, though he admitted to knowing they had a large quantity of methamphetamine with them that they were going to sell.
The charge against Costillo and Kraimer was the result of an investigation conducted by the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department, Prairie du Chien Police Department, and Drug Enforcement Administration. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven P. Anderson.
Two Men Plead Guilty to Arson of Target Corporation HeadquartersRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced the guilty pleas of SHADOR TOMMIE CORTEZ JACKSON, 24, and LEROY LEMONTE PERRY WILLIAMS, 34, to one count each of conspiracy to commit arson of the Target Corporation’s corporate headquarters building located at 1000 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, Minnesota. JACKSON and WILLIAMS are scheduled to be sentenced on May 4 and May 18, 2021, respectively, before Judge Patrick J. Schiltz in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.
According to the defendants’ guilty pleas and documents filed with the court, on Wednesday, August 26, 2020, Minneapolis experienced arson, rioting, and looting following the suicide of a suspect in a homicide, and in response to false rumors surrounding the man’s death. JACKSON, WILLIAMS, and their co-defendant, VICTOR DEVON EDWARDS, 31, went to the Target Corporation’s corporate headquarters building (“Target Corporation building”) where dozens of other people had gathered. JACKSON used a construction sign to break through one of the glass doors into the Target Corporation building. JACKSON, WILLIAMS, and EDWARDS, along with others, breached the doors and entered the Target Corporation building. Once inside, JACKSON, aided and abetted by EDWARDS, intentionally set a fire on a counter inside the mailroom. JACKSON attempted to light a second fire in the mailroom on top of cardboard boxes using a lighter and a bottle of ignitable liquid. JACKSON, WILLIAMS, EDWARDS, along with identified and unidentified others, then ran out of the building using the same door. WILLIAMS subsequently re-entered the building and attempted to light a fire inside the building entrance before leaving the scene.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Minneapolis Fire Department, and the Minneapolis, Bloomington, and Richfield Police Departments.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chelsea A. Walcker.
Defendant Information:
SHADOR TOMMIE CORTEZ JACKSON, 24
Richfield, Minn.
Convicted:
- Conspiracy to commit arson, 1 count
LEROY LEMONTE PERRY WILLIAMS, 34
Minneapolis, Minn.
Convicted:
- Conspiracy to commit arson, 1 count
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United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600
Trucking Company Owner Sentenced for Falsifying Driver RecordsRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE – The owner of a now defunct Woonsocket commercial trucking company who altered thousands of electronic entries in service logbooks in order to conceal the actual drive time and “on-duty” time of drivers was sentenced today to three years’ probation, the first six months to be served in home incarceration with electronic monitoring, 50 hours of community service, and ordered to pay a fine of $1,000.
U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) regulations, enforced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a division of the USDOT, require accurate record keeping and operational requirements, including records related to drivers’ actual hours of service.
Damir Sisic, 30, of Woonsocket, owner of the now defunct Sisic Transport Service LLC (STS), previously admitted to the court that he routinely altered data collected by onboard electronic data gathering devices installed in his trucks. As a result of his actions, the data failed to reflect the actual number of hours his drivers operated the vehicles.
Sisic owned approximately eleven commercial truck tractors and ten box-style commercial trailers and employed between seven and ten drivers at a time. Each vehicle was equipped with an electronic device that recorded each truck’s location and the start and stop time of each vehicle. Sisic accessed and altered that data on thousands of occasions and routinely concealed from the USDOT and FMCSA that his drivers were routinely exceeding the maximum number of driving hours and “on-duty” hours without the required off-duty hours, in violation of federal law.
According to court documents, Sisic provided altered driving records to a State Trooper investigating the fatality of an STS driver who was driving an STS truck that occurred in Oklahoma on April 22, 2018. In addition, Sisic provided altered driving records for numerous STS drivers to an FMCSA investigator during a compliance review.
Sisic pleaded guilty on October 28, 2020, to conspiracy to falsify records. He was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy to three years’ probation, the first six months to be served in home incarceration with electronic monitoring, 50 hours of community service, and ordered to pay a fine of $1,000, announced United States Attorney Aaron L. Weisman and Special Agent in Charge Douglas Shoemaker, U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Northeast Region.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ly T. Chin.
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Three Charged in West Palm Beach Federal Court with Conspiring to Traffic Crystal MethRead the Press Release
West Palm Beach, FL. – West Palm Beach federal prosecutors have charged three defendants with conspiring to distribute over 30 pounds of crystal methamphetamine. The three defendants are Mexican nationals. Two of the defendants made their initial appearances today in federal magistrate court in West Palm Beach. The third defendant made his initial appearance on Friday, January 22, before a federal magistrate judge in Wisconsin, where he was arrested.
The criminal complaint affidavits filed in federal court allege that Armando Arizmendi-Garcia, 24, Bianey Gonzalez-Arizmendi, 28, and Oscar Daniel Martinez-Nunez, 21, conspired to move methamphetamine from Atlanta, Georgia for distribution in West Palm Beach, Florida. The plan was interrupted on January 22, 2021, when Arizmendi-Garcia and Gonzalez-Arizmendi delivered over 30 pounds of crystal methamphetamine to an undercover officer, say the affidavits. Arizmendi-Garcia and Gonzalez-Arizmendi were arrested on January 22, in West Palm Beach. The third man charged, Martinez-Nunez, was arrested the same day close to Madison, Wisconsin. According to the charges, Martinez-Nunez was responsible for coordinating the drug delivery.
Upon conviction, each defendant faces a mandatory sentence of ten years imprisonment, and up to a maximum of life imprisonment. Arizmendi-Garcia and Gonzalez-Arizmendi made their initial appearances today in federal magistrate court in West Palm Beach. Martinez-Nunez made his initial appearance on January 22, before a federal magistrate judge in Madison, Wisconsin.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Keith Weis, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Miami Field Division made the announcement.
The DEA West Palm Beach District Office handled the investigation, with assistance from DEA-Chicago, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, West Palm Beach Police Department, and Town of Jupiter Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam C. McMichael is prosecuting the case.
This prosecution is the result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, and other priority transnational criminal organizations that threaten the citizens of the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence driven, multi-agency approach to combat transnational organized crime. The OCDETF program facilitates complex, joint operations by focusing its partner agencies on priority targets, by managing and coordinating multi-agency efforts, and by leveraging intelligence across multiple investigative platforms.
Criminal complaints are accusations that contain 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 at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case numbers 21-MJ-8011 and 21-MJ-8017.
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Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to ISISRead the Press Release
In San Antonio today, 22-year-old Cost resident Jaylyn Christopher Molina, aka Abdur Rahim, admitted to conspiring to provide material support to the designated foreign terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham/Syria (ISIS), announced Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas Gregg N. Sofer and FBI Special Agent in Charge of the San Antonio Division Christopher Combs.
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard Farrer, Molina pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS and one count of receiving child pornography. By pleading guilty, Molina admitted that since May 2019, he conspired with 34-year-old South Carolina resident Kristopher Sean Matthews, aka Ali Jibreel, and others to provide services to ISIS by administering an encrypted, members-only chat group for persons who supported ISIS ideology; by collecting, generating and disseminating pro-ISIS propaganda; by attempting to recruit individuals to join ISIS; and by disseminating bomb-making instructions.
Molina also pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography. On Sept. 18, 2020, federal authorities executing a search warrant at the defendant’s residence seized his cell phone, which contained 18 images depicting child pornography.
Molina faces up to 20 years in federal prison on the conspiracy charge and up to 20 years in federal prison on the child pornography charge. He remains in federal custody pending sentencing.
On Nov. 24, 2020, Matthews pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge to provide material support to ISIS. Matthews, who remains in federal custody, faces up to 20 years in federal prison. Sentencing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. CST on March 4, 2021, before Chief U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia in San Antonio.
The San Antonio FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), with valuable assistance from the San Antonio Police Department, the U.S. Secret Service and the Gonzalez County Sheriff’s Office, investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Roomberg, William R. Harris, Eric Fuchs and Tracy Thompson and Justice Department Trial Attorneys George C. Kraehe and Felice J. Viti of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting this case.
Stowe Resident Charged Federally in Arson CaseRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Jeffrey M. Nolan, 62, was arrested by federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) on Friday January 22, 2021 at his home in Stowe, Vermont. He has been charged by a criminal complaint in federal court with the malicious damage or destruction, by means of fire, of property used in or affecting interstate commerce. Nolan made his initial appearance in court on the complaint on Monday, January 25, 2021. On the government’s motion, the Court detained Nolan pending further proceedings.
Over the course of more than five years, a series of fires occurred in the Town of Stowe that resulted in millions of dollars of damages to structures, displaced several people from their jobs, and endangered lives of residents and first responders. Local, state, and federal investigators worked together to investigate the individual or individuals responsible for setting the fires and creating an atmosphere of anxiety for the residents of Stowe. Following a fire at the Stowe Cable Systems building on Thomas Lane on January 7, 2021—the second fire at that specific building in five months—investigators circulated security footage in the community and received multiple tips about the individual seen setting the fire. On January 12, 2021, investigators obtained a state search warrant for Nolan’s residence and interviewed him about his potential involvement in that and other fires. The detectives interviewing Nolan reported that he admitted to having set the January 7 fire and to having set at least seven other fires dating back to March 2019. Nolan was arrested by state law enforcement authorities that day. He was charged in Vermont Superior Court in Lamoille County with various arson-related felonies on January 13, 2021, and was released by the court.
ATF and the United States Attorney’s Office worked closely with the Stowe Police Department, Vermont State Police, and other investigative agencies throughout the multi-year arson investigation. Following Nolan’s state arrest, the United States consulted with the Lamoille County State’s Attorney and elected to pursue federal charges against Nolan. A federal arrest warrant issued on January 21, 2021, and Nolan was arrested the following day. The state charges will remain pending, at least initially, during the federal proceedings.
U.S. Attorney Christina Nolan commended the joint investigation and collaboration between state and federal agencies in this case including ATF, Stowe Police Department, and Vermont State Police. “Federal law enforcement agencies like ATF provide resources not always available to local departments,” she said, “but nothing can replace the knowledge of local officers and detectives in small communities like this. A series of fires like this has public safety and psychological impacts well beyond the costs of property damage. Our office will always coordinate with state and local agencies to protect the safety and vitality of our towns and their residents.”
“The effects of arson have far-reaching implications and are detrimental to the safety of our communities,” said Kelly D. Brady, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Division of ATF. “Beyond the malicious destruction of property and infrastructure, acts of arson are extremely dangerous and risk the lives of innocent persons and our first responders. In addition, these acts sow fear in the hearts of our communities, often over a lengthy period of time. ATF takes these acts of violence seriously. This investigation proves, yet again, that collaboration amongst all levels of law enforcement is extremely effective in solving violent crime, and we want to thank both the Stowe Police Department and the Vermont State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit for their persistence in this investigation.”
Stowe Chief of Police Donald Hull noted the local impact of the fires and thanked the investigators and the United States Attorney. “The Town of Stowe has been plagued by more than a dozen intentionally set fires. There is no doubt these fires caused anxiety and great concern with the public. The response and investigation have consumed an enormous amount of time and resources. These investigations comprised a true team effort among all of the agencies and those investigators involved. I want to thank everyone that helped from the Vermont State Police Fire and Explosions Unit, ATF, and the Stowe Police Department.”
A federal criminal complaint is a preliminary charging document. As with all charging documents, it is an accusation only, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty at trial or by a guilty plea. The United States will seek formal federal charges before a grand jury in the coming weeks. The exact number and type of charges to be presented to the grand jury have not yet been determined. If convicted of the same crime charged in the complaint, however, Nolan would face a minimum penalty of 5 years and a maximum possible penalty of 20 years in prison. The ultimate sentence imposed by the Court would be advised by the United States Sentencing Guidelines and statutory factors for sentencing.
The defendant is currently represented by David McColgin, an Assistant Federal Public Defender. The federal case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Lasher and Jeffrey Davis.
Statement by U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams on Racist and Threatening Letters Sent to Community Leaders, ActivistsRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore.—Billy. J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, released the following statement on racist and threatening letters sent to Portland area community leaders and activists:
“We are aware that some Portland area community leaders and activists have, in recent months, received racist letters threatening violence against them, their families, or people they know. I want to reassure the community that the U.S. Attorney’s Office takes these threats very seriously and, together with our partners at the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, are engaged in an active investigation to determine who is responsible for creating and sending these letters and to evaluate criminal wrongdoing.
We need the public’s help to keep our communities safe and protect all Oregonians. To that end, we urge you to submit any information you have about these or other threats of violence. Tips can be submitted directly to the FBI’s Portland Field Office by calling (503) 224-4181 or by visiting tips.fbi.gov. While our investigation is ongoing, we must respectfully decline further comment.”
South Florida U.S. Attorney’s Office and IRS-CI Warn Taxpayers about New Wave of COVID-19 Scams as Second Round of Economic Impact Payments are DeliveredRead the Press Release
MIAMI, Florida -- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, are warning taxpayers about a new wave of COVID-19-related scams as the agency delivers the second round of Economic Impact Payments.
In the last several months, IRS-CI has seen a variety of Economic Impact Payment (EIP) scams and other financial schemes designed to steal money and personal information from taxpayers. Criminals are taking advantage of the second round of Economic Impact Payments – as well as the approaching filing season – to trick honest taxpayers out of their hard-earned money.
“I have two messages concerning the second round of economic impact payments,” said Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “The first is to South Florida residents: As our community continues to grapple with the impacts of the pandemic, know that my office remains committed to protecting you and that we will continue to prioritize the prosecution of Covid-19 fraud. My second message is to those fraudsters who seek to capitalize on this ongoing crisis by trying to cheat South Floridians out of relief money: Don’t do it! You will be found. You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted.”
Tyler R. Hatcher, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-CI Miami Field Office warned, “Economic relief efforts are meant to assist those in most need who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Criminals think these funds are an easy target to take advantage of innocent people. But we have other plans for those who try to prey on the public, and we are committed to hold them accountable for their criminal actions. Report any phone calls, emails, or text messages asking for your personal information or offering a deal that seems too good to be true.”
Some common COVID-19 scams include:
- Text messages asking taxpayers to disclose bank account information under the guise of receiving the $1,200 Economic Impact Payments.
- Phishing schemes using email, letters and social media messages with key words such as “Coronavirus,” “COVID-19,” and “stimulus” in varying ways. These communications are blasted to large numbers of people and aim to access personally identifying information and financial account information (including account numbers and passwords).
- The organized and unofficial sale of fake at-home COVID-19 test kits (as well as offers to sell fake cures, vaccines, pills, and professional medical advice regarding unproven COVID-19 treatments).
- Fake donation requests for individuals, groups and areas heavily affected by the disease.
- Bogus opportunities to invest in companies developing COVID-19 vaccines while promising that the “company” will dramatically increase in value as a result.
Although criminals are constantly changing their tactics, taxpayers can help protect themselves by acting as the first line of defense. The best way to avoid falling victim to a scam is knowing how the IRS communicates with taxpayers. The IRS does not send unsolicited texts or emails. The IRS does not call people with threats of jail or lawsuits, nor does it demand tax payments on gift cards.
IRS-CI continues investigating hundreds of COVID-19-related cases with law enforcement agencies domestically and abroad and educating taxpayers about scams.
COVID-19 scams should be reported to the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or submitted through the NCDF Web Complaint Form. The NCDF is a national coordinating agency within the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division dedicated to improving the detection, prevention, investigation and prosecution of criminal conduct related to natural and man-made disasters and other emergencies.
Taxpayers can also report fraud or theft of their Economic Impact Payments to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). Reports can be made online at TIPS.TIGTA.GOV.
Taxpayers who receive unsolicited emails or social media attempts to gather information that appear to be from either the IRS or an organization closely linked to the IRS, should forward the message to [email protected]. Taxpayers are encouraged not to engage potential scammers online or on the phone.
To learn more about COVID-19 scams and other financial schemes visit IRS.gov. Official IRS information about COVID-19 and Economic Impact Payments can be found on the Coronavirus Tax Relief page, which is updated frequently.
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Se Condena a una Pena de Prisión un Exmédico para el Departamento de Asuntos de Veteranos por Haber Abusado Sexualmente de VeteranosRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Un exmédico de medicina osteopática que previamente había trabajado en el Centro Médico del Departamento de Asuntos de Veteranos (VA, por sus siglas en inglés) en Beckley, Virginia Occidental, fue condenado hoy por haber privado, con apariencia de legalidad, a veteranos de sus derechos civiles al abusar de ellos sexualmente.
El Fiscal Federal de Distrito Frank W. Volk condenó a Jonathan Yates, de 52 años, de Bluefield, Virginia, a 300 meses de prisión y tres años de libertad supervisada. Así anunciaron el Fiscal General Auxiliar Adjunto del Departamento de Justicia, Gregory B. Friel, el Fiscal Federal para el Distrito Sur de Virginia Occidental, Michael B. Stuart, el Agente Especial Encargado de la División del FBI en Pittsburgh, Michael A. Christman, y el Inspector General de VA, Michael J. Missal.
Yates previamente se había declarado culpable el 17 de septiembre del 2020 de tres cargos de delitos graves basados en la privación de derechos con apariencia de legalidad. Según se indica en los documentos de la declaración, Yates frotó los genitales de dos veteranos y penetró digitalmente el recto de un tercer veterano bajo el pretexto de medicina legítima, cuando en realidad actuó sin contar con un uso médico legítimo. Esta conducta, que tuvo lugar mientras Yates actuaba con apariencia de legalidad en su carácter de médico del VA y empleado federal, privó a los veteranos de su derecho constitucional a la integridad corporal y les provocó dolor. Según se indica en los documentos de la declaración, los veteranos habían acudido a Yates para controlar su dolor crónico mediante la terapia manipulativa osteopática. Varios veteranos hablaron ante el tribunal en la dictación de la sentencia y describieron el trauma y la angustia mental que Yates les había causado. Yates entregó sus licencias médicas como condición de su acuerdo con su sentencia por consentimiento.
«La condena de hoy refleja la seriedad de la mala conducta de este acusado. Él traicionó su juramento de una manera despreciable y empleó sus conocimientos médicos especializados y su pericia para abusar de sus propios pacientes. Ahora se le ha hecho rendir cuentas de sus acciones», afirmó el Fiscal General Auxiliar Adjunto, Gregory B. Friel, de la División de Derechos Civiles. «El hecho de que tantos se presentaron para llevar a este acusado ante la justicia demuestra la valentía de nuestros veteranos».
«Militares veteranos que sirven y se sacrifican por proteger nuestra nación se merecen únicamente la mejor atención. Yates traicionó su juramento como médico y a los veteranos bajo su cuidado», declaró el Fiscal Federal para el Distrito Sur de Virginia Occidental, Michael Stuart. «Hoy se ha pedido a Yates que rinda cuentas de sus acciones atroces. Aunque su condena a la pena de prisión no podrá deshacer los daños sustanciales que Yates causó a sus víctimas, esperamos que esto aliviará su dolor. Quiero felicitar al FBI y al Departamento de Asuntos de Veteranos-Oficina del Inspector General por su excelente trabajo en esta investigación. También quiero dar las gracias a las víctimas y sus familias por su firme apoyo durante el procesamiento de este caso».
«Yates cometió delitos atroces en un cuarto de hospital, el cual debe ser un lugar de refugio para pacientes», dijo Michael Christman, el Agente Especial Encargado del FBI en Pittsburgh. «Los hechos asociados con este caso son repugnantes y estos pacientes y sus familias se merecían mejor atención. Mientras que la condena de hoy no restará de lo que les pasó a estos pacientes que se dedicaron la vida al servicio de nuestra nación, Yates ya no podrá hacer daño nunca más a nadie. Esperamos que esto sirve como justicia para sus víctimas».
«Esta condena es el resultado del trabajo excepcional de los agentes de la Oficina del Inspector General y las agencias asociadas de cumplimiento con la ley», afirmó el Inspector General Michael J. Missal. «Nuestros pensamientos están con los veteranos que fueron abusados de una forma tan horrorosa por un médico encargado de cuidarlos, y seguiremos siendo vigilantes en nuestros esfuerzos por mantener a salvo a todo paciente del VA».
El caso fue investigado por el FBI, la Oficina del Inspector General del Departamento de Asuntos de Veteranos y la Policía de Asuntos de Veteranos. El caso fue procesado por la Consejera para Litigios Especiales Samantha Trepel y el Abogado de Litigios Kyle Boynton, los dos de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia de los EE. UU., el Fiscal Federal Auxiliar para el Distrito Sur de Virginia Occidental, Greg McVey, y el Jefe Auxiliar de la Sección de Fraude del Departamento de Justicia de los EE. UU., Kilby MacFadden.
Podrá encontrar información y documentos judiciales en el sitio web del Tribunal Federal de Distrito para el Distrito Sur de Virginia Occidental en http://www.wvsd.uscourts.gov/ o en http://pacer.wvsd.uscourts.gov/.
Sacramento County Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Unlawfully Possessing a Firearm as a FelonRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Robert James Hanna, 38, of Elk Grove, was sentenced today to eight years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, on Oct. 4, 2019, several witnesses called 911 to report a fight in progress at an intersection in Vacaville. The callers reported that Hanna and another man and two women were involved in a melee, and one of the witnesses saw a gun fall from Hanna’s clothing during the incident. Court records state that Hanna hit the man in the face several times, and at least one of the victims reported that Hanna threatened to shoot him. Hanna and a female companion fled the scene and were arrested at a nearby home-improvement store moments later. The female companion had a 9 mm pistol in her pants at the time. The companion said that Hanna had given her the gun and told her to go inside. One of the victims identified the gun as the one he saw in Hanna’s clothing during the altercation. Hanna cannot lawfully possess firearms or ammunition because he has previously been convicted of two felony offenses in Solano County for assault with a deadly weapon and false imprisonment.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Vacaville Police Department, with special assistance from the FBI’s Solano County Violent Crimes Task Force and the Solano County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. 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.
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; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see www.justice.gov/projectguardian.
SDTX mourns loss of longest-tenured attorneyRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – The Southern District of Texas (SDTX) has lost a valued Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) with 40 years of service spanning eight presidential administrations, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Hays Jenkins, 71, Missouri City, passed way over the weekend. He was the most senior attorney in the SDTX and one of only approximately three dozen with similar years of service among U.S. Attorney’s Offices throughout the nation.
Jenkins began his federal career in 1967 with NASA. He later worked as a Harris County Assistant District Attorney before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) in 1980. In Summer 2020, the office celebrated his 40 years of service to the Department of Justice during a celebration via Zoom.
During his tenure, Jenkins had many different assignments throughout the office and was involved in a variety of cases. He also served as the chief of the Civil Division and as senior litigation counsel. Most recently, he was assigned to the Human Rights and Organized Crime Section primarily prosecuting immigration-related offenses. Over the years, Jenkins consistently worked tirelessly and produced outstanding results.
“Hays will be missed,” said Patrick. “I did not meet a kinder man in the office since I have been here, and he always had a positive thing to say to me.”
Jenkins was a dedicated professional. He could have retired many years prior to his passing, but loved what he did and continued his work to ensure the fulfillment of, and his contribution to, the overall USAO mission.
Jenkins, a long-time Houston-area resident, was a graduate of Grand Prairie High School and University of Houston. He later earned his juris doctor degree from Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University.
SDTX personnel, to include numerous AUSAs and support staff past and present, who have been blessed to know and work with Jenkins over his long career mourn his loss to the community. Patrick and his leadership also send heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.
Registered sex offender heads to prison after distributing child pornographyRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 28-year-old Corpus Christi man has been ordered to federal prison after he admitted to sending photos depicting the sexual exploitation of children, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Daniel Ellsworth Janssen pleaded guilty Oct. 22, 2020.
Today, U.S. District Judge David S. Morales ordered him to serve a 204-month sentence. At the hearing, the court heard that Janssen had been on probation for attempted indecency with a child when he was arrested for this federal crime. Following his 17-year federal prison term, Janssen will serve 15 years on supervised release during which time the court can impose a number of special conditions designed to protect children and prohibit the use of the internet. Again, he has been ordered to register as a sex offender. He must also pay $3,000 in restitution for each of the three identified victims.
Authorities had linked Janssen to an e-mail and IP address that was accessing child pornography. Law enforcement conducted a search, at which time they seized multiple electronic devices from Janssen’s Corpus Christi residence. A forensic examination later revealed over 1,500 images and videos of child pornography on those devices. Some he had distributed using his cell phone. The majority of the images and videos located on Janssen’s devices depicted the sexual exploitation of children under the age of 10.
He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Corpus Christi Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Popejoy prosecuted the case which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page.
Passaic County Man Admits Participating in Heroin ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Passaic County, New Jersey, man today admitted conspiring to distribute heroin and to distributing a quantity of heroin, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Carl Brown, 27, of Paterson, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti to a superseding information charging him with conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and knowingly and intentionally distributing heroin.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
The defendant and his conspirators are members and associates of the 230 Boys street gang, which operates primarily around Rosa Parks Boulevard and Godwin Avenue in Paterson. Through numerous controlled purchases of narcotics, consensually recorded telephone calls and text messages, physical surveillance, and the analysis of telephone call detail records, law enforcement officers determined that from September 2018 through Oct. 1, 2019, Brown and his conspirators conspired to distribute narcotics, including heroin.
Each count of the superseding information carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of at least $1 million. Sentencing is scheduled for June 1, 2021.
This case is being conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents and task force officers with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson; special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson in Newark; officers of the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan; officers of the Paterson Police Department, under the direction of Director Jerry Speziale and Police Chief Ibrahim Baycora; and detectives of the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Camelia Valdes; and the Passaic County Sheriff's Department, under the direction of Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bergen County Sheriff's Office and the Belleville and Livingston police departments for their assistance with the case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francesca Liquori, of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit.
New York Accountant Pleads Guilty to Federal Tax ChargeRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Ramsey E. Covington, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, announced that JAMES G. GUERRA, 58, of Dix Hills, New York, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden to a federal tax offense.
Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the court proceeding occurred via videoconference.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Guerra worked as an accountant for Bruno DeFabio, an owner of several pizza restaurants in Connecticut and New York, including Pinocchio Pizza LLC, doing business as Pinocchio Pizza in New Canaan, Connecticut; Top Oven Restaurant Corp., doing business as Pinocchio Pizza in Wilton, Connecticut; DiFabio Brothers Pizza Corp., doing business as Amore Pizza in Scarsdale, New York; Odell Pizza, Inc., doing business as Amore Cucina and Bar in Stamford, Connecticut; Nepperhan Restaurants Group, Inc., doing business as ReNapoli Pizza, in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, and Homefield Restaurant Corp., doing business as Pinocchio Pizza in Pound Ridge, New York.
DiFabio and his businesses engaged in a practice whereby cash was removed from the cash registers and not deposited into the restaurants’ operating bank accounts, and Guerra knew that DiFabio had a practice of paying his employees in cash. Although Guerra was aware that DiFabio was failing to collect required withholding taxes from his employees and, in turn, not paying over these taxes to the IRS, Guerra reviewed and approved DiFabio’s quarterly tax returns that DiFabio subsequently signed and filed with the IRS.
Guerra pleaded guilty to one count of willful failure to collect and pay over withholding taxes, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years. A sentencing date is not scheduled.
Guerra is released pending sentencing.
On October 25, 2018, DiFabio pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to file false income tax returns and payroll tax returns. When he pleaded guilty, he agreed that the loss to the IRS in income taxes and employment taxes for the 2013 through 2015 tax years was $816,954.
On September 24, 2018, DiFabio’s business partner in some of his restaurants, Steven Cioffi, pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting in the filing of a false tax return.
On June 4, 2019, Idalecia Lopes Santos, a bookkeeper who worked for DiFabio, pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion.
DiFabio, Cioffi and Santos await sentencing.
This investigation is being conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser.
Nantucket Painting Business Owner Charged with $2 Million Tax FraudRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The owner of a commercial and residential painting business on Nantucket was charged today with an income diversion and payroll tax scheme resulting in a tax loss that exceeded $2 million.
Durvan C. Lewis, 51, of Nantucket, was charged and has agreed to plead guilty to one count of tax evasion and one count of failure to pay over taxes. A hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Lewis owned and operated a painting business known as DCL Painting. From 2014 through 2017, Lewis allegedly diverted over $1.5 million of DCL Painting’s gross receipts to his personal bank account and failed to report the diverted receipts to his tax preparer. In addition, during the tax quarters ending March 31, 2012 through Sept. 30, 2019, it is alleged that Lewis paid over $5 million in wages to DCL Painting’s employees in cash “under the table.” As a result of his conduct, Lewis underreported his personal income tax obligations, as well as failed to report and pay over to the IRS the employment taxes owed on the cash wages. In total, Lewis allegedly caused a loss to the IRS of $2,084,852.
The charging statutes provide for a sentence on each count of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew Lelling and Ramsey E. Covington, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Boston Field Office made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney James R. Drabick of Lelling’s Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.
Mescalero man charged with sexual abuse of a childRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – James Darius Caje, 27, of Mescalero, New Mexico, and an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, was charged in federal court on Jan. 21 with sexual abuse of a minor. Caje will remain detained pending trial.
According to a criminal complaint, on the night of Feb. 24 or early morning Feb. 25, 2020, Caje allegedly entered the bedroom of the victim, who was less than 16-years old, and sexually assaulted her. The following day, the victim reported the assault to a school counsellor, who then reported it to law enforcement. The assault occurred on the Mescalero Apache Reservation.
A complaint is only an allegation. A defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Caje faces up to 15 years in prison.
The FBI investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan is prosecuting the case.
Local man pleads guilty in case involving 58 firearms stolen from sporting goods storeRead the Press Release
DAYTON – A Dayton man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Dayton today to conspiring with others to steal more than 50 firearms from Target World in Sharonville in June 2018.
Miyauhn Vineyard, 21, admitted that on June 17, 2018, he and other co-conspirators parked in an adjacent parking lot and cut off an exterior door lock to the store. The individuals then smashed display cases in the retail area of the store and stole 58 firearms.
According to court documents, two days later, the ATF recovered 10 of the firearms stolen by the defendant through a third-party sale.
Vineyard pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal firearms from a federal firearms licensee, a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.
This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
David M. DeVillers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Roland Herndon, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced the plea entered into today before U.S. District Judge Michael J. Newman. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan A. Saunders and Deputy Criminal Chief Dominick S. Gerace are representing the United States in this case.
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Judge sentences St. Louis man for threatening to kill a federal law enforcement officerRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – United States District Judge Ronnie L. White sentenced W.T. Cortez Lakes to 77 months in prison today. The 34-year-old St. Louis, Missouri resident pleaded guilty to one count of threatening to assault or murder federal officers and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Lakes boarded a MetroLink train, on November 24, 2018, without a valid ticket. Officers from the St. Louis County Police Department removed Lakes from the train for failing to produce a valid ticket. Lakes began acting suspicious while on the train platform and was repeatedly reaching into his pant pockets. As officers tried to do a pat-down search, Lakes turned and ran onto the railroad tracks. He left his backpack behind. A subsequent search of the backpack found a 9mm caliber semi-automatic handgun. It was loaded with 16 rounds and contained a magazine with a capacity for 18 rounds. Lakes, before November 24, 2018, was a convicted felon.
On November 26, 2018, Lakes called his probation officer to report the law enforcement contact. He admitted to her he was in possession of the firearm. This started a series of calls over eight days in which Lakes became increasingly agitated and stated he thought his supervision was going to be revoked. On December 3, 2018, Lakes left a voicemail with his probation officer. He stated he was “not going back to prison.” He warned, “When y’all come for me make sure y’all have your shit locked and loaded,” and “When y’all come don't have y’all guns in your holsters cause I'm shooting, I'm shooting, I swear to God. I'm not playing man cause I'm not going back to prison.”
In making these threats, Lakes was threatening his probation officer and any officers of the United States Marshals Service who may come to arrest him on a supervised release revocation warrant.
“Simply, our office will not tolerate threats or violence directed toward those who have committed their lives to protecting our communities,” said Sayler A. Fleming, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri. “Should you engage in such actionable behavior, we will aggressively and relentlessly prosecute you to fullest extent of the law.”
“Today, justice was served in the case of W.T. Lakes. When he made threats to kill federal law enforcement officers for carrying out their sworn duty, it did not deter us from doing our job and he committed a crime in doing so. W.T. Lakes will have ample time to reflect on this mistake while serving out his sentence at the Bureau of Prisons,” John Jordan, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Missouri.
The United States Marshals Service and the St. Louis County Police Department investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Jason Dunkel is handling the case.
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Judge sentences St. Louis man for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamineRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – United States District Judge Ronnie L. White sentenced LeVaughn Neal to 156 months in prison today. The 36-year-old St. Louis, Missouri resident pleaded guilty, in October, to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Investigators with the Drug Enforcement Administration learned, in August 2019, Neal and a co-defendant were involved in significant methamphetamine distribution in the St. Louis area. The United States Postal Inspection Service, at the same time, was conducting surveillance of suspicious packages mailed from Arizona to St. Louis.
On October 17, 2019, postal inspectors intercepted a suspicious package mailed from Scottsdale, Arizona to a vacant home in Jennings, Missouri. The addressee was not associated with the vacant home. DEA agents conducted surveillance on the vacant house and saw Neal parked in a vehicle near the house. The DEA conducted a controlled delivery of the package and left it on the front porch of the vacant house. Agents then watched Neal get out of a vehicle and pick-up the package off the porch.
Agents tried to arrest Neal, but he dropped the package and ran. Agents eventually arrested Neal and executed a search warrant to search the package. Inside the package, agents found zip-lock bags of crystal methamphetamine wrapped in duct tape and a vacuum-sealed bag inside bubble wrap. Neal admitted he chose the vacant address for delivery and the package should contain five pounds of methamphetamine. A forensics lab confirmed the package contained 2,217 grams of crystal methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance. Neal ultimately admitted to being responsible for distributing between 1.5 kilograms and 4.5 kilograms of methamphetamine.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Postal Inspection Service investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Paul D’Agrosa is handling the case.
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Inmate Sentenced for Having Weapon at FCI BeckleyRead the Press Release
BECKLEY, W.Va. – United States Attorney Mike Stuart announced that Tyrice Perkins, 24, an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Beckley, was sentenced to 12 months in prison for possessing a weapon at the correctional facility. This sentence is to run consecutively to the sentence he currently is serving. He also was sentenced to three years of supervised release following his imprisonment.
“Inmates that possess shanks or weapons in federal correctional facilities in this district will be prosecuted,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “It’s 12 more months in prison for Perkins.”
Perkins admitted that on February 9, 2020, he possessed a handcrafted weapon known as a shank. The shank was a 6 ½ inch piece of metal sharpened to a point on one end with a handle on the other end. A staff member at the prison saw Perkins drop the shank in the chow hall. The staff member then recovered the weapon. Perkins admitted that the shank was designed and intended to be used as a weapon.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons conducted the investigation. United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Boggess handled the prosecution.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-cr-00179.
Follow us on Twitter: SDWVNews and USAttyStuart
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Illegal Alien sentenced for drug traffickingRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Hashim Hussein, a citizen of Kuwait, was sentenced today to 12 months and one day of incarceration for selling cocaine near West Virginia University, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Hussein, also known as “Kuwait,” age 22, pled guilty to one count of “Distribution of Cocaine Hydrochloride within 1000 Feet of Protected Location” in August 2020. Hussein admitted to selling cocaine hydrochloride, also known as “Coke,” in December 2019 near the campus of West Virginia University in Monongalia County.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda E. Wesley prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The FBI and Mon Metro Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
U.S. District Judge Thomas S Kleeh presided.
Huntington Man Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Drug CrimeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Mike Stuart announced today that Emmanuel Lee Whitfield, 25, of Huntington, was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for distribution of heroin.
“Another Huntington heroin dealer convicted and sentenced to federal prison,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “I am proud of the relentless efforts of Huntington law enforcement to rid their streets of poison peddlers.”
Whitfield previously pled guilty and admitted that on March 7, 2019, he distributed approximately 5 grams of heroin to a confidential informant. This distribution of heroin occurred in controlled buy near 5 Washington Court in Huntington.
The Huntington Violent Crime and Drug Task Force and the Huntington Police Department conducted the investigation. United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan A. Keefe handled the prosecution.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:20-cr-00107.
Follow us on Twitter: SDWVNews and USAttyStuart
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Homestead Man Sentenced to 12 Years for Dealing Drugs that Caused Two Overdoses, One Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Homestead, PA, has been sentenced in federal court to 12 years of incarceration and 6 years of supervised release on his conviction of possession with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Chief United States District Judge Mark A. Hornak imposed the sentence on Clayton Murphy, age 45, of Homestead, Pennsylvania.
According to information presented to the court, Murphy distributed and possessed with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl on three separate occasions. On one occasion, the individual who received narcotics supplied by Murphy overdosed and died. On another occasion, another individual who received narcotics from Murphy overdosed, but was revived by Narcan.
Prior to imposing sentence, Chief Judge Hornak stated that the sentence, which the parties had agreed was appropriate, was reasonable in light of the significant consequences of the Murphy’s conduct, as well Murphy’s willingness to accept responsibility for his actions and their consequences.
Assistant United States Attorney Doug Maloney prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Brady commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Murphy.
Hobart Man Sentenced to 20 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
HAMMOND - Jerry James, age 65, of Hobart, Indiana was sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Theresa L. Springmann upon his plea of guilty to production of child pornography, announced Acting United States Attorney Bell.
James was sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment, 15 years’ supervised release, and ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution to his known victims.
According to documents filed in this case, law enforcement agents obtained a search warrant and searched James' home in Hobart, Indiana and discovered videos depicting child pornography on various electronic devices seized at the house. In his plea agreement, James admitted that between 2012 and January 2013, he produced videos that contained child pornography of minor victims, including some who had not yet attained the age of 12, engaged in sexual acts. The videos also involved material that portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence involving minor victims. James paid for minors under the age of 12 to perform sexual acts while he recorded them or streamed live images. The case originated through a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Michigan City Police Department and Indiana State Police. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Toi Denise Houston.
Highmore Woman Indicted on Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Highmore, South Dakota, woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person, Sale or Transfer of Firearms to a Prohibited Person, and False Statements During Purchase of a Firearm.
Elissa May Schultz, age 40, was indicted on October 14, 2020. She appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on January 21, 2021, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 10 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on August 27, 2020, at Highmore, Schultz knowingly possessed a firearm while being an unlawful user of and addicted to a controlled substance. Schultz is also charged with making false or fictitious statements on ATF 4473 forms, while purchasing firearms on March 5, 2019, and January 24, 2020. Schultz is further charged with transferring firearms to a prohibited person on January 24, 2020.
The charges are merely accusations and Schultz is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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 its 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 local communities to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
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; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see: https://www.justice.gov/projectguardian.
The investigation is being conducted by the Hyde County Sheriff’s Office, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Elmore is prosecuting the case.
Schultz was released on bond pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Hartford Man Sentenced to Prison for Fentanyl and Crack Distribution OffensesRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that NATHANIEL DeJESUS, 21, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley to 36 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for fentanyl and crack cocaine distribution offenses.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in July 2019, after a spate of gun violence in Hartford, the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force, DEA, Hartford Police Department and other law enforcement agencies initiated an investigation targeting gang-related drug distribution and associated violence in north Hartford. During the investigation, investigators made controlled purchases of fentanyl and crack cocaine from DeJesus.
DeJesus was arrested on state charges on August 28, 2019. At the time of his arrest he possessed fentanyl and crack packaged for distribution.
On September 13, 2019, DeJesus was arrested on federal narcotics distribution charges. On that date, a search of his Andover Street residence revealed approximately 73 grams of fentanyl, more than two grams of crack, and items used to process and package narcotics for street sale.
DeJesus has been detained since September 13, 2019. On February 26, 2020, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine base (“crack”).
The FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, New Britain Police Department, West Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Pierpont, Jr.
Harrison County man sentenced for firearms chargeRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Jonathan Michael Smith, of Lumberport, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 27 months of incarceration for a firearms charge, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Smith, 36, pled guilty to one count of “Unlawful Possession of a Firearm” in August 2020. Smith, a person prohibited from having firearms because of a prior conviction, admitted to having a .22 caliber revolver in June 2019 in Harrison County.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Wagner prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office investigated.
U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
Former elementary teacher imprisoned for explicit sexual conversations originating via CraigslistRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 28-year-old Odom man has been ordered to federal prison after he admitted to transferring obscene materials to a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Lazaro Benito Rocha pleaded guilty Oct. 22, 2020.
Today, U.S. District Judge David S. Morales found Rocha to be in a position of trust and varied above the guideline range which resulted in a 36-month federal prison sentence. At the hearing, the court heard additional information, including details regarding the sexually explicit communications Rocha had with someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl living in Corpus Christi. In handing down the sentence, Judge Morales noted Rocha was a teacher when he sent the text messages and photographs and that he took photographs of himself while he was inside his classroom.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the court asked Rocha whether he believed he had a problem with his sexual interests in children. Rocha responded with “I believe so.”
Rocha was further ordered to serve three years on supervised release following his incarceration during which time the court can impose a number of special conditions designed to protect children and prohibit the use of the internet. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
“Today’s sentencing is the result of outstanding collaboration between Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Corpus Christi Police Department’s (CCPD) Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS),” said Brad Scott, assistant special agent in charge, HSI Corpus Christi. “Working together we were able to identify this child predator and remove him from his position of trust where he had access to minors.”
At part of his plea, Rocha admitted that he had responded to an ad on Craigslist advertising a “good time” with a teenage girl. He continued communicating with whom he thought was a 14-year-old female which soon escalated into conversations of an explicit sexual nature via text messaging.
Using his cell phone, he eventually sent a photograph of his genitals.
The investigation revealed he was a part-time elementary music teacher at the Incarnate Word Academy in Corpus Christi.
Previously released on bond, Rocha was taken into custody following the sentencing today where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
HIS, CCPD-ICAC and DPS conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Popejoy prosecuted 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.
Former Veterans Affairs Doctor Sentenced to Prison for Sexual Abuse of VeteransRead the Press Release
A former doctor of osteopathic medicine who previously worked at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Beckley, West Virginia, was sentenced today for depriving veterans of their civil rights under color of law by sexually abusing them.
U.S. District Judge Frank W. Volk sentenced Jonathan Yates, 52, of Bluefield, Virginia, to 300 months in prison and three years of supervised release, announced Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gregory B. Friel of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Michael B. Stuart of the Southern District of West Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Michael A. Christman of the Pittsburgh Division of the FBI, and VA Inspector General Michael J. Missal.
Yates previously pleaded guilty on Sept. 17, 2020, to three felony counts of deprivation of rights under color of law. According to the plea documents, Yates rubbed the genitals of two veterans and digitally penetrated a third veteran’s rectum under the guise of legitimate medicine, when in fact he acted without a legitimate medical purpose. This conduct, performed while Yates was acting under color of law in his capacity as a VA physician and a federal employee, deprived the veterans of their constitutional right to bodily integrity and caused them pain. According to the plea documents, the veterans had sought treatment from Yates to manage chronic pain through osteopathic manipulative therapy. Several veterans addressed the court at sentencing, describing the trauma and mental anguish that Yates had caused them. Yates surrendered his medical licenses as a condition of his plea agreement.
“The sentence today reflects the seriousness of this defendant’s misconduct. In a despicable betrayal of his oath, he used his specialized medical knowledge and expertise to sexually abuse his own patients. He has now been held accountable,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gregory B. Friel of the Civil Rights Division. “It is a testament to the bravery of our veterans that so many came forward to bring this defendant to justice.”
“Military veterans who serve and sacrifice to protect our nation deserve only the best of care. Yates betrayed his oath as a physician and the veterans under his care,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Stuart for the Southern District of West Virginia. “Today, Yates has been called to account for his heinous acts. While his prison sentence will not undo the significant harm Yates inflicted on the victims, we hope that it will ease their pain. I want to commend the incredible work of the FBI and the Department of Veterans Affairs-OIG in this investigation. I also want to thank the victims and their families for their unwavering support during the prosecution of this case.”
“Yates committed hideous crimes in a hospital room, which should be a sanctuary for patients,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Michael Christman. “The facts of this case are disgusting and these patients and their families deserved better care. While today’s sentence won’t take away what happened to these patients who dedicated their lives in service to our nation, Yates will never be able to hurt anyone again. Hopefully, this will serve as justice for his victims.”
“This sentence is the culmination of the exceptional work of the Office of the Inspector General special agents and our law enforcement partners,” said VA Inspector General Michael J. Missal. “Our thoughts are with the veterans who suffered horrific abuse by a doctor entrusted with their care, and we remain vigilant in our efforts to keep all VA patients safe from harm.”
The case was investigated by the FBI, the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, and the Veterans Affairs Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel and Trial Attorney Kyle Boynton of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg McVey of the Southern District of West Virginia, and Assistant Chief Kilby MacFadden of the Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia at http://www.wvsd.uscourts.gov/ or on http://pacer.wvsd.uscourts.gov/.
Former PG&E Employee Sentenced to 22 Months in Prison for Fraud Conspiracy Involving $82.1MRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A former PG&E employee was sentenced today to 22 months in prison and ordered to pay $1,476,295 in restitution for a conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and receiving kickback payments from a Stockton transportation company owned by his cousin, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, Ronald S. Schoenfeld, 65, of Goodyear, Arizona, formerly of Dublin, California, while employed at Pacific Gas and Electric Company, conspired to obtain contracts from PG&E for his cousin’s transportation business in exchange for kickbacks from that business worth approximately 2.5% of the value of the contracts. Schoenfeld concealed from PG&E his familial relationship with his co-conspirator from PG&E, provided confidential information to his co-conspirator, and, at times, directly intervened in the consideration of contracts between PG&E and his co-conspirator’s business, all contrary to PG&E’s policies.
From March 2007 through February 2015, PG&E paid at least $82.1 million to the business operated by Schoenfeld’s cousin for services it provided pursuant to PG&E contracts. During the same period, Schoenfeld’s co-conspirator paid him at least $1,476,295.15 in kickbacks for his role in the conspiracy.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys André M. Espinosa and Tanya B. Syed prosecuted the case.
Former New Bedford Police Officer Sentenced for Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former New Bedford police officer was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for possessing and distributing child pornography.
Paul Hodson, 44, of Acushnet, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to six years in prison and five years of supervised release. In December 2019, Hodson pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
Following an investigation into the use of peer-to-peer file sharing networks for the trade of child pornography, a search was executed at Hodson’s home. Hodson was interviewed on scene and admitted to using peer-to-peer file sharing software to trade child pornography. Hundreds of child pornography files were recovered from Hodson’s computer including at least one file that was distributed to undercover law enforcement in the course of the investigation.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and William S. Walker, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Acushnet Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Paruti, Lelling’s Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and Deputy Chief of the Major Crimes Unit, prosecuted the case.
The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Former L.A. City Councilman Mitch Englander Ordered to Serve 14 Months in Federal Prison for Scheming to Obstruct Corruption ProbeRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – Former Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitchell Englander was sentenced this morning to 14 months in federal prison for his conduct surrounding his obstruction of a public corruption investigation into his acceptance of gifts – including $15,000 in cash – from a businessman during trips to Las Vegas and Palm Springs in 2017.
Englander, 50, of Santa Monica, was sentenced this morning by United States District Judge John F. Walter, who noted that Englander’s “elaborate and clandestine scheme” to cover up his conduct has “undermined the public trust.” In declining Englander’s request for probation, Judge Walter stated that “justice [was] owed to society.” In addition to the prison term, Judge Walter ordered Englander to pay a $15,000 fine.
At the conclusion of this morning’s two-hour hearing, Englander became the first person to be sentenced in relation to Operation “Casino Loyale,” the ongoing corruption investigation into Los Angeles City Hall that has also led to criminal charges against former City Councilmember Jose Huizar and 10 other defendants. Englander, who represented Los Angeles City Council District 12 in the San Fernando Valley for more than seven years before resigning at the end of 2018 with almost two years left on his term, pleaded guilty last July to one count of scheming to falsify material facts.
Englander schemed to cover up cash payments, expensive meals, escort services and other gifts offered to him from an individual identified as Businessperson A, who sought to increase his business opportunities in the city. From August 2017 until December 2018, Englander knowingly and willfully falsified and concealed material facts pertaining to the federal public corruption investigation. Specifically, Englander covered up facts that he had accepted items of value during June 2017 trips to Las Vegas and Palm Springs and that he directed a witness to lie to and mislead federal investigators.
Englander, while serving as a city councilmember and a reserve officer with the Los Angeles Police Department, “illicitly cashed in on his status as a purported public servant in casino bathrooms and through VIP bottle service, luxury dinners, and behind hotel room doors,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “Over numerous incidents of escalating corruption and self-preservation, [Englander] sold out both oaths, cheaply and repeatedly.”
During the trip to Las Vegas, Englander accepted from Businessperson A an envelope with $10,000 in cash, a hotel room, $1,000 in casino gambling chips, $34,000 in bottle service at a nightclub, and a $2,481 group dinner. Businessperson A also paid for two female escorts to arrive at their hotel and later instructed one of the escorts to go to Englander’s room.
At a golf tournament in Palm Springs, Englander accepted an envelope containing $5,000 in cash from Businessperson A. Shortly after the trips, Englander arranged for Businessperson A to pitch his business to a friend of Englander’s who was a developer.
After learning about the federal investigation into his conduct, Englander sent a reimbursement check to Businessperson A, backdating the check “to give the impression he intended to reimburse the expenses before the FBI reached out to request an interview,” prosecutors noted in the sentencing memorandum.
On at least three occasions, Englander attempted to coordinate statements he made to the FBI and federal prosecutors with Businessperson A, and Englander counseled Businessperson A how to lie to and mislead the FBI agents and federal prosecutors conducting the public corruption investigation.
Englander also made false statements to the FBI and federal prosecutors on three separate occasions in 2017 and 2018.
Englander “was motivated by plain old-fashioned greed, selfishness, and a desperate desire to cling to his status as a wealthy and powerful City official,” prosecutors argued in the sentencing memorandum, which notes that the corrupt conduct has “cause[d] lasting civic damage by undermining the City’s faith in its public servants.”
Englander was the first person to be charged in relation to Casino Loyale, the ongoing corruption investigation being conducted by the FBI and the United States Attorney’s Office that has focused on a wide-ranging “pay-to-play” scheme in which developers bribed Los Angeles city officials to secure official acts to benefit their real estate projects. A total of nine individuals and two businesses have now been charged as a result of this investigation, including Huizar, who is the lead defendant in a sweeping racketeering indictment that alleges he agreed to accept at least $1.5 million in illicit financial benefits while serving as the leader of a criminal enterprise. A jury trial for Huizar and several other defendants is currently scheduled for June 22 before Judge Walter.
In addition to Englander, several individuals charged in the investigation have pleaded guilty and await sentencing later this year. Two corporate entities have entered into non-prosecution agreements and collectively have paid $2.25 million.
Any member of the public who has information related to this or any other public corruption matter in the City of Los Angeles is encouraged to send information to the FBI’s tip line at tips.fbi.gov or to contact the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office at (310) 477-6565.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mack E. Jenkins, Chief of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, and Assistant United States Attorneys Veronica Dragalin and Melissa E. Mills of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section.
Former KC Fire Captain Sentenced for Illegally Selling Firearms to FelonsRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former captain in the Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department was sentenced in federal court today for illegally selling dozens of firearms over a five-year period, and to selling firearms to convicted felons.
James Samuels, 55, of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to six years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Samuels to pay a fine of $11,282, which is the amount of cash seized by law enforcement officers at the time of his arrest.
On Aug. 31, 2020, Samuels pleaded guilty to seven counts of a federal indictment, including one count of conspiracy to make false statements during the purchase of firearms, one count of engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license, four counts of selling firearms and ammunition to persons prohibited by law from possessing them, and one count of possessing an unregistered firearm. Samuels has been in federal custody without bond since his arrest on Oct. 4, 2018.
Samuels admitted that he purchased 77 firearms from November 2013 to August 2018. Of those 77 firearms, 57 were Jimenez pistols. Samuels transferred 47 of those 77 firearms to third parties (including 43 Jimenez pistols). During this time, Samuels was not a licensed dealer of firearms.
Samuels also admitted that 10 to 20 of those firearms were sold to persons who were forbidden by law from possessing them. Samuels bought the firearms at a low price and sold them for a $40 to $50 profit.
Samuels conspired with others to make false statements to federally licensed firearms dealers by misrepresenting the identity of the actual buyer of firearms. Samuels purchased firearms then transferred ownership to another person, who later reported the firearms had been stolen.
Samuels was arrested on Oct. 4, 2018, following an undercover operation in which he sold an Armscor of the Philippines .38-caliber revolver to a confidential informant whom he knew to be a felon. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Samuels’s residence the same day and seized 28 firearms (including 22 handguns, five rifles and one shotgun). Among the firearms seized was a Glock .40-caliber pistol with a TAC Isran GLR 440 stock installed, which was not registered to Samuels, and a Colt .45-caliber pistol, which had been reported stolen. In addition to the firearms, officers seized approximately 12,000 rounds of assorted ammunition, as well as firearm parts and accessories.
The Oct. 4, 2018, transaction is one of four instances cited in Samuels’s plea agreement in which the same confidential informant, whom Samuels knew was a felon and thus prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition, purchased a firearm and ammunition from Samuels. In each of those four instances, Samuels accompanied the confidential informant and an undercover federal agent to a licensed firearms dealer, where the undercover agent completed the paperwork for the straw purchase of the firearm on behalf of the confidential informant. In each instance, the straw purchase was at the direction of Samuels.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad K. Kavanaugh. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, and local law enforcement to specifically identify criminals responsible for significant violent crime in the Western District of Missouri. A centerpiece of this effort is Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.Florida man pleads guilty in moving company scam conspiracyRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI – A Miami, Fla. man pleaded guilty to conspiring in a racketeering enterprise to defraud individuals through moving companies located throughout the United States.
Andrey Shuklin, 33, entered his guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati today.
Shuklin was one of 12 defendants indicted in July 2018. According to court documents, the defendants operated and worked through several affiliated moving companies to enrich themselves by stealing from customers who hired them to move their household goods.
The enterprise executed their scheme through various moving companies in Florida, Ohio, Maryland, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, California, Connecticut, Colorado and Missouri. Approximately 1,000 customers have been identified as victims.
Shuklin admitted to participating in the scheme from April 2013 through July 2018. The defendant was the owner of affiliated moving companies and worked out of the enterprise’s main business offices in Florida.
One of the enterprise’s warehouses was in West Chester, Ohio, and some of the identified victims reside in the Southern District of Ohio.
As part of the conspiracy, the defendants would provide customers with low binding estimates to do their move, promising to beat their competitor’s prices. After the customers agreed to hire the moving companies, employees of the moving companies would load the customers’ goods onto the truck and then the price of the move would be bumped. Co-conspirators would use an inflated cubic footage for the price of moving the customers’ goods.
Shuklin tracked the “actual” or “real” cubic footage for customers’ goods and charged customers based on the fraudulently inflated price.
Identified victims of the moving companies fraud lost more than $1.5 million total.
Shuklin pleaded guilty to one count of participating in the racketeering conspiracy, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Congress sets the maximum statutory sentence. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
David M. DeVillers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Andrea Kropf, Regional Special Agent-in-Charge, Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT); and Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the plea entered into today before U.S. District Judge Douglas R. Cole. Assistant United States Attorneys Megan Gaffney Painter and Matthew C. Singer are representing the United States in this case.
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Five New Guilty Pleas in Nationwide Telemedicine Pharmacy Health Care Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
GREENEVILLE, Tenn.– Today, Larry Everett Smith, 50, of Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty before Senior District Judge Ronnie Greer to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Sentencing has been set for October 25, 2021 at 3:00 p.m., in United States District Court in Greeneville. Smith faces a term of up to 10 years in prison.
The First Superseding Indictment, returned December 1, 2020, charged Smith and others with a nationwide conspiracy to defraud pharmacy benefit managers out of $174,202,105 by submitting $931,356,936 in bills to the pharmacy benefit managers for fraudulent prescriptions purchased from a telemarketing company. The indictment alleges the conspiracy began in mid-2015 and lasted through the first months of 2018.
In a written plea agreement, Smith admitted to conspiring with Scott Roix, Mihir Taneja, Arun Kapoor, Sterling-Knight Pharmaceuticals LLC, HealthRight LLC, Alpha-Omega Pharmacy LLC, Germaine Pharmacy Inc., Zoetic Pharmacy, and Tanith Enterprises, and others to defraud pharmacy benefit managers into paying for fraudulent prescriptions for topical pain creams, vitamins, and other products. Smith agreed to pay restitution of $24,919,254 and forfeit approximately $3,052,215.
On September 26, 2018, Roix and HealthRight pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud for their roles in the scheme and agreed to pay restitution of $5,000,000. Roix faces a term of up to 10 years in prison. Sentencing for Roix is set for October 25, 2021.
Smith’s guilty plea follows pleas by Mihir Taneja, Arun Kapoor, Maikel Bolos, and Sterling-Knight Pharmaceuticals in December 2020. In those plea agreements, Taneja, 46, of Tampa, Florida, and Kapoor, 47, of Temple Terrace, Florida, pleaded guilty to felony mis-branding. Maikel Bolos, 35, of Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and mail fraud, and Sterling-Knight Pharmaceuticals, a Nevada company operated out of Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Taneja, Kapoor, and Sterling-Knight agreed to pay restitution of $20,981,786. Sterling-Knight also agreed to forfeit $6,168,398. Taneja and Kapoor, each, face a term of up to 3 years in prison. Bolos faces a term of up to 5 years in prison. Sentencing for Taneja, Kapoor, Bolos, and Sterling-Knight is set for October 18, 2021.
“The protection and integrity of our health care programs are vital to the citizens they serve. Many Tennesseans rely on these health care programs to maintain a healthy quality of life, and it is critical we protect the viability of these programs,” said U.S. Attorney J. Douglas Overbey.
“Telemarketing fraud is a major threat to the integrity of government and commercial insurance programs,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General in Atlanta. “After improperly soliciting patient information, these marketing companies obtained approvals through contracted telemedicine prescribers, then sold those costly prescriptions to pharmacies in exchange for kickbacks.”
“Health care fraud can affect everyone, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is committed to stopping these criminals in their tracks,” said HSI Tampa acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin Sibley. “This investigation highlights the importance of law enforcement partnerships across the nation and around the world.”
“The U.S. Office of Personnel Management Office of the Inspector General is committed to protecting the federal health care programs from schemes that undermine the integrity of the program,” said Norbert E. Vint, Deputy Inspector General Performing the Duties of the Inspector General. “I am very proud of our investigative staff and partners at the Department of Justice for their hard work on behalf of American taxpayer.”
“Today’s announcement demonstrates that companies and individuals who place profits above patient safety will be held accountable for their actions,” said Special Agent in Charge Justin C. Fielder, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Miami Field Office. “We will continue to work with the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners to bring to justice those who jeopardize the U.S. public health.”
“Health care fraud is a severe crime problem that impacts every American. The FBI, with its law enforcement partners, will continue to allocate resources to investigate these crimes and prosecute those that are intent on defrauding the health care system,” said Special Agent in Charge Joseph Carrico of the FBI Knoxville Field Office.
The trial of the remaining defendants will commence July 13, 2021, in the district court in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The prosecution and plea agreements were coordinated by Assistant U.S. Attorneys TJ Harker, Mac Heavener, Anne-Marie Svolto, and Gretchen Mohr of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee, and Trial Attorney David Gunn of the Department’s Consumer Protection Branch. Assistant U.S. Attorneys TJ Harker and Mac Heavener, and Trial Attorney David Gunn will try the matter for the government and represent the government at court proceedings.
These plea agreements resulted from a multi-year investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General (Nashville); Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (Nashville); U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General (Buffalo, New York); Federal Bureau of Investigation (Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee); Office of Personnel Management Office of the Inspector General (Atlanta); and the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (Tampa). The U.S. Marshals Service also assisted in the investigation and the forfeiture of assets.
The case is United States v. Andrew Assad et al (2:18-CR-140). Related cases are United States v. Mihir Taneja (2:20-CR-111), United States v. Arun Kapoor (2:20-CR-110), United States v. Sterling-Knight Pharmaceuticals LLC (2:20-CR-113), United States v. Maikel Bolos (2:20-CR-112), and United States v. Scott Roix and HealthRight LLC (2:18-CR-133).
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edtn/pr/four-men-and-seven-companies-indicted-billion-dollar-telemedicine-fraud-conspiracy;
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edtn/pr/telemarketer-and-his-companies-agree-pay-25-million-settle-allegation-they-operated
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