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16 December 2020
Arizona man sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for involuntary manslaughter in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Maroquez Clah, 29, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation from Red Valley, Arizona, was sentenced in federal court on Dec. 15 to 37 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter. Clah was also ordered to pay restitution of $4,500.
Clah previously pleaded guilty to this offense on Sept. 21. In his plea agreement, Clah admitted that on Aug. 30, 2019, he was driving recklessly while under the influence of alcohol, which resulted in the death of the passenger in his vehicle. The single-car incident occurred on Navajo Route 13 in Red Valley.
The FBI and the Navajo Division of Public Safety investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Novaline D. Wilson prosecuted the case.
Aberdeen Man Sentenced for Being Felon in Possession of FirearmRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that an Aberdeen, South Dakota, man convicted of Felon in Possession of a Firearm as a result of a federal jury trial in Aberdeen, South Dakota, on October 13, 2020, was sentenced on December 15, 2020 by U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann.
Darrell Two Hearts, age 41, was sentenced to 71 months in federal prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Two Hearts was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 20, 2020.
The conviction stemmed from an incident on or about April 25, 2020, when Two Hearts was arrested in Aberdeen. Officers had been searching for Two Hearts to arrest him on outstanding warrants. When they found him, Two Hearts had a loaded handgun in his backpack, along with syringes, a pot pipe, and a marijuana grinder. He also had a small amount of methamphetamine in his pants pocket. He had previously been convicted of felony crimes that prohibited him from possessing any firearms. At trial, a jury unanimously found that he illegally possessed a 9mm handgun.
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 the local community 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.
This case was investigated by the Aberdeen Police Department, the Brown County Sheriff's Office, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.
Two Hearts was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
24 charged in Toledo-area drug trafficking conspiracyRead the Press Release
Federal, state, county and local law enforcement today participated in a wide-ranging takedown operation of 24 individuals charged in a multiple count indictment filed in federal court. These defendants are accused of participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy that involved the use of a communications facility to facilitate a drug felony and the distribution of cocaine, cocaine base, and fentanyl in the Toledo area.
20 individuals were arrested during an early morning operation and transported to federal court in Toledo. The arrests were conducted by the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force, Toledo Metro Drug Task Force, the Northwest Ohio Interdiction Task Force and the USMS Fugitive Task Force. This effort was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.
U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman, FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric B. Smith and Toledo Police Chief George Kral made the announcement.
“Today’s arrests and indictment reflect the collaborative resolve of law enforcement in this region to continue our fight against drug trafficking in our neighborhoods,” said U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman. “To any trafficker, no matter how well connected or organized you think you are, know that if you continue to push drugs in our communities, you will eventually be caught and we will do everything we can to ensure that you go to federal prison.”
"These individuals are responsible for distributing dangerous illegal narcotics through our Toledo and surrounding communities, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric B. Smith. “Most often, as in this case, where there are illegal drugs, there are guns and violence. Law enforcement, with the publics’ assistance, has rid the streets of this violent drug trafficking organization."
“Through operations like this, law enforcement continues to target the criminals who wreak havoc in our community through the distribution of illegal and dangerous drugs,” said Toledo Police Chief George Kral. “I am grateful for the ongoing and continued relationship with our federal partners.”
Named in the indictment are Anthony Duff, age 44; Jackie Green, age 51; Anthony King, age 46; Antonio Mays, age 46; Antuan Wynn, age 45; Tomar Belcher, age 46; Ray Brown, age 37; Damian Dalton, age 46; Mark Humphrey, age 46; Kevion Jones, age 23; Kimberly Marshall, age 36; Orlando McCall, Sr., age 45; Jeremiah Mims, age 39; Marcus Odoms, age 43; Christopher Simpson, age 29; Daniel Ulis, Sr., age 46; Demetrius Wallace, Jr., age 20; Frederick Wilson, Jr., age 39; Kali Kowalski, age 34; Dawn Rahmstock, age 54; Briana Siler, age 24; Heidi Vaculik age 42; and Angela Whittecar, age 42 all of Toledo, Ohio, and Marquise Figures, age 35, of Wayne, Ohio.
According to the indictment, from December 2019 through the present day, the defendants are accused of conspiring together to distribute large quantities of fentanyl, crack cocaine and at least 5 kilograms of cocaine in the Toledo area and the use of a communications facility to facilitate a drug felony.
The conspirators are accused of using multiple cellular devices and code words to conceal their activity and various residences in the Toledo area to store, break down, package and distribute their narcotics and proceeds.
Defendants DUFF, KING, WYNN, MIMS and ULIS are all facing enhanced penalty charges due to previous felony convictions. In addition, defendant GREEN is charged with an additional account of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the Court after reviewing factors unique to this case, including each defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, each defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, Toledo Metro Drug Task Force and the Northwest Ohio Interdiction Task Force.
The FBI Safe Streets is comprised of the FBI, Toledo Police Department, Sylvania Township Police Department and the Oregon Police Department. The Toledo Metro Drug Task Force is comprised of the FBI, Toledo Police Department, Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Lucas County Sheriff’s Office, and ATF. The Northwest Ohio Interdiction Task Force is comprised of the FBI, Toledo Police Department, Lucas and Wood County Sheriff’s Offices.
This effort was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Alissa M. Sterling and Robert Melching.
10 Defendants Arrested in Home-Health Aide Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging MARIANNA LEVIN, TETYANA GOLYAK, ELENA LOKSHIN, SVITLANA ROHULYA, MARINA ZAK, ALINA KUPTSOVA, MALIHA IJAZ, MAKHINBONU NARZULLAEVA, NATALYA SHVARTS, and INNA GEKELMAN with conspiracy to commit mail, wire and healthcare fraud; substantive counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, and healthcare fraud; and conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, in connection with a scheme to fraudulently bill Medicaid for home-health and personal-care services that were not actually rendered. The ten defendants were arrested earlier this morning and will be presented today before United States Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger in Manhattan federal court. The case has been assigned to United States District Judge John P. Cronan.
Manhattan Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “These ten defendants allegedly attempted to swindle the managed healthcare system by billing for no-show cases, where aides provided no actual assistance to patients. Now more than ever, the Medicare system is critical for so many Americans who depend on its services for their well-being. Conduct such as the alleged scheme today not only beleaguers the healthcare system, it unfairly penalizes those who depend on it most – the patients.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “Money that’s earmarked for Medicaid-approved services, and fraudulently paid out to those who don’t render these services, is a crime that’s ultimately paid for by taxpayers themselves. In this case, as we allege, there were even patients involved in the kickback scheme who were willing to play along with the no-show scam in order to earn a few extra bucks. With a nearly $5 billion increase in managed long-term care plan spending recorded over a recent six-year period, the money paid out to those charged today is no drop in the bucket.”
As alleged in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court[1]:
Since in or about 2015, the defendants have been engaged in a widespread fraud scheme through which the defendants defrauded Medicaid for home-health and personal-care services that were not actually rendered. At all times relevant to the Indictment, the defendants worked at or were otherwise associated with one of two affiliated licensed homecare service agencies based in Brooklyn, New York (“Agency-1”, “Agency-2”, collectively referred to as the “Agencies”), that provide home-health and personal-care services to patients residing in all five boroughs of New York City and Nassau County. Combined, the Agencies employed approximately 3,000 home-health and personal-care aides (the “Aides”). Most of the Aides were licensed to provide home-health aide services and personal-care services.
Home care is a health service provided in the patient’s home to promote, maintain, or restore health or lessen the effects of illness and disability. Home care includes personal-care services, administered by Aides, including housekeeping, meal preparation, bathing, toileting, and grooming.
At all times relevant to this Indictment, eligible Medicaid beneficiaries in New York were able to seek government-funded home-health and personal-care services through managed long-term care plans (“MLTCs”). In turn, MLTCs received Medicaid funding to pay for their beneficiaries’ home-health and personal-care services. In recent years, home-health costs in New York have ballooned. In or about January 2020, New York’s State budget director announced, in substance and in part, that spending on MLTCs tripled between the 2013 and 2019 fiscal years, representing a $4.8 billion increase.
The Agencies administer home-health and personal-care services to Medicaid beneficiaries enrolled in New York MLTCs. From in or about 2015 to in or about December 2020, Medicaid reimbursed the Agencies hundreds of millions of dollars for home-health and personal-care services. A significant portion of the Agencies’ billings were fraudulent. In particular, the Agencies billed Medicaid for “no-show” cases in which Aides claimed to be performing home-health or personal-care services when they were not. At times when Aides falsely claimed to be performing home-health or personal-care services, they in fact, stayed home, ran personal errands, vacationed, and socialized with family and friends. For example, on or about September 9, 2017, TETYANA GOLYAK was at a vineyard and winery in New Jersey at a time she claimed to be performing personal-care services for a patient residing in Brooklyn, New York; in or about January 2019, NATALYA SHVARTS was on a Caribbean cruise at a time she claimed to be performing personal-care services for a patient residing in Brooklyn, New York; and, on or about March 1, 2019, MALIHA IJAZ was at a Brooklyn restaurant at a time IJAZ claimed to be performing personal-care services. These no-show arrangements caused the Agencies to submit false Medicaid claims to MLTCs.
With no-show cases at the Agencies, an Aide’s fraudulently-obtained wages were often split between the no-show Aide and the no-show patient. In addition to paying kickbacks to no-show patients, no-show Aides sometimes paid kickbacks to conspirators who referred no-show cases to Aides at the Agencies.
The defendants are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail, wire, and healthcare fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one count of mail fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one count of healthcare fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The maximum potential sentences and minimum sentence in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencings of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
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Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York FBI, New York City Police Department, and the Office of Medicaid Inspector General for New York State.
This case is being handled by the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Nicholas Folly, Nicholas W. Chiuchiolo and Daniel G. Nessim are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
DEFENDANT
AGE
ROLE
RESIDENCE
MARIANNA LEVIN
47
Manager at Agency-1
Brooklyn
TETYANA GOLYAK
43
Director of Case Coordinators at Agency-1
Brooklyn
ELENA LOKSHIN
34
Director of Human Resources at Agency-1
Howell, NJ
SVITLANA ROHULYA
43
Case Coordinator and Supervisor of Case Coordinators at Agency-1
Brooklyn
MARINA ZAK
43
Case Coordinator and Supervisor at Agency-1 and Supervisor at Agency-2
Staten Island
ALINA KUPTSOVA
60
Case Coordinator at the Agencies
Avenel, NJ
MALIHA IJAZ
33
Intake Employee and Aide at Agency-1
Brooklyn
MAKHINBONU NARZULLAEVA
31
Case Coordinator and Aide at Agency-1
Brooklyn
NATALYA SHVARTS
51
Coordinator and Aide at Agency-1
Brooklyn
INNA GEKELMAN
70
Recruiter for Agency-1
Brooklyn
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment, and the description of the Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
$113K Embezzlement Leads to Federal Prison Sentence for Former Metro East Elementary School PrincipalRead the Press Release
Smithton, Ill. – Roy Joseph Monti, 54, of St. Louis, Missouri, was sentenced last week to 6 months in federal prison and 6 months of home detention. The former principal of St. John the Baptist
Elementary School in Smithton, Illinois, pleaded guilty back in September to one count of interstate transportation of stolen money. He will serve an additional 18 months of supervised release following his home confinement.According to court documents, from March 2017 to November 2019, Monti used his position as the school’s principal to embezzle $113,061.87 from the school’s bank account. He attempted to cover up the thefts by noting purportedly valid expenses on the withdrawal slips, which turned out to be false and fraudulent. Because he lived in Missouri while working in Illinois, Monti often carried large amounts of the stolen cash across state lines, which is a federal felony.
As part of his sentence, the federal district court ordered Monti to make full restitution to the school.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Smithton Police Department.
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15 December 2020
Wilcox Man Sentenced for Being an Unlawful Drug User in Possession of Stolen FirearmsRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Richard W. Moore of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Braxton Dauphin Cook, 31, of Pine Hill, Alabama, was sentenced in federal court for being an unlawful drug user in possession of stolen firearms. Cook pleaded guilty to the charge in August 2020.
In connection with his guilty plea, Cook admitted that in the early morning hours of January 20, 2020, he burglarized a rural hunting camp in Arlington, Alabama and stole several firearms, cash, and an ATV. Later on the day of the burglary, law enforcement located Cook passed out in a pickup truck parked on the side of the road with the engine running. Investigators searched Cook’s person and found a loaded pistol that had been reported stolen from the hunting camp, as well as a syringe containing a liquid substance that Cook admitted was heroin. Inside the truck, investigators found six additional firearms that had been reported stolen from the hunting camp. Cook admitted that he had sold two firearms he stole from the hunting camp to a drug dealer and that he planned to take the other stolen items to another drug dealer. Cook estimated that he used heroin twice a day and admitted that he had used methamphetamine since 2010. Cook’s knowing unlawful use of and addiction to controlled substances rendered his possession of firearms illegal pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3).
Chief United States District Court Judge Kristi K. DuBose imposed a sentence of 26 months’ incarceration. Following his incarceration, Cook will serve three years on supervised release. During that time, Cook will undergo testing and treatment for substance abuse. The court did not impose a fine, but the judge ordered Cook to pay a $100 special assessment.
This case was investigated by the Wilcox County Sheriff’s Office, the Marengo County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office by Assistant United States Attorney Justin Roller.
Walker County man faces child pornography and cyberstalking chargesRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Authorities have arrested a 22-year-old Huntsville man for possessing and receiving child pornography as well as cyberstalking, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Kody Nicholas Bohac is set to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances Stacy Dec. 16 at 10 a.m.
The criminal complaint, filed yesterday under seal, alleges Bohac was involved in stalking a woman in another state over social media and threatening to post nude photographs of her on the internet if she did not contact him. The charges allege the images were posted on the internet after the woman did not respond to his threats.
According to the criminal complaint, law enforcement had executed a search warrant in connection with a related matter. At that time, they allegedly found images and videos of child pornography on his cell phone.
If convicted, Bohac faces up to 20 and five years in federal prison on the possession and receipt of child pornography charges, respectively. Federal cyberstalking carries a potential five-year prison sentence.
The FBI Houston Division - Bryan Resident Agency and FBI Philadelphia Division - State College Resident Agency conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Sam Houston State University Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard W. Bennett is prosecuting this 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.
A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Uvalde Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
In Del Rio today, a federal judge sentenced 21-year-old Uvalde resident Pedro Gonzalez, Jr. to 40 months in federal prison for possessing hundreds of images of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Gregg N. Sofer and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Deputy Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee, San Antonio Division.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone ordered that Gonzalez be placed on supervised release for a period of 10 years after his incarceration.
According to court records, HSI agents executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence on August 22, 2019. During the search, investigators seized items belonging to Gonzalez including a portable hard drive, PlayStation console, thumb drive, laptop computer, desktop computer and two cell phones. A forensic examination of the seized items revealed the presence of approximately 787 images and 26 videos of material depicting the sexual exploitation of minors. On March 19, 2020, Gonzalez pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography.
“With ever increasing access to communication platforms, HSI must continue to stay a step ahead of those who exploit technology to facilitate some of the worst crimes in modern society. The defendant in this case, Pedro Gonzalez will serve the next three years in prison for his unfathomable acts,” said Deputy Special Agent in Charge, Craig Larrabee, HSI San Antonio. “HSI remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to aggressively pursue those who victimize the most vulnerable members of our society, our children.”
HSI investigated this case with valuable assistance from the Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Attorney General’s Office and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rex Beasley, Ben Tonkin and Sydni Connell prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the 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, 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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The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Recognizes Exceptional Law Enforcement Work at its Annual Law Enforcement Awards CeremonyRead the Press Release
On December 15, 2020, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont (USAO) honored a number of individuals from a variety of law enforcement agencies at the USAO’s third annual Law Enforcement Awards Ceremony. This year, the ceremony was hosted virtually, due to the pandemic, and invitations were limited due to the constraints of the virtual platform for the ceremony. Individual investigators and officers were nominated by USAO staff in a variety of categories for their outstanding work supporting the mission of this office and promoting public safety. Award recipients from Vermont hailed from federal, state, and local agencies. Federal and local law enforcement from Massachusetts and a civilian from New Hampshire were also honored for their outstanding contributions to the work of the USAO. The specific categories and individuals recognized today are as follows:
U.S. Attorney Award
(recognizes one whose professional excellence advances the mission of the USAO)Resident Agent in Charge Brian Sultzbaugh, Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service
Investigative Achievement Award
(recognizes those who have substantially contributed to the mission of the USAO)Special Agent Tam Vieth, ATF
Special Agent Matthew Ekstrom, ATF
Special Agent Mark Persson, DEA
(United States v. McCray, Cargo, Johnson, Raduechel)Dwayne Mellis, DEA Task Force Officer (Burlington PD)
(United States v. Shores)Special Agent Jamie Pillsbury, HSI
Det. Sgt. Christopher Lora, Vermont State Police
Sgt. Ryan Wood, Vermont State Police
Det. Trp. Andrew Todd, Vermont State Police
Det. Trp. Sean Reilly, Vermont State Police
(United States v. Davila)
Victim Service Award
(honors those who have provided extraordinary assistance to victims of a federal crime)Special Agent Timothy O’Leary, HSI
(United States v. Walker, Smith, Bowie, Bernard and Carter)Special Agent Patrick Hanna, FBI
(United States v. Dwyer)
Meritorious Public Service Award
(award recipients are those who render praiseworthy service to the District of Vermont)The Vermont Intelligence Center- LT. Shawn Loan, Director
Justin Goulet
(Face of Recovery)
Investigative Excellence Award
(recognizes those whose actions led directly to the arrest of a dangerous subject or to the exposure of a significant criminal conspiracy or other criminal acts)Special Agent Caitlin Moynihan, HSI
Special Agent Michael McCullagh, HSI
(Collective Body of Work)
Outstanding Collaborative Investigation Award
(recognizes those who have demonstrated outstanding efforts or overcome significant challenges in collaboration with multiple agencies in order to advance the mission of the USAO)Detective Sergeant Wade Cochran, Montpelier PD
Detective Sergeant Karl Gardner, Vermont State Police
Special Agent Jamie Pillsbury, HSI
Special Agent Colin Simons, FBI
Special Agent Carl William Ruprecht IV, FBI
Detective Will Delgado, FBI Task Force Officer (Holyoke PD)
Detective Tony Brach, FBI Task Force Officer (Holyoke, PD)
(United States v. Rodriguez)Special Agent Scott Murray, ATF
Corporal Trevor Sargent, St. Albans PD
(United States v. Guerrero and Medina)
Each recipient received an award letter from U.S. Attorney Christina Nolan, as well as an engraved award commemorating their outstanding efforts. Award recipients appeared virtually, joined by colleagues and family for today’s ceremony. U.S. Attorney Nolan congratulated the award recipients. She stated: “We at the U.S. Attorney’s Office are thrilled to be hosting our third annual Law Enforcement Awards Ceremony. We intend that this event become a time-honored tradition of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to our law enforcement partners, who support and make possible the important case work we do at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. They make decisions every day to stand on the front lines of our campaigns to combat dangerous crime, and as essential workers, they and their families take on the additional serious risks associated with the pandemic. We thank them and their families for their sacrifices. We cannot overstate our support and appreciation for our police officers, and we are proud to recognize and celebrate their outstanding achievements at this awards ceremony.”U.S. Attorney Nolan awarded Justin Goulet the Meritorious Public Service Award. Goulet’s struggle with addiction and his recovery were detailed in a short documentary film Face of Recovery, a project spearheaded by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. This film has been presented across the state promoting drug treatment and prevention. Goulet is the first civilian to receive this award.
U.S. Attorney Cody Hiland Announces Departure of Veteran Department Employee, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael JohnsonRead the Press Release
LITTLE ROCK— Cody Hiland, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the departure of Assistant United States Attorney Michael Johnson from service to the Eastern District of Arkansas U.S. Attorney’s Office today.
Mr. Johnson previously retired in 2010 after serving the Department of Justice continuously for 37 years. However, in 2018, after determining that the office could benefit from Mr. Johnson’s expertise related to prosecuting racketeering, white collar and public corruption offenses, U.S. Attorney Hiland asked Mr. Johnson to return to the office for a two-year term to guide and train career prosecutors related to that expertise. Mr. Johnson agreed to do so and has provided a great public service to the office during these past two years.
During his previous tenure with the office, Mr. Johnson developed an expertise in the investigation and prosecution of public corruption, white collar crime and racketeering offenses. Mr. Johnson was the architect behind seventeen racketeering cases including the prosecution of former Arkansas Legislator Nick Wilson; former Sheriff Cooledge Conlee; former prosecuting attorneys T.J. Hively and Dan Harmon; the prosecution of white supremacists Chevy Kehoe and Danny Lee; Bruce Nabors and Craig Keltnor; Don Pennington; Ron O’Neal and others. During his current two year association with the office, Mr. Johnson was extensively involved in the investigation and indictment of a case involving a multi-million dollar scheme to defraud the federal government.
Mr. Johnson graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Washington State University and received his J.D. with Honors from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. He then began his storied career with the Department of Justice, where he served as a trial attorney and senior trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice from 1973 through 1984. During that time, he investigated and prosecuted criminal cases involving racially motivated violence and criminal police misconduct. He was also responsible for civil litigation involving complex enforcement of voting rights cases pursuant to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and discrimination in places of public accommodation.
In 1984, Mr. Johnson was the 34th person in the history of the U.S. Department of Justice named as Senior Litigation Counsel, a meritorious designation reflecting his advocacy skills in complex litigation. That same year, Mr. Johnson became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Arkansas, where he served as the Senior Litigation Counsel until becoming the Criminal Chief and First Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1993 until 2000. After the departure of U.S. Attorney Paula Casey in 2001, he served the office as Acting U.S. Attorney until the appointment of U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins in December of 2001.
From August 2003 through October 2004, Mr. Johnson was on assignment to the Republic of South Africa, where he was responsible for overseeing the development of organized crime and racketeering prosecutions. Since 2004, Mr. Johnson has returned to South Africa on a regular basis to continue his work with the South African government as a legal advisor on organized crime and racketeering matters, including conducting three Judicial Colloquiums for trial court and appellate court judges on the principles of racketeering and money laundering.
In 2004, he returned to his role as a line prosecutor with the Eastern District of Arkansas until 2007, when he became the Senior Legal Advisor to Acting U.S. Attorney Jane Duke. He retired from the Department in 2010 and began devoting his full attention to teaching others.
In addition to his public service as a career prosecutor, beginning in 1985, Mr. Johnson served as an adjunct professor at the William H. Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, where he taught Evidence, Criminal Law, White Collar Crime, Trial Advocacy and Advanced Trial Advocacy. He also coached the National Trial Advocacy Competition Team.
In August 2010, he became Counsel for National Programs for the National Center of Justice and the Rule of Law (NCJRL) and Visiting Professor at the University of Mississippi Lamar School of Law. He designed and taught seminars on Fourth Amendment and trial issues to judges and taught White Collar Crime at the Bowen School of Law.
In 1987, Mr. Johnson became a faculty member for National Institute of Trial Advocacy and continues to teach there. In 2010, he became the Program Director for the National Session in Louisville, Colorado, and has served as Team Leader, Assistant Team Leader, and faculty member for the National Session on numerous occasions. He has also served as Team Leader, Assistant Team Leader and faculty member for the Southern Regional in Dallas, Texas; the North Central Regional in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; the Western Regional in San Francisco, California; the Northwest Regional in Seattle, Washington; and programs in Dublin, Ireland and Edinburgh, Scotland.
Mr. Johnson has also been the Program Director and faculty member for numerous in-house custom programs for both public agencies and private firms. He has also been a core faculty member for NITA’s on-line deposition training program. He participated as a faculty member in the pilot on-line program for the Exceptional Advocacy Training Program conducted by NITA January-April 2010.
During Mr. Johnson’s time with the Department of Justice, he has received the following awards from the Department: Award for Outstanding Litigation of Complex Financial Crime; Commendation by the Attorney General; Appreciation by the Attorney General; Commendation by Assistant Attorney General; Appreciation by Assistant Attorney General; Special Achievement, Special Commendation and Appreciation by the Attorney General’s Advocacy Institute, the United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Arkansas, the Eastern District of Louisiana, and the Middle District of North Carolina.
He has also received achievement awards from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration; United States Customs Service; United States Secret Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; United States Postal Inspection Service; and the Internal Revenue Service. These awards include Exceptional Service in the Public Interest, Special Recognition, Outstanding Achievement, Outstanding Prosecution, and Certificates of Appreciation.
His other commendations include appreciation awards for Service as United States Attorney, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas; Service as Intermittent Legal Advisor to the Republic of South Africa, Office of Overseas Prosecution and Development, United States Department of Justice; Service as Legal Advisor to South African Police Service, South African Police Service; and the Arkansas Fair Housing Commission.
U.S. Attorney Hiland would like to recognize Mr. Johnson for his distinguished and accomplished career of public service to the Department of Justice, and for his commitment to justice and the people of the Eastern District of Arkansas.
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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at
https://www.justice.gov/edar
Twitter:
@EDARNEWS
Two area home health agency owners charged in health care fraud and illegal kickback schemeRead the Press Release
HOUSTON - Two home health agency owners are set to appear in federal court on charges they fraudulently billed more than $10 million to Medicare, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Authorities arrested Tataw Charlz Bisong and Angela Bisong, both 57 and from Stafford, today. They are expected to make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances H. Stacy at 2 p.m.
A federal grand jury in Houston returned the indictment under seal Dec. 9, which was unsealed today. It alleges the Bisongs co-owned SierCam Healthcare Services LLC. From 2012 through 2020, SierCam allegedly billed Medicare for home health services that were not medically necessary and often not provided as billed to Medicare. The charges allege the Bisongs paid SierCam patients to sign up for medically unnecessary home health services and provided free transportation and covered the copayments and other fees at doctor’s office visits to facilitate their health care fraud scheme. Additionally, the Bisongs created phony medical records to make it appear the services met Medicare’s criteria for reimbursement, according to the indictment.
Charlz and Angela Bisong are both charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, six counts of health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks.
Conspiracy to commit health care fraud and each of the six counts of health care fraud carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 possible fine, upon conviction. If convicted of conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks, they also face up to five years in federal prison and a possible $25,000 maximum fine.
The FBI, Department of Health and Human Services‐Office of Inspector General and Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit conducted the investigation. The Stafford and Sugar Land Police Departments assisted in the arrests. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Olson is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Two Individuals Charged with Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – United States Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that, DONALD PETER AUZINE, JR. (AUZINE), age 50, a resident of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and BONNIE JEAN LAWLESS DIAZ (DIAZ), age 45, a resident of Slidell, Louisiana, were charged on December 11, 2020 with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and money laundering.
According to the Indictment, Prime Pharmacy Solutions (“Prime”), was located in Slidell, Louisiana. Prime operated as a primarily closed-door pharmacy that was in the business of mixing and filling prescriptions for compounded medications that were reimbursed by health care benefit programs, including TRICARE, a health care benefit program for United States military personnel and their families.
Between 2014 – 2016, AUZINE, DIAZ, and other co-conspirators, acting on behalf of Prime, selected formulas for compounded medications, not based on scientific evaluations of effectiveness or individualized patient need, but rather, to maximize reimbursement from TRICARE and other health care benefit programs. Prime then mass produced these High-Yield Compounded Medications and created a series of preprinted prescription forms encouraging and directing prescribers/doctors to prescribe these High-Yield Compounded Medications. The scheme involved defrauding TRICARE of approximately $16 million dollars.
If convicted, each defendant faces a possible maximum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee per count.
The case is being investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service – Office of Inspector General, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General, and the United States Postal Service – Office of Inspector General.
The United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana stated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendants must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecution of the case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn McHugh.
Three Men and Two Women Sentenced for Meth Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that five defendants convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance, have been sentenced to federal prison terms by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Luis Padilla-Ambriz, a/k/a Jose Ramirez, age 24, from Glendale, AZ, was sentenced on December 14, 2020, to 210 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.
Kevin Lee Jenson, age 32, from Carver, MN, was sentenced on June 17, 2019, to 235 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.
Heidi Ann Austin, age 39, from Rice, MN, was sentenced on June 6, 2019, to 188 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.
Anthony Lovell Laws, Jr., age 39, from Buckeye, AZ, was sentenced on September 23, 2019, to 46 months of federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Erin M. Hinkle, age 35, from Huntington Beach, California was sentenced on May 11, 2020, to 120 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.
Jenson, Austin, Padilla-Ambriz, Laws, and Hinkle were indicted by a federal grand jury on February 5, 2019. Jenson pled guilty on April 3, 2019, Austin pled guilty on March 25, 2019, Padilla-Ambriz pled guilty on September 23, 2020, Laws pled guilty on July 1, 2019, and Hinkle pled guilty on January 6, 2020.
Beginning on an unknown date, until on or about February 5, 2019, in the District of South Dakota, all defendants, knowingly and intentionally combined, conspired, confederated, and agreed together, with others known and unknown, to intentionally distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. Methamphetamine is a Schedule II controlled substance.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Department of Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Central Minnesota Violent Offender Task Force, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the Lakes to River Drug Task Force, and the Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer D. Mammenga prosecuted the case.
All defendants were immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service following their sentencing.
Statement from Assistant Attorney General Eric S. Dreiband on Supreme Court's Order in Favor of Colorado Church that Challenged COVID RestrictionsRead the Press Release
Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Eric S. Dreiband, issued the following statement:
“Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in High Plains Harvest Church v. Polis and other recent decisions make abundantly clear that religious liberty is not a second-class right. There is no pandemic exception to the United States Constitution and its Bill of Rights. This should be obvious to public officials because the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution make it illegal for any government in this country to make any law that prohibits the free exercise of religion. Colorado’s decision to treat religion and houses of worship less favorably than marijuana dispensaries, laundromats, and other nonreligious activities is illegal and suggests a lack of respect or understanding about our Constitution. When states ease COVID-19 restrictions for other fundamental rights or economic activities, they must extend at least the same treatment to places of worship. The Constitution demands no less.”
Background
The United States filed a Statement of Interest supporting the church in the case, High Plains Harvest Church v. Polis, on May 29, 2020. The federal District Court for Colorado had denied an injunction on Aug. 10, 2020 to the church, High Plains Harvest Church, and the federal Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit had upheld that ruling. The U.S. Supreme Court decision nullified those decisions and called on the Court of Appeals to reconsider the case in light of the Supreme Court’s decision on November 25 in Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo, which held that New York’s restrictions of places of worship to 10 or 25 people depending on the zone violated the Free Exercise Clause of the Constitution.
The department’s press release on its previous statement of interest in this case can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-files-statement-interest-support-freedom-religion-colorado-church
The United Sates’ Statement of Interest was part of Attorney General William P. Barr's April 27, 2020 initiative directing Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Eric Dreiband, and the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, Matthew Schneider, to review state and local policies to ensure that civil liberties are protected during the COVID-19 pandemic.
St. Francis Man Sentenced for AssaultRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a St. Francis, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault by Strangulation and Suffocation was sentenced on December 14, 2020, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.
Michael T. Farmer, age 29, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Farmer was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 13, 2019. He pled guilty on September 21, 2020.
The conviction stemmed from an incident that occurred October 8, 2019, in St. Francis. On that date, Farmer assaulted his girlfriend by grabbing her and put her in a headlock her until she began to lose consciousness.
This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.
Farmer was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
South Carolina Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking Methamphetamine at Eagle Pass Port of EntryRead the Press Release
In Del Rio, a federal judge sentenced 35-year-old Jacob Floyd Bailey to 20 years in federal prison for trafficking in methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Gregg N. Sofer; Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Deputy Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee, San Antonio Division; and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) Eagle Pass Port Director Paul Del Rincon.
During Monday afternoon’s hearing, U.S. District Judge David C. Guaderrama also sentenced Bailey to a term of five years on supervised release after his incarceration.
According to Court records, on July 29, 2019, Bailey, a South Carolina resident, entered the U.S. by vehicle from Mexico through the port of entry at the Eagle Pass Bridge II. During secondary inspection of the vehicle, a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Officer discovered seven plastic bladders containing over 70 kilograms of liquid methamphetamine in the vehicle’s gas tank. Bailey admitted to the agents he was aware there was an illegal drug concealed in the gas tank. Later investigation revealed the liquid methamphetamine was destined for Atlanta.
On January 10, 2020, Bailey pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
“Thanks to the efforts of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, more than 140 pounds of liquid poison was intercepted before it made its way to Atlanta,” said U.S. Attorney Sofer. “We must continue to vigilantly guard our southern border and do our best to prevent criminal cartels from trafficking methamphetamine and other toxic addictive substances into our country for profit.”
Also arrested with Bailey was 30-year-old Tarina Marie Timms of South Carolina. On January 17, 2020, Timms pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Timms is scheduled to be sentenced on January 11, 2021, before U.S. District Judge Guaderrama.
Both Bailey and Timms have been in federal custody since their arrests on July 29, 2019.
“Methamphetamine is a vicious drug that destroys lives, devastates our communities and compromises the public’s safety,” said Deputy Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee, HSI San Antonio. “The sentence in this case is fitting of the serious crime committed by this defendant. HSI along with our law enforcement partners will continue to seek out and bring justice to those involved in the illicit drug trade.”
HSI and USCBP agents investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sydni Connell prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
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The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.Selma Resident Convicted at Trial for Being a Felon in Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Richard W. Moore of the Southern District of Alabama announces that on December 3, 2020, a federal jury in Mobile, Alabama found defendant Daniel Marcellas Houston, 45, of Selma, Alabama, guilty for being a felon in possession of a firearm. United States District Judge Jeffrey U. Beaverstock presided over the trial, which started on December 2, 2020 and ended the following day. Houston is scheduled to be sentenced on March 8, 2021. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
On January 30, 2020, a federal grand jury for the Southern District of Alabama indicted Houston on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Federal law prohibits convicted felons from knowingly possessing a firearm or ammunition.
The jury heard the below evidence at Houston’s trial. The evening of October 2, 2019, investigators from numerous law enforcement agencies in the Selma, Alabama area were searching for several juvenile inmates who had escaped from the Dallas County Jail. Dallas County Sheriff’s Department Captain Johnathan Cole was driving on Highway 14 near the jail looking for the escapees when he saw a red Mazda truck parked near the middle of the highway at the intersection of Highway 14 East and Race Street. Concerned that the truck was impeding traffic, Cole activated his lights to initiate a traffic stop. The Mazda truck drove a short distance to a nearby driveway and pulled over. Houston, a convicted felon, was the truck’s driver and sole occupant.
Cole asked Houston for his identification and registration. Houston had neither and gave his name with a muffled voice. Cole asked Houston to open his mouth, from which Houston pulled out a bag of marijuana. Cole ordered Houston to place the marijuana on top of the truck and then asked Houston whether he had any weapons in his vehicle. Houston said, “Yes, it is right here” and motioned to the center console area immediately adjacent to where he was sitting.
Alabama Attorney General’s Office Special Agent Susan Smith arrived on scene to assist Cole and approached the passenger side of Houston’s truck. For officer safety, Cole and Smith repeatedly instructed Houston not to reach for the weapon. When it appeared that Houston might not comply, Smith asked Houston whether she could retrieve the gun instead. Houston indicated yes. Smith reached across the passenger seat and recovered a loaded Taurus 9mm pistol from the center console area.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department, and the Alabama Attorney General’s Office investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorneys Sinan Kalayoglu and Andrew D. Arrington are prosecuting the case.
Santa Ana Police Officer Agrees to Plead Guilty to Bribery ChargeRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – A Santa Ana Police officer was charged today with accepting $128,000 in bribes from a crime figure seeking to thwart law enforcement activities against his illegally operating businesses.
Steven Lopez, 28, of Chino, was charged with bribery in a single-count information filed today in United States District Court. In a plea agreement also filed today, Lopez agreed to plead guilty to this felony offense. Lopez is expected to plead guilty to the offense in United States District Court in the coming weeks.
According to his plea agreement, Lopez served as a police officer with the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) from April 2016 to November 2020. From August 2019 until November 2020, Lopez received approximately $128,000 in bribes from an individual – named in court documents as “Co-Schemer 1” – seeking to influence Lopez in the performance of his official duties as a police officer, the plea agreement states.
Lopez admitted that he agreed to prevent or stop law enforcement compliance checks at businesses illegally operating under Co-Schemer 1’s control, law enforcement efforts to shut down those businesses, and law enforcement searches and seizures at those illegally operated businesses.
In August 2020, Lopez accepted $16,000 in bribes from Co-Schemer 1, the plea agreement states. Lopez further admitted that in September 2020 he solicited a bribe payment of at least $5,000 from Co-Schemer 1, who met Lopez – who was on duty and wearing his police uniform – during the late evening of September 14, on the top floor of a parking structure located directly across the street from SAPD headquarters. During this meeting, Lopez accepted Co-Schemer 1’s bribe payment, according to the plea agreement.
On the evening of November 2, Lopez – once again on duty, wearing his police uniform and driving an SAPD-marked vehicle – met Co-Schemer 1 at the corner of First and Fairview streets in Santa Ana, and accepted a $2,500 bribe payment.
Upon entering his guilty plea, Lopez will face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
This matter was investigated by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the California Department of Justice, and the Santa Ana Police Department.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel H. Ahn and Daniel S. Lim of the Santa Ana Branch Office. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan S. Galatzan of the Asset Forfeiture Section provided substantial assistance in this matter.
Ross Township Woman Sentenced for Financial FraudRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of suburban Pittsburgh has been sentenced in federal court to 14 months in prison, which has already been served, followed by five years of supervised release, which includes 90 days of home incarceration followed by 90 days of home detention, on her conviction of mail fraud conspiracy and bank fraud conspiracy, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on Rachel Naill, 43.
According to information presented to the court, Rachel Naill, and her husband, Joseph Naill, obtained and used individuals’ personal identifying information to obtain fraudulent credit cards. The Naills then used the fraudulent credit cards to take cash advances, make online purchases and make point-of-sale purchases. The overall loss to financial institutions was approximately $178,500. Additionally, Rachal Naill also used stolen personal identifying information to attempt to obtain a fraudulent loan through Marquette Savings Bank.
Joseph Naill was previously sentenced to 45 months in prison and two years of supervised release.
Assistant United States Attorney Lee J. Karl prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Brady commended the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Rachel Naill.
Rapid City Man Sentenced to 12.5 Years for Meth Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man who pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on December 1, 2020, by U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey L. Viken.
Keeler Stands, age 24, was sentenced to 12.5 years in federal prison, five years’ supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. From approximately July 2019 to late December 2019, methamphetamine was brought to South Dakota from Nevada by others. Stands then dispersed the methamphetamine to others for use or additional distribution.
This case was investigated by the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET), Drug Enforcement Agency, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. UNET is comprised of law enforcement from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, the Rapid City Police Department, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation and the South Dakota National Guard.
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.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich prosecuted the case.
Stands was immediately returned to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Randolph County woman indicted on drug and firearms chargesRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Melissa Elaine Caprio, of Elkins, West Virginia, is facing firearms and drug charges, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Caprio, 31, was indicted on one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute More Than 5 Grams of Methamphetamine” and one count of “Unlawful Possession of a Firearm as Drug User.” Caprio is accused of having more than five grams of methamphetamine, also known as “ice,” and a .22 caliber rifle in June 2019 in Randolph County.
Torres faces at least five and up to 40 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $5,000,000 for the drug count and faces up to 10 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000 for the firearms count. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher L. Bauer is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Mountain Region Drug Task Force investigated.
An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Randolph County man indicted on methamphetamine chargesRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Edwin Mack Taylor, of Elkins, West Virginia, is facing drug charges, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Taylor, 53, was indicted today on five counts of “Distribution of Methamphetamine.” Taylor is accused of selling methamphetamine, also known as “crystal meth” and “ice,” in January 2020 in Randolph County.
Taylor faces up to 20 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000 for each count. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Mountain Region Drug Task Force investigated.
An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Randolph County man indicted on methamphetamine chargesRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Billy Ray Shamblin, II, of Elkins, West Virginia, is facing drug charges, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Shamblin, 36, was indicted today on three counts of “Distribution of Methamphetamine.” Shamblin is accused of selling methamphetamine, also known as “crystal meth” and “ice,” in February 2020 in Randolph County.
Shamblin faces up to 20 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Mountain Region Drug Task Force investigated.
An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Randolph County man indicted on firearms chargeRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Anthony Eugene McDonald, of Elkins, West Virginia, is facing a firearms charge, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
McDonald, 44, was indicted on one count of “Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.” McDonald, a person prohibited from having a firearm because of prior convictions, is accused of having a .22 caliber rifle in June 2019 in Randolph County.
McDonald faces up to 10 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher L. Bauer is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Mountain Region Drug Task Force investigated.
An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Protecting the Greatest Generation: U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas Sets Forth Strategy for War Against Transnational Elder FraudRead the Press Release
DALLAS, Texas – United States Attorney Stephen J. Cox addresses the North Texas Crime Commission (NTCC) today via a Zoom meeting for their regular monthly meeting.
U.S. Attorney Cox was introduced by Assistant U.S. Attorney Camelia Lopez and NTCC Chair David Dean:
“Thank you, David, for that introduction, and thank you to the North Texas Crime Commission for hosting us. I’ve heard about your good work supporting law enforcement since I arrived in the Eastern District of Texas in June, so it is a privilege to speak with you today.
I am especially grateful that you are hosting this forum that allows us to focus on one of the significant challenges facing our nation’s law enforcement community and those we serve. In particular, I’m glad to speak about what we can do to protect our senior citizens.
Whether part of the “Greatest Generation,” or “Baby Boomers,” or the “Silent Generation” in between, our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents worked hard to ensure a better future for us. While the challenges we face individually or as a society may be great, we owe our elders a great debt and should be working to ensure their days are safe and secure.
Safety and well-being have been a focus for all of us over the past few months. We have been home bound. Witnessed businesses large and small suffer to the point of collapse. Adapted our work, education, and social lives around obstacles we could not have imagined a year ago.
Yet many of our challenges pale in comparison to what seniors have dealt with: enforced isolation … even enforced or encouraged sheltering with Covid-19-positive patients in care facilities. At their most vulnerable moments many are unable to be with loved ones, friends, or even a minister due to lockdown restrictions.
Due to the pandemic, we have learned a great deal about our society over the past few months. Some of it has been inspiring. Some of it disappointing, even troubling.
One of the takeaways should be that our elders deserve far better than what our society provides them. To that end, I’d like to focus our attention today on what we as law enforcement authorities can do to address one particularly challenging problem: the very real and ongoing threat of transnational crime rings that prey on our nation’s seniors.
When you hear talk of elder fraud, it is all too easy to think about one-off scams or swindles, whether for credit card charges, identity theft, or some other form of financial fraud.
But I want to challenge all of you to think about this problem in a wholistic and deeper way. Think of elder fraud as a noxious weed in an otherwise well-tended garden. You can see the weed above the surface, but not the deep roots under the soil that are the real problem. Without addressing the root, the blight continues and spreads.
The same can be said of elder fraud. You see the phone scam, but not the Russian mafia, the Indian call center, the shadowy money laundering or cryptocurrency network that operates in the distant background. These crime networks are the root of the problem.
As an example, let me tell you a story about an elderly widower; let’s call him Grandpa Larry. His children are grown and live out of state. It’s been years since he experienced true companionship. But as with so many like Larry, he is able to connect to his family – and others – via the Internet. While on an online dating app for seniors, he meets a wonderful woman who is attentive to him and interested in what he shares of his daily life.
This relationship seemingly deepens over a number of weeks. But then the woman online needs a favor. She wants to visit him, but she has to clear some debts and her family won’t help her.
Larry sends her money once, then again, and again in ever increasing amounts, and months later, he finds himself with little savings. Worse than losing his money, however, is the shame and embarrassment of being the victim of a romance scam and not telling his grown children he needs help.
Or, consider an elderly woman we’ll call Aunt Sally who is incredibly proud of her family, especially her youngest niece, who is the first in the family to attend college. One day Aunt Sally receives an e-mail message from her niece who is studying abroad for a semester in Paris. The message says that she’s been arrested during a trip to Spain. Aunt Sally didn’t know about the trip, but given that her niece is studying abroad, the trip isn’t unusual. The niece asks Aunt Sally to purchase gift cards from a local grocery store and to read those numbers from the back of the cards over the phone to the “police.” Sally’s niece says time is of the essence so she can get back to school in Paris, and it’s the quickest way to have American dollars converted into the foreign currency. Of course, in reality, her niece isn’t in Spain, and there is no jail. But Aunt Sally goes to her local CVS, buys $500 in gift cards, and gives it all away over the phone.
When we hear the phrase “elder fraud,” we tend to think of a single victim, Sally or Larry, who is taken advantage of by a single bad actor. We see the victims. We see the fraud techniques. What we do not see … until we dig below the surface … are the true culprits.
Yes, there are a number of cases in which a caretaker steals a checkbook from a client and forges checks. But what I’m asking you to envision is a much larger, better funded, and much more organized, form of elder fraud. These international fraud rings are the root systems of the weed; they are the great threat on the other end of the phone or that email. They are what is driving elder fraud in America today.
Consider the broader picture. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently released a report after reviewing 180,000 Suspicious Activity Reports – or SARs – of elder financial exploitation filed between 2013 and 2017. The total losses? $6 billion. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center issued a report just a few months ago noting that, in 2019, 68,031 complaints from victims over 60 were filed with reported losses of $835 million. That’s a single year and only based on what’s reported to the IC3.
But we need to go deeper. The CFPB estimates that 3.5 million elder financial crimes occur annually, and the average loss per crime is between $45,000 and $50,000. Tens of billions of dollars each year in theft are not penny-ante profits; it’s drug cartel-level profits.
The Department of Justice under Attorney General Barr has taken strong action against these fraudsters and their despicable crimes. As the Attorney General has noted, “Fraud against the elderly is a massive problem, and one that is often perpetrated by transnational criminal organizations. And due to the victims’ stage in life, the cost is especially high and the losses frequently catastrophic and irreversible.”
We are doing our part in Texas. Earlier this year the Eastern District of Texas took down a multi-defendant international fraud and money laundering ring that predominantly targeted the elderly.
This alleged scheme targeted more than four thousand victims, and ultimately siphoned off more than $3.2 million dollars in ill-gotten wire transfers that were laundered through India and the United Arab Emirates. While this takedown was a big win for the Eastern District, it barely scratches the surface of what we must do to combat these crime networks.
Last year the Justice Department conducted an international elder fraud sweep. It was the largest in our nation’s history, netting 260 defendants. This sweep included schemes of every stripe: technical support fraud, mass-mailing fraud, false loan fraud, sweepstakes fraud, even fraud involving psychics, affected more than two million Americans and accounted for approximately $750 million dollars in losses.
The size and scope of this takedown revealed several common attributes amongst these fraud rings.
First, these schemes are what we like to call “commodity neutral” … meaning that these criminal enterprises seek ill-gotten gains any way they can, whether by garden-variety identify theft, stealing taxpayer money through COVID-19 stimulus fraud or unemployment insurance fraud.
While these criminal syndicates’ tactics are diverse, their targets are focused on seniors. Why? Not to oversimplify, but the fraudsters know that what makes our elders great citizens also makes them ripe to be conned. They tend to be more respectful of legitimate authority, more trusting and willing to listen, and less likely to immediately hang up on a stranger. They also are perhaps less tech savvy than younger generations, making them susceptible to impostors who may appear to be helpful with a computer or mobile phone issue but are really steering them toward a scam.
Second, the sheer breadth and depth of some of these criminal fraud schemes is remarkable. While a victim may interact with a single fraudster over the phone, the grifter is actually part of multi-layered fraud operations. In the background, there are call centers that flood land line and mobile phone accounts with spam calls to find those trusting individuals who won’t immediately hang up. There are other boots on the ground for these criminal conspiracies. These fraud rings also utilize domestic “money mules:” persons who receive ill-gotten proceeds directly from victims and forward funds to the conspiracy leaders.
These mules – sometimes unwitting, sometimes eager participants – are integral of these fraud schemes, and their ranks are not insignificant. Over the past two months, U.S. law enforcement agencies took action in just about all 50 states against more than 2,300 individuals identified as money mules.
These multi-tiered organizations aren’t even the most complex when you also consider the fraudulent shell corporations, “prize promotion” companies, and phony websites, all launched for the sole purpose of ripping off our nation’s seniors.
Third, beyond the scope and complexity is the global nature of these threats; most of the roots of these scammers stretch overseas. Large-scale call centers operate from India to Canada, while a constellation of smaller operations can be found running out of internet cafes in Lagos, Nigeria, or Tbilisi, Georgia. As a result, federal law enforcement teams with overseas partners, both public and private, to identify fraud and to share intelligence.
I’ve told my office, the Eastern District of Texas, that they really are uniquely equipped to take these fraud syndicates on. Our district has long been the tip of the spear in fighting international drug cartels. We have identified and extradited the leadership classes of drug cartels from Colombia and Central America, on the premise that if we tear a weed’s roots out whole it is less likely to grow back.
In response to the unique harm posed to our nation’s seniors, I have asked my team to reimagine our fight against elder fraud and to use the same tactics and tools we use to root out transnational drug cartels to decimate the criminal transnational syndicates preying on our seniors. That means leveraging the same organizational strategies, borrowed from our OCDETF toolkit, to follow the money, identify the network, and build a case against those pulling the strings overseas.
I want us to find these foreign criminals, extradite them to meet our local judges and have them experience East Texas justice up close and personal. In doing so, we will create a greater deterrence, and most importantly, get the money back for our victimized seniors.
By the way, this is more than just talk. Our District has taken concrete steps to target and prosecute these fraudsters. We launched a dedicated Elder Fraud Initiative, and I have appointed Camelia Lopez, on my senior leadership team to head it up—you’ll hear from her shortly. Although the Initiative is only a few months old, we have already made great strides and we’re starting to see our efforts bear fruit.
The District has established three separate Financial Investigation Groups (or “FIGs”) where we partner with law enforcement to conduct an expansive review of Suspicious Activity Reports, which have identified financial transactions that might be related to criminal activity.
Against that backdrop, we’ve established an open, working dialogue with some of the world’s biggest banks so that we can share information and foster better referrals. Through these partnerships we can better recognize fraud in real time, cut it off at the source, and trace any ill-gotten funds to accounts overseas.
Our District also participated in the Department of Justice’s Money Mule Initiative with great results. As I mentioned earlier, money mules are the lifeblood of these international fraud rings, and the Eastern District is punching back against these enablers. In the past two months, with the assistance of the FBI and IRS, our District identified and disrupted at least 13 money mules through interviews, warning letters, and criminal charges.
Enforcement, however, is but one facet of the money mule fight. We’re also working with Texas retailers and grocers on what to look for when they suspect a large gift card purchase is being used to facilitate money laundering.
Finally, we have established great partnerships in the public sphere, teaming with the Consumer Protection Branch and the Criminal Division at Main Justice, as well as the Federal Trade Commission. Less than two months ago, based on referrals from one of these new partners, our District, along with the Secret Service, dismantled a phony Amazon Alexa tech support fraud ring, seizing six websites in the process. In other cases, our District obtained four asset seizures leading to the recovery of nearly $150,000 in ill-gotten proceeds. These are all shining examples of what we can accomplish through coordination and cooperation and there is more – a lot more – to come.
At the risk of stating the obvious, this is not a battle we can fight alone, it is not a battle we can win alone. It will take everyone. And I don’t just mean cooperation between federal and state law enforcement – although that will, of course, be essential. I also mean cooperation between the public and private spheres. Working with our nation’s financial institutions – as well as foreign banks, and the emerging money transfer businesses used for mobile banking – to identify suspicious transactions, identify accounts tainted with fraud proceeds, and to name the account holders, will allow us to take the fight to where these fraud syndicates operate, seize their ill-gotten gains, and bring closure and relief to our citizens.
America owes its elders a great debt. In the past century they have defended our nation abroad and protected our streets at home. They have built businesses large and small, enduring and innovative. They have raised families and educated them. Today’s opportunities we take for granted are the result of our elders’ decades-long toil to create them for us. It is fitting then, that we work to ensure a more secure present for those who endowed the life we lead. We can and must come together – all of us – to protect our seniors from this unique threat. For in serving them, we will put in place protections for future generations, including ours.
I thank you for your time today and invite you to join me in this worthy fight.”
The North Texas Crime Commission (formerly the Greater Dallas Crime Commission) was established in 1950. Its belief is that proper enforcement and enlightened prevention can be achieved through a comprehensive and cooperative effort involving concerned citizens and law enforcement. In addition to monthly membership breakfasts, the NTCC travels to Austin monthly during the Legislative Session to meet with key lawmakers and annually to Washington, D.C., to meet with law enforcement officials and lawmakers.
Prolific turtle trapper indicted for illegally trapping thousands of freshwater turtlesRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Nathan Horton has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly illegally trapping and exporting thousands of freshwater turtles in Georgia in violation of the Lacey Act, which regulates the trafficking and labeling of wildlife, fish, and plants.
“Illegal wildlife trafficking both decimates species and undermines the rule of law,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to prosecute those who violate our nation’s wildlife protection statutes for the sake of illegal profit.”
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement, considers the illegal trapping and commercialization of Georgia’s protected turtle species a high priority, and we will continue to work closely with our State partners to protect the irreplaceable natural resources,” said Assistant Director Ed Grace.
“Wildlife crime has no place in Georgia! It is no longer lawful to trap freshwater turtles on a commercial basis in Georgia or export them out of the state, period. Georgia is filled with pristine natural resources and diverse ecosystems that are protected daily by Georgia DNR. I want to say thank you to our Georgia Game Wardens and federal partners for their hard work on this case and for strictly upholding our state’s conservation laws,” said Commissioner Mark Williams, Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: the Lacey Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 3371-3378, regulates the trafficking and labeling of wildlife, fish, and plants and makes it unlawful for individuals to, among other things, knowingly export and sell wildlife that has been illegally taken in violation of state law.
In Georgia, the Department of Natural Resources (“GA-DNR”) regulates the collecting, trapping, exporting, trading, and selling of freshwater turtles from land belonging to the State of Georgia. Like it does with other wildlife, such as deer and bears, GA-DNR regulates both the number of freshwater turtles that may be collected and the manner in which they may be trapped. In this respect, Georgia defines by statute that a lawful turtle trap “must be constructed of netting and shaped as hoop nets . . . [and] must also have one open muzzle or throat at least 32 inches wide with a ring ten inches in diameter made into the rear of the trap to permit fish to escape.”
The indictment and other information before the court alleges that beginning by at least July 2015 and continuing until at least July 2017, Horton shipped thousands of freshwater turtles from Georgia to California that had been trapped using turtle nets that were illegal under Georgia law. Although Horton held a Commercial Turtle Permit during this time and GA-DNR sends all commercial permit holders the applicable Georgia statutes and GA-DNR regulations on turtle traps, Horton repeatedly used illegal traps to capture freshwater turtles. Indeed, in October 2016 and August 2017, while holding a commercial permit, GA-DNR cited Horton for using illegal traps to capture freshwater turtles. Among the species of turtles Horton allegedly trapped illegally were: Stripe-necked musk turtle (Sternotherus minor peltifer), Loggerhead musk turtle (Sternotherus minor), Common musk turtle or stinkpot or eastern musk turtle (Sternotherus odoratus), and Eastern mud turtles (Kinosternon subrubrum).
Nathan Horton, 36, formerly of Bainbridge, Georgia, was indicted for violating the Lacey Act. He was arraigned on December 10, 2020 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin S. Anand. Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement and Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alex R. Sistla and Samir Kaushal are prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Previously Convicted Felon Admits to Unlawfully Possessing FirearmRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Burlington County, New Jersey, man today admitted illegally possessing a firearm, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
James Mobley, 41, of Riverside, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti to an information charging him with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Feb. 8, 2020, officers from the Burlington County Police Department responded to a 911 call regarding a man fitting Mobley’s description arguing with an unidentified woman. Officers driving in marked police vehicles located Mobley, identified themselves, and instructed him not to run. Despite the officers’ verbal commands, Mobley ran and crouched behind a nearby vehicle. Officers exited their vehicles and pursued Mobley on foot. As one of the officers approached, Mobley tossed a Glock 17 firearm that was loaded with 10 rounds of 9mm caliber ammunition on to the ground. Mobley has at least five prior felony convictions, including two controlled substance offenses and two resisting arrest offenses.
The charge of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for April 14, 2021.
This case is 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.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, Trenton Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark; and special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the Burlington Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief John Fine, and the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Scott A. Coffina, for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Mateo of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.
Portland Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore.—A Portland, Oregon, tax return preparer pleaded guilty today to preparing and filing false and fraudulent tax returns for clients and for herself, announced U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams.
Elizabeth Munoz, 37, pleaded guilty to 13 counts of preparing and filing false income tax returns for clients and to four counts of filing false income tax returns for herself.
According to court documents, from 2015 to 2018, Munoz operated a federal and state income tax return preparation business from her home in Southeast Portland. Munoz advertised on business cards that she would obtain for her clients the “Biggest Refund Guaranteed.” Munoz allegedly prepared 1,196 false and fraudulent individual income tax returns for about 629 clients, resulting in an approximately $3 million tax loss through fraudulent refunds. The exact tax loss will be determined at Munoz’s sentencing on March 16, 2021.
Munoz’s allegedly used fraudulent tax schedules, tax credits, and filing statuses to carry out the refund fraud. Though Munoz charged her clients up to $150 per tax return, she reported no business income on her own personal income tax returns from 2014 through 2017.
On August 5, 2020, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a 25-count indictment charging Munoz with filing false income tax returns and aiding and assisting in the preparation of false income tax returns.
Each count of conviction carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a one-year term of supervised release. Munoz will also be ordered to pay full restitution to the IRS.
This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Seth D. Uram, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Pittsburgh-Area Copper-Processing Company Pleads Guilty to Felony Violations of the Clean Water ActRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A copper-processing company headquartered in Leetsdale, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to three counts under the Clean Water Act, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
United States District Court Judge William S. Stickman, IV, accepted the guilty plea of Libertas Copper, LLC d/b/a Hussey Copper ("Hussey") to one count each of submitting a false discharge monitoring report, discharging a quantity of oil that may be harmful to the environment, and failing to make immediate, required notification of such discharge of oil. Judge Stickman also proceeded directly to sentencing and ordered Hussey to pay a $550,000 fine and serve a three-year term of probation.
During today’s hearing, Hussey was represented by its Chief Executive Officer, who made admissions on behalf of the company. The Court was advised that Hussey operated a manufacturing facility on the Ohio River that produced flat-rolled copper products for the electrical distribution, industrial, and residential construction markets. Hussey also managed wastewater generated as a result of its copper processing via a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The WWTP discharged wastewater via designated internal and external outfalls, including outfalls on the Ohio River. Hussey further admitted that at all relevant times, it operated pursuant to the terms of a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), as authorized by the federal Clean Water Act.
As part of its guilty plea, Hussey admitted that its NPDES permit set specific discharge limits for copper and oil, among other parameters. Hussey’s NPDES permit also required the company to submit discharge monitoring reports (DMRs) on a monthly basis to PADEP, documenting the quantity and quality of the discharges authorized by its NPDES permit during the preceding month. Each DMR was required to be signed and certified as to its accuracy by a responsible corporate officer on behalf of Hussey. Hussey further acknowledged that between at least June 2012 and continuing through at least May 2017, the company knowingly submitted numerous falsified DMRs to PADEP, indicating that various discharges from its outfalls were within applicable permit limits, when in truth and in fact Hussey’s own internal sampling data showed that such discharges had exceeded the relevant limits. Hussey also admitted reporting false values in monthly DMR submissions to PADEP as to at least 140 parameters subject to discharge limits, including a substantial number of copper discharges. The false parameter values reported to PADEP concealed permit exceedances on at least 21 monthly DMRs.
Separate from the alleged DMR falsifications, Hussey also admitted engaging in a years-long pattern of discharging oil in a quantity sufficient to generate oil sheens on the Ohio River, in violation of the Clean Water Act. Between at least January 2012 and continuing until at least 2018, Hussey admitted that it documented in internal logs hundreds of observed oil sheens at two of the company’s outfalls on the Ohio River. Notwithstanding these documented observations, Hussey admitted that it did not report any of the observed oil sheens to EPA or PADEP, as required by the Clean Water Act. Further, after PADEP issued a notice of violation to Hussey in June 2015, following a citizen complaint of an oil sheen at the company’s outfall, the company admitted that a responsible corporate officer responded to the state agency that Hussey would report any future oil sheens. The next year, in July 2016, a responsible corporate officer communicated to PADEP that there had been no observed oil sheens at Hussey’s outfalls for the prior thirteen months, when, in fact, as Hussey admitted, the company’s internal logs reflected dozens of sheen observations during that time. Moreover, as part of its guilty plea, Hussey admitted that it did not make an affirmative, required report to regulatory authorities of the presence of oil sheens at its outfalls until June 2018—and even then its reporting was incomplete. To that end, Hussey’s oil-sheen reporting in June 2018 referenced sheens observed on three specific days, despite the fact that Hussey’s own internal logs documented observed sheens on fifteen additional days during the relevant month, including multiple sheens during the same week.
As a condition off Hussey’s probation, the company is also required to enter into a civil Consent Decree within 180 days of judgment in this case in connection with a pending parallel civil investigation, pursuant to which Hussey will implement a comprehensive environmental compliance program at its Leetsdale facility. Upon entry of such Consent Decree, Hussey’s probation in the criminal matter will terminate.
Assistant United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan prosecuted this case on behalf of the government, with assistance from Martin Harrell, Associate Regional Criminal Enforcement Counsel of the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation of Hussey.
Pine Ridge Man Indicted on Assault ChargesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Assault With a Dangerous Weapon, Assault Resulting In Serious Bodily Injury, and Discharge of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime of Violence.
Charles Schrader, age 54, was indicted on December 8, 2020. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta L. Wollmann on December 9, 2020, and pleadded not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 10 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on November 10, 2020, Schrader shot an individual with a firearm with the intent to do bodily harm and the assault resulted in serious bodily injury. The charges are merely accusations and Schrader is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Kelderman is prosecuting the case.
Schrader was detained pending trial. A trial has been set for February 16, 2020.
Phony Immigration Attorney Who Filed over 215 Fraudulent Asylum Applications Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that Elvis Harold Reyes (56, Brandon) today pleaded guilty to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme where he posed as an immigration attorney and filed hundreds of fraudulent asylum applications. Reyes faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for the mail fraud offense and a mandatory consecutive 2 years’ imprisonment for the aggravated identity theft offense. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, Reyes, who owned and operated EHR Ministries Inc., portrayed himself as an immigration attorney. Reyes is not and has never been a licensed attorney. Reyes targeted undocumented immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries who were seeking Florida driver licenses and work authorizations. Reyes gave false, inaccurate, and incomplete legal and immigration advice to victims in order to induce them to retain his services and those of EHR Ministries.
Victims retained and paid Reyes to represent them in immigration-related matters before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and other agencies. Reyes filed fraudulent immigration applications in the victims’ names, seeking asylum relief and withholding-of-removal protections provided for under the United Nations Convention Against Torture. In doing so, Reyes falsified answers to questions in the asylum applications—fabricating stories about threats, persecution, and the applicants’ fear of returning to their native countries. Reyes did not inform the victims of the answers that he had provided on their behalf. He also did not inform the victims about the legal, administrative, and other immigration-related consequences that might follow from filing for asylum relief or for Convention Against Torture protection.
Reyes filed more than 215 fraudulent applications, with intended losses to victims exceeding $1 million. Any person who was, or knows of someone who may have been, a possible victim is urged to contact the Homeland Security Investigations, at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or http://www.ice.gov/webform/hsi-tip-form.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Murray.
Philadelphia Man Sentenced to 6 ½ Years for Series of Greater Philadelphia Area Bank Robberies in 2019Read the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – First Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Michael Edmondson, 53, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced to 78 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay more than $6,700 in restitution by United States District Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg for robbing four banks in a spree across the Southeastern Pennsylvania counties of Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks, and Philadelphia.
In September 2019, the defendant pleaded guilty to a four-count Indictment charging him with four counts of bank robbery. The charges arose from Edmondson’s early 2019 crime spree, targeting the Wells Fargo Bank in Trevose on February 19; the Citizens Bank in Havertown’s Giant Foods on February 24; the Wells Fargo Bank in King of Prussia on February 27; and the Santander Bank on Market Street in Philadelphia on March 6. The defendant stole a total of $7,958 from the four banks, committing the offenses shortly after absconding from a halfway house where he was living while on state parole. In all four cases, Edmondson threatened to shoot himself and other people if the bank employees did not hand him cash.
“The defendant, now in his fifties, has a decades-long history of run-ins with the law,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Williams. “The simple fact is that Edmondson is a danger to the community. He has proven that, when given the opportunity, he will revert to threatening the safety of others and himself. The streets of Philadelphia and the surrounding counties are safer with the defendant behind bars once again.”
“At each stop on Michael Edmondson’s bank robbery spree, he told tellers he had a gun and was about to start shooting,” said Michael J. Driscoll, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “Taking those who terrorize the community off the street is a priority for the FBI and our law enforcement partners, as we work together to crack down on violent crime and keep the public safe.”
The case was investigated by the Bensalem Township Police Department, the Haverford Township Police Department, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Upper Merion Township Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Jayne.
Pennsylvania Man Sentenced for Smuggling Six Endangered Tropical Birds into Vermont from QuebecRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Jafet Rodriguez, 40, of Hazleton Pennsylvania, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William K. Sessions III to a two-year term of federal supervised release. Rodriguez previously pled guilty to unlawfully smuggling six tropical birds into Vermont from Canada, in violation of the Endangered Species Act and the federal anti-smuggling statute. The Court also ordered Rodriguez to pay $1,905 to the government to cover the costs of quarantining the birds.
According to court documents, on December 30, 2019, at 10:30 A.M., the defendant walked across the Canadian border near the Haskell Free Library in Derby Line, Vermont and approached a car parked in Stanstead, Quebec. The defendant retrieved a black duffle bag containing the six birds from the vehicle parked in Quebec and then walked back into the United States. United States Border Patrol Agents intercepted Rodriquez after he entered another vehicle (with Pennsylvania license plates) in Derby Line, Vermont. The agents recovered the six tropical birds from this vehicle.
Rodriguez told law enforcement that he intended to give these birds to his mother and sister as Christmas gifts. The government questioned the credibility of that claim pointing out that these birds were collectively worth at least $10,000 and the defendant had a history of profit motivated crimes involving theft, fraud, and drug dealing.
According to court records, the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory determined that four of the birds were Yellow-headed Amazon Parrots (Amazona oratrix) and the remaining two birds were White-bellied Parrots (Pionites leucogaster). These birds are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (commonly referred to as “CITES”). Under the Endangered Species Act, species which are protected under CITES cannot be imported without the appropriate permits.
The birds were turned over to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and transported to the New York Animal Import Center in Rock Tavern, New York for a period of quarantine. The birds were then transported to a zoo in North Carolina.
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Perella. Rodriguez is represented by David McColgin of the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Burlington, Vermont.
Surveillance photograph of alleged taking custody of duffel bag containing birds. 4 yellow-headed amazon parrots inside an animal carrier. Yellow-headed amazon parrot inside a cardboard box.
The following photographs were contained in the Government’s Criminal Complaint Affidavit filed with the Court on January 28, 2020. The first photograph depicts Rodriguez retrieving the duffle bag from the car in Quebec just across the Derby Line, Vermont border. The last two photographs are of the Yellow-headed Amazon Parrots.Old Orchard Beach Man Sentenced for Fentanyl and Crack Cocaine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Maine: An Old Orchard Beach man was sentenced today in federal court for conspiring to distribute fentanyl and crack cocaine, U.S. Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced.
Chief U.S. District Judge Jon D. Levy sentenced Aboubacar Congo, 32, to 78 months imprisonment and three years of supervised release. Congo pleaded guilty in October 2019.
According to court records, between September and November 2018, Congo conspired with several other individuals to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and crack cocaine. Congo served as the leader of a group that obtained the drugs from out-of-state suppliers and distributed them to customers in the Old Orchard Beach area. Congo maintained an apartment in Old Orchard Beach where he and other conspirators lived. When agents executed a search warrant at the apartment in November 2018, they found fentanyl and crack cocaine inside.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency investigated the case.
Ohio man who pretended to be missing Illinois boy sentenced to prisonRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI – An Ohio man who pretended to be a missing Illinois boy was sentenced in U.S. District Court here today to 24 months in prison for aggravated identity theft.
Michael Rini, 24, formerly of Medina, Ohio, was charged by criminal complaint on April 6, 2019 and indicted by a grand jury on April 18, 2019. He pleaded guilty in January 2020.
According to court documents, Newport, Ky. police officers responded to a call on April 3, 2019 in which the caller described Rini as wandering the street, looking confused and in need of assistance.
Rini told officers his name was a minor who had been abducted when he was six years old and he “just wanted to go home.”
Local authorities confirmed that the identity Rini provided was associated with a missing and possibly abducted child. Specifically, in 2011, the then six-year-old boy went missing from Aurora, Ill.
Posing as the missing child, Rini claimed he was 14 and had recently escaped from a hotel room in which two men had been holding him captive. He said he had been sexually and physically abused for years while in captivity and that he was having abdominal pain.
Rini was transferred to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Emergency Room because of the complaint of abdominal pain, and there, FBI task force officers met with Rini to potentially investigate sex trafficking and crimes against children. FBI special agents and a detective from the Aurora, Ill. police department also spoke with Rini.
Rini continued to claim to be the missing boy throughout conversations in the hospital. He refused to provide his fingerprints to investigators at Children’s Hospital; however, eventually, he agreed to submit a buccal swab for DNA testing.
DNA test results confirmed Rini’s identity. As a prior felon, Rini’s DNA was known to the FBI. Ohio Department of Corrections records indicate Rini was released from an Ohio prison on March 7, 2019.
Once law enforcement officers confronted Rini about his true identity, Rini immediately stated he was not the missing child. He said he watched a story about the child on 20/20 and stated he wanted to get away from his own family.
Further investigation by the FBI found that Rini had allegedly portrayed himself as a juvenile sex trafficking victim on two prior occasions. In those instances, he was only identified once he was fingerprinted.
David M. DeVillers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Robert Brown, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville, Ky. Division; Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot K. Isaac; Newport Police Chief Thomas Collins; Vance Callender, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco; Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil and officials with the Aurora, Ill. Police Department announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle J. Healey and Deputy Criminal Chief Christy L. Muncy are representing the United States in this case.
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Ohio Man Indicted for Traveling to KC to Meet Child Victim for SexRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Ohio man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for traveling to Missouri in an attempt to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a 12-year-old child.
Timothy M. Zukoski, 34, of Southington, Ohio, was charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. Today’s indictment replaces a criminal complaint that was filed against Zukoski on Nov. 27, 2020.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, Zukoski began communicating through Instagram on Oct. 21, 2020, with a person he believed to be 12 years old. In reality, the Instagram account had been set up by a Kansas City area woman for her daughter. The woman communicated with Zukoski under the identity of her daughter, the affidavit says, before contacting the FBI. An FBI undercover employee then began communicating with Zukoski through the Instagram account, assuming the identity of the 12-year-old girl. Zukoski began making arrangements to travel to the Kansas City area so that he could meet the child victim for sex.
Zukoski allegedly made plans with the FBI undercover employee to stay in Kansas City while the child victim’s mother was purportedly out of town over Thanksgiving weekend. Zukoski also suggested, the affidavit says, that the child victim could come live with him. When Zukoski arrived in Kansas City on Nov. 27, 2020, he was arrested. Investigators found numerous images of child pornography on his cell phone.
Today’s indictment charges Zukoski with one count of attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity, one count of traveling across state lines to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and one count of possessing child pornography.
The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine A. Connelly. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."Northwest Arkansas Man Sentenced to over 11 Years in Federal Prison for Attempted Enticement of A MinorRead the Press Release
Fayetteville, Arkansas – David Clay Fowlkes, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Eric Butler, age 46, was sentenced today to 135 months in federal prison without the possibility of parole followed by 20 years of supervised release on one count of Attempted Enticement of a Minor to Engage in Illegal Sexual Activity. The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks, United States District Judge, presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.
According to court records, in September of 2019, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Northwest Arkansas Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the Arkansas State Police, and several local law enforcement agencies conducted a joint operation to target online sexual predators in Northwest Arkansas. As part of the operation, undercover law enforcement investigators placed multiple advertisements on various online websites and mobile applications representing themselves to be minors.
On September 25, 2019, Butler responded to a Craigslist advertisement and began emailing and text messaging with an undercover law enforcement officer who was posing as a 13-year-old female. Over the course of two days, Butler exchanged several emails with the 13-year-old persona, in which he discussed having sexual intercourse with the purported minor. Butler arranged a meeting with the purported 13 year old for a sexual encounter and was arrested upon arriving at the predetermined meeting location.
Butler was indicted by a federal grand jury in November of 2019, and entered a guilty plea in August of 2020.
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations Fayetteville, the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, and the Arkansas State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Amy Driver prosecuted the case for the United States.
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 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.justice.gov/psc.
North Carolina Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Enticing Arkansas Minor to Engage in Sexual ConductRead the Press Release
LITTLE ROCK—A North Carolina man was sentenced late Monday after traveling to Arkansas twice to have sex with a minor he enticed over the internet. United States District Court Judge Brian S. Miller sentenced Jonathan Berrier, 53, of Lexington, North Carolina, to 180 months in federal prison. Cody Hiland, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Diane Upchurch, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Little Rock Field Office, announced the sentencing.
In January 2017, Berrier reached out to a 13-year-old minor on Facebook, and they began talking through text messaging and telephone as well. The conversations became sexual in nature and continued through spring 2018. As the sexual content of their conversations increased, the defendant sent gifts and packages to the minor, which included cell phones.
The defendant travelled from North Carolina to Arkansas in February and March of 2018. On both occasions, he gave the minor a cell phone to communicate with him. Text messages retrieved from one of the phones revealed additional sexually explicit messages between the defendant and the minor. On both visits to Arkansas, the defendant had sexual intercourse with the minor.
“This defendant cultivated a long term, sexually explicit online relationship with a 13-year-old child, and he then leveraged that relationship to come into our state and sexually abuse her,” said U.S. Attorney Hiland. “Today’s 15-year sentence should serve as a warning to anyone who would take advantage of a minor online: if you come to Arkansas with the intent to sexually abuse a child, we will investigate and prosecute, and we will seek a lengthy sentence.”
Berrier was originally charged in a two-count indictment with one count of enticement of a minor and one count of travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct. The defendant pleaded guilty to enticement of a minor on September 25, 2020.
In addition to the prison term, Berrier was sentenced to ten years of supervised release following his imprisonment. He was also ordered to pay $2400 in restitution to the victim to assist in paying for counseling services. The investigation was conducted by the FBI.
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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at
https://www.justice.gov/edar
Twitter:
@EDARNEWS
Ms-13 Financier Sentenced to Four Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that KELLY RIVAS, a/k/a “La Grumpy,” was sentenced today to four years in prison for managing dues collection and distribution for the transnational criminal organization La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13. RIVAS previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion in connection with the use of force to collect payments from MS-13 members and associates. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer imposed the sentence in Manhattan federal court.
Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “Kelly Rivas collected dues from MS-13 members in several states, and funneled those payments to MS-13 leaders in El-Salvador, as well as MS-13 members in U.S. prisons. For her role in funding this vicious gang, she has been sentenced to a significant term in prison.”
According to statements in the Indictment, and other filings and statements at public court proceedings in the case:
MS-13 is a transnational gang that operates in El Salvador and throughout the United States, among other places. MS-13 is infamous for being a brutally violent organization. Its leadership, members, and associates engage in a variety of serious and violent criminal activity, including acts of murder and attempted murder, malicious wounding with serious injury, assaults, kidnappings, firearms trafficking, extortion, and international and interstate narcotics distribution. One hallmark of the gang is its use of machetes to commit brutal attacks, including murders, in furtherance of the gang’s activities.
RIVAS belonged to an MS-13 “clique” known as Hollywood Locos Salvatrucha (HLS). HLS operates in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, New York, and elsewhere. HLS members have committed murder and other acts of violence, and generated revenue on behalf of MS-13, including through robbery, extortion, and narcotics and firearms trafficking. HLS members are required to pay monthly dues, which MS-13 uses to support various gang activities and to support other MS-13 members, including those who are incarcerated or who live in El Salvador. Members are induced to pay dues, including through threats of violence, and members who fall behind on dues are subjected to physical beatings carried out by other members of the gang. In addition to the violent consequences for failure to pay dues, MS-13 rules establish that MS-13 members who try to withdraw from the gang will be “green lit,” meaning that the gang’s leadership will authorize the gang to murder the withdrawing member.
RIVAS collected, and oversaw the collection, of dues in New York, Virginia, Maryland, and elsewhere. She also transmitted and ensured the transmission of the collected funds to other MS-13 members, including incarcerated members and members in El Salvador, to support the gang’s activities. In the course of overseeing the collection of dues, RIVAS pressured MS-13 members to meet their dues payment obligations by any means necessary, including through criminal activities that would generate income, such as narcotics and firearms trafficking. Like other MS-13 leaders, RIVAS resorted to threats of violence to extort dues from MS-13 members and relied on physical beatings carried out by other MS-13 members to enforce payment.
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In addition to the prison term, RIVAS, 34, of Manassas Park, Virginia, was sentenced to three years of supervised release. She was further ordered to forfeit $19,346 in dues that she had collected or transmitted.
Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Albemarle County Police Department, and thanked the Albermarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for its assistance.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Hagan Scotten, Danielle R. Sassoon, and Daniel G. Nessim are in charge of the prosecution.
Morrow County Felon Sentenced to Federal Prison for Drug Distribution and Illegal Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore.—A Morrow County, Oregon man with a decades-long criminal history who was on probation following his recent release from federal prison was ordered to return to prison today for illegally possessing a firearm and distributing methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams.
Jeremy Michael Carroll, 39, of Boardman, Oregon, was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison and four years of supervised release. Carroll previously pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
“Methamphetamine abuse and addiction continues to plague rural communities throughout Oregon and across the country,” said Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. “I applaud the Blue Mountain Enforcement Narcotics Team and its member agencies for their steadfast work to protect communities in Eastern Oregon from the deadly scourge of illegal drug trafficking. Their hard work saves lives and prevents violent crime.”
“The Blue Mountain Enforcement Narcotics Team (BENT) appreciates the working relationship our detectives have with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. FBI and U.S. Marshals Service deputation allows our state and local detectives to work seamlessly with federal law enforcement,” said Oregon State Police Lieutenant and BENT Board Chairman Karl Farber. “In this case, federally-deputized BENT detectives from the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office and Boardman Police Department worked closely with federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
According to court documents, in July of 2019, BENT detectives were investigating Carroll, a known drug trafficker in Morrow County. During the investigation, officers conducted two separate controlled purchases of methamphetamine from Carroll. In late July, officers obtained and conducted a search warrant on Carroll’s Boardman residence. Inside the residence, officers located a .243 caliber rifle, a .22 caliber revolver, assorted ammunition, 35 grams of methamphetamine, 3 grams of heroin, scales, drug packaging, and drug ledgers.
In August of 2019, investigators learned that Carroll was staying at a hotel in Hermiston, Oregon. Officers surveilled the hotel, located Carroll, and arrested him. A search of Carroll’s hotel room returned a second .22 caliber pistol, a box of .22 caliber long rifle ammunition, a loaded .22 caliber long rifle magazine, brass knuckles, laser sights, scope mounts, and glass smoking pipes, among other items.
Carroll’s criminal history spans two decades with prior convictions for criminal mischief, carrying a concealed weapon, theft, strangulation, resisting arrest, attempted burglary, driving under the influence of intoxicants, felon in possession of a firearm, and felon in possession of a destructive device.
This case was investigated by BENT with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). It was prosecuted by Ashley Cadotte, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
BENT is a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force comprised of detectives from the Pendleton Police Department, Hermiston Police Department, Boardman Police Department, Oregon State Police, Morrow County Sheriff’s Office, Milton-Freewater Police Department, Umatilla Tribal Police Department.
Middle Georgia PT Provider Agrees to Pay $500k+ to Resolve Fraud ClaimsRead the Press Release
MACON, Ga. – A civil settlement has been reached with former Warner Robins-based physical therapy provider McLeod-Hughes and Associates, LLC, and its owner Barry McLeod-Hughes, to resolve allegations of fraud, said Peter D. Leary, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia.
McLeod-Hughes agreed to pay $506,811.18 to the United States to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting bills to the Medicare and TRICARE programs for physical therapy services provided by unlicensed, uncredentialed or otherwise unapproved individuals. Additionally, McLeod-Hughes has voluntarily agreed to be excluded as a provider from Medicare and other federal health care programs.
The settlement marks the end of a years-long investigation into McLeod-Hughes’s billing practices that began with a referral from the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Defense Health Agency. Federal health care programs, such as Medicare and TRICARE, allow services to be provided and billed only by certain licensed and approved providers and only under certain circumstances. The alleged scheme resolved by the settlement concerned McLeod-Hughes’s submission of claims to Medicare and TRICARE for physical therapy services purportedly provided by approved providers when, in fact, athletic trainers and other unlicensed, uncredentialed, or otherwise unapproved individuals furnished the physical therapy services. McLeod-Hughes fully cooperated in the investigation, after which the parties agreed to resolve the allegations described herein. The claims covered by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
“We are committed to protecting the public trust and will carefully investigate allegations of fraud in pursuit of this mission,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Leary. “I want to thank the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services for their work investigating these allegations.”
“Our warfighters and their families deserve the best medical care,” said Special Agent in Charge Cynthia A. Bruce of DOD’s Defense Criminal Investigation Service (DCIS) Southeast Field Office. “The DCIS and partnering investigative agencies will thoroughly investigate and bring to justice those who sacrifice the integrity of our military healthcare system.”
“Medicare pays only for medical services administered by licensed, credentialed and approved professionals. These criteria help to uphold the quality and integrity of federal health care programs,” said Derrick L. Jackson. Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Therefore, we continue to investigate and resolve situations in which unapproved providers are billing Medicare and other federal health care programs, as shown in this case.”
The case was investigated by Special Agent Lam Hoang of the Department of Defense--Office of Inspector General, Shawn McAleer of the Department of Health & Human Services--Office of Inspector General, and Investigators Shaketia Morgan and Enedelia Bostrup of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia. The Government’s civil settlement was reached by Assistant U.S. Attorney W. Taylor McNeill. Questions can be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, U.S. Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603 or Melissa Hodges, Public Affairs Officer (Contractor), U.S. Attorney’s Office, at (478) 765-2362.
McLaughlin Woman Sentenced for Maintaining Drug Involved PremisesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a McLaughlin, South Dakota, woman convicted of Maintaining a Drug Involved Premises was sentenced on December 14, 2020, by U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann.
Michelle Rose Helper, age 36, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison, three years of supervised release, a $1,000 fine, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Helper was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 14, 2020. She pled guilty on August 17, 2020.
The conviction stemmed from a conspiracy beginning in 2011 and continuing through 2019, wherein Helper unlawfully and knowingly used her residence located in McLaughlin, South Dakota, for the purpose of distributing and using marijuana with Brady Claymore. Helper and Claymore distributed between 40 and 60 kilograms of marijuana at the residence. Claymore was sentenced on October 19, 2020, to 50 months in federal prison.
This case was investigated by the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, the Mobridge Police Department, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook prosecuted the case.
Helper will self-report to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service on December 29, 2020.
Massachusetts Man Sentenced for Bank Fraud and Identity Theft OffensesRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Maine: A Boston man was sentenced today in federal court for conspiring to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, as well as bank fraud and aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced.
U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby sentenced Rahshjeem Benson, 38, to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $123,292.11 in restitution. Benson pleaded guilty on October 31, 2019.
According to court records, beginning in about December of 2018, Benson participated in a scheme to defraud banks and credit unions throughout New England. Members of the conspiracy obtained the names and personal identifying information of individuals with good credit scores. They then applied for unsecured personal loans in the names of victims with no intention of repaying. In connection with those loan applications, members of the conspiracy presented fictitious identification documents (such as driver’s licenses) bearing the names of individuals whose identities had been stolen, and a photograph of the co-conspirator who was posing as the victim. Members of the conspiracy also created bogus paystubs and purported residential lease agreements in the names of the victims to support the fraudulent loan applications.
As part of the conspiracy, Benson and his co-conspirators fraudulently obtained loans from financial institutions in Buxton and Kittery in January 2019. The scheme ended when a loan officer became suspicious and alerted local law enforcement. Kittery police officers arrested Benson while he was attempting to obtain $20,000 in loan proceeds from one of the financial institutions.
Homeland Security Investigations and the Kittery Police Department investigated the case.
Martinsburg woman admits to role in drug trafficking enterpriseRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Barbara Jean Feltner, of Martinsburg West Virginia, has admitted to her role in a drug distribution enterprise, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Feltner, 32, pled guilty to one count of “Aiding and Abetting Distribution of Heroin and Fentanyl.” Feltner admitted to working with others to sell heroin and fentanyl in February 2020 in Berkeley County.Feltner faces up to 20 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The FBI; the Department of Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; the West Virginia State Police; the Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; and the West Virginia Air National Guard investigated. The Eastern District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Kent County Sheriff’s Office assisted.
These charges are the result of investigations supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) under the Attorney General-led Synthetic Opioid Surge (SOS)/Special Operations Division (SOD) Project Clean Sweep. This initiative seeks to reduce the supply of synthetic opioids in “hot spot” areas previously identified by the Attorney General of the United States, thereby reducing drug overdoses and drug overdose deaths, and identify wholesale distribution networks and sources of supply operating nationally and internationally.
OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Find the related case here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/22-people-indicted-drug-trafficking-enterprise-spanned-several-states
Manitowoc Resident Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Methamphetamine OffenseRead the Press Release
Matthew D. Krueger, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on December 15, 2020, Keynan J. Juul (age: 23) of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, was sentenced to ten years in prison for possessing with the intent to distribute over 50 grams of actual methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A).
According to court documents, on April 24, 2020, Two Rivers Police observed Juul leaving a known drug location. Juul was driving with a suspended license. The officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but Juul drove off at a high rate of speed, leading the officers on a high speed chase that at times reached 110 MPH. While pursuing Juul, the officers observed him throwing items from the vehicle. Officers recovered the items which included approximately 90 grams of methamphetamine and various items of drug paraphernalia. The pursuit ended when Juul lost control and struck another vehicle.
In pronouncing sentence, Senior U.S. District Judge William C. Griesbach noted the serious nature of Juul’s offense and the need to send a strong message of deterrence to Juul and anyone else who might attempt to distribute drugs in Northeast Wisconsin. The judge ordered Juul’s incarceration in federal prison for a term of ten years to be followed by five years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Two Rivers Police Department and the Manitowoc County Metropolitan Enforcement Group. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
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For Additional Information Contact: Public Information Officer Kenneth Gales
414-297-1700
Man from Pojoaque, New Mexico, sentenced for domestic abuseRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Jake Martin Roybal, 43, of Pojoaque, New Mexico, was sentenced today in federal court on a federal domestic violence charge for assaulting his wife.
Roybal pleaded guilty on Sept. 10. In the plea agreement, Roybal admitted to knowingly and recklessly assaulting the victim on the Pueblo of Pojoaque in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, on Oct. 22, 2019. As a result of this conviction, Roybal will be placed on two years of supervised probation, prohibited from purchasing, possessing, or consuming alcohol and ordered to obtain a substance abuse evaluation and attend counseling for domestic violence. Roybal will also be prohibited from possessing firearms, ammunition and explosives.
The case was originally charged as a citation through the Central Violation Bureau, which processes citations written by federal officers for petty misdemeanor offenses. In certain circumstances, a citation can result in formal criminal charges.
In April of 2019, John C. Anderson, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, implemented a misdemeanor docket through the Central Violations Bureau with the approval of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico. The program allows tribal officers to issue federal citations for forty-six misdemeanor offenses occurring on tribal lands, including criminal trespass, simple possession of narcotics, deprivation of property of a household member, criminal damage to property, and certain traffic offenses. Citations also may be issued to non-natives on or passing through tribal lands where the crime directly affects tribal members or tribal interests. These citations include misdemeanor violations of non-native versus native domestic violence.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico has been working with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services and with local tribal police departments including the Pueblo of Isleta and the Pueblo of Pojoaque to train officers in the process of issuing these citations.
“The goal of this additional CVB docket is to close jurisdictional gaps and thereby improve public safety within Indian Country. In this case, the CVB docket has allowed us to hold a domestic violence offender, accountable in federal court. within Indian Country,” said Anderson.
The Pojoaque Department of Public Safety and Bureau of Indian Affairs Northern Pueblos Agency investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Aliberti prosecuted the case.
Man from Albuquerque sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for armed robberiesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Jared Barnhill, 29, of Albuquerque, New Mexico was sentenced in federal court on Dec. 1 to 18 years in prison on three counts of interference with interstate commerce by robbery and violence and two counts of using, carrying, or possessing a firearm during a crime of violence.
In Barnhill’s plea agreement, he admitted to committing three armed robberies of businesses in Albuquerque. On June 28, 2018, Barnhill robbed a gas station convenience store. He entered the store, brandished a gun, and demanded money and merchandise from an employee. Barnhill robbed another business on July 3, 2018, and a third business on July 5, 2018.
A co-defendant in the case, Jeyden Barnhill, pleaded guilty on Oct. 24, 2019, to interference with interstate commerce by robbery and violence. Barnhill was sentenced to 46 months in prison. Another co-defendant, Samuel Perez, was indicted on Apr. 24, 2019 and is still awaiting trial. Charges in an indictment are only accusations. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The FBI investigated this case with the Albuquerque Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas A. Outler prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nationwide initiative that brings together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and community leaders to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in a community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.
Man Sentenced to 66 Months for Distributing Methamphetamine in Eau ClaireRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Alexander Cappard, 26, Apple Valley, Minnesota, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William Conley to 66 months in prison for distributing methamphetamine. Cappard pleaded guilty to this charge on September 29, 2020.
On March 16, 2020, a government confidential informant bought 52 grams of methamphetamine from Cappard and his co-defendant, Alisha Heiman, at a hotel room in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Later that day, officers executed a search warrant at Cappard’s hotel room. Cappard attempted to flee the hotel room but was arrested after a brief chase. During the search, officers found a loaded firearm, a bag containing 69 grams of methamphetamine, and a digital scale in the bathroom. Officers found an additional 32 grams of methamphetamine in other areas of the hotel room.
During a post-arrest interview with officers, Cappard admitted to traveling to Eau Claire from Minnesota for the purpose of selling methamphetamine. Cappard stated that he was working with Heiman to sell one pound of methamphetamine from the hotel room.
At the sentencing hearing, Judge Conley noted Cappard currently has four pending felony cases in Minnesota, with several of the cases involving methamphetamine and firearms.
Heiman pleaded guilty on September 29 to distributing methamphetamine. She is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Conley on December 22.
The charge against Cappard was a result of an investigation conducted by the West Central Drug Task Force, the Eau Claire County District Attorney’s Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Wegner.
Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Meth on the DarknetRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Alexandria man pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.
According to court documents, from about May 2019 through about Nov. 4, 2019, Dat Nguyen, 35, conspired to distribute peach tablets advertised as Adderall, but in fact containing methamphetamine, nationwide through the U.S. mail. Nguyen used the moniker “addy4cheap” on darknet markets, the Empire Market and Cryptonia. Between August 2019 and December 2019, law enforcement agents conducted 20 controlled purchases from “addy4cheap” on both markets for a total of 767 peach tablets received weighing approximately 268 grams total.
On Dec. 9, 2019, search warrants were executed at co-conspirators’ residences including the home of Lien Kim Thi Phan and Tyler Pham and the home of Hon Lam Luk. In the home of Phan and Pham, agents found 95 peach tablets, and in Luk’s residence, investigators found over 6,000 peach tablets weighing approximately 2.2 kilograms, all of which resembled those advertised on “addy4cheap” and those received by law enforcement through controlled purchases.
As of Dec. 10, 2019, “addy4cheap” had completed 3,665 sales on the Empire Market and received 2,568 reviews. Based on these reviews, “addy4cheap” had received approximately $482,572.10 in sales for an approximate 44,872 pills sold. As of Nov. 7, 2019, “addy4cheap” had fulfilled 140 transactions on Cryptonia.
Nguyen’s five co-conspirators all previously entered guilty pleas in connection with the conspiracy. One co-conspirator remains a fugitive.
Nguyen is scheduled to be sentenced on March 23, 2021. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; James A. Dawson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office Criminal Division; Mark S. McCormack, Special Agent in Charge, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Metro Washington Field Office; Peter R. Rendina, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr., Fairfax County Chief of Police; and Jesse R. Fong, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema accepted the plea.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bibeane Metsch and Jay V. Prabhu are prosecuting the case.
This investigation was conducted by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Hi-Tech Opioid Task Force, which is composed of FBI agents and task force partners, including special agents and officers of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, DEA, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and detectives from local assisting police agencies. The task force is charged with identifying and investigating the most egregious Dark Web marketplaces, and the vendors operating on the marketplaces who are engaged in the illegal acquisition and distribution of controlled substances, to include fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other opioids.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:20-cr-265, and related cases 1:20-cr-24, 1:20-cr-29, 1:20-cr-32, 1:20-cr-155, 1:20-cr- 266and 1:19-mj-548.
Mail Carrier Indicted for Stealing Mail, ChecksRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A U.S. Postal Service mail carrier was indicted by a federal grand jury today for stealing mail from customers on his route and depositing their checks into his own bank account.
Lane A. Snider, 21, of Kansas City, Kansas, was charged in a 13-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo.
Snider was employed as a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service in Kansas City, Mo., from June 13 to Aug. 6, 2020. Snider allegedly took then opened mail addressed to customers on his route. He removed checks from the opened mail, the indictment says, and deposited them into his own bank account.
Today’s indictment charges Snider with one count of stealing mail, and 12 counts of bank fraud. Each of the 12 bank fraud counts is related to the deposit of a stolen check, in amounts ranging from $25 to $500.
The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney R. Pratten. It was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.