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1 July 2020
Bourne Man Charged with Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Bourne man was arrested today and charged with receipt and possession of child pornography.
Bryan C. Mileikis, 33, was charged in a criminal complaint with one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Mileikis will make an initial appearance via videoconference in federal court in Boston this afternoon.
According to the charging documents, on June 11, 2019, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Mileikis’ home and seized an iPhone belonging to Mileikis. A forensic examination of the phone revealed images and videos depicting child pornography.
The charge of receipt of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of five years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of five years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Michael Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Boston Field Division; and Bourne Chief of Police Dennis Woodside made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identity and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
Bergen County Man Arrested in $1.5 Million Investment Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County, New Jersey, man was arrested today for his alleged role in an investment scheme that fraudulently obtained $1.525 million from at least three families from 2017 through 2019, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Matthew Benjamin, 53, of Englewood, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with two counts of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance today by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From May 2017 through August 2019, Benjamin falsely represented to at least three families that his company, Clear Solutions Group LLC, had lucrative contracts to purchase closeout or excess cosmetic inventory from Company A, which he would then resell at a mark-up to Company B. Benjamin told the victims that he had access to these closeout goods through his contacts in the cosmetics and fragrance industry, which he purportedly made through his work at his family’s cosmetic wholesale and distribution business prior to starting Clear Solutions Group. Benjamin induced the victims to provide him with money to purchase the inventory from Company A and promised significant profits in return. Instead of investing the money as he promised, Benjamin misappropriated the investor’s money for his own use and benefit.
Benjamin provided the victims with falsified documents, including fake purchase orders, invoices, promissory notes and bank records showing inflated assets of Clear Solutions Group. To lull victims and induce them to continue investing, Benjamin provided them with documents that purported to detail the investors’ profits.
Benjamin misrepresented to certain investors that portions of their profits on the investment contracts were being reinvested in additional deals to purchase and sell cosmetics, which in turn would generate more profits. From time to time, Benjamin made payments to the investors that were purportedly their profits on certain cosmetics contracts.
In reality, Benjamin did not purchase or sell cosmetics with the money invested by the victims. Instead, Benjamin misappropriated the investors’ money by making payments to other investors in Clear Solutions Group, which were characterized as those investors’ profits from the nonexistent cosmetic contracts, thereby enabling Benjamin to continue to perpetuate his fraudulent scheme; and by funding Benjamin’s and his family’s lifestyle, including paying for car and house rental payments, food, international travel, legal fees, technology equipment, and summer camp tuition for his family members. The victims’ losses from the fraud perpetrated by Benjamin collectively totaled approximately $1 million.
The wire fraud counts are each punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross amount of gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater. The securities fraud count is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $5 million.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Joe Denahan in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s charges. He also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s New York Regional Office, under the direction of Director Marc Berger, for its assistance. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also filed a civil complaint against Benjamin today based on the same conduct.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kozar of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Baton Rouge Man Sentenced to 78 Months in Federal Prison for Gun and Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brandon J. Fremin announced that U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles sentenced John Butler, age 31, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to 78 months in federal prison following his convictions for possession with the intent to distribute heroin and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The Court further sentenced Butler to serve three years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment and ordered that the firearm involved be forfeited.
According to admissions made as part of his guilty plea, on April 3, 2019, Baton Rouge Police Department conducted a traffic stop after observing a vehicle traveling well above the posted speed limit and having extremely dark window tint on the side and rear windows and a tinted cover on the license plate in violation of state and local traffic laws.
The BRPD officer smelled the strong odor of marijuana emanating from inside of the vehicle as the driver rolled down the window. The driver and Butler were removed from the vehicle at which time a small plastic baggie containing heroin in the front passenger door was observed in plain view. Upon further search of the vehicle, a loaded firearm was located on the front passenger-side floorboard near the center console.
U.S. Attorney Brandon Fremin stated, “This conviction and sentence reaffirms our commitment to investigating, arresting, and prosecuting convicted criminals who decide to illegally possess firearms and sell drugs. Great credit goes to our partnership with local authorities for this result. I want to thank our prosecutor, the ATF, and the Baton Rouge Police Department for their work on this case.”
“The sentence imposed today sends a message to individuals who are prohibited from possessing firearms that they will be held accountable for their actions,” said ATF New Orleans Field Division Special Agent in Charge Kurt Thielhorn. “ATF will remain focused on providing a safe environment to the communities and neighborhoods that are affected by crime.”
This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Baton Rouge Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Demetrius D. Sumner.
Arizona Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Facilitating Mexico to Pittsburgh Cocaine PipelineRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA – Krystian Zarate was sentenced to 10 years (120 months) in prison for conspiring to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Zarate, 28, of Rio Rico, Arizona, was sentenced by United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan. Judge Ranjan ordered Zarate to serve five years of supervised release following his prison sentence.
Zarate was a member of an international drug trafficking conspiracy that extended from Mexico to Pittsburgh as well as to locations in the New York City area and New Jersey. He was a conduit between a Mexican supplier and American drug traffickers. Between August and October 2018 alone, he coordinated the supply of nearly 50 kilograms of cocaine to Western Pennsylvania and forwarded hundreds of thousands of dollars of drug trafficking proceeds to Mexico.
Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the federal Bureau of Prisons, and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General led the multi-agency investigation that also included the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Beaver County District Attorney’s Office, the Department of Homeland Security/Homeland Security Investigations, the Pittsburgh Police Department, the United States Marshals Service, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Munhall Police Department, the Robinson Township Police Department, the McKees Rocks Police Department, the Stowe Township Police Department, the Etna Police Department, and the Erie County District Attorney’s Office.
This case is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force program, known as OCDETF. OCDETF was established in 1982 to support comprehensive investigations and prosecutions of major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. It is the keystone of the drug reduction strategy of the Department of Justice. By combining the resources and expertise of federal agencies and their state and local law enforcement partners, OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the most serious drug trafficking, money laundering, and transnational criminal organizations.
Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces $678 Million Settlement of Fraud Lawsuit Against Novartis Pharmaceuticals for Operating Sham Speaker Programs Through Which It Paid over $100 Million to Doctors to Unlawfully Induce Them to Prescribe Novartis DrugsRead the Press Release
Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Gregory E. Demske, Chief Counsel to the Inspector General of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”), Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent in Charge of HHS-OIG’s New York Regional Office, Leigh-Alistair Barzey, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Field Office of the U.S. Department of Defense - Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (“DCIS”), and Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office (“VA OIG”), announced today that the United States has settled a civil fraud lawsuit against NOVARTIS PHARMACEUTICALS CORPORATION (“NOVARTIS”), part of Swiss drug manufacturer Novartis International AG, alleging that NOVARTIS violated the federal False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute by providing doctors with cash payments, recreational outings, lavish meals, and expensive alcohol to induce them to prescribe NOVARTIS cardiovascular and diabetes drugs reimbursed by federal healthcare programs. Specifically, the Government alleged that NOVARTIS organized tens of thousands of sham educational events at high-end restaurants and other venues, paid exorbitant speaker fees to doctors who gave no meaningful presentations, and provided expensive meals and alcohol to doctor attendees and their guests. When those doctors then prescribed NOVARTIS’s cardiovascular and diabetes drugs, federal healthcare programs paid hundreds of millions of dollars in reimbursements for these tainted prescriptions. As part of the settlement, approved today by U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe, NOVARTIS will pay the United States and various States a total of $678 million. NOVARTIS also made extensive factual admissions in the settlement and agreed to strict limitations on any future speaker programs, including reductions to the amount it may spend on such programs.
Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “For more than a decade, Novartis spent hundreds of millions of dollars on so-called speaker programs, including speaking fees, exorbitant meals, and top-shelf alcohol that were nothing more than bribes to get doctors across the country to prescribe Novartis’s drugs. Giving these cash payments and other lavish goodies interferes with the duty of doctors to choose the best treatment for their patients and increases drug costs for everyone. This Office will continue to be vigilant in cracking down on kickbacks, however they may be dressed up, throughout the pharmaceutical industry.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge said: “Not only did Novartis incentivize doctors to host these speaking events, reps bribed the doctors to write more prescriptions of the company’s drugs to give Novartis an advantage over competitors within their field. Greed replaced the responsibility the public expects from those who practice medicine, not to mention the potential for an erosion of trust in the pharmaceutical industry as a whole. This conduct was reprehensible and dishonest. Patients and consumers deserve better, and our office will continue to pursue any similar allegations of this kind.”
HHS-OIG Chief Counsel Gregory Demske said: “OIG will continue to work closely with the Department of Justice to investigate and pursue kickbacks regardless of the form they take. To address Novartis’s conduct and the widely-recognized compliance risks associated with paid speaker programs, the CIA requires Novartis to make fundamental changes to its speaker program practices. Under the CIA, Novartis must significantly reduce the number of programs and the number of paid physicians, and can no longer pay for inherently-risky in-person programs.”
HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert said: “The various kickback schemes employed by Novartis threatened the impartiality of medical decision-making and the financial integrity of Medicare and Medicaid. Greed must never play a part in patient care. Along with our law enforcement partners, HHS-OIG will continue to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable when they step over the line to maximize their market share at the expense of taxpayer-funded federal health care programs.”
DCIS Special Agent in Charge Leigh-Alistair Barzey said: “Protecting the integrity of TRICARE, the healthcare system for military members and their dependents, is a top priority for the DCIS. When pharmaceutical corporations offer kickbacks and engage in other fraudulent activity to induce medical professionals to prescribe their products, they undermine the integrity of TRICARE and other healthcare plans. The settlement agreement announced today is the result of a joint effort and demonstrates the DCIS’s ongoing commitment to work with its law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, to investigate and prosecute companies that seek to profit by engaging in schemes such as those identified in this case.”
VA-OIG Special Agent in Charge Christopher Algieri said: “Kickback schemes undermine our federal healthcare programs, including healthcare benefits administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. We will continue to work collaboratively with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to protect the quality of veterans’ healthcare and integrity of VA’s programs.”
In its Complaint in this lawsuit, the Government alleged that between 2002 and 2011 (the “Relevant Period”), NOVARTIS hosted tens of thousands of speaker programs and related events under the guise of providing educational content, when in fact the events served as nothing more than a means to provide bribes to doctors. NOVARTIS paid physicians honoraria, purportedly as compensation for delivering a lecture regarding a NOVARTIS medication, but, as NOVARTIS knew, many of these programs were nothing more than social events held at expensive restaurants, with little or no discussion about the NOVARTIS drugs. Indeed, some of the so-called speaker events never even took place; the speaker was simply paid a fee in order to induce the speaker to prescribe NOVARTIS drugs.
The Government’s complaint further alleged that NOVARTIS sales representatives, on the instruction of their managers, selected high-volume prescribers to serve as the paid “speakers” at these events with the intent to induce them to write more – or keep writing many – NOVARTIS prescriptions. The sales representatives then pressured the speakers to increase their prescriptions of NOVARTIS drugs, and often dropped doctors from the program if they failed to do so. Further, the Government alleged that this widespread kickback scheme was the result of decisions made by top management at NOVARTIS’s North American headquarters in New Jersey.
As part of the settlement, NOVARTIS admitted and accepted responsibility for certain conduct alleged by the Government including the following:
- Some NOVARTIS sales representatives intended the honoraria paid to doctors to be an inducement to these doctors to prescribe more NOVARTIS drugs.
- NOVARTIS paid many high-prescribing doctors tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in honoraria.
- In thousands of instances, NOVARTIS paid for the same group of doctors, often colleagues or friends, to have dinners together repeatedly. Doctors in these groups would sometimes rotate being the speaker and receiving the honorarium payment.
- NOVARTIS sales representatives hosted programs at some of the most expensive restaurants in the United States, intending to induce the doctors in attendance to continue to write NOVARTIS prescriptions. These restaurants included some of the most high-end restaurants in the country, such as Masa, Daniel, Gramercy Tavern, Il Mulino, Babbo, Peter Luger, Le Bernardin, and Eleven Madison Park in New York City; Charlie Palmer’s in Washington, D.C.; Morton’s Steakhouse and the Four Seasons in Chicago; Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami; Abacus, Nobu, and the Four Seasons in Dallas; Gary Danko in San Francisco; Patina and Matsuhisa in Los Angeles; Grill 225 in South Carolina; and Commander’s Palace in New Orleans.
- Throughout the Relevant Period, more than 12,000 speaker programs and roundtables had meal spends that were considerably in excess of the $125 per person limit set by NOVARTIS’s compliance policies.
- For example, in 2008, at a speaker program held at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Pikesville, Maryland, NOVARTIS held an event with only one doctor in the audience for the speaker’s presentation, at which it spent $448 per person on food and alcohol, in addition to the $1,000 honorarium payment provided to the speaker.
- During the Relevant Period, some NOVARTIS sales representatives conducted programs at venues where the focus was on entertainment, including fishing trips, sporting events, wine tastings, and hibachi tables. NOVARTIS conducted hundreds of events at wineries and golf clubs.
- Sales representatives also conducted events at Hooters.
- At many of NOVARTIS’s speaker programs, the sales representative hosting the event did not require the speaker, who was being paid an honorarium, to deliver a presentation at all, or allowed the speaker to click through the power point presentation in a matter of minutes. In those instances, the majority of the time was spent socializing and enjoying dinner.
- NOVARTIS in a number of instances paid doctors honoraria for purportedly speaking at events that never took place.
- On Long Island, at least one NOVARTIS sales representative organized fraudulent speaker programs by arranging for a restaurant to create fake receipts to make it appear that a dinner had taken place, and then using the budgeted funds to purchase gift cards that were distributed to high-prescribing doctors. Doctors were then also paid honoraria for “speaking” at these sham events.
- NOVARTIS’s compliance training materials suggested that emails advocating illegal kickbacks were improper in part because they “reflect[] ignorance of the import of written communications, and put[] the Company at risk.” NOVARTIS’s Chief Compliance Officer also stated in training presentations: “If you don't have to write it, don’t. Consider using the phone.”
Under the settlement, NOVARTIS will pay a total of $678,000,000, of which (i) $591,442,008.92 will be paid to the United States as False Claims Act damages, (ii) $38,406,717.42 will be forfeited to the United States as proceeds of violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute; and (iii) $48,151,273.66 will be paid to various States.
The settlement also requires NOVARTIS to reform its business practices. Contemporaneously with this settlement, NOVARTIS has entered into a corporate integrity agreement (“CIA”) with HHS-OIG that will significantly curtail the company’s ability to conduct speaker programs going forward, and will dramatically reduce the amount of money that NOVARTIS may spend on such programs. Under the five-year CIA, NOVARTIS speaker programs are only permitted under limited circumstances and must be conducted in a virtual format such as a webinar. The CIA also requires multi-faceted monitoring of NOVARTIS’s operations and obligates company executives and Board members to certify compliance annually with the terms of the CIA. The strict limitations on speaker programs imposed by the CIA are also incorporated into the settlement. The settlement provides procedures for the Government to raise violations of these requirements with the district court.
This matter was initially brought to the Government’s attention by a whistleblower who filed a complaint pursuant to the False Claims Act.
Ms. Strauss praised the investigative work of the FBI, HHS-OIG, and DCIS. She also thanked the Commercial Litigation Branch of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division in Washington, D.C., and the Office of Counsel to the Inspector General of HHS for their critical assistance in this case.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Frauds Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeannette Vargas, Pierre Armand, Mónica Folch, Jacob Lillywhite, Jennifer Jude, and Jacob Bergman are in charge of the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Wilson of the Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit is responsible for the forfeiture aspects of the case.
A Topeka City Employee Indicted on Federal Child Porn ChargesRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A man who works for the city of Topeka was indicted today on federal child pornography charges, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.
Travis Bronson, 39, Lawrence, Kan., was charged with one count of distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. Bronson works as a video producer for the city of Topeka.
The crimes are alleged to have occurred Nov. 15, 2017, and Feb. 1, 2018, in Douglas County, Kan.
In a separate case, another Kansas man was indicted today on child pornography charges.
Charles Shepherd, 76, Bonner Springs, Kan., was charged with one count of distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. The crimes are alleged to have occurred June 11, 2016, and Feb. 16, 2018, in Wyandotte County, Kan.
If convicted, both defendants could face a penalty of not less than five years and not more than 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the distribution counts and up to 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the possession count.
The FBI investigated both cases. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Flannigan is prosecuting.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
30 June 2020
West Hartford Pharmacy to Pay $150K to Settle Controlled Substances Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, today announced that SUBURBAN PHARMACY LTC INC., (“Suburban Pharmacy”), a pharmacy located in West Hartford, Connecticut, has entered into a civil settlement with the federal government in which it will pay a penalty of $150,000 to resolve allegations that it violated civil provisions of the Controlled Substances Act.
The allegations against Suburban Pharmacy include claims that it failed to keep complete and accurate records regarding the receipt and dispensing of controlled substances, and that it failed to maintain effective controls against the diversion of controlled substances.
Suburban Pharmacy dispenses prescription drugs, including controlled substances, to approximately 200 long-term care centers, assisted living facilities, group homes, and other in-patient facilities. In October 2018, the DEA commenced an investigation of Suburban Pharmacy following a reported loss of more than 6,000 dosage units of alprazolam 2mg, a Schedule IV controlled substance. An internal investigation indicated that employee theft likely contributed to the loss. The DEA then conducted an audit of Suburban Pharmacy’s inventory of controlled substances, which revealed a total discrepancy of more than 22,000 doses of controlled substances. The government alleges that this discrepancy is due in part to lax controls against diversion, and the failure to maintain accurate inventories of the controlled substances Suburban Pharmacy received, sold, dispensed, or otherwise disposed of.
Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) to combat the illegal distribution and abuse of controlled substances, including prescription medications. Under the CSA, entities registered with the DEA who purchase, distribute, dispense, transfer or sell controlled substances must comply with strict inventory and documentation requirements. Regulations promulgated under the CSA require that each DEA registrant, including pharmacies, maintain complete and accurate records of each substance manufactured, received, sold, delivered, dispensed or otherwise disposed of by the registrant for two years. These requirements play a vital role in ensuring the appropriate handling, accounting and distribution of controlled substances.
“It is no secret that there has been a tremendous amount of damage caused by prescription drug abuse in our state and across the country,” said U.S. Attorney Durham. “Pharmacies must keep accurate records and maintain strong controls when handling controlled substances. Those that fail to do so open the door to the potential for diversion of drugs by pharmacy employees, the illegal distribution and abuse of these drugs, and a federal investigation.”
“DEA registrants are responsible to handle controlled substances and ensure that complete and accurate records are being properly kept and accounted for in compliance with the Controlled Substances Act,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle. “Failure to do so increases the potential for diversion and jeopardizes the public health and safety. Today’s settlement demonstrates DEA’s pledge to ensure that DEA registrants maintain the records required under the CSA and are able to account for all the controlled substances they purchase.”
This investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Office of Diversion Control and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Kaczmarek.
University of Virginia Agrees to Settle Claims Associated with Federal GrantsRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville, has agreed to pay $1 million to settle claims that it did not properly account for certain rebates and credits the university received on purchases it made in connection with federal grants and awards (Federal Awards).
Under applicable provisions, universities can use money from Federal Awards to purchase materials for use in meeting the obligations of the Federal Award. The United States alleged that some rebates and discounts obtained on certain purchases by the university during the 2009 to 2017 time frame were not accounted for in reducing charges against Federal Award funding.
The resolutions obtained in this matter were the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia; Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General; NASA Office of Inspector General; and Army Criminal Investigation Command. Support was provided by the National Science Foundation Office of Inspector General; Department of Education; Department of Commerce; and Department of Energy.
The matter was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gerard Mene and Kristin Starr. The civil claims settled by this agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of civil liability.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
United States Attorney’s Office Indicts 6 Cases and 9 DefendantsRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned six indictments charging nine defendants during the past week. The indictments include charges of drug trafficking, sexual exploitation of minors, firearms offenses, obstruction of justice, and carjacking, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.
The following defendants were indicted:
- Willmer Dimitri Escalona-Reid, Darwin Nemecio Britton-Humphries, and Richard Bernard were charged with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine aboard a vessel subject to U.S. jurisdiction. The three were on board a vessel identified and stopped in international waters between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico by a joint U.S. Coast Guard/Customs and Border Protection Office of Air and Marine team on June 9, 2020. In the early stage of the pursuit, officers reported seeing packages on the vessel’s deck; Coast Guard personnel subsequently recovered approximately 150 kilograms of a substance that field tested positive for cocaine from the waters nearby. Defendants could face up to life in prison. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is in charge of the investigation of the case. Special Assistant United States Attorney Seth Tremble is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
This case is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force (CCSF). The CCSF is a multi-agency OCDETF strike force comprised of federal and state law enforcement agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United States Coast Guard, U.S. Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service, and the Puerto Rico Department of Public Safety. - Isaac Lasalle Hernández was indicted and arrested for attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor, distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. The defendant attempted to engage in sexual activity with someone he believed to be a 13 year-old minor. If found guilty, Lasalle Hernández is facing a minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison. The FBI was in charge of the investigation of the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenifer Y. Hernández-Vega is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- Jeremi Martínez-León, a convicted felon serving a federal term of supervised release, was indicted on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was driving an All Terrain Vehicle in Cayey while carrying a loaded firearm. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years and the revocation of his supervised release term. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was in charge of the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeanette Collazo is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- Cristian Ortiz-De La Rosa and Modesto Espinal-Luis were charged with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. Ortiz-De La Rosa and Espinal-Luis were driving a vehicle that was towing a boat. When officers stopped the vehicle for a traffic infraction they asked for permission to search the boat. During the search of the boat law enforcement discovered approximately 110 kilograms of cocaine. Both defendants are currently detained pending trial. The DEA was in charge of the investigation of the case. The defendants are facing a minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Hutchins is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- Wilfred Lozada-Chévere was indicted on charges of carjacking and use of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. On December 26, 2019 the defendant committed a carjacking at La Placita in Santurce using a firearm. If found guilty Lozada-Chévere is facing a minimum of seven years and up to life imprisonment for the carjacking charge; and 15 years of imprisonment for the firearms violation. The FBI was in charge of the investigation of the case. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Obdulio Meléndez is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office remains steadfastly committed to prosecuting those who violate federal law and affect our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Muldrow. “We look forward to continuing our work with state and federal law enforcement partners to ensure that we comply with our public safety mission, notwithstanding the current COVID-19 pandemic.”
Indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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- Willmer Dimitri Escalona-Reid, Darwin Nemecio Britton-Humphries, and Richard Bernard were charged with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine aboard a vessel subject to U.S. jurisdiction. The three were on board a vessel identified and stopped in international waters between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico by a joint U.S. Coast Guard/Customs and Border Protection Office of Air and Marine team on June 9, 2020. In the early stage of the pursuit, officers reported seeing packages on the vessel’s deck; Coast Guard personnel subsequently recovered approximately 150 kilograms of a substance that field tested positive for cocaine from the waters nearby. Defendants could face up to life in prison. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is in charge of the investigation of the case. Special Assistant United States Attorney Seth Tremble is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
U.S. Attorney Trent Shores’ Statement on the Death of Tulsa Police Sergeant Craig JohnsonRead the Press Release
TULSA, Okla— U.S. Attorney Shores has released the following statement:
“On behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, I extend my most heartfelt condolences to the family of Tulsa Police Department Sergeant Craig Johnson. To his brothers and sisters in blue, I join you in mourning his loss and saluting his selfless service. Brave men and women like Sergeant Johnson and Officer Aurash Zarkeshan make up the thin blue line that stands between order and chaos. Sergeant Johnson’s death will not lessen our resolve, but rather reaffirm the collective duty of all those in law enforcement to serve and protect. May God bless Sergeant Johnson and all of our nation’s police officers.”
U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider and UAW President Rory Gamble Meet to Discuss Reform of the UAWRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider and UAW President Rory Gamble jointly announce that they had a productive and helpful first meeting to begin negotiations to further the cause of reform in the United Auto Workers union. U.S. Attorney Schneider welcomed the opportunity to sit down with the UAW’s President in order to work together toward improving the union for all its members. President Gamble appreciated the chance to meet with the Department of Justice so as to further his efforts at reforming the organization and to ensure integrity in the union’s leadership.
During the meeting, President Gamble and representatives of the UAW set forth in detail the reform measures that President Gamble and the International Executive Board have put in place for the union. President Gamble and U.S. Attorney Schneider also discussed the importance of democracy for the selection of the UAW’s leadership. The parties addressed the concept of an independent monitor who could provide further assurance to the membership of concrete changes to the union so as to reduce the possibility of a reoccurrence of corruption. In addition, they are considering whether third party oversight on any future agreement would be helpful. The parties agreed that there are a number of reform options that are on the table and that will be the subject of further negotiations when the parties meet again to consider them in further detail within the coming weeks.
“The Justice Department seeks genuine and sincere reform of the UAW so as to provide the best possible representation for its members,” said United States Attorney Matthew Schneider. “I look forward to working toward a mutually agreeable resolution that will protect the interests of the UAW’s members and their families.”
“Today’s discussion was productive and both the U.S. Attorney and I have the same goal for the UAW International Union. As we turn the page to a stronger, better and cleaner union, we continue to make critical decisions that will protect the sacred dues money of our members. I look forward to continued discussions in the near future that advance toward closing one dark chapter and opening new brighter chapters for members of the UAW,” stated President Rory Gamble.
Two Soledad Residents Sentenced for Conspiracy to Rob Chase Bank in ModestoRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Two Soledad men were sentenced this week for conspiracy to rob the Chase Bank in Modesto, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. Robert Zavala, 24, was sentenced today to five years in prison, and Moises Misael Garcia DeLeon, 27, was sentenced to on Monday to four years and nine months in prison.
According to court documents, on Nov. 16, 2018, a deputy sheriff noticed a Nissan Altima that had been reported stolen from Salinas parked in a parking lot at an apartment complex in Modesto. Officers set up surveillance on the stolen Nissan and watched four cars carrying the five co-conspirators leave the apartment complex.
The cars traveled close to each other to a shopping area in Modesto that contained a Chase Bank. Zavala, who drove one of the cars, drove back and forth near the Chase Bank on surveillance.
The stolen Nissan, driven by co-defendant Victor Bravo, parked in a loading area behind the shopping center next to a car driven by Enrique Lopez. Lopez got out of his car and started loading items into the stolen Nissan. The stolen Nissan then left the loading area, drove through an alley, and parked in a parking lot near Chase Bank. Officers stopped the car and detained all four occupants. Inside the stolen Nissan, officers found two assault rifle-style firearms, a handgun, a revolver, masks, gloves, and a large duffel bag. DeLeon was sitting in the front passenger seat with an assault rifle next to him.
Three co-defendants have been sentenced. On June 2, Bravo and Lopez were each sentenced to five years in prison, and on June 15, Cesar Lemus was sentenced to four years and seven months in prison.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, the Modesto Police Department, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department, San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department, Tulare County Sheriff’s Department, and Fresno County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ross Pearson is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.
This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see www.justice.gov/projectguardian.
Two Dayton men indicted, arrested for string of convenience store armed robberiesRead the Press Release
DAYTON – Kavonte Knolton, 21 and Jamaal Murphy, 19, both of Dayton, have been charged with committing a total of five armed robberies of convenience stores in the Miami Valley dating back to December 2019.
The charges were outlined in an 11-count indictment returned on June 23. Knolton and Murphy were arrested June 29 by Dayton Police and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The indictment alleges that Murphy robbed the Wyoming Mini-Mart in December 2019 and that Knolton robbed a UDF on Woodman Avenue twice, once on January 25 and again on February 14. The indictment accuses both men of robbing a Circle K on Dorothy Lane on February 22 and the Wyoming Mini-Mart again on March 5. They are accused of using, carrying or brandishing firearms in each of the robberies.
A federal grand jury in Dayton indicted the men for violating the Hobbs Act, a federal law that punishes people who commit crimes involving businesses that operate in interstate commerce.
The indictment charges the men with one count of conspiracy and five counts of violating the Hobbs Act. Each count is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The indictment also charges five counts of using, carrying or brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. Each of those counts is punishable by a mandatory term of seven years in prison, which must be served consecutive to any sentence for the robberies.
David M. DeVillers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jonathan McPherson, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Dayton Police Chief Rick Biehl in announcing the indictment. Assistant United States Attorney Brent Tabacchi and Deputy Criminal Chief Dominick Gerace are representing the United States in this case.
An indictment merely contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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Two Arrested Pursuant to Grand Jury Indictment that Alleges Family-Run Narcotics Ring Trafficked Cocaine and FentanylRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – Federal authorities this morning arrested two defendants named in a federal grand jury indictment that alleges a family-run drug trafficking organization trafficked in kilogram quantities of cocaine, as well as fentanyl pills.
With one of the named defendants already in federal custody, authorities are continuing to search for the three remaining defendants, which includes the mother who allegedly oversaw the operation.
The eight-count indictment lists a series of drug deals, attempted narcotics transactions and money laundering activity starting in September 2018 and running through July 3, 2019.
The indictment charges six defendants:
- Maria Trinidad Gutierrez Mendoza, aka “Tia,” 54, of Downey, the alleged leader of the narcotics ring, who allegedly possessed 4.3 kilograms (about 9.5 pounds) of cocaine one year ago;
- Maria’s son, Jose Ceja Gutierrez, aka “Feo” and other aliases, 32, of South Gate, who is currently in federal prison on unrelated charges;
- Maria’s daughter, Karina Ceja Gutierrez, 35, of Los Angeles, who allegedly helped her mother obtain cocaine and was arrested today;
- Jose’s girlfriend, Esmerelda Rodriguez, aka “Barbara Moran,” 29, of Huntington Park, who allegedly helped obtain fentanyl pills;
- Primitivo Cisneros Cruz, aka “Primo,” 70, of Los Angeles, an alleged source of narcotics for the drug ring, who allegedly was found with a kilogram of cocaine in May 2019 and was arrested today; and
- Bridgett Coates, aka “Sharol,” “Janet” and “Yane,” 55, of Lawndale, an alleged customer of the organization.
Karina Gutierrez and Cruz are expected to be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
All six defendants are charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, a charge that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a statutory maximum sentence of life.
The indictment further charges Gutierrez Mendoza with possessing 4.3 kilograms of cocaine one year ago. Jose Gutierrez and Rodriguez are charged with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances related to an April 2019 seizure of nearly 7,400 fentanyl pills falsely marked as oxycodone. Cruz is charged with possessing a kilogram of cocaine in May 2019.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
The two-year investigation into the Gutierrez drug trafficking organization was conducted jointly by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations. Substantial assistance was provided by the South Gate Police Department.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kathy Yu of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section.
Three former Hilo correctional officers indicted for assaulting an inmate and attempting to cover it upRead the Press Release
HONOLULU, Hawaii – On June 10, 2020, a federal grand jury returned a six count indictment against three former correctional officers—Jason Tagaloa, 29, Craig Pinkney, 36, and Jonathan Taum, 48—for their roles in assaulting an inmate housed at the Hawaii Community Correctional Center and for attempting to cover up their misconduct.
The indictment was unsealed today announced U.S. Attorney Kenji M. Price for the District of Hawaii, Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, and FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge Eli S. Miranda.
The indictment alleges that, on June 15, 2015, Defendants Tagaloa, Pinkney, and Taum, along with a fourth correctional officer designated “Officer A,” physically assaulted an inmate in the jail’s recreation yard, that Tagaloa later assaulted the same inmate in a holding cell, and that both assaults resulted in bodily injury. The indictment further alleges that the defendants and Officer A conspired to cover up their misconduct by engaging in a variety of obstructive acts, including devising a false cover story to justify their use of force, documenting that false cover story in official reports, and repeating that false cover story when questioned during the ensuing investigation and disciplinary proceedings arising out of the assault.
“Those committed to the custody of our state and federal detention facilities do not jettison their constitutional rights when they pass through the doors to those facilities. They are entitled to humane treatment, which includes constitutional safeguards, such as the right to be free of ‘cruel and unusual’ punishment while in custody. Our communities entrust correctional officers to protect detention facilities and the inmates housed within them, and when such officers commit crimes within a detention facility, they will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” said U.S. Attorney Price.
“The FBI’s Civil Rights Program dedicates a significant amount of its efforts to investigating police misconduct and other crimes committed by individuals exploiting their government-granted powers. Fortunately, the vast majority of public servants understand that they must both uphold and obey the law. The few who illegally manipulate others using their official capacity will be caught and tried like any other criminal. The FBI is committed to restoring trust in law enforcement by holding those who abuse their privileges and abandon their responsibilities accountable,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Miranda.
The maximum penalties for the charged crimes are 10 years of imprisonment for each of the deprivation-of-rights offenses, 20 years of imprisonment for each of the false report offenses, and five years of imprisonment for the conspiracy offense.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Craig Nolan of the District of Hawaii is prosecuting the case in partnership with Special Litigation Counsel Christopher J. Perras and Trial Attorney Thomas Johnson of the Civil Rights Division.
The Justice Department, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Federal Trade Commission Partner to Alert Public of Contact Tracing COVID-19 Fraud SchemesRead the Press Release
In continued effort to fight fraud connected to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Federal Trade Commission are partnering to alert the public of emerging threats to steal money and sensitive information through contact tracing scams. Contact tracing is a process underway to identify people who have come in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, instruct them to quarantine, and monitor their symptoms. Contact tracing scams often appear in the form of text messages or telephone calls seeking money, or Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers, along with other sensitive information not required for authentic contact tracing.
“As cities and states start to reopen for business and implement contact tracing measures in their reopening plans, the Department of Justice remains committed to preventing, prosecuting, and punishing rogue actors who seek to exploit these safety efforts and who attempt to steal money and sensitive information from citizens,” said Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen.
“COVID-19 fraud is rapidly evolving. Operating contact tracing schemes is just one method that criminals use to target unsuspecting patients nationwide, attempting to steal their personal information and commit healthcare fraud,” said Health and Human Services Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Gary Cantrell. “We continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and bring to justice those who exploit the ongoing public health crisis in order to enrich themselves.”
“You may receive a call, email, text or visit from a contact tracer, and you should not hesitate to talk with them,” said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “But, beware if they ask you for money, bank account information, your Social Security number, or to click on a link, as those are sure signs of a scam.”
Contact tracing systems rely on people voluntarily communicating with and giving information to state health departments. The goal of contact tracing is to identify those who have been in contact with individuals that have tested positive for COVID-19 and to alert them that they may have been exposed. Contact tracers are usually hired by a state’s department of public health. They work with an infected person to get the names and phone numbers for everyone that infected person came in close contact with while possibly infectious.
Depending on the state, a person who had contact with someone infected with COVID-19 will either get a telephone call or a text message from the health department indicating that the person will be receiving a telephone call from a specific number. State health departments will not text individuals asking them to call a telephone number or to click a link.
Fraudsters, seeking to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic, are attempting to exploit contact tracing to steal both money and personal information. Scammers may offer fake contact tracing jobs to collect both Social Security numbers and fees. They also may send text messages or emails with fake links, or call people pretending to be contact tracers. Their goal is to get money, Social Security numbers, or other sensitive information not required for authentic contact tracing. Clicking on a link in the text message or email will download malware onto your device, giving scammers access to your personal and financial information. Ignore and delete these scam messages. Remember, real contact tracers will never ask for a Social Security number, bank account number, or credit card number, and will never ask for payment. For specifics about contact tracing in your area, check with your state government
The Justice Department, HHS and FTC encourage anyone who has spotted a contact tracing scam or any fraud connected to COVID-19 to report it to the National Center for Disaster Fraud at 866-720-5721 or online at www.Justice.gov/DisasterComplaintForm or ftc.gov/complaint.
For more information on how to identify and report COVID-19 health care related scams, visit the OIG COVID-19 Portal at www.OIG.HHS.gov.
For more information about COVID-19 contact tracing scams and tips to protect yourself from identity theft and financial fraud, visit the Federal Trade Commission at: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2020/05/covid-19-contact-tracing-text-message-scams.
The Department of Justice Warns of Inaccurate Flyers and Postings Regarding the Use of Face Masks and the Americans with Disabilities ActRead the Press Release
Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Eric Dreiband reiterated today that cards and other documents bearing the Department of Justice seal and claiming that individuals are exempt from face mask requirements are fraudulent.
Inaccurate flyers or other postings have been circulating on the web and via social media channels regarding the use of face masks and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these notices included use of the Department of Justice seal and ADA phone number.
As the Department has stated in a previous alert, the Department did not issue and does not endorse them in any way. The public should not rely on the information contained in these postings.
The ADA does not provide a blanket exemption to people with disabilities from complying with legitimate safety requirements necessary for safe operations.
The public can visit ADA.gov or call the ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (voice) and 800-514-0383 (TTY) for more information.The Department of Justice Warns of Inaccurate Flyers and Postings Regarding the Use of Face Masks and the Americans with Disability ActRead the Press Release
DENVER – United States Attorney Jason R. Dunn and Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Eric Dreiband reiterated today that cards and other documents bearing the Department of Justice seal and claiming that individuals are exempt from face mask requirements are fraudulent.
Inaccurate flyers or other postings have been circulating on the web and via social media channels regarding the use of face masks and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these notices included use of the Department of Justice seal and ADA phone number.
As the Department has stated in a previous alert, the Department did not issue and does not endorse them in any way. The public should not rely on the information contained in these postings.
The ADA does not provide a blanket exemption to people with disabilities from complying with legitimate safety requirements necessary for safe operations.
The public can visit ADA.gov or call the ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (voice) and 800-514-0383 (TTY) for more information.
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.
Syracuse Man Arraigned on Child Exploitation ChargesRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Austin Pratt, age 23, of Syracuse, was arraigned today on an indictment filed by a federal grand jury charging him with Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Distribution of Child Pornography, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith, Thomas F. Relford, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and New York State Police Superintendent Keith Corlett.
The indictment charges that sometime between February and April 2018, Pratt engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a 10-year-old child for the purpose of producing visual depictions of the conduct, and that he then distributed the child pornography over the Internet. An earlier criminal complaint filed in the case details some of the images and a video Pratt is accused of producing. It also details some of the messages Pratt sent at the time he distributed the images and video to an Instagram user who has since been identified by the FBI, including an admission that the child depicted in the images and video is the 10-year-old.
If convicted, Pratt faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, and a maximum sentence of 30 years for sexually exploiting the 10-year-old, and a minimum of 5 and maximum of 20 years for distributing the images he produced. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000, a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life, and will have to register as a sex offender. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
Pratt is detained in federal custody pending a detention hearing scheduled before United States Magistrate Judge Andrew T. Baxter on Thursday, July 2, 2020.
The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Syracuse Resident Agency and the New York State Police as a part of the Mid-State Child Exploitation Task Force, in cooperation with the Syracuse Police Department and the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa M. Fletcher, Project Safe Childhood Coordinator for the Northern District of New York.
Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Statement from Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband and U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft on Federal Court’s Decision that Legal Challenge to Illinois Governor’s Sweeping COVID-19 Orders Belongs in State CourtRead the Press Release
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Eric Dreiband and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois Steven D. Weinhoeft issued the following statement on yesterday’s ruling, agreeing with the Justice Department, that a legal challenge to Governor J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 orders belongs in Illinois state court rather than federal court:
“It is now up to the Illinois courts to decide if Governor Pritzker’s continuing COVID-19 executive orders are lawful. These sweeping proclamations affect more than 12.5 million Americans, restrict their freedom to associate, practice their faith, and engage in commerce. And, these orders appear to reach far beyond the scope of the 30-day emergency authority granted to the governor under Illinois law.
The United States Constitution requires that every state in this nation establish and maintain a Republican Form of Government. This means that governors cannot restrict our freedom by issuing unlawful edicts.
Governors do not rule us. We are self-governing, and governors answer to the people through the democratic process. For that reason, all public officials, including governors, must comply with the law. Even in the face of a pandemic, states must follow their own laws and make these sensitive policy choices in a manner responsive to the people. Doing so, both respects and serves the goals of our broader federal structure.
The Department of Justice remains committed to defending the rule of law and the American people at all times, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Background
On May 22, 2020, the Department of Justice filed a statement of interest in an Illinois federal court in support of a lawsuit filed by Illinois state representative Darren Bailey challenging certain actions of Governor J.B. Pritzker in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In its statement of interest, the United States explained that this dispute belongs in Illinois state court, and that Representative Bailey has raised substantial questions as to whether the governor’s current response to COVID-19 is lawful.
Yesterday, the Illinois federal court agreed with the Department of Justice that the dispute belongs in state court, ruling that “in the interest of federalism, the court finds that the amended complaint does not give rise to federal jurisdiction and that this action is best committed to the courts of the State of Illinois for further consideration.”
The statement of interest was part of Attorney General William P. Barr’s April 27, 2020 initiative directing Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Civil Rights Division, 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.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Governor of Illinois has, for the past several months, sought to rely on authority under the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act to impose sweeping limitations on nearly all aspects of life for citizens of Illinois. According to the lawsuit, the governor’s actions are not authorized by state law, as they extend beyond the 30-day time period imposed by the Illinois legislature for the governor’s exercise of emergency powers granted under the act.
Representative Bailey brought his case in Illinois state court and elected only to assert state law claims. In May, the presiding state court judge ordered Bailey to file his motion for summary judgment and instructed the governor to respond to it. Instead of responding to Bailey’s motion for summary judgment, on May 21, the governor removed the case to federal district court.
On June 29, the federal district court remanded the case to the circuit court for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, Clay Court, Illinois.
The federal case is Bailey v. Pritzker, No. 3:20-cv-474.
The department’s previous statement of interest in this case can be found here: /media/1070681/dl?inline.
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-challenging-legality-illinois-governors-sweeping.
St. Petersburg Man Sentenced to More Than 17 Years for His Involvement in Drug Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Ceveghnta Billvon Guyden, a/k/a “Chop,” (42, St. Petersburg) to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine. He had pleaded guilty on March 24, 2020.
Guyden was one of eleven individuals charged with federal drug trafficking crimes. According to the indictment, between an unknown date, but no later than August 2018, and continuing through November 26, 2019, the individuals conspired to distribute heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine.
According to court documents, Guyden and a co-defendant worked in concert to purchase and sell cocaine on multiple occasions. In total, Guyden supplied or brokered approximately 6.5 kilograms of cocaine to a co-defendant.
These cases were investigated by a multi-agency task force through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply. Agencies involved in this OCDETF operation include the Drug Enforcement Administration, the St. Petersburg Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David C. Waterman.
Seattle Doctor Charged with Covid Relief FraudRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Seattle doctor was taken into custody today on allegations that he fraudulently sought over $3 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.
Dr. Eric R. Shibley, 41, of Seattle, Washington, was charged by criminal complaint, unsealed today upon his arrest, in the Western District of Washington with one count of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud. He is expected to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michelle L. Peterson at 2 p.m. PDT today.
The complaint alleges that Shibley submitted several fraudulent PPP loan applications to federally insured financial institutions, other U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)-approved lenders, and the SBA in the names of businesses with no actual operations or by misrepresenting the business’s eligibility. In the applications, Shibley allegedly misrepresented the number of employees and payroll expenses in several applications and concealed his own criminal history. To support the fraudulent applications, the complaint alleges that Shibley submitted fake tax documents and the names of purported employees who did not, in fact, work for the businesses for which Shibley claimed they worked. The complaint alleges that Shibley fraudulently sought over $3 million in PPP loans.
The CARES Act is a federal law enacted March 29. It is designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act is the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the PPP. In April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding.
The PPP allows qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of one percent. Businesses must use PPP loan proceeds for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spend the proceeds on these expenses within a set time period and use at least a certain percentage of the loan towards payroll expenses.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case was investigated by the U.S. SBA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), the FBI, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation OIG, the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, IRS-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Department of Health and Human Services OIG. Trial Attorneys Laura Connelly and Amanda R. Vaughn of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Werner of the Western District of Washington are prosecuting the case.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
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.
shibley_complaint.pdfSeattle Doctor Charged with COVID Relief FraudRead the Press Release
A Seattle doctor was taken into custody today on allegations that he fraudulently sought over $3 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.
Dr. Eric R. Shibley, 41, of Seattle, Washington, was charged by criminal complaint, unsealed today upon his arrest, in the Western District of Washington with one count of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud. He is expected to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michelle L. Peterson at 2 p.m. PDT today.
The complaint alleges that Shibley submitted several fraudulent PPP loan applications to federally insured financial institutions, other U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)-approved lenders, and the SBA in the names of businesses with no actual operations or by misrepresenting the business’s eligibility. In the applications, Shibley allegedly misrepresented the number of employees and payroll expenses in several applications and concealed his own criminal history. To support the fraudulent applications, the complaint alleges that Shibley submitted fake tax documents and the names of purported employees who did not, in fact, work for the businesses for which Shibley claimed they worked. The complaint alleges that Shibley fraudulently sought over $3 million in PPP loans.
The CARES Act is a federal law enacted March 29. It is designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act is the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the PPP. In April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding.
The PPP allows qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of one percent. Businesses must use PPP loan proceeds for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spend the proceeds on these expenses within a set time period and use at least a certain percentage of the loan towards payroll expenses.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case was investigated by the U.S. SBA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), the FBI, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation OIG, the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, IRS-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Department of Health and Human Services OIG. Trial Attorneys Laura Connelly and Amanda R. Vaughn of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Werner of the Western District of Washington are prosecuting the case.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
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.
Sarasota-Based Ophthalmic Consultants Agrees to Pay $4.8 Million to Resolve Claims of Multi-Dosing PatientsRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that Ophthalmic Consultants, P.A. (Sarasota, FL) and Dr. Robert K. Snyder– collectively, Ophthalmic Consultants – has agreed to pay $4.8 million to resolve allegations of healthcare fraud. Specifically, the government alleged that Ophthalmic Consultants had submitted false claims to Medicare, TRICARE, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) for treatments using the drugs ranibizumab (Lucentis®) and aflipercept (Eylea®) to treat patients who had wet age-related macular generation or other diseases of the eye. Although each vial contains a moderate overfill, Lucentis and Eylea are single-use medications that are not designed for multiple uses. Notwithstanding the single-use nature of Lucentis and Eylea, Ophthalmic Consultants engaged in the practice of multi-dosing (using a single drug vial to provide doses to multiple patients) to obtain excessive reimbursements from Medicare, TRICARE, and FEHBP.
“Anyone who seeks to exploit our healthcare system by submitting false claims to our federal health care programs will be held accountable for their actions,” said U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez. “Today’s settlement makes clear that the protection of our nation’s health programs is a priority for our Office and the Department of Justice.”
“Health care providers seeking to enrich themselves by submitting false claims to government health care programs will be held accountable for their actions,” said Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of HHS-OIG. “Our agents and attorneys, coordinating closely with our law enforcement and DOJ partners, will continue working hard to protect the Medicare and Medicaid programs.”
“The Defense Criminal Investigation Service will continue to pursue unscrupulous companies focused on enriching themselves more than patient centric care and ethical conduct,” stated Special Agent in Charge Cynthia A. Bruce, DCIS, Southeast Field Office. “DCIS appreciates the U.S. Attorney's Office efforts in this investigation and for requiring Ophthalmic Consultants to remunerate TRICARE for billing single dose medications to multiple patients.”
Thomas W. South, Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, OPM-OIG said, "I am very proud of the outstanding work from our investigators and law enforcement partners at the Department of Justice. When providers submit false claims, it undermines the healthcare system and increases costs for all taxpayers."
As part of the settlement, Ophthalmic Consultants, P.A. and Dr. Robert K. Snyder entered into an Integrity Agreement (IA) with the Office of Inspector General (OIG), which promotes compliance with the statutes, regulations, program requirements, and written directives of Medicare and all other federal health care programs. The IA includes, among other things, routine inventory requirements as well as requirements focusing on proper billing and submission of reimbursement claims.
This settlement is the result of a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Office of Personnel Management – Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Emden handled the case.
The United States government places a high priority on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800‑HHS‑TIPS (800-447-8477).
The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Rochester Felon Pleads Guilty to Possessing A GunRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Freddy Moore, 31, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Katelyn Hartford, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant was arrested on August 28, 2019, after New York State Parole officers searched his residence on Central Park in Rochester. During that search, officers found a loaded semiautomatic pistol as well as quantities of fentanyl and cocaine.
Moore was previously convicted in August of 2009 in Monroe County Court of Robbery in the First Degree and sentenced to serve eight years in prison. In October 2014, the defendant was convicted in Erie County Court of Attempted Assault in the Second Degree and sentenced to serve up to three years in prison. As a result of his prior convictions, Moore was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm and ammunition.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division; the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief La’Ron Singletary; and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, under the direction of under the direction of Acting Commissioner Anthony J. Annucci.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 11, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. before Judge Wolford.
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Pleasant Hill Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – Daniel Joseph Feliciano was sentenced today to 25 years in prison for producing child pornography, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Tatum King. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Jeffrey S. White, U.S. District Judge.
Feliciano, 30, of Pleasant Hill, pleaded guilty to the charge on March 3, 2020. According to his plea agreement, Feliciano admitted that he recorded a video of a 9-year-old minor in a sexually explicit act and produced an image of a 5-year-old seated on a bed with the minor’s genitalia visible. Feliciano knew the two victims were minors and he created the images using his cellular phone.
In addition, Feliciano admitted that he possessed approximately 205 images or videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The government filed additional papers arguing that Feliciano possessed more than 21,000 images of child pornography, including images of sexual abuse of a toddler-aged child and other children younger than 7 years old.
A federal grand jury indicted Feliciano on December 19, 2019, charging him with two counts of producing and possessing child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) and 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B). Feliciano pleaded guilty to both counts.
In addition to the prison term, Judge White also sentenced the defendant to a 10-year period of supervised release and scheduled a hearing for September 22, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to resolve issues concerning restitution. The defendant will begin serving the sentence immediately.
This prosecution arose from a Cybertip on October 4, 2019, to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) related to the discovery of potential exploitation material being stored in a cloud storage account later traced to Feliciano.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan U. Lee is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Jessica Rodriguez Gonzalez, Kay Konopaske, and Kathleen Turner. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by HSI, the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Pleasant Hill Police Department.
Pittsburgh Man Charged with Arson for Setting Fire to Unmarked Police Vehicle during May 30 Pittsburgh ProtestsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A federal criminal complaint was filed today charging Devin Montgomery, 24, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with malicious destruction of property using fire or explosives. During a May 30, 2020 gathering of protesters, Montgomery allegedly set fire to an unmarked Pittsburgh Bureau of Police (PBP) vehicle near the Fifth Avenue entrance to PPG Paints Arena.
"Setting a police car on fire is a federal crime, and one that we will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law," said U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady. "This is part of our commitment to protect First Amendment rights. Peaceful protesters embody those rights and have the full protections of federal law. The people who choose to disrupt those protests with violence and destruction will face prosecution."
"The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives continues to work diligently toward securing public safety," said acting Special Agent in Charge John Schmidt, ATF Philadelphia Field Division. "Setting fire to a law enforcement vehicle is never acceptable, even in these unprecedented times. The arrest of Devin Montgomery will undoubtedly send a message that violent acts will be investigated and prosecuted. ATF, with the assistance of our local and state partners in this case the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, is dedicated to protecting the public from violent crime."
"The vast majority of protests and protesters in Pittsburgh over the past month have been peaceful, and we are committed to respecting peaceful protesters' First Amendment rights," Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said. "To the small group of people who choose to hijack the overall peaceful message of these protests: You will be held accountable. We will review all evidence and vigorously investigate any and all violence committed at protests through the Damage Assessment and Accountability Taskforce (DAAT). Simply put: Violence will not be tolerated, by us or any of our law enforcement partners at the local, state and federal levels."
The criminal complaint alleges that on the afternoon of May 30, 2020, a public protest was occurring in downtown Pittsburgh in the area of PPG Paints Arena following the death of George
Floyd of Minneapolis Minnesota. At around 5:15 p.m., a crowd was marching down Washington Place toward Fifth Avenue. Upon reaching PBP Unit 3F04, numerous individuals began to inflict damage and access the interior of the vehicle. One of the first individuals to approach Unit 3F04 was a black male wearing a #84 Antonio Brown Steelers jersey, blue jeans and dark colored shoes. The man also wore a dark colored bandana type of face mask covering the lower portion of his face as well as a black beanie on his head. Shortly thereafter, the man can be seen on video next to the rear passenger door, standing next to a person dressed in all black whose face is covered with a mask, and who is wearing a lighter colored backpack. The man and the masked individual interact briefly with each other, as they each appear to be igniting items in their hands. Within seconds, the man in the Antonio Brown jersey and the masked individual each toss an ignited item into the rear passenger compartment of Unit 3F04, which results in an interior fire that eventually spreads and destroys the vehicle. The man can be seen quickly moving away from the unmarked Unit after setting it on fire. Other video footage from later that afternoon and evening captures the man in the Antonio Brown jersey walking in the downtown area.
On June 17, 2020, the PBP posted several photos of the man in the Antonio Brown jersey on the PBP Facebook page with a request for members of the public to come forward with information to assist in identifying him. On June 18, 2020, the PBP received tips from two separate individuals. Both callers identified the man in the Antonio Brown jersey as Devin Montgomery.
Investigators then obtained a Pennsylvania Department of Motor Vehicles driver’s license photograph of Devin Montgomery. In late June, ATF Special Agents identified a possible girlfriend of Devin Montgomery and conducted surveillance on her residence. ATF Special Agents observed an individual dressed in green pants and a black short sleeve t-shirt exit this residence with his face clearly exposed. This individual was positively identified as Devin Montgomery.
The PBP receive federal grant funds in excess of $10,000 as required under the federal arson statute.
Montgomery was taken into federal custody this afternoon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He made an initial appearance by video teleconference today before Chief Magistrate Judge Maureen P. Kelly in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
If convicted, Montgomery faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years, a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a maximum fine of $250,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Shaun E. Sweeney is prosecuting this case.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.
The charges contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Criminal Complaint and Affidavit Criminal Complaint and AffidavitOpioid Manufacturer Indivior’s Chief Executive Officer Pleads Guilty in Connection with Drug Safety ClaimsRead the Press Release
The chief executive officer of Indivior PLC, Shaun Thaxter, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Abingdon, Virginia to a one-count information charging him with causing the introduction into interstate commerce of the opioid drug Suboxone Film, which was misbranded in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Thaxter served as Indivior’s top executive since 2009 (including the time period prior to December 2014 when Indivior was known as Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals). Indivior announced yesterday that Thaxter is stepping down as chief executive officer. When Indivior was known as Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals it was a subsidiary of British conglomerate Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB Group). RB Group paid $1.4 billion in 2019 to resolve its liability to the United States and various states related to the marketing of Suboxone.
Suboxone Film is a drug product approved for use by recovering opioid addicts to avoid or reduce withdrawal symptoms while they undergo treatment. Suboxone and its active ingredient, buprenorphine, are powerful and addictive opioids. Thaxter was charged in connection with Indivior’s misrepresentations to a state Medicaid program regarding the safety of Suboxone Film.
“Our nation is confronting the deadliest drug crisis in American history. Opioid withdrawal is dangerous, difficult, and painful, and the people struggling to overcome addiction face challenges that can often seem insurmountable,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael D. Granston of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “Opioid manufacturers, and the individuals charged with managing them, are obligated to ensure the opioid drugs they sell are marketed and distributed honestly, responsibly, and in compliance with the law.”
“The public must be able to trust pharmaceutical manufacturers and their executives—particularly when they are marketing powerful opioids,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Bubar of the Western District of Virginia. “While he was the top executive of Indivior, Shaun Thaxter violated that trust, and must be held accountable. I am very proud of the continued partnership between our office and the Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, FDA, HHS, and the U.S. Postal Service.”
According to the criminal information filed in court today, Thaxter had authority over Indivior’s marketing and sales of Suboxone Film which, along with other Suboxone products, generated substantially all of the company’s revenue. In 2012, Thaxter oversaw and encouraged Indivior’s efforts to secure formulary coverage for Suboxone Film from the Massachusetts Medicaid agency called MassHealth. Thaxter asked Indivior employees under his direction to devise a strategy to win preferred drug status for Suboxone Film and counteract a non-opioid competitor MassHealth was considering for opioid-addiction treatment. Certain Indivior employees subsequently shared false and misleading safety information with MassHealth officials about Suboxone Film’s risk of accidental pediatric exposure. Two months after receiving that false and misleading information, MassHealth announced it would provide access to Suboxone Film for Medicaid patients with children under the age of six.
Thaxter pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by causing the distribution of misbranded Suboxone Film in interstate commerce. Under the terms of the plea agreement filed today, Thaxter has agreed to pay $600,000 in fines and forfeiture and faces up to one year in prison. Thaxter will be sentenced on Sept. 29, 2020, by U.S. District Court Judge James P. Jones in Abingdon, Virginia.
“Opioid addiction and abuse is an immense public health crisis and taking steps to address it is one of the FDA’s highest priorities,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D. “Providing misleading information about relative product benefits could undermine efforts to provide affordable treatment to those suffering from this crisis. We will continue to work with the Department of Justice to investigate and hold accountable those who devise and participate in schemes to the detriment of the public health.”
On April 9, 2019, a federal grand jury sitting in Abingdon, Virginia, indicted Indivior for allegedly engaging in an illicit nationwide scheme to increase prescriptions of Suboxone. The United States’ criminal trial against Indivior is scheduled to begin on September 28, 2020, in the U.S. District Court in Abingdon, Virginia. Indivior is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The criminal cases against Thaxter and Indivior are being prosecuted by attorneys from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia and the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, including Albert P. Mayer, Randy Ramseyer, Kristin L. Gray, Joseph S. Hall, Janine M. Myatt, Garth W. Huston, Carol Wallack, Charles J. Biro, and Matthew J. Lash. The criminal investigation of Thaxter was handled by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations; the Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit; the United States Postal Service - Office of Inspector General; and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General. Assistance was provided by representatives of the FDA’s Office of Chief Counsel.
Opioid Manufacturer Indivior's Chief Executive Officer Pleads Guilty in Connection with Drug Safety ClaimsRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, VIRGINIA – The chief executive officer of Indivior PLC, Shaun Thaxter, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Abingdon, Virginia to a one-count information charging him with causing the introduction into interstate commerce of the opioid drug Suboxone Film, which was misbranded in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Thaxter served as Indivior’s top executive since 2009 (including the time period prior to December 2014 when Indivior was known as Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals). Indivior announced yesterday that Thaxter is stepping down as chief executive officer. When Indivior was known as Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals it was a subsidiary of British conglomerate Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB Group). RB Group paid $1.4 billion in 2019 to resolve its liability to the United States and various states related to the marketing of Suboxone.
Suboxone Film is a drug product approved for use by recovering opioid addicts to avoid or reduce withdrawal symptoms while they undergo treatment. Suboxone and its active ingredient, buprenorphine, are powerful and addictive opioids. Thaxter was charged in connection with Indivior’s misrepresentations to a state Medicaid program regarding the safety of Suboxone Film.
“Our nation is confronting the deadliest drug crisis in American history. Opioid withdrawal is dangerous, difficult, and painful, and the people struggling to overcome addiction face challenges that can often seem insurmountable,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael D. Granston of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “Opioid manufacturers, and the individuals charged with managing them, are obligated to ensure the opioid drugs they sell are marketed and distributed honestly, responsibly, and in compliance with the law.”
“The public must be able to trust pharmaceutical manufacturers and their executives—particularly when they are marketing powerful opioids,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Bubar of the Western District of Virginia. “While he was the top executive of Indivior, Shaun Thaxter violated that trust, and must be held accountable. I am very proud of the continued partnership between our office and the Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, FDA, HHS, and the U.S. Postal Service.”
According to the criminal information filed in court today, Thaxter had authority over Indivior’s marketing and sales of Suboxone Film which, along with other Suboxone products, generated substantially all of the company’s revenue. In 2012, Thaxter oversaw and encouraged Indivior’s efforts to secure formulary coverage for Suboxone Film from the Massachusetts Medicaid agency called MassHealth. Thaxter asked Indivior employees under his direction to devise a strategy to win preferred drug status for Suboxone Film and counteract a non-opioid competitor MassHealth was considering for opioid-addiction treatment. Certain Indivior employees subsequently shared false and misleading safety information with MassHealth officials about Suboxone Film’s risk of accidental pediatric exposure. Two months after receiving that false and misleading information, MassHealth announced it would provide access to Suboxone Film for Medicaid patients with children under the age of six.
Thaxter pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by causing the distribution of misbranded Suboxone Film in interstate commerce. Under the terms of the plea agreement filed today, Thaxter has agreed to pay $600,000 in fines and forfeiture and faces up to one year in prison. Thaxter will be sentenced on Sept. 29, 2020, by U.S. District Court Judge James P. Jones in Abingdon, Virginia.
“Opioid addiction and abuse is an immense public health crisis and taking steps to address it is one of the FDA’s highest priorities,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D. “Providing misleading information about relative product benefits could undermine efforts to provide affordable treatment to those suffering from this crisis. We will continue to work with the Department of Justice to investigate and hold accountable those who devise and participate in schemes to the detriment of the public health.”
“The U.S. Postal Service spends billions of dollars per year in workers compensation-related costs, most of which are legitimate,” said Kenneth Cleevely, Special Agent in Charge of the Eastern Field Office for the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General. “However, when medical providers or companies choose to flout the rules and profit illegally, special agents with the USPS OIG will work with our law enforcement partners to hold them responsible. To report fraud or other criminal activity involving the Postal Service, contact our special agents at www.uspsoig.gov or 888-USPS-OIG.”
“By valuing profits over patients, Thaxter’s directions endangered numerous Medicaid beneficiaries and their families, especially young children, with accidental opioid exposure. When treatment medications are used, it is essential they be prescribed carefully, legally, and based on accurate information, to protect the health and safety of patients in federal healthcare programs,” said Elton Malone, Assistant Inspector General for Investigations with the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Protecting the health and safety of those served by Federal Healthcare Programs is of the utmost importance to OIG. Along with our federal and state law enforcement partners we will continue working to protect beneficiaries from harm as a top priority.”
“We are still in the middle of a deadly opioid crisis that has taken the lives of thousands of Virginians,” said Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring. “We cannot allow opioid manufacturers and their executive leadership to take advantage of this opioid epidemic and put profits over human lives just to sell more product. I want to thank my Medicaid Fraud Control Unit as well as our local, state, and federal partners for their continued partnership on these important cases.”
On April 9, 2019, a federal grand jury sitting in Abingdon, Virginia, indicted Indivior for allegedly engaging in an illicit nationwide scheme to increase prescriptions of Suboxone. The United States’ criminal trial against Indivior is scheduled to begin on September 28, 2020, in the U.S. District Court in Abingdon, Virginia. Indivior is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The criminal cases against Thaxter and Indivior are being prosecuted by attorneys from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia and the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, including Albert P. Mayer, Randy Ramseyer, Kristin L. Gray, Joseph S. Hall, Janine M. Myatt, Garth W. Huston, Carol Wallack, Charles J. Biro, and Matthew J. Lash. The criminal investigation of Thaxter was handled by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations; the Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit; the United States Postal Service
- Office of Inspector General; and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General. Assistance was provided by representatives of the FDA’s Office of Chief Counsel.Op Ed: Why Ensuring Lawful Access Is NecessaryRead the Press Release
A 55-year-old man from Knoxville, Tennessee, sexually enticed a female minor while she was online. Evidence revealed at trial showed the man communicated with the minor, on numerous occasions, using a social media site, sending explicit sexual messages and requesting a meeting. A family member of the minor reported the inappropriate messages to law enforcement. After law enforcement initiated an undercover operation posing as the young girl, and within 48 hours, the perpetrator sent additional explicit sexual messages. The perpetrator received 10 years in federal prison.
This despicable act is just one of far too many instances where vulnerable individuals fall victim to online predators, scammers, and hackers, who perpetrate their crimes in our communities using technology. Fortunately, law enforcement was able to access the evidence necessary to bring this particular predator to justice. However, due to the spread of technology like "end-to-end" and "warrant proof" encryption, it is becoming increasingly difficult for law enforcement to access critical digital evidence, even when permitted by a court. This makes the job of protecting all Americans from terrorists, drug traffickers, and hackers, and, in particular, protecting children from online predators who seek to violate and exploit them, exceedingly difficult.
The COVID-19 pandemic has massively increased our online presence. While digital technology helps children continue their studies and stay connected with friends and families, this increased online presence also exposes children to predatory individuals on a previously unimaginable scale.
Child predators rely on digital apps and social media platforms to message and share images with potential victims, outside of the view of their caregivers and law enforcement. Increasingly, these internet platforms, through their own deliberate design, are unable to safeguard against criminals who can maintain anonymity due to "end-to-end" encryption.
"End-to-end" encryption prevents everyone except the participants in a digital conversation from viewing the content of messages, even when criminal activity is involved.
As a result, service providers can neither monitor their own platforms for illicit behavior nor produce readable content to law enforcement in response to court issued wiretap orders and search warrants. While encryption technology in general is an essential tool for protecting cybersecurity and privacy, "warrant-proof" forms of encryption allow perpetrators to avoid detection by law enforcement and limit access to vital evidence needed to bring criminals to justice or prevent crimes from happening in the first place.
Frequently, Attorney General William Barr has outlined the problems that arise when technology companies protect the privacy of individuals who seek to evade law enforcement and operate free of consequences without considering the other important values at stake. "End-to-end" encryption platforms turn the privacy of the unscrupulous into an absolute right contrary to society’s interests in public safety and without regard to the rights of potential victims of online exploitation.
A reasonable approach to encryption would balance the privacy and public safety interests of the community, by requiring makers of consumer devices and providers of online communication services to provide law enforcement with lawful access to encrypted data when authorized by a court of law.
As Attorney General Barr observed when commenting on a bill recently introduced in the United States Senate to address "warrant-proof" encryption, "Data security and public safety are not mutually exclusive. Encryption should keep us safe and secure, not provide an impenetrable safe haven for predators, terrorists, and criminals."
Cybersecurity is a central part of the DOJ’s mission. It is one part of the broader safety net we can provide the American people: keeping data safe, personal information safe, and communities and schools safe. We all want safe, and secure private data; we also want safe and secure communities. And we can have both.
J. Douglas Overbey
United States Attorney
Eastern District of TennesseeOnondaga County Man Sentenced on Sexual Exploitation ConvictionRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Martin Nicholson, age 32, of Geddes, New York, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Hon. Thomas J. McAvoy to serve 15 years in federal prison for willfully causing the Sexual Exploitation of a Child, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith, Thomas F. Relford, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and New York State Police Superintendent Keith Corlett.
Nicholson, a former local track coach, pled guilty to the offense in October 2019, admitting that sometime between 2012 and 2015 he threatened to cut off a relationship he was having with a minor, unless that minor produced and sent him sexually explicit images of another child, who was under the age of 14. Nicholson admitted that he received the requested images, and sent them to other users over the Internet. The images produced at Nicholson’s direction were recovered from his residence following a search warrant conducted there in 2018 after Nicholson was discovered trading child pornography over Twitter.
After serving his 15-year sentence, Nicholson will be required to serve 15 years on supervised release, and will be required to register as a sex offender. He was also ordered to pay a $5,000 assessment under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, and has agreed to pay restitution to his victims.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)-Syracuse Resident Agency, and the New York State Police as a part of the Mid-State Child Exploitation Task Force, assisted by the Wallie Howard Jr. Center for Forensic Sciences, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa M. Fletcher, Project Safe Childhood Coordinator for the Northern District of New York.
Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
New York Man Arrested for Hate CrimeRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and David Sundberg, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that CHRISTOPHER RASCOLL, 48, of Blauvelt, New York, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with making anti-Semitic death threats to a resident of Stratford, Connecticut.
Rascoll was arrested on June 26 in New York City. He appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge William I. Garfinkel in Bridgeport and was ordered detained.
As alleged in the criminal complaint, on December 23, 2019, the first day of Hanukkah, Rascoll began sending the victim, who is Jewish, threatening text messages. In several messages, which continued into May 2020, Rascoll threatened to murder or seriously injure the victim. He also threatened to blow up the victim’s house and car. Some of Rascoll’s threatening text messages contained anti-Semitic references to the Holocaust. On December 23, 2019, Rascoll sent a message that included the words “Suns about to go down. It would be a shame if your house were used to light the menorah. Or turned in a gas chamber.” On April 8, 2020, Rascoll wrote “I’m going to kill you. You better be gone because if you’re in [the victim’s housing community] Easter weekend I’m going to stick you in an oven. Or I’m going to shoot you.”
The complaint charges Rascoll with one count of interference with the right to fair housing, a hate crime, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years; and two counts of threatening communications, an offense that carries a maximum term of five years of imprisonment on each count.
U.S. Attorney Durham stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Stratford Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarala V. Nagala and Amanda S. Oakes.
New Britain Man Sentenced to 46 Months in Federal Prison for Illegal Gun TransactionRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JULIO MARTINEZ, 41, of New Britain, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 46 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in the illegal purchase of two firearms.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2018, the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force began investigating Ricardo Reyes, also known as “Rick the Ruler,” a member of the Los Solidos street gang who was distributing fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and crack in the area of Park Street and Hungerford Street in Hartford. During the investigation, law enforcement conducted multiple controlled purchases of narcotics from Reyes. Court-authorized wiretaps confirmed that Reyes was distributing narcotics to numerous customers, and identified individuals who supplied drugs to Reyes and associates who sold drugs on his behalf. Intercepted communications also revealed that Norman Klosek of Enfield was acting as a “straw purchaser” of firearms for Reyes. Klosek, who was addicted to heroin/fentanyl, purchased and then illegally sold, or “loaned,” a total of 47 handguns to support his drug addiction.
On April 22, 2019, multiple intercepted communications revealed that Reyes and Carlos Soto, also known as “Puchie,” were brokering a gun deal where Martinez arranged to purchase two firearms from Reyes and Soto for $800. On that date, Reyes picked up Klosek in Enfield and drove to a licensed gun dealer in Newington where Klosek, who had a valid state firearm permit, purchased two handguns. Klosek then provided the guns to Reyes. After the purchase, law enforcement observed Reyes, Soto and Martinez at a location on High Street in New Britain. Martinez then left the High Street location and traveled by car to a nearby grocery store. Investigators believed that Martinez was in possession of the two firearms, but Martinez, in fact, had traveled to the grocery store to use an ATM to retrieve cash for the firearms purchase. Investigators stopped and searched Martinez as he attempted to exit the store. The search revealed $850 in cash. Later that day, investigators conducted a traffic stop of Reyes’ vehicle in New Britain and seized the two firearms.
Martinez, Reyes and several co-defendants were arrested on federal criminal complaints on June 17, 2019. On that date, investigators seized two additional guns that had been purchased by Klosek.
On June 27, 2019, a grand jury Hartford returned a 32-count indictment charging Martinez, Reyes, Soto and 12 associates with various narcotics trafficking and firearm possession offenses.
Martinez has been detained since his arrest. On December 18, 2019, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully possess firearms by a felon.
Martinez’s criminal history includes multiple firearm and drug convictions and, in April 2019, he was on special parole for stealing a firearm during a burglary.
Reyes, Klosek and Soto have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
To date, approximately 10 of the 47 guns purchased by Klosek have been recovered by law enforcement. One gun was recovered after it was used in a shooting in Hartford on August 22, 2019.
The FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction. The Hartford Police Department’s Vice and Narcotics Division and the New Britain Police Department have provided valuable assistance to the investigation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian P. Leaming.
NDTX Roundup: June 21-28Read the Press Release
GUILTY PLEA – TRAVON WILSON
On June 23, Travon Wilson, 32, pled guilty to transportation of stolen money, securities, and goods in interstate commerce. Wilson and his co-conspirators travelled around the United States to commit burglaries of cash safes. The group target grocery stores, check-cashing locations, and businesses with a significant amount of cash on hand. In sum, Wilson and his c0-conspiratiors caused losses greater than $550,000. Wilson faces up to 10 years in federal custody for his crimes. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould.
GUILTY PLEA – CLEMENTE CASTILLO ZAMUDIO
On June 23, Clemente Castillo Zamudio, 28, pled guilty to possession of firearm by an illegal alien. Zamudio was driving alone and pulled over by police. Inside his truck officers located a .45 caliber pistol. At the time of the traffick stop, Zamudio was an illegal alien in the United States under a valid removal order. Zamudio faces up to 10 years in federal custody for his crimes. This case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations and is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Walt Junker.
GUILTY PLEA – ANTONIO JAVON LANG
On June 25, Antonio Javon Lang, 38, pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm. Lang was stopped by Desoto, Texas Police Department for speeding. During the traffic stop, Lang could not produce his driver’s license. Officers conducted a search of Lang where they found approximately $9,000 on his person and $48,000 in a bag located in his vehicle. Additionally, officers recovered a .45 caliber handgun, marijuana, and oxycodone pills. Lang faces up to 10 years in federal custody for his crimes. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Phelesa Guy.
GUILTY PLEA – GUILLERMO O’BRIEN
On June 25, Guillermo O’Brien, 19, pled guilty to possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. At a Dallas, Texas gas station, O’Brien took delivery of 20 kilograms of cocaine. After O’Brien left the gas station a Dallas County Sheriff deputy initiated a traffic stop. Once the deputy had O’Brien pulled over, he fled the scene at a high speed striking a law enforcement vehicle. Deputies counted to pursue O’Brien until he exited the vehicle and ran on foot into a wooded area until his surrender to law enforcement. O’Brien faces up 40 years in federal prison for his crimes. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Jones.
SENTENCING – DAMORION DENTE ROBERTSON
On June 25, Damorion Dente Robertson, 36, was sentenced to 92 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm by a felon and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. Robertson did knowingly possess a stolen firearm following a conviction of a felony offense. Additionally, Robertson admits he unlawfully possessed marijuana. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives, and Dallas Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Boyle is prosecuting this case.
SENTENCING – JOSE SANCHEZ
On June 25, Jose Sanchez, 36, was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison for money laundering charges related to the possession and distribution of cocaine. Sanchez conspired with others to distribute 14 kilograms of cocaine that was sent from Mexico to Dallas, TX and valued at $378,000. Sanchez admitted to collecting drug proceeds and then sending it back to Mexico. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Dallas Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Leal and Phelesa Guy are prosecuting this case.
Minneapolis Man Charged with Arson of St. Paul Car Rental AgencyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced a federal criminal complaint against MATTHEW SCOTT WHITE, 31, charging him with arson. MATTHEW WHITE, who was arrested on June, 29, 2020, made his initial appearance earlier today before Magistrate Judge Hildy Bowbeer in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota.
According to the allegations in the complaint, on May 28, 2020, an Enterprise Rent-A-Car building located in St. Paul, Minnesota, was completely destroyed due to fire. On June 3, 2020, investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) examined the scene and determined that the fire was caused by arson and originated from within the structure. ATF investigators were able to identify MATTHEW WHITE, his sister and co-conspirator JESSICA WHITE, and another individual captured on surveillance video footage from cameras located inside and outside of the business on the night of the arson. MATTHEW WHITE can be seen entering the business and remains inside for several minutes. JESSICA WHITE can be seen standing outside the business and knocking on the front window and looking into the front door. While inside, MATTHEW WHITE can be seen carrying a box and a garbage can into the back area of the business, out of the view of the camera. Shortly after, fire can be seen flickering in the reflection of the window in the front of the business. MATTHEW WHITE and the other individual exit the building and join JESSICA WHITE and others who have gathered outside of the business in watching the fire.
The ATF and FBI urge the public to report suspected arson, use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information specifically related to business fires in the Twin Cities can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email [email protected] or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com. In addition to fires, the FBI is looking for people who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALLFBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted jointly by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the FBI, the St. Paul Police Department, and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley M. Endicott.
The charges contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defendant Information:
MATTHEW SCOTT WHITE, 31
Minneapolis, Minn.
Charges:
- Conspiracy to commit arson, 1 count
- Arson, 1 count
###
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United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600
Mexican man sentenced for transporting $250K worth of methRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 48-year-old resident of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, has been ordered to federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 32 kilograms of meth, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Ramces Chavez-Gomez, pleaded guilty Jan. 7.
Today, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo ordered Chavez-Gomez to serve a total of 72 months in prison. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face deportation proceedings following his sentence. At the hearing, the court considered statements regarding Chavez-Gomez’s training and practice as a doctor in Mexico. In handing down the sentence, the court noted it was a shame Chavez-Gomez was trained to help and heal people, yet chose to bring poison into our country.
On Oct. 5, 2019, Chavez-Gomez attempted to drive his SUV through the Laredo North Border Patrol (BP) checkpoint on Interstate 35. During initial inspection, a K-9 alerted to the presence of narcotics in the rear of the vehicle. An x-ray scan then revealed a hidden compartment near its rear seats.
Authorities further inspected the vehicle and found the compartment under the carpeting in the cargo area. There, they found 20 bundles of meth that weighed approximately 32 kilograms.
The drugs have an estimated street value of more than $250,000.
Chavez-Gomez has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Harrison prosecuted the case.
Mexican National Pleads Guilty to Illegal Firearm Used in Drive-By ShootingRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Mexican national has pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally possessing the firearm he used in a drive-by shooting.
Javier Guerrero-Garcia, 23, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough on Monday, June 29, to being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm.
By pleading guilty, Guerrero-Garcia admitted that he fired a Glock .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun into a residence early in the morning of Nov. 19, 2017.
According to the plea agreement, a Kansas City, Missouri, resident contacted police officers after Guerrero-Garcia fired multiple shots at her house at approximately 3:45 a.m. on Nov. 19, 2017. When the resident went outside she saw Guerrero-Garica’s red BMW driving away. Shortly thereafter, Guerrero-Garcia returned and fired more shots at her home and vehicles. Police officers arrived at the scene and learned that bullets had entered the home and three vehicles had been struck by bullets.
About an hour later, Kansas City police officers conducted a traffic stop of the red BMW Guerrero-Garcia was driving. When he and two passengers got out of the vehicle, officers saw the Glock handgun as well as an extended magazine inside the vehicle. The handgun had been reported as stolen.
A forensic examination was performed on the .40-caliber shell casings recovered from the scene of the shooting and the Glock handgun recovered from the vehicle. This examination confirmed the .40-caliber shell casings recovered from the scene of the shooting were fired from the Glock handgun.
Guerrero-Garcia has a prior federal conviction in Kansas for being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, for which he was sentenced in 2018 to 14 months in prison.
Under federal statutes, Guerrero-Garcia is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Kate Butterfield. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Project Safe Neighborhoods
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, and local law enforcement to specifically identify criminals responsible for significant violent crime in the Western District of Missouri. A centerpiece of this effort is Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods is an evidence-based program that identifies the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develops comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, Project Safe Neighborhoods focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.Member of Mescalero Apache Tribe pleads guilty in federal court to assault with a chainsaw in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. –Josea Michael Kazhe, 19, of Mescalero, New Mexico pleaded guilty in federal court in Las Cruces, New Mexico on June 25 to assault resulting in serious bodily injury in Indian Country.
According to Kazhe’s plea agreement, he assaulted the victim on Dec. 24, 2019 in Otero County, New Mexico within the boundaries of the Mescalero Apache Reservation. Kazhe cut the victim’s arm with a chainsaw causing a deep laceration. The victim needed emergency transportation by helicopter to a hospital in El Paso, for treatment . Kazhe and the victim are both enrolled members of the Mescalero Apache Tribe.
Kazhe is currently in custody awaiting sentencing. He faces from 18 to 24 months in prison under the terms of his plea agreement.
The FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan is prosecuting the case.
Maplewood Man Charged with Arson of St. Paul High SchoolRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced a federal criminal complaint against MOHAMED HUSSEIN ABDI, 19, charging him with arson. ABDI, who was arrested on June, 29, 2020, made his initial appearance earlier today before Magistrate Judge Hildy Bowbeer in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota.
According to the allegations in the complaint, on May 28, 2020, the Gordon Parks High School in St. Paul, Minnesota, suffered damage due to fire and vandalism. Surveillance cameras inside the school captured footage of ABDI and another individual intentionally setting a fire in the cafeteria. The footage shows ABDI reaching through a broken glass door and pouring a clear liquid from a white container on the floor of the cafeteria. ABDI then entered the cafeteria and poured more clear liquid onto the floor and into a trashcan. ABDI ignited a fire in the trashcan using a liquid-soaked garment. The footage shows ABDI running from the building as flames and black smoke erupt from the trashcan.
The ATF and FBI urge the public to report suspected arson, use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information specifically related to business fires in the Twin Cities can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email [email protected] or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com. In addition to fires, the FBI is looking for people who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALLFBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted jointly by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the FBI, the St. Paul Police Department, and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melinda A. Williams and Emily A. Polachek.
The charges contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defendant Information:
MOHAMED HUSSEIN ABDI, 19
Maplewood, Minn.
Charges:
- Arson, 1 coun
###
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United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600
Man Who Pulled Gun on Woman and Threatened to Murder Her Sentenced to More Than 16 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington today sentenced Marquese Jerrodda Allen (43, St. Petersburg) to 16 years and 8 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Allen was sentenced under the Armed Career Criminal Act, in light of his lengthy criminal history. He was found guilty following a bench trial on December 2, 2019.
According to testimony and evidence presented at today’s sentencing hearing, Allen pulled a gun on a woman inside his motel room. He had his finger on the trigger, pointed the gun’s barrel at her chest, and threatened to murder her over a $100 debt that her fiancé had owed. The woman’s nine-year-old son was just outside the room when the incident occurred.
Allen has 10 previous felony convictions. His record includes a domestic violence injunction, battery, two firearms-related convictions, and several drug-trafficking convictions.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the St. Petersburg Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory T. Nolan.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.
Madison Man Sentenced to 5 Years for Possessing Cocaine for DistributionRead the Press Release
ADISON, WIS. – Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Charles Dickerson, 46, Madison, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty on June 26 to possessing cocaine with intent to distribute cocaine. Immediately following the guilty plea, U.S. District Judge William M. Conley sentenced Dickerson to 60 months in federal prison.
On October 16, 2019, a confidential informant working with law enforcement officers called Dickerson to buy cocaine. During the phone call, Dickerson agreed to meet the confidential informant at a Kwik Trip gas station on Fish Hatchery Road in Madison. When Dickerson arrived at the Kwik Trip, officers attempted to perform a traffic stop on his vehicle. However, Dickerson eluded officers and drove onto Fish Hatchery Road at a high rate of speed.
Dickerson drove through several red lights on Fish Hatchery Road before making a right turn onto Caddis Bend. Officers found Dickerson’s unoccupied vehicle a few minutes later on Caddis Bend. Officers searched the area but could not locate Dickerson. However, officers recovered 249 grams of cocaine in the middle of Caddis Bend that Dickerson had thrown out of his car before fleeing on foot.
In imposing the sentence, Judge Conley stated that a 60-month sentence was necessary because Dickerson was involved in selling a significant amount of cocaine and was on supervision in Dane County for a cocaine trafficking felony conviction at the time of attempted cocaine sale. In addition, Judge Conley noted that Dickerson’s decision to flee officers at a high rate of speed was extremely dangerous and put innocent citizens at risk.
The charge against Dickerson is the result of a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation. The investigation was conducted and funded by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a multi-agency task force that coordinates long-term narcotics trafficking investigations. The prosecution of the case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron D. Wegner.
Luzerne County Woman Pleads Guilty to Methamphetamine TraffickingRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Amanda Boyle, age 37, of Sweet Valley, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on June 29, 2020, before U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani, to conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Boyle admitted to participating in a conspiracy to distribute between 1.5 kilograms and 5 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine in the Luzerne County area between January 2017 and December 2018. Boyle was one of five individuals indicted by a grand jury in December 2018 for methamphetamine trafficking in Luzerne, Lackawanna and Schuylkill Counties
Judge Mariani ordered that a presentence report be completed. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the Pennsylvania State Police, the Kingston Police Department, the Luzerne County Drug Task Force, and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of ten years in prison under federal law. The maximum penalty for the charge is up to life in prison, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a $10,000,000 fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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Local marijuana trafficker imprisoned for drug schemeRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 32-year-old Laredo resident has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction for conspiring with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Agustin Martinez III pleaded guilty April 2, 2019.
Today, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo sentenced Martinez to serve 60 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. He was further ordered to pay $2400 in restitution. In handing down the sentence, the court noted Martinez had created a dangerous risk to the community by engaging in a high speed chase.
On Jan. 12, 2019, Martinez planned to transport narcotics in a red GMC pickup truck. Authorities noticed the suspicious vehicle and immediately attempted to conduct a traffic stop after they spotted it leaving a Laredo ranch.
However, Martinez did not pull over which lead to a high-speed chase. It ended after he crashed into two tractor-trailers in Laredo.
Law enforcement immediately took him into custody. During the search of the vehicle, authorities found approximately 315 kilograms of marijuana with a value of $150,000.
He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with the assistance of Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francisco J. Rodriguez is prosecuting the case.
Lincoln Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Joe Kelly announced that Joseph William Burns, 37, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge John M. Gerrard to 15 years and two months, (182 months), in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. Following the prison term, Burns will serve five years on supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
Information provided to law enforcement indicated that Burns was responsible for the distribution of at least 1.5 kilograms (approximately three pounds) of methamphetamine in the Lincoln area between August of 2017 and April of 2019.
This case was investigated by the Lincoln/Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force.
Leader of Latin Kings Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy and Drug Conspiracy ChargesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The former second in command of the Massachusetts Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (“Latin Kings”) pleaded guilty today to racketeering and drug conspiracy charges.
Jorge Rodriguez, a/k/a “King G,” 32, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO conspiracy, and conspiracy to distribute cocaine and cocaine base. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel scheduled sentencing for Oct. 16, 2020. Rodriguez was arrested and charged in December 2019, at which time he was the second in command of Massachusetts for the Latin Kings, and had held leadership positions in the New Bedford Chapter.
The Latin Kings are a violent gang comprised of thousands of members across the United States. The Latin Kings adhere to a national manifesto, employ an internal judiciary and use a sophisticated system of communication to maintain the hierarchy of the criminal organization. As alleged in court documents, the gang uses drug distribution to generate revenue, and is motivated by a desire to further its influence and to protect its turf from rival gangs.
In addition to his statewide leadership of the Latin Kings in Massachusetts, Rodriguez also held a leadership position in the New Bedford Chapter. In New Bedford, Rodriguez ran a vast cocaine base distribution network that used multi-unit apartment buildings known as “trap houses” to distribute the narcotics. Members of the Latin Kings dealt drugs in the trap houses, obtaining their supply of cocaine base from Rodriguez. As detailed in court filings in the case, evidence developed during the course of the investigation included multiple recordings of Rodriguez cooking cocaine base, directing violence against rival gang members, meting out discipline, and handling firearms used to protect the Latin Kings’ drug distribution network.
In December 2019, a federal grand jury issued an indictment alleging racketeering conspiracy, drug conspiracy and firearms charges against 62 leaders, members and associates of the Latin Kings. Rodriguez is the first defendant to plead guilty in the case.
Pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement, Rodriguez faces 15 – 25 years in prison and three years of supervised release. The RICO conspiracy charge provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Depending on the drug quantity, the drug trafficking conspiracy and distribution charges provide for a sentence of up to 20 years, 40 years, or life; a minimum of three, four or five years of supervised release; and fines of $1 million, $5 million and $10 million. The charge of felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition provides for a sentence of up to 10 years, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Commissioner Carol Mici of the Massachusetts Department of Correction; and New Bedford Police Chief Joseph C. Cordeiro made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was also provided by the FBI North Shore Gang Task Force and the Bristol County and Suffolk County District Attorney’s Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard and Mark Grady of Lelling’s Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Katy anesthesiologist pays to settle allegations arising from electro-acupuncture device billingRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 54-year-old anesthesiologist from Katy has paid $100,000 to resolve allegations that he falsely billed Medicare for the use of acupuncture devices, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
From Nov. 1, 2018, to March 31, 2019, Dr. Jaime Robledo billed Medicare for the implantation of neurostimulator electrodes - a surgical procedure that usually requires use of an operating room. Medicare pays thousands of dollars for this procedure.
However, Robledo did not perform these surgeries. Instead, he applied a device used for electro-acupuncture. This procedure involves inserting needles into patients’ ears with the neurostimulator taped behind them with an adhesive.
Medicare does not reimburse for electro-acupuncture devices as implantable neurostimulators.
“To maintain the trust of beneficiaries in their care, it is imperative that medical professionals bill accurately for the services provided,” said Special Agent in Charge Miranda Bennett of the Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General (DHHS-OIG). “We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who seek to enrich themselves by submitting false claims to federal health programs.”
DHHS-OIG and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services conducted the investigation with the assistance of Qlarant, the Unified Program Integrity Contractor for Medicare. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Gray handled the matter.
The claims resolved by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Joint Statement of the Colorado U.S. Attorney's Office, Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, and the Denver Division of the FBI Regarding the Death of Elijah McClainRead the Press Release
DENVER – The following statement has been issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, and the Denver Division of the FBI:
“The standard practice of the Department of Justice is to not discuss the existence or progress of ongoing investigations. However, there are specific cases in which doing so is warranted if such information is in the best interest of the public and public safety. Recent attention on the death of Elijah McClain warrants such disclosure.
“The FBI - Denver Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado began reviewing the facts for a potential federal civil rights investigation in 2019. In addition, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has been notified and has been involved in this review. The matter is ongoing, and we are in the process of gathering additional evidence from the Aurora Police Department and other parties. To date, the City of Aurora has been cooperating.
“We are also aware of recent media reports about Aurora police officers being placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation into a photograph in which those officers appeared. We are gathering further information about that incident to determine whether a federal civil rights investigation is warranted.
“We will have no further comment until both of those reviews are completed.”
Guam Ambulance Company Owners Sentenced to Prison for Their Roles in Medicare Ambulance Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Two owners of Guam Medical Transport (GMT) were sentenced to prison terms today for their roles in a health care fraud and money laundering scheme that resulted in a loss to the United States of approximately $10.8 million, one of the largest single Medicare ambulance fraud cases ever prosecuted by the Justice Department.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Shawn N. Anderson of the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, Special Agent in Charge Eli S. Miranda of the FBI’s Honolulu Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Justin Campbell of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Seattle Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Timothy DeFrancesca of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Los Angeles Regional Office made the announcement.
U.S. District Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood of the District of Guam sentenced Clifford P. Shoemake, 63, of Guam, and Kimberly Clyde “Casey” Conner, 60, of Saipan, to serve 71 and 63 months, respectively, in federal prison in connection with their Oct. 29, 2019, guilty pleas to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to engage in monetary transactions with the proceeds of specified unlawful activity. Judge Tydingco-Gatewood also ordered the defendants to pay $10,884,964.49 in restitution and to forfeit the same amount.
Medicare and TRICARE are federal health benefit programs which, under certain specified conditions, reimburse providers for medically necessary, non-emergency, scheduled ambulance transportation to and from dialysis treatments, provided to beneficiaries with end stage renal disease (ESRD). Ambulance services are medically necessary when provided to such beneficiaries who cannot be transported by any other means without endangering their health, or were bed confined before, during and after the transportation.
According to their admissions at the plea hearing, from approximately March 11, 2010, to approximately March 21, 2014, the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to defraud Medicare and TRICARE by submitting claims for reimbursement for medically unnecessary ambulance services that GMT provided to patients with ESRD. The defendants admitted they were aware that GMT was transporting patients who did not qualify for ambulance transportation under applicable Medicare and TRICARE regulations and guidelines, with which they had failed to familiarize themselves. Specifically, the defendants admitted they were aware that many of GMT’s patients were not bed-confined, and did not have acute medical conditions that would otherwise qualify them for ambulance transportation.
As part of the scheme, the defendants directed GMT employees to remove from internal documents references to GMT patients’ ability to walk because they knew that Medicare and TRICARE would not provide reimbursement for the patients. The defendants further admitted they were aware of, but failed to address, concerns about GMT’s Medicare and TRICARE billing practices raised by other GMT employees. According to court documents, GMT submitted claims to Medicare totaling approximately $32 million during the course of the scheme. The conspiracy resulted in improper payments to GMT of approximately $10.8 million, the defendants admitted.
The defendants further admitted to conspiring to engage in money transactions involving the proceeds of their health care fraud scheme. Specifically, they admitted that they used the proceeds of their health care fraud scheme to pay for personal expenses, such as vacations, personal income taxes, a personal residence and other items. They then caused these expenses to be falsely categorized as business expenses of GMT, thereby improperly reducing GMT’s taxable income and GMT’s corresponding tax liability, they admitted.
This case was investigated by the FBI, IRS and HHS-OIG. Senior Litigation Counsel John A. Michelich and Trial Attorney Michael McCarthy of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Marivic David of the District of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands prosecuted the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged more than 4,200 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for approximately $19 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
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.
Guam Ambulance Company Owners Sentenced to Prison for Their Roles in Medicare Ambulance Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Two owners of Guam Medical Transport (GMT) were sentenced to prison terms today for their roles in a health care fraud and money laundering scheme that resulted in a loss to the United States of approximately $10.8 million, one of the largest single Medicare ambulance fraud cases ever prosecuted by the Justice Department.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Shawn N. Anderson of the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, Special Agent in Charge Eli S. Miranda of the FBI’s Honolulu Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Justin Campbell of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Seattle Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Timothy DeFrancesca of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Los Angeles Regional Office made the announcement.
U.S. District Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood of the District of Guam sentenced Clifford P. Shoemake, 63, of Guam, and Kimberly Clyde “Casey” Conner, 60, of Saipan, to serve 71 and 63 months, respectively, in federal prison in connection with their Oct. 29, 2019, guilty pleas to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to engage in monetary transactions with the proceeds of specified unlawful activity. Judge Tydingco-Gatewood also ordered the defendants to pay $10,884,964.49 in restitution and to forfeit the same amount.
Medicare and TRICARE are federal health benefit programs which, under certain specified conditions, reimburse providers for medically necessary, non-emergency, scheduled ambulance transportation to and from dialysis treatments, provided to beneficiaries with end stage renal disease (ESRD). Ambulance services are medically necessary when provided to such beneficiaries who cannot be transported by any other means without endangering their health, or were bed confined before, during and after the transportation.
According to their admissions at the plea hearing, from approximately March 11, 2010, to approximately March 21, 2014, the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to defraud Medicare and TRICARE by submitting claims for reimbursement for medically unnecessary ambulance services that GMT provided to patients with ESRD. The defendants admitted they were aware that GMT was transporting patients who did not qualify for ambulance transportation under applicable Medicare and TRICARE regulations and guidelines, with which they had failed to familiarize themselves. Specifically, the defendants admitted they were aware that many of GMT’s patients were not bed-confined, and did not have acute medical conditions that would otherwise qualify them for ambulance transportation.
As part of the scheme, the defendants directed GMT employees to remove from internal documents references to GMT patients’ ability to walk because they knew that Medicare and TRICARE would not provide reimbursement for the patients. The defendants further admitted they were aware of, but failed to address, concerns about GMT’s Medicare and TRICARE billing practices raised by other GMT employees. According to court documents, GMT submitted claims to Medicare totaling approximately $32 million during the course of the scheme. The conspiracy resulted in improper payments to GMT of approximately $10.8 million, the defendants admitted.
The defendants further admitted to conspiring to engage in money transactions involving the proceeds of their health care fraud scheme. Specifically, they admitted that they used the proceeds of their health care fraud scheme to pay for personal expenses, such as vacations, personal income taxes, a personal residence and other items. They then caused these expenses to be falsely categorized as business expenses of GMT, thereby improperly reducing GMT’s taxable income and GMT’s corresponding tax liability, they admitted.
This case was investigated by the FBI, IRS and HHS-OIG. Senior Litigation Counsel John A. Michelich and Trial Attorney Michael McCarthy of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Marivic David of the District of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands prosecuted the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged more than 4,200 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for approximately $19 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
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.
Great Dismal Swamp Shooter Sentenced to 30 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A Suffolk man was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for assault with intent to commit murder and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, stemming from a May 2019 shooting in the Great Dismal Swamp, a National Wildlife Refuge.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Maurice Devonte Lee, 27, had a tumultuous multi-year relationship with the victim, which escalated to the attempted murder in the Great Dismal Swamp. On May 12, 2019, Lee stopped at his parents’ house, retrieved a 9 millimeter semi-automatic handgun loaded with hollow-point bullets, and hid it in his jacket pocket. Lee then lured the victim deep into the Great Dismal Swamp on the premise of having a picnic. After walking miles onto Lynn Ditch Road, Lee pulled out the firearm and shot the victim in the chest at point-blank range after accusing him of being “disloyal.” Lee threatened to shoot the victim again in the head if he told anyone what happened. After the victim begged for his life and convinced Lee not to shoot him again, Lee called 911. When the dispatcher asked how the victim was shot, Lee said that it was a “long story” and that he had been trying to shoot a bear. The victim suffered life-threatening injuries from the bullet but received emergency medical treatment and survived.
When first responders arrived to the scene, Lee continued to claim that he accidentally shot the victim because a bear was going to attack him. Once Lee admitted the bear story was untrue, he provided various versions of what happened. At trial, Lee represented himself and testified on his own behalf. The jury found him guilty on all counts. During the trial, Lee admitted to destroying evidence by throwing the victim’s phone in the swamp and wiping down the gun before first responders arrived. At sentencing, he received a guidelines enhancement for obstruction of justice, based on the Court’s conclusion that he had made false statements under oath at trial.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Edward Grace, Assistant Director of Law Enforcement for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John F. Butler and Elizabeth M. Yusi prosecuted the case.
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. 2:19-cr-106.