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Thursday 20 February 2020
Two Blight Elimination Program Indictments UnsealedRead the Press Release
Hammond – Two criminal indictments were returned today for criminal violations related to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Blight Elimination Program, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.
Mahmoud Alshuaibi, 38, of Hickory Hills, Illinois, has been charged with wire fraud, theft from a local government receiving federal funds, and making a false and fraudulent statement. According to court documents, between January 2016 and March 2017, Alshuaibi, owner and officer of IESCO Construction, Inc., submitted false and fraudulent documents to support his claim for payment from the City of Hammond, Indiana, for demolition work through the Blight Elimination Program funded by the U.S. Treasury Department.
In a separate indictment, Gary Hayden, Sr., 60, of Logansport, Indiana has been charged with theft from a local government receiving federal funds. According to court documents in this case, between December 2015 and February 2016, Hayden, owner and officer of B&G Construction, submitted false and fraudulent documents to the City of Logansport, Indiana, in support of his claims for payment for demolition work through the Blight Elimination Program.
US Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II said, “The Blight Elimination Program was designed to help stabilize communities. We will continue to work with SIGTARP and other law enforcement entities to investigate and prosecute individuals who commit acts of fraud against the Blight Elimination Program and any other program designed to help the communities in the Northern District of Indiana.”
“The Blight Elimination Program is part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) investigates related fraud,” said Special Inspector General Christy Goldsmith Romero. “Those that defraud the program will be caught and prosecuted. I thank U.S. Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II and Assistant U.S. Attorney Toi Houston for standing with SIGTARP in the fight against TARP-related crimes.”
The United States Attorney’s Office emphasized that an Indictment is merely an allegation and that all persons charged are presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty in court.
If convicted in court, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The case was the result of an investigation by SIGTARP and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Toi Denise Houston.
Three Indicted for Conspiring to Traffic 20,000 Fentanyl Pills and 20 Pounds of MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Tirso Garcia-Valdez, 27, of Mexico, Misael Garcia-Carranza, 23, of Mexico, and Brenda Carmona-Venegas, 37, of Los Angeles, were indicted Thursday for conspiring and possessing with intent to distribute approximately 20,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl and approximately 20 pounds of methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, on Jan. 9, in Kern County, Garcia-Valdez sold approximately 300 fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills. Garcia-Carranza drove Garcia Valdez to the deal and was present in the vehicle as the deal occurred. On Jan. 30, Garcia-Valdez sold approximately 2,000 fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills. Garcia-Carranza drove Garcia-Valdez to this deal. On Feb. 13, Garcia-Valdez, Garcia-Carranza and Carmona-Valdez conspired to possess with the intent to distribute approximately 20,000 fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills and approximately 20 pounds of methamphetamine, which were seized by law enforcement.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Scott is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Texas Couple Sentenced to a Combined 140 Years in Prison for Conspiracy to Produce Child Pornography and Other Crimes Against ChildrenRead the Press Release
A husband and wife from Big Spring, Texas, were sentenced today to a combined 140 years in prison for crimes against multiple children.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S Attorney Erin Nealy Cox of the Northern District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Spradlin of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made the announcement.
Christopher James Regan, 38, a former shipping logistics manager, was sentenced to 90 years in prison after pleading guilty in October 2019 to conspiracy to produce child pornography and two counts of producing child pornography. Tanya Marie Regan, 35, was sentenced to 50 years in prison after her October 2019 guilty plea to conspiracy to produce child pornography and possession of prepubescent child pornography. The sentences, which were imposed by U.S. District Judge Mark T. Pittman of the Northern District of Texas, also included lifetime terms of supervised release for both defendants.
According to court documents, Christopher and Tanya Regan sexually abused and produced child pornography of multiple children, and they possessed and distributed child pornography to one another as well. The Regans also engaged in graphic discussions about the sexual abuse of children over several online platforms.
In plea papers, the pair admitted that at Christopher Regan’s direction, Tanya Regan repeatedly videotaped herself sexually abusing children for Christopher Regan’s sexual gratification.
When law enforcement seized electronics from the home, several graphic videos had been deleted, but were still stored in the recycle bin or on unallotted space on various SD cards. Undeleted videos were stored in a computer folder titled “users\tanya_000\pictures\privatevids\minor.”
HSI’s San Angelo, Texas, office, the Howard County Sheriff’s Office and the High Technology Investigative Unit within the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) investigated the case. Substantial assistance was provide by the HSI offices in Lubbock and Tyler, Texas, Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, and the National Center for Mission and Exploited Children. Trial Attorney Kyle P. Reynolds of CEOS and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ann Howey and Jeffrey R. Haag prosecuted the case along with former Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell H. Lorfing.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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.
Ten Defendants Charged with Illegally Conducting Multi-Million Dollar Sports Gambling BusinessRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — Ten defendants have been charged in federal court with conspiring to illegally conduct a multi-million dollar sports gambling business in the Chicago area.
VINCENT DELGIUDICE, also known as “Uncle Mick,” directed an operation that accepted wagers from as many as 1,000 gamblers on the outcome of professional and amateur sporting events, according to a nine-count indictment returned Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Delgiudice paid a service fee to a foreign sportsbook for use of its platform, and recruited gamblers to place wagers on a website, www.unclemicksports.com, according to the charges. Delgiudice sometimes communicated with representatives of the sportsbook via an anonymous, end-to-end encrypted messaging application to ensure their communications remained secret, the indictment states.
The indictment alleges that Delgiudice also recruited several individuals to work on behalf of his gambling operation. These agents enlisted new gamblers and worked with Delgiudice to collect or pay out cash depending on the outcome of wagers, the indictment states. Delgiudice paid the agents a commission based on a percentage of losses incurred by the gamblers they recruited, the charges allege.
A law enforcement search of Delgiudice’s residence in Orland Park seized more than $1.06 million in cash; silver bars and jewelry valued at $347,895; and gold coins valued at $92,623. The indictment seeks forfeiture of these items, as well as Delgiudice’s residence. It also seeks a personal money judgment against Delgiudice of $8 million.
The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the FBI; and Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ankur Srivastava, Terry Kinney, and Abigail Peluso.
The FBI’s Integrity in Sport and Gaming Initiative (ISG) is designed to tackle illegal sports gambling and combat threats of influence from criminal enterprises.
The indictment charges Delgiudice, 54, with one count of conspiracy to conduct an illegal gambling business, one count of conducting an illegal gambling business, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and six counts of money laundering.
The indictment charges eight alleged agents of Delgiudice’s operation with one count of participating in the gambling conspiracy and one count of conducting an illegal gambling business: MATTHEW KNIGHT, also known as “Sweaters” and “McDougal,” 46, of Mokena; JUSTIN HINES, 40, of Algonquin; KEITH D. BENSON, 49, of Lemont; TODD BLANKEN, 43, of Cary; NICHOLAS STELLA, 42, of Chicago; MATTHEW NAMOFF, 23, of Midlothian; CASEY URLACHER, 40, of Libertyville; and VASILIOS PRASSAS, 37, of Chicago. The tenth defendant, EUGENE DELGIUDICE, also known as “Gino,” 84, of Orland Park, allegedly assisted in the collection or paying out of cash to gamblers recruited by Vincent Delgiudice. Eugene Delgiudice is charged with one count of participating in the gambling conspiracy and one count of conducting an illegal gambling business.
Arraignments in federal court in Chicago have not yet been scheduled.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Each money laundering count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, while the other counts in the indictment are each punishable by up to five years. If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Taurean Edward Farrior Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON – United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. announced that in federal court, United States District Judge James C. Dever III sentenced TAUREAN EDWARD FARRIOR, 35, of Wilmington to 144 months imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.
FARRIOR was named in an Indictment filed on April 4, 2019 charging him with possession with the intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine base (crack); two counts of distribution of a quantity of heroin; distribution of a quantity of fentanyl; and possession with the intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine and a quantity of heroin. On September 24, 2019, FARRIOR pled guilty to distribution of a quantity of heroin and possession with the intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine and a quantity of heroin.
According to the investigation, on May 19, 2017, investigators in Wayne County detected the odor of marijuana emanating from a vehicle parked at a gas station in Goldsboro. The vehicle belonged to FARRIOR. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed almost one ounce of crack cocaine, a quantity of marijuana, and approximately $1,300.00 cash. The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Department conducted four (4) controlled purchases of heroin/fentanyl mixtures from FARRIOR between August 2018 and December 2018. On January 10, 2019, law enforcement stopped FARRIOR for a traffic violation on Highway 74 in Leland, NC and investigators found him in possession of cocaine and marijuana. A subsequent search of FARRIOR’s residence in Wilmington, NC located multiple bindles of a heroin/fentanyl mixture. At sentencing, FARRIOR was found to be accountable for the distribution of approximately 4.5 kilograms of cocaine, as well as quantities of crack cocaine and a heroin/fentanyl mixture between January 2016 and January 2019.
This case is part of the Take Back North Carolina Initiative of The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, Brunswick County Sheriff’s Department, and Wayne County Sheriff’s Department participated in the investigation. Special Assistant United States Attorney Murphy Averitt represented the government.
Stamford Sex Offender Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Child Pornography OffenseRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that BRIEN PENNELL, 31, of Stamford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to 180 months of imprisonment, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for using the internet to download and view child pornography.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in February 2008, Pennell was convicted in state court of sexual assault and possession of child pornography offenses. Pennell served 30 months in prison and was sentenced to 15 years of probation for those offenses.
On February 2, 2018, after an investigation revealed that an IP address registered to Pennell was being used to share images and videos of child pornography via the Kik application, Connecticut probation officers conducted a compliance search of Pennell’s residence and vehicle and seized various electronic media, including a smart phone and a tablet, both of which were located in a hidden compartment under the steering wheel of the vehicle.
Subsequent analysis of the seized electronic devices, Pennell’s Kik account and a Dropbox account he maintained, revealed 148 videos and 40 images of child pornography, some of which depict the sexual abuse of children younger than 12.
Pennell has been detained since his federal arrest on March 20, 2018. On June 26, 2019, he pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography.
Pennell faced an enhanced mandatory minimum prison term in this case based on his criminal history.
This matter was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the assistance of Connecticut’s Office of Adult Probation and the Stamford Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy V. Gifford.
This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.
South Texas man on his way to prison for smuggling $1.7 million in methRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 36-year-old Edinburg man has been ordered to federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute more than 25 kilograms of meth, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Sarafin Rodriguez Pena pleaded guilty Aug. 29, 2019.
Today, U.S. District Judge David S. Morales handed Pena a 132-month sentence for to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the defendant’s lack of prior criminal history but concluded the significant sentence was warranted given the quantity of drugs involved.
On July 7, 2019, Pena drove a white Ford Focus into the primary inspection area of the Border Patrol checkpoint near Falfurrias. A careful search of the vehicle revealed bundles of meth concealed within the speakers mounted in the car.
Laboratory analysis later confirmed the substance in the bundles was indeed meth.
The drugs weighed a total of 25.5 kilograms with a value of more than $1.7 million.
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.
This Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with the assistance of Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert D. Thorpe Jr. is prosecuting the case.
Serial Bank Robber SentencedRead the Press Release
Matthew D. Krueger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on February 18, 2020, Jason G. Burgett (age: 43) of, Wisconsin, appeared in federal court in Green Bay and was sentenced to 164 months in federal prison, was ordered to pay full restitution, and serve three years on supervised release following the completion of his federal sentence, for Bank Robbery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2113(a).
As a condition of the plea agreement, Burgett acknowledged that he was responsible for the following bank robberies throughout Wisconsin: the Farmers State Bank in the Town of Fremont on June 3, 2019, the Stephenson National Bank and Trust in the Town of Pembine on July 8, 2019, and the Citizens Community Federal Bank in the Village of Lake Hallie on July 15, 2019. Burget also acknowledged attempting to rob the Northern United Federal Credit Union in Escanaba, Michigan, on July 5, 2019.
While handing down his sentence, Senior U.S. District Judge William C. Griesbach noted Burgett’s lengthy criminal history, including two prior bank robbery convictions from the late 1990s. Judge Griesbach called the robberies “frightening offenses” and highlighted the “terror” the defendant’s actions inflicted on the bank employees. Judge Griesbach determined that protection of the public was an important concern.
The case was investigated by the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Office, the Marinette County Sheriff’s Office, the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office, the Escanaba Public Safety Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.
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For Additional Information Contact:
Public Information Officer Kenneth Gales 414-297-1700
Savannah man pleads guilty to drug trafficking and prostitution conspiracies, possessing machine gunRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA: A former California resident known for carrying a machine gun while perpetrating crimes has admitted operating a major drug-trafficking conspiracy.
Anthony Wilson Jackson, a/k/a “All Profit,” a/k/a “AP,” 49, of Savannah, pled guilty in U.S. District Court to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Marijuana; Conspiracy to Engage in Interstate Prostitution; Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; Illegal Possession of a Machine Gun; Possession of a Machine Gun in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; and Money Laundering Conspiracy, said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
The charges carry a minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison, substantial fines and – if not a life sentence – a period of supervised release after completion of the prison sentence. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Anthony Jackson is a gun-carrying pimp who sold human beings just as freely as he trafficked in narcotics,” said U.S. Attorney Christine. “His freedom, however, will now come to an end with substantial time in federal prison as his future.”
According to court documents and testimony, Jackson and two co-defendants – who also have admitted guilt in the case – operated a drug-trafficking operation that distributed thousands of pounds of marijuana throughout the Savannah area.
In addition, Jackson operated and advertised a prostitution business through an online classified advertising site that trafficked women in the Savannah area and in other cities including those in South Carolina, Virginia, California, Nevada, Maryland and Michigan.
Jackson, previously convicted of a felony, was known to carry firearms including a fully-automatic pistol while overseeing the drug trafficking and prostitution conspiracies.
“The plea today is another reminder that ATF and our local, state and federal partners will continue to work together and protect the safety of our citizens,” said Henry Countryman, Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
“Jackson and his organization preyed upon the community, distributing poison and destroying lives, thankfully their reign of terror is over,” said acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “HSI along with its partners will continue to work tirelessly to combat criminal organizations that threaten our communities.”
“This is just another step by law enforcement to stand up to the threat of human and drug trafficking organizations who deal dangerous substances on our streets, while also selling human beings,” said Andrew Thornton, Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge IRS-Criminal Investigations, Atlanta Field Office. “IRS-CI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners in an effort to dismantle illegal narcotics and human trafficking organizations by following the money and leveraging our resources.”
“One of the main goals of the Savannah Police Department is to target those who are using firearms to commit crimes,” said Savannah Police Chief Roy Minter. “This case and conviction shows the hard stance we, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, are taking in regard to these crimes and anyone who decides to jeopardize the safety of our city.”
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), IRS-CI, the ATF, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and the Savannah Police Department, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tania Groover and E. Greg Gilluly.
Sailor from Lemoore Charged with Child Sexual Exploitation OffensesRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Christopher Jeorge Millican, 26, of Lemoore, charging him with one count of sexual exploitation of children and one count of receipt of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, on July 27, 2018, a parent contacted Snapchat and reported that someone, later identified as Millican, had been “flirting” with an 11-year-old girl and soliciting pictures of and location information for the child. Snapchat reviewed Millican’s account and discovered that he had been soliciting several minors for sexually explicit content.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Central Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, specifically the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Hanford Police Department, the Fresno office of Homeland Security Investigations, and several local police agencies across the United States. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Millican faces a mandatory minimum prison term of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years for the sexual exploitation charge, a mandatory minimum prison term of five years and a maximum of 20 years for receipt of child pornography, and a fine up to $250,000 for each count. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.
Prattville Man Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud Charges and Transporting Stolen VehicleRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama - On Tuesday, February 18, 2020, Robert Brandon Malone, 35, a resident of Prattville, Alabama pleaded guilty to three counts of federal wire fraud and one count of transporting a stolen vehicle, announced United States Attorney Louis V. Franklin, Sr., FBI Special Agent in Charge James Jewell, and Prattville Police Chief Mark Thompson. The federal charges arise from multiple schemes orchestrated by Malone to sell automobiles that did not belong to him.
According to court records, in April of 2017, Malone posted a Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck for sale on the advertising website craigslist. However, the truck was actually a trade-in vehicle to the dealership for which he worked at the time. After the post, he was contacted by a potential buyer and represented to him that he was the actual owner. The buyer made the purchase, but returned the vehicle after learning that Malone did not own the truck. Malone did not refund his money.
Later, in January of 2018, Malone was working on a Chevrolet C-10 pickup truck for someone and was storing it at his shop. Once again, he created a craigslist post listing it for sale although the owner had not given him the authority to do so. A potential buyer contacted Malone and arranged a trade for another vehicle. Once he learned that Malone did not own the truck, it was returned to the rightful owner. However, the vehicle that was traded was not returned.
Finally, in November of 2018, Malone went to a car dealership in Georgia and was in the process of completing the paperwork to purchase an Audi R8. However, before the purchase was complete, he drove the vehicle off the lot and back to Prattville. He contacted someone that he knew was in the market for an Audi and they drove to Prattville to look at the vehicle. The purchaser gave him a down payment for the car and left his F-150 with Malone to hold temporarily until he could return to pick it up. Malone did not wait for the owner to return, instead, he listed the truck on Instagram and sold it to another individual. Ultimately, the Audi was returned to the dealership and the truck to the Audi purchaser. However, neither victim recovered their losses.
Malone will have a sentencing hearing scheduled in the next few months where he will face up to 20 years in prison. He also faces monetary penalties and restitution.
“Malone was motivated by greed and arrogance,” stated U.S. Attorney Franklin. “He carried out his schemes with no apparent fear of being caught and held accountable. However, thanks to our law enforcement partners, his victims will get the justice they deserve. This case is a stark reminder that we must always be vigilant and exercise caution when making purchases through online websites such as these.”
“These types of scam artists have become all too comfortable operating in the business world,” stated FBI Special Agent in Charge James Jewell. “It is imperative that the victims report these crimes to the authorities immediately so the FBI can work to assist our state and local partners bring justice to the victims that so often have a large monetary loss.”
“We certainly appreciate the cooperation and support we get from our federal partners,” stated Prattville Police Chief Mark Thompson. “This was a very in depth and widespread investigation that may not have been possible without the assets of the FBI and the U.S Attorney’s Office. Although his crimes may not have been violent, Malone’s actions financially hurt many people and I am glad that he will be held accountable.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Prattville Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Bates is prosecuting this case.
Plymouth Man Sentenced to 102 Months’ Imprisonment for Heroin TraffickingRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on February 18, 2020, United States District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion sentenced Floyd Powell III, age 36, of Plymouth, Pennsylvania, to 102 months’ imprisonment for heroin trafficking.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Powell distributed between 100 and 400 grams of heroin between February and November 2017. That equates to between approximately 4,000 and 16,000 individual doses of heroin. Over 1,600 dosage bags were seized during the execution of a search warrant on Powell’s residence, along with $11,000 cash and an illegally-possessed handgun.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Hanover Township Police Department, and the Kingston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean A. Camoni 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.
This case was also brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.
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One Indicted, One Sentenced for Firearms Offenses in Sacramento and FairfieldRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As part the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California’s strategy to reduce violent crime by focusing on firearms prosecutions, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced an indictment and a recent sentencing involving illegal firearms offenses.
Tommy Walker, 43, of Sacramento, was charged today with being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, on Nov. 22, 2019, law enforcement officers found a Jimenez Arms .380 semi-automatic handgun in Walker’s bedroom. Walker has several prior felony convictions—including four prior felon-in-possession-of-a-firearm convictions—which prohibit him from possessing a firearm. This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, and the Sacramento Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron D. Pennekamp is prosecuting the case. (2:20-cr-039)
If convicted, Walker faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Jedidiah Nathaniel Smith, 40, of Fairfield, was sentenced on Feb. 10 to two years and six months in prison for possessing a firearm as a felon. Smith pleaded guilty in April 2019. According to court records, on Dec. 5, 2018, law enforcement officers stopped a car Smith was traveling in for having an expired registration. After the officers spoke with Smith, they learned that he had four outstanding warrants for his arrest. The officers asked Smith to get out of the car, and he complied, but when he got out of the car, Smith was carrying a loaded revolver in his waistband. Smith cannot lawfully possess firearms or ammunition because he has previously been convicted of five felony offenses. This case was the product of an investigation by the Suisun City Police Department, with special assistance from the FBI’s Solano County Violent Crimes Task Force and the Solano County District Attorney’s Office. (2:19-cr-039)
These cases are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.
The cases are 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.
Ohio man sentenced for cocaine chargeRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Tajuan Smith, of Canal Winchester, Ohio, was sentenced today to 16 months incarceration for distributing cocaine, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Smith, also known as “Poe,” age 20, pled guilty to one count of “Distribution of Cocaine Base Within 1,000 Feet of a Protected Location” in June 2019. Smith admitted to selling cocaine near Jensen Playground in Wheeling in June 2018.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen L. Vogrin prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Ohio Valley Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, and the West Virginia State Police investigated.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.
Oakland Man Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Possessing Former San Francisco Deputy Sheriff’s FirearmRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Antoine Lamar Fowler was sentenced to 30 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Richard Seeborg, U.S. District Judge.
Fowler, 34, of Oakland, Calif., pleaded guilty on May 14, 2019, to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). On June 26, 2019, a federal jury convicted Fowler’s co-defendant, former Deputy Sheriff April Myres, 55, of San Francisco, Calif., of mail and wire fraud following an eight-day trial. According to the evidence presented at Myres’ trial, Fowler was arrested while in possession of a firearm issued by the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department (SFSD) to Myres.
The evidence presented at trial demonstrated Myres and Fowler began a romantic relationship while Fowler was an inmate at the San Francisco County Jail and under Myres’ supervision. After Fowler was released from custody in January 2016, he moved in with Myres at her San Francisco home. On March 25, 2016, Myres reported a burglary of her home to the San Francisco Police Department. As part of her report to the police, she claimed numerous items were stolen, including her SFSD-issued firearm and radio and a number of luxury goods.
In May 2016, Myres filed an insurance claim under her homeowner’s insurance policy. Myres asserted in her insurance claim that she was entitled to over $67,000 in reimbursement for all of the items stolen. The evidence at trial demonstrated that Myres’ insurance claim included numerous false statements. For example, Myres falsely claimed she owned the SFSD-issued firearm and SFSD-issued radio that she claimed had been stolen; and she provided false details about the purchase prices and locations of the allegedly stolen items to bolster her claim. Myres also falsely claimed that three luxury items—a Louis Vuitton purse, a pair of Gucci boots, and a fox fur vest—were stolen; however, all three items were located in her house when the FBI conducted a search in February 2017. The FBI arrested Myres and Fowler on February 2, 2017. When Fowler was arrested, the FBI found Myres’ SFSD-issued firearm in his possession.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Seeborg ordered Fowler to serve three years of supervised release to begin after his prison term is concluded.
Judge Seeborg ordered Fowler released on a $50,000 bond until he surrenders to begin serving his prison term on or before March 31, 2020.
For her part in the events, Judge Seeborg sentenced Myres on November 19, 2019, to 14 months in prison for committing mail and wire fraud.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura Vartain and Nicholas Walsh are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Helen Yee, Kimberly Richardson, Margoth Turcios, Rosario Calderon, Sutton Pierce, and Ian Meader. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.
North Dakota Man Is Arrested on Multiple Federal Charges for Alleged Investment SchemeRead the Press Release
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – A criminal bill of indictment has been unsealed in federal court in Asheville following the arrest of Mark Nicholas Pyatt in North Dakota, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. The indictment charges the 40-year-old former resident of Haywood County with securities fraud, wire fraud, investment adviser fraud, and money laundering.
Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Charlotte; Robert Schurmeier, Director of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; and Sheriff Greg Christopher of the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to allegations contained in the indictment, beginning as early as October 2017, and continuing through at least February 2019, Pyatt, often using the alias Daniel G. Randolph, solicited friends and acquaintances to invest their money in a “communal account,” or “fund,” held by his company, Winston Reed Investments, LLC (WRI). As alleged in the indictment, Pyatt represented to his victim-investors that he had made significant amounts of money through his own investing and day trading activities, and that he wanted to invest the victims’ money using a similar strategy so that they could experience the same wealth that he enjoyed.
The indictment alleges that, in order to induce the victims to part with their money, Pyatt made a number of false and fraudulent representations. Pyatt told the investors that he would make trades with the investors’ money on a daily basis, that he would be trading futures and forex, and that he would specialize in energy-related stocks. Pyatt also falsely promised large returns on investments, assuring victims that the “low average expected return on investments” would be 15% per month, with a goal of a return of 100% in three to four months. Pyatt represented to his victims that he would receive a fee for WRI’s services of just 10% of all gains, and that he would not charge his investors any fees if he did not make a profit.
According to the allegations in the indictment, contrary to the promises he made to his victim-investors, Pyatt simply stole the vast majority of the investors’ money. The indictment alleges that Pyatt misappropriated over $100,000 to pay for personal expenses, including jewelry, groceries, cigars, and a Chevrolet Corvette. Pyatt also withdrew tens of thousands of dollars in cash, and made several Ponzi-style payments to his investors, falsely implying that the returned funds were trading profits.
As alleged in the indictment, Pyatt perpetuated the fraud by making misrepresentations to victim-investors about the fund’s performance. For example, for months, Pyatt regularly provided his investors with false updates that purported to describe his trading activity and the considerable positive returns he was earning on their investments. Then, in February 2019, after reporting substantial monthly gains to his investors for more than a year, Pyatt allegedly notified his investors by email that a “complete and catastrophic” loss had occurred, and that their money was gone. Pyatt allegedly claimed that he was investigating the loss with the assistance of a forensics firm, and he told his investors that the loss was due to a technical oversight or failure by the brokerage firm holding the investment account. According to the indictment, all of these representations were false; in reality, the money was gone because Pyatt spent it.
The indictment further alleges that, during at least a substantial portion of the scheme, Pyatt resided in Haywood County and targeted local victims. In total, the indictment alleges that Pyatt stole at least $218,000 from his victim investors, many of whom were at, or near, retirement age.
Pyatt had his initial appearance in the U.S. District Court in the District of North Dakota, and will have a court appearance in the Western District of North Carolina at a later date.
The wire fraud charge carries a maximum prison term of 20 years and a maximum fine that is the greatest of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss. The securities fraud charge carries a maximum prison term of 20 years and a maximum fine of $5,000,000. The maximum penalty for the investment adviser fraud charge is five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The money laundering charge carries a maximum prison term of 10 years and a maximum fine that is the greater of $250,000 or twice the amount of criminally derived property involved in the transaction.
All charges contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Today, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) also announced separate civil actions filed with the U.S. District Court in the Western District of North Carolina against WRI and Pyatt.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray commended the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office, the SBI, and HSI for their aid in the investigation of the criminal case, and thanked the CFTC and SEC for their continued cooperation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Bradley, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville, is in charge of the prosecution.
In March 2019, Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, announced the Office’s Elder Justice Initiative, which aims to combat elder financial exploitation by expanding efforts to investigate and prosecute financial scams that target seniors; educate older adults on how to identify scams and avoid becoming victims of financial fraud; and promote greater coordination with law enforcement partners. For more information please visit: /usao-wdnc/elder-justice-initiative
Norfolk Man Sentenced for Child Pornography and Methamphetamine OffensesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Joe Kelly announced that Nicholas Weaver, 34, of Norfolk, Nebraska, was sentenced today in federal court in Omaha for receiving child pornography and distributing methamphetamine. Chief United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Weaver to 76 months’ imprisonment for receiving child pornography and a concurrent 70-month term for distributing methamphetamine. There is no parole in the federal prison system. After his release from prison, Weaver will serve an eight-year term of supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender. Weaver was ordered to pay $8,000 in restitution to the four minor victims whose images were among the child pornography in his collection.
In September 2017, Weaver received images of child pornography through email. He also used an internet messaging service and responded to a Craigslist posting soliciting additional child pornography. In February 2018, he distributed 13 videos and 26 image files of child pornography using a cloud storage link. On December 10, 2018, Weaver was confronted by Homeland Security Investigations. His phone was seized and 200 images of child pornography were discovered.
In February 2019, Weaver was identified through a confidential informant as a methamphetamine dealer who had sold the informant 10 to 12 ounces of methamphetamine in the preceding month. A search warrant was served on Weaver’s home in Norfolk. Seventy grams of methamphetamine were found. Weaver admitted to receiving 6 pounds of methamphetamine in the course of the past year.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Nebraska State Patrol.
Nashua Woman Pleads Guilty to Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
CONCORD - Autumn St. John, 27, of Nashua, pleaded guilty in federal court on Wednesday to drug trafficking, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 29, 2018, a cooperating individual, at the direction of the Nashua Police Department, purchased fentanyl from St. John. Later, on June 3, 2019, a Nashua detective on patrol watched St. John make a hand-to-hand sale of fentanyl. After being arrested, St. John admitted that she had just sold drugs to a customer.
St. John is scheduled to be sentenced on May 27, 2020.
“Fentanyl is a dangerous drug that is damaging lives throughout New Hampshire,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “Through Operation S.O.S., we are working with the Nashua Police Department and all of our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute those who are distributing fentanyl and other deadly drugs in Hillsborough County.”
This matter was investigated by the Nashua Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joachim Barth.
This case is part of Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (S.O.S.). In July of 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the creation of S.O.S., which is being implemented in the District of New Hampshire and nine other federal districts. The goal of S.O.S. is to combat the large number of overdoses and deaths associated with fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. In New Hampshire, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is focusing its efforts on prosecuting synthetic opioid trafficking cases arising in Hillsborough County, which includes Manchester and Nashua.
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More Defendants, Charges Added to Heroin/Fentanyl ConspiracyRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Additional charges and more defendants have been added to two federal indictments that now charge a total of 21 defendants for their roles in separate conspiracies to distribute heroin and fentanyl in the Springfield, Missouri, area, resulting in the overdose deaths of at least two people.
Most of the defendants were arrested in a coordinated law enforcement sweep in November 2019 and originally charged in a series of federal criminal complaints, which were followed up by initial indictments in December 2019. Among the defendants who were arrested and charged in November and December 2019, 19 defendants along with two new defendants were charged in two separate superseding indictments this week (six other defendants have been indicted in separate, but related, cases).
According to court documents, the Drug Enforcement Administration and local law enforcement partners launched an investigation into the drug-trafficking organization in June 2019. Affidavits cite numerous undercover and controlled drug purchases, as well as seizures of heroin, fentanyl, and large amounts of cash. Heroin and fentanyl, the affidavits say, were sold to Springfield residents by suppliers in Chicago, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri.
Two additional defendants were charged in one of the two separate, but related, superseding indictments returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Tuesday, Feb. 18, for a total of 21 defendants in those two cases. The superseding indictments also include additional charges against several defendants related to drug trafficking and illegally possessing firearms, including a new charge in each of the two cases related to overdose deaths that resulted from fentanyl trafficking.
Sheron Loggins, also known as “Bane,” 47, of Florissant, Missouri; Jerry Bedell, also known as “d’Andre,” 29, his father, Jerry Wheeler, also known as “Love,” 44, his significant other, Bethany Rice, 29, all of Springfield, Missouri, and his mother, Nichole Bedell, 48, of Nixa, Missouri; and Delante Worsham, 35, Crystal J. Hill, 23, William Leath, also known as “Chill,” 44, Marquise Martin, 29, Robin Roberts, 50, and Laurel J. Lindsey, also known as “Mama,” 47, all of Springfield, were among those charged in November and December 2019. They, along with additional defendants Solomon Hodges, also known as “Little Daddy,” 60, and Cordaroe D. Sims, 33, all of Springfield, were charged in a 30-count superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield.
Additionally, Worsham, Hill, and Hodges are charged together in one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl that caused the death of another person (who is not identified in court documents) and one count of distributing fentanyl on or about Sept. 23, 2018, that caused the death of this person.
In a separate but related case, Derrick E. Dailey, also known as “Cuzzo,” 34, William C. Farisse, also known as “Wack,” 33, Roderick L. Stewart, 35, Antwanae L. Morgan, 29, Robert D. Everette, 40, and Dominique Glosson, 26, all of Springfield, were among those charged in November and December 2019. All six are now named in a 16-count superseding indictment, which includes additional charges, returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield.
Additionally, Farisse and Everett also are charged together in one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, the use of which caused the death of another person (who is not identified in court documents), and one count of distributing fentanyl on or about Oct. 17, 2019, which caused the death of this person.
USA v. Loggins, et al
The federal indictment charges each of the 15 defendants with participating in a conspiracy to distribute a kilogram or more of heroin and/or 400 grams or more of fentanyl in Christian and Greene counties from Sept. 23, 2018, to Nov. 14, 2019.
In addition to the conspiracy, Crawford is charged with three counts of possessing heroin or fentanyl with the intent to distribute, two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Crawford allegedly possessed an Armscor of the Philippines 9mm semi-automatic pistol on Dec. 3, 2018, and a Lorcin .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol on Jan. 15, 2019.
Leath is also charged with possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, possessing firearms in furtherance of drug-trafficking crimes, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Leath allegedly possessed an RG .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol and a Ruger .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol on Dec. 14, 2018, and a Ruger 9mm semi-automatic pistol on May 22, 2019.
Martin is also charged with two counts related to distributing fentanyl. Worsham, Sims, and Lindsey are each also charged with one count of possessing heroin and/or fentanyl with the intent to distribute.
Hodges is also charged with one count of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school. Hodges is also charged with one count of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug-trafficking crimes, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Hodges allegedly possessed a Kel-Tec .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol on June 4, 2019.Bedell is also charged with two counts of distributing heroin and/or fentanyl, one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of drug-trafficking crimes, and one count of being a felon in possession of firearms. Bedell allegedly possessed a .223-caliber semi-automatic pistol without a serial number, a Springfield Armory .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol, and a Ruger .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol on Sept. 12, 2019.
Wheeler is also charged with possessing firearms in furtherance of drug-trafficking crimes and being a felon in possession of firearms. Wheeler allegedly possessed a Sig Sauer .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol, an Izhmash .308-caliber semi-automatic rifle, and a Hi-Point 9mm semi-automatic pistol on Nov. 14, 2019.
Hill is also charged with attempting to escape from the custody of a DEA agent after being arrested.
USA v. Dailey, et al
Each of the six defendants were charged with participating in a conspiracy to distribute a kilogram or more of heroin and/or 400 grams or more of fentanyl in Greene County from Mar. 27, 2018, to Nov. 14, 2019.
In addition to the drug-trafficking conspiracies, Farisse is charged with three counts of distributing heroin and/or fentanyl, two counts of possessing heroin and/or fentanyl with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Farisse allegedly was in possession of a Ruger .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol on Nov. 14, 2019.
Glosson is also charged with one count of possessing heroin with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and two counts of being an unlawful user of controlled substances (heroin) in possession of firearms. Glosson was allegedly in possession of a Springfield 9mm semi-automatic pistol and an SCCY 9mm semi-automatic pistol on March 7, 2019. Glosson was allegedly in possession of a Ruger 9mm semi-automatic pistol and a Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol on Oct. 23, 2019.
Stewart is also charged with one count of distributing heroin and/or fentanyl.
Morgan is also charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Morgan allegedly possessed an SCCY 9mm semi-automatic pistol on Nov. 14, 2019.
The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require the defendants to forfeit to the government any property derived from the proceeds of the alleged drug-trafficking conspiracy, including $2,200 seized by law enforcement from Glosson’s residence on March 7, 2019; $11,266 seized by law enforcement from a vehicle occupied by Dailey and Morgan on Nov. 14, 2019; $5,214 seized by law enforcement from Farisse’s hotel room on Nov. 14, 2019; and $4,400 belonging to Dailey, which was seized by law enforcement during the search of a residence on Nov. 27, 2019.
The charges contained in these indictments are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Byron H. Black and Josephine L. Stockard and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Keller. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Springfield, Missouri, Police Department; the Greene County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Department; the Phelps County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Department; the Bourbon, Missouri, Police Department; and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
OCDETF
This case is part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program. The OCDETF program is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s drug supply reduction strategy. OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.Monroe, N.C. Man Is Sentenced to More Than Eight Years for Firearms OffenseRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Chief U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney sentenced today Marcus Damar Massey, 34, of Monroe, N.C. to 100 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release for a firearms offense, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Charlotte, and Chief J. Bryan Gilliard of the Monroe Police Department, join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
On September 5, 2019, Massey pleaded guilty to possessing two firearms, a loaded 12 gauge shotgun, and a 9mm pistol. Massey has prior felony convictions and is prohibited from possessing a firearm and ammunition. At today’s sentencing hearing, Massey received an enhanced sentence in accordance with the United States Sentencing Guidelines, based on evidence presented by the government in support of an attempted murder enhancement. According to information contained in court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, Massey was found in possession of the two weapons on May 12, 2018. At the time, officers with the Monroe Police Department were investigating a shooting incident that occurred two weeks prior on April 29, 2018, at the intersection of Fairly Avenue and Morgan Mill Road, in Monroe. Law enforcement officers investigating the incident collected five 9mm shell casings at the scene, and observed three bullet holes in the passenger side of the vehicle driven by the victim. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement identified Massey as the shooter and the 9mm pistol as the weapon used in the April 29th shooting.
Massey is currently in custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked HSI and the Monroe Police Department for handling the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Bozin, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
Mississippi Tax Return Preparer Sentenced to Prison for Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
A Macon, Mississippi, tax return preparer was sentenced to 16 months in prison today for aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of a false tax return, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst for the Southern District of Mississippi.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from approximately January 2012 through April 2016, Shelleen Ivory-Farmer managed ABS Tax Services, a tax preparation business in Macon, Mississippi. Through the firm, Ivory-Farmer falsified clients’ tax returns by claiming false education credits, itemized deductions, and business and farming losses to fraudulently increase client refunds paid by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The tax loss resulting from the false education credits alone was more than $870,000. The total tax loss caused by Ivory-Farmer was more than $1.1 million.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III ordered Ivory-Farmer to serve one year of supervised release and to pay $236,887 in restitution to the United States.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Hurst thanked special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney William Montague of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Chalk, who prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the Division’s website.
Milledgeville, Georgia Tax Preparer Sentenced for Tax Fraud, Ordered to Repay $1 MillionRead the Press Release
MACON, Ga. – The former owner of Mr. Tax, Etc., a tax preparation business, was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay $1,000,000 in restitution after admitting he manipulated and falsified client information on filed tax returns, announced Charles “Charlie” Peeler, the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. Willie Moore, Jr., 48, of Braselton, Georgia, previously entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States on Thursday, September 12, 2019 and was sentenced on Wednesday, February 12, 2020 by U.S. District Judge Tilman “Tripp” Self to 33 months in prison and ordered to pay $1,000,000 in restitution to the IRS. A co-defendant in the case, James Prather, 47, of Douglasville, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count Conspiracy to Defraud the United States on May 8, 2019, causing a $1,000,000 loss to the United States Government. Prather faces a maximum five years in prison and will be sentenced on February 26, 2020. Both defendants agreed to no longer prepare or file federal tax returns for anyone other than themselves. There is no parole in the federal system.
“The punishment is steep for those who steal from the tax payers and the government,” said Charlie Peeler, the U.S. Attorney. “Protecting tax payers from government fraud is a priority of this office, and we will continue to work closely with the IRS, the Southeast Scheme Development Center and our many other law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute fraud crimes across the Middle District of Georgia.”
“This sentence should serve as a warning to any tax return preparer considering exploiting their clients for profit: You will be caught, you will be prosecuted, and you will pay a steep price for your actions,” said Andrew Thornton, Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “IRS-CI remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to bring those seeking to enrich themselves at the expense of the government and their clients, to justice.”
“Today’s sentence sends a strong message to those who abuse the bankruptcy system,” said Nancy J. Gargula, U.S. Trustee for Georgia, Florida, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (Region 21). “Causing taxpayers to provide false tax returns and documents in connection with their bankruptcy cases undermines the integrity of the system and will not be tolerated. We appreciate the commitment of U.S. Attorney Peeler and our law enforcement partners to holding those who abuse the bankruptcy system accountable.”
Co-defendants and business partners Mr. Moore and Mr. Prather orchestrated a tax refund scheme through Mr. Moore’s tax return preparation business AMAB Enterprises, d/b/a/ Mr. Tax, Etc., a storefront location on North Columbia Street in Milledgeville, Georgia. Investigators identified a total of 5,529 suspicious federal income tax returns for the 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 tax years, and a high percentage of returns, 97%, receiving a refund. Mr. Moore admitted in his guilty plea agreement that to increase a client’s tax returns, he would manipulate the taxpayer’s returns by listing fraudulent businesses, profits, educational expenses, and household income. Most of the clients interviewed stated that their income tax returns were not explained to them nor were they reviewed with them. Some clients never even received a copy of their returns or were given partial copies missing pages, parts, or schedules. Bank records show more than $400,000 in transfers to the defendants, the profits of the tax refund scheme.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Criminal Investigation Division and the IRS’s Southeast Scheme Development Center. The charges resulted, in part, from a referral by the U.S. Trustee for Region 21 to the U.S. Attorney. The U.S. Trustee Program is the component of the Justice Department that protects the integrity of the bankruptcy system by overseeing case administration and litigating to enforce the bankruptcy laws. Region 21 is headquartered in Atlanta, with additional offices in Macon and Savannah, Georgia; Miami, Orlando, Tallahassee and Tampa, Florida; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Shanelle Booker prosecuted the case for the Government. Questions can be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603 or Melissa Hodges, Public Affairs Director (Contractor), United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 765-2362.
Metairie Man Sentenced in Connection with Guilty Plea to Conspiracy to Distribute OxycodoneRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that AARON JEFFREY DENN, age 35, a resident of Metairie, Louisiana was sentenced on February 18, 2020 by U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey in connection with his guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone to three years’ probation, with conditions that the first 12 months be served on home confinement and that DENN perform 100 hours of community service. Judge Zainey additionally imposed a fine of $6,000.
According to court documents, between March and April 2019, DENN admitted to conspiring to distribute oxycodone pills, which he obtained unlawfully on the black market. DENN admitted to selling oxycodone pills and charging approximately $25 to $35 per pill. On April 4, 2019, DENN admitted to selling pills for approximately $6,000. According to court documents, unbeknownst to DENN, those pills contained a mixture of heroin and tramadol. Additionally, DENN agreed to forfeit approximately $62,002.
U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office for their work investigating the case.
The case is being prosecuted by Jared Hasten of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant United States Attorney Myles Ranier.
Member of Eastern European Organized Crime Syndicate Sentenced to 198 Months’ Imprisonment for Racketeering and Other Violent CrimesRead the Press Release
Aleksey Tsvetkov, a leader of a violent, Brooklyn-based Eastern European organized crime syndicate that operated primarily in the Sheepshead Bay, Brighton Beach and Coney Island neighborhoods, was sentenced today in federal court in Brooklyn to 198 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay $1,145,339.90 in restitution following his conviction for racketeering – including predicate acts of illegal gambling, extortion, arson and marijuana distribution – and wire fraud and pistol-whipping. Tsvetkov and co-defendant Leonid Gershman were convicted following a three-week jury trial in August 2018. Today’s proceeding was held before United States District Judge Brian M. Cogan.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Ray Donovan, Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division (DEA), and Jonathan D. Larsen, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI), announced the sentence.
“Today’s sentence appropriately punishes Tsvetkov, whose crime syndicate inflicted violence on three Brooklyn communities, including an arson that destroyed an occupied building and endangered its residents and New York City firefighters,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “This Office, together with our law enforcement partners, will continue to deploy all resources necessary to rid our neighborhoods of violent organized crime groups.”
“Last summer, Aleksey Tsvetkov and his co-defendant Leonid Gershman were convicted for a litany of violent crimes and racketeering that reached from Brooklyn to abroad,” stated DEA Special Agent-in-Charge Donovan. “This sentence exemplifies law enforcement’s commitment to saving lives by arresting and prosecuting members of criminal organizations who place neighborhoods in peril through violence, drug trafficking and criminal threats.”
“Organized criminal organizations like the one led by Tsvetkov negatively impact the standard of living for the citizens living in those areas where they operate, causing harm and fear in their neighborhoods,” stated IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge Larsen. “IRS Criminal Investigation and our law enforcement partners will continue to be relentless in our resolve to dismantle organized criminal groups and bring the criminals who run them to justice.”
Between 2011 and May 2017, Tsvetkov and his co-conspirators, born in states of the former Soviet Union, including Russia, Ukraine and Moldova, operated as a racketeering syndicate. The syndicate members were linked to high-level members of Russian organized crime, known as “thieves in law,” or “thieves,” who authorized syndicate members to use violence in the United States and abroad to protect their criminal activities.
As established at trial, in 2016, Tsvetkov partnered in an illegal high-stakes poker game on Coney Island Avenue that generated substantial profits for the syndicate. In the spring of 2016, Tsvetkov and other syndicate members enlisted two co-conspirators to set fire to a mixed-use a building on Voorhies Avenue that housed a rival poker game on the ground floor. Two residents of the building, including a young boy, were trapped inside by the resulting fire, and had to be rescued by firefighters. Both residents and firefighters suffered smoke inhalation, and one firefighter’s injuries required multiple surgeries. The families living in the building were displaced due to fire damage.
The syndicate also preyed upon extortion victims. For example, to find an extortion victim who owed the syndicate more than $40,000, a co-conspirator enlisted the help of “thieves” in Russia to track down the victim’s father in Moscow. Subsequently, after locating the victim, a co-conspirator was recorded on a wiretap stating, the “Thieves have found him . . . in Israel,” and “they were at [his] place today.” The co-conspirators regularly reported to Tsvetkov as debt payments were collected from the victim.
In connection with a separate extortion, the government recovered Tsvetkov’s cell phone and found a video of Tsvetkov beating the extortion victim into near unconsciousness. Tsvetkov kept the video as a souvenir.
In July 2012, Tsvetkov, Gershman and a co-conspirator beat a member of a rival criminal organization, known as the “Kafkaz Crew,” whom they suspected of stealing marijuana and thousands of dollars from the syndicate’s stash house on Ocean Avenue. Tsvetkov grabbed a handgun from the co-conspirator and jammed it in the victim’s mouth, knocking out several of his teeth. On December 3, 2019, Gershman was sentenced to 198 months’ imprisonment for racketeering.
Mr. Donoghue expressed his grateful appreciation to the members of DEA’s New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force, comprising agents and officers of the DEA; New York City Police Department; New York State Police; Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations; IRS-CI; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; U.S. Secret Service; U.S. Marshals Service; New York National Guard; Clarkstown Police Department; U.S. Coast Guard; Port Washington Police Department; and New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision for their roles in the investigation, and thanked the New York City Fire Department for its investigation of the arson and its heroic efforts in rescuing the residents who were trapped in the building during the fire.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Andrey Spektor and Sarah Evans are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
ALEKSEY TSVETKOV (also known as “Pelmin,” “Pulya,” “Lesha” and “Lyosha”)
Age: 40
Brooklyn, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 16-CR-553 (S-4) (BMC)
Maryland Man Sentenced to Sixteen Months in Prison for Carrying Out A Fraud Scheme and Making A False Statement to the FBIRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – James Benjamin, 58, of Ellicott City, Maryland, was sentenced Tuesday to sixteen months in prison and ordered to pay $74,500 in restitution by U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman of the District of Columbia. Following his prison term, Benjamin will serve a term of three years of supervised release.
The announcement was made Tuesday, February 18, 2020 by U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Shea and Timothy M. Dunham, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Washington Field Office.
Previously, on March 28, 2019, Benjamin pled guilty to engaging in a scheme with intent to defraud, and to thereby unlawfully obtaining over $100,000 for his own personal enrichment. Benjamin also pled guilty to making a false statement to the FBI, after the FBI had seized approximately $450,000 that Benjamin had obtained from investors. In connection with the guilty plea, Benjamin admitted that he had falsely told the FBI that the $450,000 had been “held in trust” for the benefit of an investor, when in fact Benjamin kept the funds in his own bank account.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Demian Ahn of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. The case was investigated and indicted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Demian Ahn and Thomas Swanton, with assistance from Paralegal Specialists Jessica McCormick and Chela Okonji.
Martinsburg man admits to failure to register as a sex offender chargeRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Andrew Reed Cumbie, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, has admitted to a failure to register charge, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Cumbie, age 38, pled guilty to one count of “Failure to Register.” Cumbie, having been convicted of a sex offense in the Circuit Court of Melheur County, Oregon, admitted to traveling interstate commerce and not registering and updating his registration as a sex offender. The crime occurred in Berkeley County from November 16 to December 11, 2017.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara K. Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The case was investigated by the United States Marshal Service.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.Manchester Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
CONCORD - Jai Britt, 45, of Manchester, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for drug trafficking on Wednesday, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in November, 2018, a cooperating individual disclosed to the Manchester Police Department that Britt had been selling the individual crack cocaine and heroin multiple times per week over the past month.
On November 29, 2018, at the direction of law enforcement officers, the cooperating individual made a call to Britt to purchase drugs and then purchased fentanyl from Britt at Britt’s apartment.
On December 11, 2018, Britt was arrested outside his apartment. During a search of his apartment, officers found approximately 135grams of crack cocaine, 194 grams of cocaine, and 1.5 grams of heroin.
“Drug traffickers cause tremendous damage to public health and safety,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “Through Operation S.O.S., we are working with the Manchester Police Department and other law enforcement partners to identify, prosecute, and incarcerate the drug traffickers who are jeopardizing public safety with their unlawful conduct.”
This matter was investigated by the Manchester Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joachim Barth.
This case is part of Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (S.O.S.). In July of 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the creation of S.O.S., which is being implemented in the District of New Hampshire and nine other federal districts. The goal of S.O.S. is to combat the large number of overdoses and deaths associated with fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. In New Hampshire, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is focusing its efforts on prosecuting synthetic opioid trafficking cases arising in Hillsborough County, which includes Manchester and Nashua.
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Man Sentenced for Threatening to Blow up his Apartment Building as a Means of IntimidationRead the Press Release
A man who threatened to destroy his apartment building by means of fire and explosive materials during a domestic dispute has been sentenced today in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Trent Shores.
Chief U.S. District Judge John E. Dowdell sentenced Charles Michael Fox, 44, of Tulsa, to 35 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Fox pleaded guilty in December 2019, to receiving and transporting explosive materials with intent to intimidate.
“In an effort to intimidate his wife, Charles Fox sprayed propane on her and throughout his apartment, threatening to blow them up. This fit of domestic rage put at risk the lives of others and resulted in a nearly three year federal prison sentence,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. “I especially want to commend the first responders who quickly and professionally handled this potentially life threatening situation. Job well done by the Tulsa Police Department’s Bomb Squad and Special Operations Division; Tulsa Fire Department’s Engine and Ladder 23 and HAZMAT crews; Emergency Medical Services Authority; and the ATF.”
The incident began on Sept. 29, 2019, at the French Villa Apartments, located on Harvard Avenue in Tulsa, and lasted until early the next morning. In his plea agreement, Fox admitted to possessing propane contained in two propane tanks, one of which was modified with a gas hose attached to a regulator valve, enabling it to spray propane. Fox took the propane tanks into his apartment where he sprayed the propane and threatened to blow up the apartment complex in an effort to intimidate his wife.
The Tulsa Police Department’s Bomb Squad and Special Operations Division; Tulsa Fire Department’s Engine and Ladder 23 and HAZMAT crews; Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA); and Oklahoma Natural Gas responded to the incident. The Tulsa Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert T. Raley prosecuted the case. AUSA Raley is the National Security Anti-Terrorism (ATAC) Prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Oklahoma.
Madison Man Sentenced to 150 Months for Robberies & Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. - Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Willie Champ, 19, Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William Conley to 150 months for two gun charges and 11 robberies. Champ pleaded guilty to these charges on October 30, 2019.
Between June 2018 and May 2019, Champ robbed eleven convenience and liquor stores in Madison, Fitchburg, and Oregon, Wisconsin. During 10 of those robberies, he brandished guns. After the last robbery, police stopped his vehicle and recovered a realistic looking AK-47 type airsoft gun that was used in five of the robberies. Police later searched his residence where they found a Taurus 9mm pistol that was used in four of the robberies.
In addition to the robbery charges, Champ was charged with brandishing and using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. These gun charges carried a mandatory minimum of 12 years in federal prison. Champ was sentenced to an additional six months for the robberies.
At sentencing, Judge Conley noted the severity of these crimes, calling them terrifying offenses in which Champ targeted these businesses. Judge Conley recognized the effect of these crimes on the victims who experienced this violence and society as a whole living now in increased fear. Champ also faces charges for an additional nine robbery offenses in Dane County Circuit Court.
The charges against Champ were the result of an investigation conducted by the Madison, Fitchburg, Oregon, and Town of Madison Police Departments, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and with the assistance of the Dane County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Stephan handled the prosecution.
This indictment has been brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the U.S. Justice Department’s program to reduce violent crime. The PSN approach emphasizes coordination between state and federal prosecutors and all levels of law enforcement to address gun crime, especially felons illegally possessing firearms and ammunition, and violent crimes and drug crimes that involve the use of firearms.
Leader of Mt. Morris Cocaine Trafficking Ring Pleads GuiltyRead 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 Carlos Garcia Rivero, 45, of Mt. Morris, NY, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 28 grams or more of crack cocaine and 500 grams or more of cocaine. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, and a $5,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. McGrath, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant was the leader of a cocaine trafficking organization based in Mt. Morris, NY. Rivero obtained bulk quantities of powder cocaine to be distributed, at his direction, by a number of street level drug dealers as either powder or crack cocaine. The defendant would supply the street level drug dealers with pre-packaged quantities, which they would then sell to individual drug users.
Rivero was arrested by the FBI on February 20, 2019, as he arrived at JFK International Airport on a flight arriving from Colombia. Investigators located nearly 500 grams of powder cocaine hidden in the basement of the defendant’s residence on Chapel Street in Mt. Morris. Over $15,000 in cash was located at another premises utilized by the organization for its drug dealing activities.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert; the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office and the Livingston County Drug Task Force, under the direction of Sheriff Thomas Dougherty; and the Livingston County District Attorney’s Office, under the direction of Gregory J. McCaffrey.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 22, 2020, at 3:00 p.m. before Chief Judge Geraci.
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Lawrence Developer Sentenced for Violating Asbestos Disposal LawsRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. – A Lawrence developer was sentenced today to three months imprisonment for disposing of asbestos in violation of the Clean Air Act. In addition, the defendant was ordered to pay a $55,000 fine.
Thomas S. Fritzel, 54, Lawrence, Kan., was convicted on the following counts:
- Failing to notify authorities before removing asbestos (count two).
- Failing to keep asbestos wet during demolition to prevent air contamination (count three).
- Failing to dispose of asbestos in leak-tight containers (count four).
During trial, the government presented evidence that Fritzel violated federal laws for handling asbestos during demolition and renovations at the Alvamar Country Club in Lawrence. The government presented evidence to show that Fritzel knew that the roof of the country club contained 75 percent chrysotile asbestos. The previous owners, who sold the club to Fritzel in January 2016, had decided not to replace the roof because of the cost of abating the asbestos.
On October 19, 2016, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment told Fritzel to get a licensed asbestos contractor to remove asbestos from the site and dispose of it properly. On Oct. 25, 2016, KDHE inspected the site and determined asbestos debris had been removed and hauled to Hamm Landfill in Perry, Kan., which is not approved for asbestos disposal.
“The defendant was responsible for the safe – and legal – removal of material containing asbestos,” said Assistant Director Justin Oesterreich of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Kansas. “The defendant ignored regulations on the safe management of asbestos, putting workers and the general public at risk.”
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard commended the Environmental Protection Agency – Criminal Investigation Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Hathaway for their work on the case.
La Crosse Felon Sentenced to 50 Months for Possessing FirearmRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. - Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Yovon C. Boyd, 34, La Crosse, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William Conley to 50 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Boyd pleaded guilty to this charge on November 21, 2019.
On October 16, 2018, at 4:00 a.m., La Crosse police officers were dispatched to a domestic disturbance call. When they arrived at the residence, it was dark and they saw Boyd in the front yard sitting in a lawn chair. The officers illuminated the area with flashlights and their body-worn cameras captured Boyd reach into his pocket, pull out a gun, and throw it under the chair. The Bersa .380 pistol was later found there by officers. Boyd was on probation for a felony child abuse conviction.
At sentencing, Judge Conley remarked that Boyd’s gun possession endangered all those present at the residence and the responding police officers. Boyd’s daily use of crack cocaine exacerbated this risk, and Judge Conley said the situation had the potential to turn into an officer-involved shooting with disastrous results. Judge Conley assessed Boyd’s lengthy criminal record, which included six domestic related offenses, and past sentences. Boyd asked for leniency, indicating he was ready to make changes in his life. Judge Conley asked if Boyd had ever given similar speeches to judges before. Boyd admitted that he had. Judge Conley then found that a significant sentence was warranted based on Boyd’s criminal history, drug use, and the seriousness of this offense.
The charge against Boyd were the result of an investigation conducted by the La Crosse Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Stephan handled the prosecution.
This indictment has been brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the U.S. Justice Department’s program to reduce violent crime. The PSN approach emphasizes coordination between state and federal prosecutors and all levels of law enforcement to address gun crime, especially felons illegally possessing firearms and ammunition, and violent crimes and drug crimes that involve the use of firearms.
Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against the Village of Walthill, Nebraska, for Restrictions on Non-Denominational Christian Church Trying to Build a Place of WorshipRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today announced that it has filed a lawsuit against the Village of Walthill, Nebraska, alleging that the Village violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) by denying Light of the World Gospel Ministries, a non-denominational, multi-ethnic Christian congregation, a permit to construct a new church in the Village. The suit alleges that the Village imposed a substantial burden on the church’s religious exercise without adequate justification and treated the church worse than comparable nonreligious assemblies and institutions.
“Treating places of worship less favorably than nonreligious assemblies is unlawful discrimination against religious exercise,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that governments do not deny congregations their federally protected right to exercise their faith through construction of places of worship.”
“Walthill is obligated to treat religious assemblies and institutions on equal terms with nonreligious assemblies and institutions,” said Joe Kelly, United States Attorney for the District of Nebraska. “This complaint reflects our commitment to protect the religious liberties of all people in this district.”
The complaint, filed in the District of Nebraska, alleges that on Sept. 13, 2017, the Village of Walthill denied Light of the World’s application for a special use permit to construct a church on property it owns in a commercial district in downtown Walthill. During the same period, the Village approved construction of nonreligious places of assembly in the district, including a library and an education center.
The complaint alleges that the Village’s denial of Light of the World’s application for a special use permit to construct a church violates a provision of RLUIPA, known as the “equal terms” provision, that requires religious assemblies to be treated at least as well as nonreligious assemblies. The suit also alleges that the Village’s actions imposed a substantial burden on the church’s religious exercise in violation of another provision of the Act.
RLUIPA is a federal law that protects religious institutions from unduly burdensome or discriminatory land use regulations. In June 2018, the Justice Department announced its Place to Worship Initiative, which focuses on RLUIPA’s provisions protecting the rights of places of worship and other religious institutions to worship on their land. More information is available at www.justice.gov/crt/placetoworship.
In July 2018, the Department of Justice announced the formation of the Religious Liberty Task Force. The Task Force brings together Department components to coordinate their work on religious liberty litigation and policy, and to implement the Attorney General’s 2017 Religious Liberty Guidance.
Individuals who believe they have been subjected to discrimination in land use or zoning decisions may contact the Civil Rights Division Housing and Civil Enforcement Section at (800) 896-7743, or through the complaint portal on the Place to Worship Initiative website. More information about RLUIPA, including questions and answers about the law and other documents, may be found at http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/hce/rluipaexplain.php.
Jury convicts Helena woman of robbery over heroin traffickingRead the Press Release
HELENA—A jury on Thursday convicted a Helena woman accused of participating in an armed home invasion to rob a couple involved in trafficking heroin, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
The jury found Arielle Rose Cowser, 27, guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery affecting commerce and robbery affecting commerce. The jury acquitted Cowser of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Cowser faces a maximum 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and up to five years of supervised release. The three-day trial began on Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided. Sentencing is set for June 11. Cowser was released pending sentencing.
“Drug trafficking not only is illegal but also dangerous and leads to violence among those involved in the trade. We will prosecute drug-related robberies to the full extent of the law. I want to thank Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bartleson along with the FBI, Montana Regional Violent Crime Task Force, Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office and Missouri River Drug Task Force for investigating and prosecuting this case,” U.S. Attorney Alme said.
In evidence presented at trial, the prosecution said the FBI learned of a home invasion robbery in Helena in which the victims, a couple, were involved in trafficking heroin. Co-defendant Kielan Brett Franklin, who has pleaded guilty, provided the couple money to travel to Washington to buy an ounce of heroin. The couple returned to Montana with less than an ounce. When the couple did not immediately turn over the heroin, Franklin sent them threatening text messages.
On March 8, 2019, Cowser went to the victims’ residence and asked to enter, saying she had broken up with Franklin. The female victim let Cowser inside and a few minutes later, Cowser let in Franklin and two other co-defendants, Gerald Allen Hiler and Morgan Victor Pitsch. Hiler and Pitsch, who have pleaded guilty, wore masks.
Hiler brandished a handgun and Pitsch possessed one during the robbery. The defendants fled when they realized the female victim had called 911. The robbers took a small amount of heroin, the female victim’s wedding ring, her cell phone and a purse.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bartleson is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by FBI, Montana Regional Violent Crime Task Force, Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office and Missouri River Drug Task Force.
This case is part of Project Guardian, a Department of Justice initiative launched in the fall of 2019 to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Through Project Guardian, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Montana is working to enhance coordination of its federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement partners in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes. In addition, Project Guardian supports information sharing and taking action when individuals are denied a firearm purchase by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System for mental health reasons or because they are a prohibited person.
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Jury Convicts Man for Racketeering Conspiracy Involving MurderRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Portsmouth man today on charges of a racketeering conspiracy that included the murder of 23-year-old Delante Eley.
Rashaun Taylor, aka “Diablo”, 32, was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, discharge of a firearm resulting in death, felon in possession of a firearm, and distribution of heroin.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Taylor was a local leader of the Nine Trey Gangsters (NTG), a gang affiliated with the United Blood Nation. On March 11, 2014, after a series of incidents between Delante Eley and members of Taylor’s gang, Taylor followed Eley to his grandparents’ home, where Taylor shot and killed Eley. Two days later, Taylor and other NTG members were stopped by police while armed with a high-powered Romanian-made semi-automatic rifle. Portsmouth Police detectives executed a search warrant on Taylor’s house and recovered gang paraphernalia and his cell phone. The FBI analyzed Taylor’s phone, which had been turned off for the two hours surrounding the murder, and found that nearly two hundred calls placed between the time of the murder and the traffic stop had been deleted. A confidential informant later videotaped a gang meeting led by Taylor, and several days later Taylor was overheard by the FBI and Portsmouth Police via a wire transmitter admitting to the murder.
Taylor faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison when sentenced on May 20. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Operation Billy Club. The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. 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.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Angela Greene, Chief of Portsmouth Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson accepted the verdict. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John F. Butler, Andrew C. Bosse, and Joseph E. DePadilla are prosecuting 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-36.
Josephine County Man Pleads Guilty for Threatening Mass Shooting at YouTube HeadquartersRead the Press Release
MEDFORD, Ore.—William Gregory Douglas, 37, of Cave Junction, Oregon, pleaded guilty today for threatening to shoot YouTube employees at the company’s San Bruno, California headquarters after his account was removed for violating the video-sharing platform’s terms of service.
“Threatening a mass shooting is a serious crime whether or not an individual plans to act. This is a crime that undermines Americans’ fundamental right to live and work without fear,” said Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. “We will continue to diligently respond to and prosecute criminal threats of violence to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Using social media outlets to threaten violence of any kind victimizes individuals and undermines the safety of our communities,” said Renn Cannon, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oregon. “The FBI remains committed to working with our state and local partners to respond quickly to threats and keep our communities free from violence and intimidation.”
According to court documents, sometime on or before August 22, 2018, YouTube removed Douglas’ video channel for violating the platform’s terms of service. In response, on August 23, 2018, Douglas posted five tweets threatening violence against YouTube employees. In one of the tweets, Douglas threatened a “bigger mass casualty” event, appearing to reference a prior shooting incident at YouTube’s headquarters in April 2018 that injured three employees.
Later, on September 8, 2018, Douglas posted a tweet stating “Hey why do you guys keep ignoring me would it be better if I leave you with no other options like your [sic] leaving me…I’m beyond pissed…I wonder how I should deal with this frustration.” Finally, on September 17, 2018, Douglas tweeted a direct threat at one of YouTube’s senior leaders saying “…I’m coming for you today #pray.”
On October 4, 2018, a federal grand jury in Medford, Oregon returned a one-count indictment charging Douglas with cyberstalking. Later, on January 14, 2020, he was charged by criminal information with one count of making interstate communications with the intent to extort. Douglas pleaded guilty today to the latter charge.
As part of the plea agreement, Douglas has agreed to pay restitution in full to his victims as determined and ordered by the court at sentencing.
Douglas faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years’ supervised release. He will be sentenced on May 14, 2020 before U.S. District Court Judge Ann L. Aiken.
This case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Judi R. Harper, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Anyone with information about real or perceived threats of violence should call the FBI at (503) 224-4181 or submit a tip online at https://tips.fbi.gov. For immediate threats to life and safety, please call 9-1-1.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our department at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
Harrisburg Man Charged with Mail Thefts and FraudRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Princeton Flagg-Garrett, age 28, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was indicted on February 19, 2020, by a federal grand jury on bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and obstruction of correspondence charges.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the indictment alleges that Flagg-Garrett opened mail intended to be delivered through the U.S. Postal Service, took checks out of that mail, altered the payee and amounts on checks, and deposited those checks, resulting in unauthorized withdrawals from victims’ bank accounts. The total loss amount is over $8,700.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the United States Postal Service – Office of Inspector General (OIG). Assistant U.S. Attorney James T. Clancy is prosecuting the case.
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 maximum penalty under federal law for bank fraud is 30 years in prison; for aggravated identity theft, 2 years in prison consecutive to the prison term imposed for the underlying fraud; and for obstructing correspondence, 5 years in prison. Each offense also carries a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a 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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Hancock County man admits to his role in a drug conspiracyRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Antonio Dewayne Brown, of Weirton, West Virginia, has admitted to his role in a cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl distribution operation, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Brown, age 35, pled guilty to one count of “Aiding and Abetting Distribution of Cocaine Base.” Brown admitted to working with others to distribute cocaine base, also known as “crack,” in August 2018 in Hancock County.Brown faces up to 20 years incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Danae DeMasi-Lemon and Robert H. McWilliams, Jr. are prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Drug Enforcement Administration; the Hancock-Brooke-Weirton Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the West Virginia State Police; the Marshall County Drug & Violent Crimes task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; The Ohio Valley Drug & Violent Crimes task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Jefferson County, Ohio, Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force; the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office; the Brooke County Sheriff’s Office; the Weirton Police Department; and the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Police investigated.
The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.
U.S. Magistrate Judge James P. Mazzone presided.
Guatemala National Charged with Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Guatemalan national, previously convicted of kidnapping and murder, was charged yesterday in federal court in Boston with illegal reentry.
Ingrid Corzo-Armas, a/k/a Ingrid Sanchez, 49, was charged with one-count of illegal reentry. Corzo, who was arrested by ICE on Feb. 17, 2020, will appear in federal court in Boston on Friday, Feb. 21, 2020, for an initial appearance.
According to the charging document, in 1993, Corzo-Armas was convicted in California of kidnapping and murder and sentenced to state prison. After serving her sentence, she was placed into removal proceedings and deported to Guatemala on June 15, 1999. Sometime after her deportation, it is alleged that Corzo-Armas illegally reentered the United States and was most recently living in Lynn under the alias Ingrid Sanchez. On Feb 17, 2020, immigration officials encountered Corzo-Armas in Lynn and through the use of fingerprints established that she was illegally present in the United States. During a subsequent interview with law enforcement, Corzo-Armas admitted her alienage, her prior removal, and that she had illegally reentered the United States.
The charging statute for illegal reentry provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine up to $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; Todd Lyons, Acting Field Office Director, Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Boston; and Jason Molina, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent until and proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Grove City Man Charged with Providing False Info During the Purchase of a FirearmRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA - A Mercer County resident has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of violating the federal firearms law, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
The one-count Indictment, returned on February 18, 2020, named Karl Alexander, 79, of Grove City, Pennsylvania, as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment, on September 29, 2018, Alexander knowingly made a false statement to a licensed firearms dealer during the acquisition of a firearm, intending to deceive the dealer and purchase the firearm for another person.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than 10 years in prison, a fine of not more than $250,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case. This case was brought as part of Project Guardian. Reducing gun violence and enforcing federal firearms laws have always been among the Department of Justice’s highest priorities. Project Guardian serves as a complementary effort to the success of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Grant County man sentenced for methamphetamine distributionRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Joshua Richard Lofton, of Petersburg, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 78 months incarceration for methamphetamine distribution, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Lofton, age 34, pled guilty to one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine” in October 2019. Lofton admitted to having more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, also known as “crystal meth,” in Hardy county in October 2018.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Hardy County Department of Natural Resources, the West Virginia State Police, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated.
U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
Grand Jury - February 2020Read the Press Release
United States Attorney Joe Kelly announced the federal Grand Jury for the District of Nebraska has returned 28 Indictments charging 29 defendants. Indictments are charging documents that contain one or more individual counts that are merely accusations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
* Cesar Alcocer-Escamilla, age 34, is charged with illegal reentry after deportation following a felony conviction on or about February 11, 2020. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a three-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Felix Amaya, age 33, is charged with felon in possession of a firearm on or about February 14, 2020. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a three-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Arely Araus-Bonilla, age 43, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I charges the defendant with social security fraud on or about February 11, 2019. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a three-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges the defendant with fraud and misuse of visas and other documents on or about February 11, 2019. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a three-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment
* William Douglas Bean, age 67, of Lincoln, Nebraska, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I charges the defendant with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to deliver 500 grams or more of methamphetamine (mixture) beginning in January 1, 2018, and continuing through September 19, 2019. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is life imprisonment, $10,000,000 fine, five-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges the defendant with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine (mixture) on or about September 19, 2019. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is life imprisonment, $10,000,000 fine, five-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Vincente Camacho-Bustos, age 34, is charged with illegal reentry after deportation on or about February 6, 2020, following an aggravated felony conviction. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Drake C. Chrastil, Sr., age 50, of Omaha, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I charges the defendant with production of child pornography on or about January 2011 and continuing to on or about June 2011. The offense carries a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence and a maximum possible penalty of 30 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a Life term of supervised release, a $100 special assessment, and a $50,000 additional special assessment and $3,000 Restitution. Count II charges the defendant with possession of child pornography on or about May 8, 2019. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a Life term of supervised release, a $100 special assessment, and a $17,000 additional special assessment and $3,000 Restitution.
* Benjamin Delany, age 24, is charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees on or about May 22, 2019. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a three-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Jesus Gallegos Aguirre, age 49, is charged with illegal reentry after deportation on or about January 27, 2020. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a one-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Manuel Gama Echebeste, age 36, is charged with illegal reentry after deportation on or about February 4, 2020. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a one-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Leonardo Gonzalez-Por, age 28, and Freddy Martinez-Ramos a/k/a Diego Gonzalez-Pol, age 35, are charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I charges Leonardo Gonzalez-Por with illegal reentry after deportation on or about January 31, 2020. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a one-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Freddy Martinez-Ramos a/k/a Diego Gonzalez-Pol with illegal reentry after deportation on or about January 31, 2020. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a one-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III charges the defendants with forcibly assaulting/resisting/impeding/opposing the duties of a federal officer on or about January 31, 2020. The maximum possible penalty if convicted for each defendant is 1 year imprisonment, a $100,000 fine, a one-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Tina Hardin, age 51, of Omaha, is charged with threatening federal officials on or about January 28, 2020. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a three-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Ramiro Hernandez-Rubacalba, age 37, is charged with illegal reentry after deportation following a felony conviction on or about February 11, 2020. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a three-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Cameron M. Hogan, age 43, of Omaha, is charged with misappropriation of postal funds on or about October 1, 2018 and continuing through on or about February 4, 2020. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a three-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Francisco Jacinto Rafael, age 31, is charged with illegal reentry after deportation on or about February 11, 2020. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a one-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Tomas Jacinto Rafael, age 37, is charged with illegal reentry after deportation on or about February 11, 2020. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a one-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Manuel de Jesus Lopez-Aquino, age 37, is charged with illegal reentry after deportation on or about February 11, 2020. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a one-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Cesar Marino-Alarcon a/k/a Cesar A. Marino a/k/a Cesar Alcarcon-Juarez, age 60, is charged with illegal reentry after deportation on or about August 24, 2018, following an aggravated felony conviction. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Juan Carlos Martinez-Perez, age 25, is charged with illegal reentry after deportation on or about January 23, 2020. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a one-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Orlando Miranda De La Cruz, age 36, is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I charges the defendant with illegal reentry after deportation following a felony conviction on or about January 27, 2020. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a three-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Counts II and III charge the defendant with assaulting/resisting/impeding a federal officer on or about January 27, 2020. The maximum possible penalty for each count if convicted is 8 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a three-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment for each.
* Jose Edwvijes Moreno, age 19, is charged with distribution of 500 grams or more of methamphetamine (mixture) on or about February 11, 2020. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is life imprisonment, $10,000,000 fine, five-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Skye Parde, age 37, of Nebraska City, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I charges the defendant with obtaining controlled substance by misrepresentation between April 1, 2018 and November 13, 2018. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 4 years’ imprisonment, $250,000 fine, one-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges the defendant with possession of a controlled substance on or about April 1, 2018 and November 13, 2018. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 1 year imprisonment, a $1,000 fine, a one-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Jose Luis Perez Aguilar, age 37, is charged with illegal reentry after deportation following a felony conviction on or about February 12, 2020. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years, imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a three-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Amalia Perez Gonzalez, age 49, is charged with fraud and misuse of visas and other documents on or about September 19, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, three-year term of supervised release, a $100 special assessment.
* Yuber Puc-Cisneros, age 43, is charged with illegal reentry after deportation on or about February 10, 2020. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a one-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Eleazar Rodriguez Ramirez, age 45, is charged with illegal reentry after deportation following a felony conviction on or about September 19, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, three-year term of supervised release, a $100 special assessment.
* Marie Schaeffer, age 56, of Omaha, is charged with possession with intent to deliver 500 grams or more of methamphetamine (mixture) on November 16, 2019. The maximum possible penalty for each if convicted is life imprisonment, $10,000,000 fine, five-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Jesse Shirley, age 38, of Omaha, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I charges the defendant with possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine (mixture) on December 24, 2019. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years’ imprisonment, $1,000,000 fine, three-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges the defendant with using or possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime on or about December 24, 2019. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is life imprisonment consecutive to the methamphetamine charge, a $250,000 fine, a five-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
Grain Valley Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Illegal FirearmRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Grain Valley, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm.
Matthew Scott Burr, 52, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 10 years in federal prison without parole.
On Oct. 21, 2019, Burr pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug-trafficking crimes (the distribution of marijuana and cocaine).
Columbia, Missouri, police officers located Burr, who had active warrants for his arrest, at a Columbia apartment on Oct. 13, 2016. Two women at the apartment told officers that Burr was not living there, but had been staying there for the past week. One of the women told officers that Burr abused cocaine and talked about drug deals for thousands of dollars. She recalled Burr sitting at the kitchen table with another person with “lines of cocaine.”
After Burr was taken into custody, officers searched his duffel bag and found a loaded Hi-Point .45-caliber handgun and a dismantled cell phone with two SIM cards. The cell phone contained a series of text messages related to Burr’s distribution of cocaine and marijuana to at least three individuals in Boone County, Missouri.
According to court documents, Burr has a significant criminal history. On Oct. 27, 1986 (at age 18), he was convicted of felonies for selling marijuana and secobarbital. He had a felony conviction for driving while intoxicated at age 29, a felony conviction for unlawful use of a weapon (a golf club) at age 38, and another felony conviction for driving while intoxicated at age 41. He had a misdemeanor assault conviction at age 45, and received concurrent sentences for felony second degree burglary, felony stealing and felony possession of methamphetamine at age 46.
Burr also has a significant substance abuse history, according to court documents. He admitted that he began drinking and using marijuana as a teenager, and used or attempted to use methamphetamine from age 46 to the day of his arrest. He has also been a heavy user of cocaine.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence E. Miller. It was investigated by the Columbia, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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.Ginseng Dealer Pleads Guilty to Multiple FeloniesRead the Press Release
[GREENEVILLE, Tenn.] —Michael Keith Turner of Hartford, Tennessee, pled guilty today before Senior United States District Judge R. Leon Jordan to three federal felony counts charging that Mr. Turner had created false records to conceal illegal purchases of ginseng made prior to the legal harvest season in 2015. The grand jury indictment charged that Mr. Turner had violated the Lacey Act, a federal law enacted to combat the illegal trafficking of plants and wildlife, while operating of his ginseng business, known as “High Mountain Ginseng.” This plea is the result of “Operation Green Gold,” a multi-jurisdiction investigation conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) into the illegal harvesting, trafficking, and smuggling of American Ginseng.
As part of his plea agreement, Mr. Turner agreed to pay restitution to the State of Tennessee and perform 100 hours of community service. Sentencing is set for June 11, 2020, at 1:15 p.m., and Mr. Turner faces a maximum term of imprisonment of up to 15 years.
American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), is a slow-growing perennial species of plant found throughout the Northeast, Midwest, and Appalachian regions of the United States. Wild American Ginseng has substantial commercial value because there is a national and international market for its use as an ingredient in food, drinks, and traditional medicines. American Ginseng is protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora of 1973 (CITES) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The purpose of CITES is to monitor, control, and restrict, as necessary, the international trade of certain wild plant and animal species in an effort to prevent adverse impacts and ensure continued existence of those species in their natural habitat.
In Tennessee, the Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation (TDEC) has responsibilities, under CITES, the ESA, and state law, to regulate and monitor the commercial harvest of wild American Ginseng and to ensure that populations are not imperiled. Accordingly, American Ginseng dealers are required to routinely submit paperwork to TDEC to document their ginseng purchases. Mr. Turner admitted to falsifying several of those documents in 2015 after purchasing American Ginseng before the opening of the established season for harvesting and purchasing American Ginseng. The USFWS investigates illegal ginseng trafficking associated with the international and interstate trade under the Lacey Act.
The guilty plea was announced today by Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, J. Douglas Overbey, and Assistant Director Edward Grace of the Office of Law Enforcement for the USFWS.
“By falsifying records in the manner he did, the defendant, and other Ginseng dealers like him, frustrate the regulatory system put in place by the USFWS, TDEC, and others making it impossible to effectively manage and protect an imperiled species. In doing so they are also fostering an interstate black market in protected wildlife and plants that is decimating this country’s natural resources. This felony plea sends a clear message that the United States will prosecute the kind of conduct Mr. Turner took responsibility for today,” stated Assistant Attorney General Bossert Clark.
The USFWS conducted the investigation in this case. The United States is represented in Court by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew T. Morris and Environmental Crimes Section Senior Trial Attorney Todd Gleason.
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Gettysburg Man Charged with Receipt and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Daniel Lee Boose, age 37, of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was indicted on February 19, 2020, by a federal grand jury with receipt and possession of child pornography.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the indictment alleges that between January 2016 and August 2019, Boose received and possessed images of child pornography, including images of prepubescent minors under the age of 12.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Gettysburg Borough Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian Haugsby is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.
Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalties under federal law for the offenses charged is 20 years of imprisonment, a term of up to lifetime supervised release following imprisonment, and a 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 offenses charged is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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Friend of Dayton mass shooter sentenced to prison for illegally possessing firearm, lying on federal firearms formRead the Press Release
DAYTON – Ethan Kollie, 24, of Kettering, a friend of the Dayton mass shooter Connor Betts, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 32 months in prison for illegally possessing firearms and lying on federal firearms form 4473.
Kollie pleaded guilty to the crimes in November 2019.
Federal agents interviewed Kollie on Aug. 4, 2019, in connection to the mass shooting earlier that day in Dayton.
During searches of Kollie and his residence, law enforcement officers recovered a micro Draco pistol, which was loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition, marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms, additional weapons, ammunition, drug paraphernalia and psychedelic mushroom grow equipment.
When purchasing the micro Draco pistol in May 2019, Kollie lied on an ATF form asking if he was an unlawful user of or addict to marijuana or any other controlled substance. Kollie answered no, when in fact he knew he was an unlawful user of marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms.
Kollie illegally possessed at various times four firearms in total, namely, the micro Draco pistol, a 9mm handgun, a 38 Special revolver, and an AM-15 semi-automatic rifle. The micro Draco pistol and the AM-15 are both semi-automatic weapons and could accept more than 15 rounds of ammunition.
Kollie helped Betts assemble the AM-15 used in the mass shooting and the two practiced firing the gun at a local shooting range. The assembly and practice shooting constitute two separate illegal possessions by Kollie of the gun.
“Kollie will forever be connected to the tragic events of August 4, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio,” said U.S. Attorney David M. DeVillers. “He bought the upper receiver to the AM-15, a 100-round double drum magazine and body armor for Betts. We will chase down the origins of all weapons used in violence and hold all accountable for their crimes.”
DeVillers is joined by Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Jonathan McPherson, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); and Dayton Police Chief Richard S. Biehl in announcing the sentence imposed today by Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose. First Assistant United States Attorney Vipal J. Patel and Deputy Criminal Chief Dominick S. Gerace are representing the United States in this case.
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Fresno Man Charged with Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Gary Lee Briggs, 63, of Fresno, charging him with receipt and distribution of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, on Jan. 3, a concerned citizen reported to the police that Briggs appeared to be trying to lure an 8-year-old boy into Briggs’s apartment in Fresno. When officers confronted Briggs, he reported that he planned to test his ability to withstand urges that attracted him to the boy. Briggs also admitted that Facebook recently had terminated his account for having transmitted sexually explicit material. Facebook separately had notified the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children that Briggs’s Facebook account had been used to transmit sexually explicit images of minors from August through December 2019.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Central Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, specifically the Fresno Police Department, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Briggs faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.
Fraudster Sentenced to Three-And-A-Half Years in Prison for Romance ScamRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Randall Elijah Shumpert, a/k/a Randall Turner, a/k/a Randy Goodman, a/k/a Randall Slaughter, a/k/a Rico Fitzgerald, was sentenced to 42 months in prison for wire fraud charges in connection with a romance fraud scheme, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Vince Chhabria, U.S. District Judge.
Shumpert pleaded guilty to the charges on November 5, 2019. According to the plea agreement, in 2015, Shumpert, 51, of Long Beach, CA, met an individual online using an alias on a dating website. Shumpert communicated with the victim who lived in Northern California on the phone, through text messages, and in person. Shumpert convinced the victim that she was in a romantic relationship with him and told her that he owned an entertainment company. Eventually, Shumpert solicited money from her, claiming he would use the money to fund projects undertaken by his company and that she would be repaid through the company’s proceeds. Shumpert admitted in the plea agreement that his representations to the victim were false. Specifically, he never told his victim his real name, he did not operate an entertainment company, he did not promote any of the musical events that he described, and he used the money he received from the victim to make purchases for his own benefit, and not for any business purposes.
In addition, Shumpert admitted he defrauded several other victims. The plea agreement describes how Shumpert met another woman online who resides in Southern California. Shumpert again convinced this victim she was in a romantic relationship with him and that he owned an entertainment company. This time, Shumpert told his Southern California victim that his first victim was his colleague at the entertainment company. After convincing his Northern California victim to send funds to the victim in Southern California, Shumpert eventually convinced his Southern California victim to forward to him both the money from the first victim and additional funds of her own. Shumpert acknowledged that he repeated this fraud scheme on no fewer than six occasions with no fewer than six separate female victims. According to the plea agreement, Shumpert agreed that his scheme caused victims to lose more than $550,000, causing substantial financial hardship to at least one of his victims.
A federal grand jury indicted Shumpert on December 4, 2018, charging him with three counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343. Shumpert pleaded guilty to all three counts.
At the sentencing hearing, Judge Chhabria commented on Shumpert’s conduct describing it as a “campaign” to identify and defraud his victims. The government’s sentencing memorandum highlighted examples of how Shumpert emotionally manipulated his victims. For example, he told one of his victims that he bought her an engagement ring. The government’s memorandum also discussed examples of the real harm Shumpert’s scheme caused, including the fact that one victim lost over $380,000 and another victim lost all the money she had set aside for her young daughter’s education.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Chhabria ordered Shumpert to pay restitution in the amount of $679,181.74 and ordered Shumpert to serve a 3-year period of supervised release. Shumpert is in custody and will begin serving his prison term immediately.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sailaja Paidipaty and Patrick O’Brien are prosecuting this case with the assistance of Marina Ponomarchuk and Morgan Byrne. This prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.
Four Baltimore Men Facing Fourteen-Count Federal Indictment Including Murder, Carjacking, and Racketeering Conspiracy ChargesRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has indicted Karon Foster, age 26; Rashaud Nesmith, age 19; Jamai Wells, age 30; and Daniel Williams, age 29, all of Baltimore, Maryland, on federal charges related to a racketeering conspiracy, resulting in numerous murders, carjacking, robberies, and firearms crimes in Baltimore City.
The indictment, returned on February 11, 2020, was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.
“We will not allow armed carjacking and robbery crews to threaten our neighborhoods and victimize our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Having allegedly used guns to bring fear and death to our streets, these defendants now face the prospect of years in federal prison. Police officers, federal agents, and state and federal prosecutors are united and determined to bring such violent offenders to justice together.”
“Citizens of Baltimore City deserve to feel that they can drive down this city’s streets and stand in their front yard without fear of gun violence or death,” said ATF Baltimore Field Division Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones. “We are proud of the partnerships we have with both prosecutors and law enforcement that allows ATF Special Agents and Baltimore Police Task Force Officers to get violent offenders, especially those who use firearms to commit their crimes, off the street and brought to justice.”
“The Baltimore Police Department has a deep appreciation for the dedicated work of our federal partners for indicting the people responsible for these heinous crimes,” said Commissioner Michael Harrison. “We are extremely grateful for this partnership that brought this case to closure and ensuring that justice will be served. We will continue to work side-by-side with all of our law enforcement partners in identifying and apprehending repeat violent offenders and taking them off the streets of Baltimore.”
“This federal indictment sends a loud and clear message to anyone who wishes to foster an atmosphere of fear within our neighborhoods,” said Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby. “This sort of reckless violence will not be tolerated by the community, law enforcement, nor my office. I applaud the work and ongoing partnership between my office and our federal partners. Collaboration and partnership like this is key to tackling the violence in our city to achieve the progress that we seek and that our city and state deserve.”
According to the indictment, Karon Foster and Rashaud Nesmith were part of a criminal organization whose members and associates engaged in acts of violence, including murders, attempted murders, robberies, carjackings, and using firearms during those acts of violence. The purpose of this was to intimidate others who would interfere with their enterprise and that they sought to gain a certain status in the community and on social media platforms, as well as generating profits for themselves.
It is specifically alleged that between April 19, 2019 and August 8, 2019, members of the conspiracy committed six armed carjackings and four armed robberies in Baltimore City. During the armed carjacking on June 12, 2019, one victim was murdered by Foster and others. The armed robberies on July 23, 2019 and August 1, 2019 resulted in the murder of two victims by Foster, Nesmith, and others. Additionally, an armed robbery by Foster and Nesmith on August 8, 2019 resulted in a non-fatal shooting of the victim. Jamai Wells and Daniel Williams are alleged to have participated with Foster and others in at least one armed carjacking.
Charges for each defendant include:
• Karon Foster – Conspiracy to Participate in Racketeering Activity; Carjacking Conspiracy; Conspiracy to Use and Carry a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence; three counts of Carjacking; three counts of Use, Carry, and Brandish a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence; Carjacking Resulting in Death; and Use, Carry, and Discharge a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence
• Rashaud Nesmith - Conspiracy to Participate in Racketeering Activity; Carjacking Conspiracy; Conspiracy to Use and Carry a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence; Carjacking; and Use, Carry, and Brandish a Firearm During and Relation to a Crime of Violence
• Jamai Wells - Carjacking Conspiracy; Conspiracy to Use and Carry a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence; Carjacking; Use, Carry, and Brandish a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence; and Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person
• Daniel Williams - Carjacking Conspiracy; Conspiracy to Use and Carry a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence; Carjacking; and Use, Carry, and Brandish a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
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 (ATF); and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see: https://www.justice.gov/projectguardian.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF and Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation, and the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office for their work during the state prosecution phase. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia C. McLane, who is prosecuting the case.
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Former tribal police officer admits child abuse on Fort Peck ReservationRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS– A Wolf Point man and former tribal police officer accused of touching a child’s genitals on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
Mychal Thomas Damon, 28, pleaded guilty to felony child abuse. Damon faces a maximum five years in prison, a $50,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided and set sentencing for June 18. Damon was detained.
The prosecution said in court records that the crime occurred in May 2018 when the victim, who was under the age of 14, and her mother spent the night at Damon’s house. During the night, the victim got up and sat with Damon on a recliner. Damon placed his hand inside the girl’s shorts and touched her in the genital area.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cassady Adams and Lori Suek are prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the FBI and the Wolf Point Police Department.
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