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Tuesday 4 February 2020
Yuma, Arizona Man Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl DistributionRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Marco Ali Orduno, age 28, of Yuma, Arizona, entered a guilty plea to Possession With Intent To Distribute Fentanyl, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A), punishable by not less than 10 years and not more than life imprisonment, a fine up to $10,000,000.00, or both.
The Indictment alleged that on or about July 10, 2018, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant did knowingly and intentionally possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The Honorable Kimberly E. West, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.
Assistant United States Attorney Ryan Conway represented the United States.
Wetzel County man charged with drug traffickingRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Gordon Lloyd Swartz, IV, of Jacksonburg, West Virginia, was indicted today on a drug charge, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Swartz, age 44, was indicted on one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine.” Swartz is accused of having methamphetamine in October 2019 in Tyler County.
The government is also seeking the forfeiture of $36,573 in cash, two 9mm pistols and ammunition, one faux firearm suppressor, and three holsters.
Swartz 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. Attorney Shawn M. Adkins is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The West Virginia Division of Natural resources-Law Enforcement Section investigated.
An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Waterbury Man Sentenced to 30 Months in Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing HandgunRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that RAEKWON OVERSTREET, 24, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 30 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally possessing a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on January 29, 2019, while he was on state parole following a conviction for conspiracy to commit robbery in the first degree, Overstreet attended a Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) call-in meeting in Waterbury. PSN call-in meetings, which in Waterbury are run by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Waterbury Police Department, are held monthly for individuals who are recently released from prison. Speakers from a variety of social service providers and educational institutions offer assistance to the attendees in the form of jobs, mental health treatment, anger management and educational opportunities. Members of law enforcement also present a firm message that gun possession is unacceptable in light of its direct connection to gun violence, which exacts a heavy toll on the residents of Connecticut’s cities.
On February 19, 2019, as part of a special parole compliance check, law enforcement officials searched Overstreet and found that he had in his possession a loaded Springfield 9mm firearm. The gun was stolen in Waterbury in 2005.
It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
Overstreet has been detained since his arrest on February 19, 2019. On September 30, 2019, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.
This matter has been investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives and the Waterbury Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Gustafson.
This prosecution has been brought through Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.
Virginia man sentenced for role in a drug distribution operationRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Michael Lee Gray, II, of Marshall, Virginia, was sentenced today to 78 months incarceration for his involvement in a drug distribution conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Gray, age 29, pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine” in September 2019. Gray admitted to working with others to distribute methamphetamine from August 2017 to June 2018 in Mineral, Hardy, and Hampshire Counties and elsewhere.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher prosescuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, The West Virginia State Police, and the Potomac Highlands Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force investigated.
The investigation was funded in part 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.
Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.
Virginia man sentenced for role in a drug distribution operationRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Todd Jason Erwin, of White Post, Virginia, was sentenced today to 33 months incarceration for his involvement in a drug distribution conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Erwin, age 43, pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine Base and Heroin” in September 2019. Erwin admitted to working with others to distribute cocaine base and heroin in October and November 2018 in Berkeley County.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara K. Omps-Botteicher, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Lydia Lehman, also with the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and Assistant U.S Attorney Timothy D. Helman, prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, 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.
Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.
Utica Men Found Guilty of Drug Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Abner Peralta, age 30, and Luis Colon age 35, both of Utica, New York, were found guilty yesterday of drug trafficking charges following a five-day jury trial in federal court in Utica, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Ray Donovan, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Field Division.
Peralta and Colon were found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and the distribution of cocaine in the Utica area from October 2016 to October 2017. Additionally, Peralta was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute of 28 grams or more of cocaine base (crack cocaine). The evidence at trial showed that Peralta and Colon conspired with each other and others to distribute cocaine in the Utica area and that Peralta, the head of the conspiracy, had access to kilogram-quantities of cocaine. The evidence also showed that Peralta maintained a drug “stash house” in Utica where he kept drugs and drug packaging materials. A fingerprint analyst testified that he found Peralta’s fingerprints on some of the packaging material seized from the stash location. The cocaine base Peralta possessed with the intent to distribute was found during a search warrant of his stash location in October 2017. Law enforcement officers also searched Peralta’s house and found multiple items in the garage that tested positive for cocaine residue, including a digital scale.
At sentencing, Peralta and Colon each face a maximum term of 40 years in prison for their offenses of conviction, and Peralta additionally faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 5 years. They each face fines of up to $5 million and supervised release terms of between 4 years and life following their release from imprisonment. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. A date for sentencing has not yet been set.
This case was investigated by the DEA with assistance from the New York State Police, Oneida County Sheriff’s Office, Rome Police Department, Utica Police Department, Cortland Police Department, Investigators from the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office; U.S. Border Patrol; and Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael F. Perry and Thomas Sutcliffe.
US Attorneys Note Substantial Drop in Opioid Prescriptions Following Cooperation Between Law Enforcement & Medical CommunityRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Scott C. Blader and Matthew D. Krueger, United States Attorneys for the Western and Eastern Districts of Wisconsin, respectively, announced today that their offices have observed a substantial decrease in opioid prescribing among medical providers who received warning letters as part of last year’s opioid initiative.
Last February, the United States Attorneys’ Offices sent letters to more than 180 Wisconsin physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners advising that a review of their prescribing practices showed that they were prescribing opioids at relatively high levels compared to evidence-based prescribing guidelines. The letters warned that these prescribing practices could be contributing to the flow of prescription opioids into illegal markets and could lead to civil and criminal enforcement actions. Thanks partly to this initiative and the consistent efforts by the Wisconsin medical community to stem over-prescribing, Wisconsin has seen substantial progress in the fight against opioid abuse.
Last year’s opioid initiative has also led to meaningful discussions and collaboration amongst members of the law enforcement and medical communities. In April, the United States Attorneys’ Offices coordinated a roundtable discussion in Madison, where representatives from federal and state law enforcement and the Wisconsin medical community discussed collaborative methods for stemming opioid overprescribing among the state’s prescribers. In October, the United States Attorneys’ Offices met with the medical community and other treatment, prevention, harm reduction, and enforcement partners to hold an opioid and methamphetamine summit with the theme of “Making Progress Through Collaboration.” More than 500 people attended the two-day conference, which featured updates on trends from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration as well as the Wisconsin Society of Addiction Medicine. The United States Attorneys have also sent representatives to speak at hospital meetings and medical society gatherings about the dangers of opioid diversion. Through these efforts, the United States Attorneys seek to establish a dialogue with the medical community about safe and legal prescribing practices, and how best to address the state’s opioid epidemic.
In addition to the letters and outreach, the United States Attorneys and their federal and state law enforcement partners have continued to pursue cases in the past year against medical providers who knowingly prescribe narcotics beyond medical necessity. Recently, in the Western District of Wisconsin, Thomas Strick, a Wausau physician, was sentenced to three months in federal prison and one year of supervised release for diverting prescription fentanyl for personal use. In Strick’s case, the government’s investigation revealed that between 2011 and 2018, he had prescribed fentanyl patches to at least six patients without medical need and instructed those patients to return the filled prescriptions to him for personal use. In total, Strick had written 193 fraudulent fentanyl prescriptions and acquired 3,156 patches as part of the scheme. After Strick’s guilty plea, United States Attorney Blader reaffirmed his office’s commitment to holding accountable “medical practitioners who violate their oaths.” According to Blader, “our goal is to work with law enforcement and medical partners to stop addictions before they start by stemming the diversion of prescription opioids to unlawful channels.”
Likewise, in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Steven Kotsonis, a Menomonee Falls medical doctor, and his office manager, were convicted of unlawfully distributing Oxycodone. Both face up to twenty years in prison at sentencing. After Kotsonis and his office manager pled guilty on December 17, 2019, United States Attorney Krueger said, “this case underscores the Justice Department’s commitment to combatting the opioid crisis.” He emphasized that “far too many Wisconsinites have seen loved ones suffer from an opioid addiction or, worse, an overdose. Because the path to addiction often begins with prescription opioids, we are committed to investigating and prosecuting prescribers like Kotsonis who deal drugs behind the façade of medical practice.”
The active participation of Wisconsin medical systems, medical societies, and medical regulators has been essential to reducing opioid over-prescribing in Wisconsin. Many medical systems have undertaken internal reviews of employee prescribing practices, while medical societies have reinvigorated programs aimed at training providers about safe and lawful opioid prescribing. The Wisconsin medical community is also engaged in renewed information sharing efforts designed to identify and stem pill-seeking behavior before prescriptions are written.
Due to sustained efforts of all partners, total opioid prescriptions in Wisconsin have declined by 30 percent between 2016 and 2019, according to data from the Wisconsin Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. The letters sent by the United States Attorneys appear to have amplified this downward trend. Looking at Medicare prescription data, the total amount of opioids that letter recipients prescribed from July 2017 to June 2019, decreased by about 20 percent in the Western District and about 29 percent in the Eastern District compared the total amount opioids that recipients prescribed from July 2016 to June 2018, before the letters were sent.
In the coming year, the United States Attorneys’ Offices will continue to work with the Wisconsin medical community in support of their efforts to educate providers and monitor opioid prescribing. This will include redoubling efforts to ensure that providers have access to the best information available before prescribing opioids by ensuring that law enforcement is submitting timely and accurate overdose and arrest data to the Wisconsin Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. The United States Attorneys’ Offices will also continue to monitor opioid prescribing data and take further action, as necessary, against prescribers whose practices substantially exceed evidence-based prescribing guidelines.
U.S. Attorney's Office Reaches ADA Settlement with Circle Hotel in FairfieldRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has reached a settlement agreement with the Circle Hotel in Fairfield, to resolve allegations that the hotel was not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”).
The settlement agreement resolves an ADA complaint filed by an individual with disabilities alleging that the Circle Hotel was not accessible for individuals with physical disabilities. The hotel is in the process of making the changes required by the settlement agreement, including designing and constructing accessible guest rooms, an accessible route to the new guest rooms, and a new accessible restroom in the hotel’s lobby area. The settlement agreement also requires the Circle Hotel to add accessible parking spaces, an accessible route from the new accessible parking spaces to the designated accessible entrance, and accessible seating in the hotel’s lobby, breakfast and patio areas. The hotel will continue to make improvements over the next two years.
Under federal law, private entities that own or operate places of “public accommodation,” including hotels and inns, are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of disability. The ADA authorizes the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate complaints and undertake periodic reviews of compliance of covered entities. The Justice Department is also authorized to commence a civil lawsuit in federal court in any case that involves a pattern or practice of discrimination or that raises issues of general public importance, and to seek injunctive relief, monetary damages, and civil penalties.
U.S. Attorney Durham noted the cooperation of the owners of the Circle Hotel throughout this investigation and applauded their willingness to improve accessibility at their hotel without the need for litigation.
This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica H. Soufer of the District of Connecticut in coordination with the Disability Rights Section of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.
Any member of the public who wishes to file a complaint alleging that any place of public accommodation or public entity in Connecticut is not accessible to persons with disabilities may contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 203-821-3700.
Additional information about the ADA can be found at www.ada.gov, or by calling the Justice Department’s toll-free information line at (800) 514-0301 and (800) 514-0383 (TTY). More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt.
U.s. Attorneys Mark Opioid Warning Letter Anniversary: Substantial Drop in Opiate Prescriptions Follows Cooperation Between Law Enforcement and Medical CommunityRead the Press Release
Scott C. Blader and Matthew D. Krueger, United States Attorneys for the Western and Eastern Districts of Wisconsin, respectively, announced today that their offices have observed a substantial decrease in opioid prescribing among medical providers who received warning letters as part of last year’s opioid initiative.
Last February, the United States Attorneys’ Offices sent letters to more than 180 Wisconsin physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners advising that a review of their prescribing practices showed that they were prescribing opioids at relatively high levels compared to evidence-based prescribing guidelines. The letters warned that these prescribing practices could be contributing to the flow of prescription opioids into illegal markets and could lead to civil and criminal enforcement actions.
Thanks partly to this initiative and the consistent efforts by the Wisconsin medical community to stem over-prescribing, Wisconsin has seen substantial progress in the fight against opioid abuse. Last year’s opioid initiative has also led to meaningful discussions and collaboration amongst members of the law enforcement and medical communities. In April, the United States Attorneys’ Offices coordinated a roundtable discussion in Madison, where representatives from federal and state law enforcement and the Wisconsin medical community discussed collaborative methods for stemming opioid overprescribing among the state’s prescribers.
In October, the United States Attorneys’ Offices met with the medical community and other treatment, prevention, harm reduction, and enforcement partners to hold an opioid and methamphetamine summit with the theme of “Making Progress Through Collaboration.” More than 500 people attended the two-day conference, which featured updates on trends from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration as well as the Wisconsin Society of Addiction Medicine.
The United States Attorneys have also sent representatives to speak at hospital meetings and medical society gatherings about the dangers of opioid diversion. Through these efforts, the United States Attorneys seek to establish a dialogue with the medical community about safe and legal prescribing practices, and how best to address the state’s opioid epidemic.
In addition to the letters and outreach, the United States Attorneys and their federal and state law enforcement partners have continued to pursue cases in the past year against medical providers who knowingly prescribe narcotics beyond medical necessity. Recently, in the Western District of Wisconsin, Thomas Strick, a Wausau physician, was sentenced to three months in federal prison and one year of supervised release for diverting prescription fentanyl for personal use.
In Strick’s case, the government’s investigation revealed that between 2011 and 2018, he had prescribed fentanyl patches to at least six patients without medical need and instructed those patients to return the filled prescriptions to him for personal use. In total, Strick had written 193 fraudulent fentanyl prescriptions and acquired 3,156 patches as part of the scheme.
After Strick’s guilty plea, United States Attorney Blader reaffirmed his office’s commitment to holding accountable “medical practitioners who violate their oaths.” According to Blader, “our goal is to work with law enforcement and medical partners to stop addictions before they start by stemming the diversion of prescription opioids to unlawful channels.”
Likewise, in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Steven Kotsonis, a Menomonee Falls medical doctor, and his office manager, were convicted of unlawfully distributing Oxycodone. Both face up to twenty years in prison at sentencing.
After Kotsonis and his office manager pled guilty on December 17, 2019, United States Attorney Krueger said, “this case underscores the Justice Department’s commitment to combatting the opioid crisis.” He emphasized that “far too many Wisconsinites have seen loved ones suffer from an opioid addiction or, worse, an overdose. Because the path to addiction often begins with prescription opioids, we are committed to investigating and prosecuting prescribers like Kotsonis who deal drugs behind the façade of medical practice.”
The active participation of Wisconsin medical systems, medical societies, and medical regulators has been essential to reducing opioid over-prescribing in Wisconsin. Many medical systems have undertaken internal reviews of employee prescribing practices, while medical societies have reinvigorated programs aimed at training providers about safe and lawful opioid prescribing. The Wisconsin medical community is also engaged in renewed information sharing efforts designed to identify and stem pill-seeking behavior before prescriptions are written.
Due to sustained efforts of all partners, total opioid prescriptions in Wisconsin have declined by 30 percent between 2016 and 2019, according to data from the Wisconsin Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. The letters sent by the United States Attorneys appear to have amplified this downward trend. Looking at Medicare prescription data, the total amount of opioids that letter recipients prescribed from July 2017 to June 2019, decreased by about 20 percent in the Western District and about 29 percent in the Eastern District compared the total amount opioids that recipients prescribed from July 2016 to June 2018, before the letters were sent.
In the coming year, the United States Attorneys’ Offices will continue to work with the Wisconsin medical community in support of their efforts to educate providers and monitor opioid prescribing. This will include redoubling efforts to ensure that providers have access to the best information available before prescribing opioids by ensuring that law enforcement is submitting timely and accurate overdose and arrest data to the Wisconsin Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.
The United States Attorneys’ Offices will also continue to monitor opioid prescribing data and take further action, as necessary, against prescribers whose practices substantially exceed evidence-based prescribing guidelines.
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For Additional Information Contact:
Public Information Officer Kenneth Gales 414-297-1700
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U. S. Settles False Claims Act Allegations Against Southeastern Retina AssociatesRead the Press Release
Knoxville, Tenn. – Southeastern Retina Associates ("SERA") has paid $1.5 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
As part of the settlement, SERA entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), requiring the implementation of a risk assessment and internal review process designed to identify and address evolving compliance risks. The CIA requires training, auditing and monitoring designed to address the conduct at issue in the case. Southeastern Retina Associates has over 250 employees in offices throughout eastern and middle Tennessee, northern Georgia, and southwestern Virginia.
The settlement resolves allegations that, from 2009 through 2016, the practice improperly used the Modifier 25 billing code to charge Medicare and Medicaid for exams that were not separately billable from other procedures performed on the same day. The settlement also resolves allegations that certain Medicare and Medicaid billings during the same period included charges for exams at higher levels than appropriate.
"It is important that medical providers present appropriate and reasonable charges for services that are paid for by the taxpayers. This office remains committed to ensuring that publicly funded healthcare systems are not charged more than what the billing rules prescribe," said U.S. Attorney J. Douglas Overbey.
"Healthcare fraud and abuse impacts every American. The critical resources that are removed from our health care system due to exploitation results in higher health care cost for everyone. The FBI will continue to work closely with federal, state, and local partners to investigate those who abuse federally funded healthcare programs," said Joseph E. Carrico, Special Agent in Charge of the Knoxville Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
"We will continue to pursue doctors that use deceptive billing practices to make more money. These types of schemes cost federal health care programs millions of dollars and cheat taxpayers in the process," said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General in Atlanta.
"The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to identify and investigate those who defraud or abuse VA’s healthcare system. This settlement shows that VA-OIG will continue to aggressively investigate anyone who overbills VA programs intended to care for our nation’s veterans," said Kim R. Lampkin’s, Special Agent in Charge of VA-OIG’s Mid-Atlantic Field Office.
"False claims that overbill the federal healthcare programs undermine the integrity of the Federal Employees Health Benefits program and increase the cost of medical care for us all. OPM-OIG thanks the U. S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners. Today’s settlement demonstrates joint commitment to investigating and prosecuting fraudulent billing practices that waste taxpayer dollars," said Thomas W. South, Deputy Assistant Inspector General, Office of the Inspector General (OPM-OIG).
This investigation was the result of a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Knoxville Division of the FBI, and the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. The investigation was prompted by a lawsuit filed in 2015 under the qui tam or "whistleblower" provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery. The relators share of the recovery in this case will be $270,000.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica Sievert, Jeremy Dykes, and Rob McConkey, represented the United States.
The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.
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Two South Florida Residents Sentenced to Prison Terms for Stolen Identity and Tax Refund Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Two defendants involved in a stolen identity and tax refund fraud scheme were sentenced to federal prison terms by U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke. The scheme involved using stolen identities to file fraudulent income tax returns that falsely claimed refunds.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Michael J. De Palma, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office made the announcement.
Maurice Marcellus, 37, of Miami, Florida, received a prison term of 60 months and three years of supervised release. Ludrick Joseph, 38, of North Miami Beach, Florida, received a prison term of 48 months and three years of supervised release. Both defendants are jointly responsible for paying $563,210 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
A federal grand jury indicted Marcellus and Joseph on February 14, 2019. They pled guilty on November 13, 2019.
According to court documents, Joseph worked for Capital Financial Management, LLC, a tax preparation business incorporated in Miami-Dade County. Marcellus was the manager and sole registered agent of the company and ran the day-to-day operations of the business. Between 2012 and 2014, Joseph and Marcellus prepared and electronically filed federal tax returns for individuals who either did not authorize Joseph or Marcellus to possess their personal identifying information or did not authorize the defendants to file returns on their behalf. Some of the returns were electronically filed under an Electronic Filing ldentification Number (EFIN) assigned to a person later determined by agents to be a victim of identity theft.
Joseph and Marcellus stored thousands of victims’ personal identifying information in electronic and physical files at Capital Financial Management, LLC. One of the lists in Joseph’s folder contained the personal identifying information of people who Joseph knew were deceased. A spreadsheet located in both Joseph’s and Marcellus's computer files contained the names, addresses, phone numbers, and social security numbers of over two thousand students who attended the ATI College of Health in Miami, Florida. Marcellus obtained that spreadsheet while working for the ATI College of Health as an academic advisor. He provided a copy to Joseph in order to file fraudulent tax returns using the student victims’ information.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the IRS-CI. She also thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shane Butland prosecuted this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Zloch is handling asset forfeiture.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Three Men Convicted of Gunpoint Robbery of East Mount Airy, Philadelphia Corner StoreRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced today that Donnie Smith, 40, Abid Stevens, 39, and Maurice Quinn, 41, all of Philadelphia, PA were convicted at trial of Hobbs Act robbery and carrying and using a firearm during the commission of a federal crime. The charges stem from an armed robbery of a corner grocery store in East Mount Airy in Philadelphia.
In March 2019, defendant Quinn entered RD Grocery and complained to a store employee that the store’s ATM had given him fake money. He then attempted to take $100 from the register, as well as a firearm kept by the owner behind the counter. When he was unsuccessful in grabbing the money or the firearm, Quinn left and returned with defendants Smith and Stevens, both of whom were armed with black semi-automatic handguns. Smith brandished his firearm in the store employee’s face and took the store owner’s firearm from behind the counter. Quinn again attempted to take cash from the register but failed. He then demanded that the store employee open the register for him; the employee withdrew $100 in cash and the defendants left.
Philadelphia Police officers arrived as defendant Smith drove away in his car. After a brief pursuit, Smith abandoned his car and fled on foot. Officers recovered the stolen firearm and an article of clothing from Smith’s car. Using the recovered items and surveillance footage of the robbery, Philadelphia Police officers were able to identify the defendants.
“If you rob a store with a gun in Philadelphia, you can stand by for serious federal consequences,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “The store employee here was simply doing his job and putting in an honest day’s work – he should not have had to worry about someone putting a semi-automatic weapon in his face. My Office is focused on punishing and deterring this type of violent crime as we grapple with the public safety crisis in Philadelphia that is being abetted by the District Attorney’s reckless policies.”
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Philadelphia Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert Eckert and Special Assistant United States Attorney Ashley N. Martin.
Suspected Neo-Nazi Pleads Guilty to Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
A suspected neo-Nazi has pleaded guilty to a gun crime following an investigation by the FBI, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.
Aiden Bruce-Umbaugh, 23, pleaded guilty to possession of firearms and ammunition by a prohibited person in Lubbock in January.
Video unsealed by the Court yesterday evening shows the defendant, handcuffed and clad in an orange jumpsuit, telling agents, “I assume you’re here because of my swastika flag and my firearms.”
According to his plea papers, Mr. Bruce-Umbaugh – who was arrested in November in Post, Texas, dressed in tactical gear – admitted to possessing AR-15 rifle, two AK-47 rifles, a Sig Sauer 9mm pistol, and assorted ammunition while being an unlawful user of a controlled substance. (Federal law prohibits unlawful users of controlled substances to possess firearms.)
Mr. Bruce-Umbaugh admits he and Kaleb Cole were pulled over in a blue Ford Focus on Nov. 4. Inside the vehicle, law enforcement discovered the firearms, a small canister of marijuana, and a vial of THC oil.
Mr. Bruce-Umbaugh – who “avoided eye contact and limited conversation” with law enforcement and denied having anything illegal inside the vehicle during the traffic stop – later admitted that the firearms, marijuana, and THC belonged to him, telling investigators he smoked marijuana on a daily basis, according to plea papers.
“The Northern District of Texas is committed to keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals,” said U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox. “As a drug user, this defendant should never have been allowed to possess firearms. We’re grateful to our law enforcement partners for helpings us keep this defendant, and his guns, off the streets.”
“The amount of weapons and ammunition seized from the defendant could have caused serious harm. Luckily, the FBI and our law enforcement partners successfully intervened before an act of violence could be committed,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno. “The FBI will continue working with our partners to protect the communities we serve.”
In a detention hearing in November, prosecutors argued the government had reason to believe Mr. Bruce-Umbaugh is a member of AtomWaffen Division, a neo-Nazi hate group.
In jailhouse phone calls, Mr. Bruce-Umbaugh allegedly referenced his affiliation with “the group,” declared he was “a Nazi,” and discussed a photo taken of him and another AtomWaffen Division member at the Auschwitz concentration camp, prosecutors said at the detention hearing.
Propaganda videos admitted into evidence and released by the Court Monday – which spew hateful rhetoric against Jews – depict members of the AtomWaffen Division at self-described “hate camps” practicing hand-to-hand combat and shooting firearms.
“Race war now!” they cry, before one displays a Nazi salute.
The defendant now faces a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison. He is slated to be sentenced on Thursday, April 23.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Lubbock Resident Agency, the Garza County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Russell Lorfing and Stephen Rancourt are prosecuting the case.
The case was brought under Project Guardian, the Justice Department'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.St. Petersburg Cocaine Trafficker Sentenced to More Than 9 Years’ ImprisonmentRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday today sentenced Mario D. Heatly (39, St. Petersburg) to nine years and four months years in federal prison for possessing 500 grams or more of cocaine with the intent to distribute it.
Heatly had pleaded guilty on September 26, 2019.
According to court documents, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at a storage unit that Heatly had been using and recovered almost a kilogram of cocaine, more than $16,000, a scale, and plastic bags. Subsequently, Heatly was arrested at a different storage unit. This unit also contained almost a kilogram of cocaine, scales, and plastic bags.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the St. Petersburg Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Callan Albritton.
This investigation is also the result of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.
Springfield Woman Sentenced to 15 Years for Meth Trafficking, Illegal FirearmsRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Missouri, woman was sentenced in federal court today for distributing methamphetamine and illegally possessing firearms.
Natalie K. Hampton, 35, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 15 years in federal prison without parole.
On June 24, 2019, Hampton pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from Dec. 7, 2016, to June 19, 2018, and to possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
When Hampton was arrested on several outstanding warrants in April 2019, she was wearing a wig and sitting on a handgun magazine. Officers searched the vehicle she was driving and found approximately 18 grams of methamphetamine, drug distribution materials, five cell phones, additional wigs, $50, and a safe containing two loaded semi-automatic pistols. Officers searched a hotel room associated with Hampton and found a handgun matching the magazine located in the vehicle, $3,706, and an ammunition box containing 84.7 grams of pure methamphetamine, cocaine, pills, mushrooms, suboxone strips, LSD, drug paraphernalia, and drug distribution materials.
On Dec. 7, 2016, Hampton was arrested in possession of a bag that contained 253.27 grams of methamphetamine, a distributive amount. She also possessed a stolen, loaded Ruger 9mm semi-automatic pistol and a Sig Sauer .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol. According to court documents, Hampton fled from the police prior to arrest, causing multiple collisions on Glenstone Avenue in Springfield. After crashing the vehicle she was driving, Hampton fled on foot before being apprehended.
On June 19, 2018, she was arrested in possession of seven bags that contained a total of 173.76 grams of methamphetamine, a distributive amount. On June 16, 2017, Hampton was arrested in possession of two bags that contained a total of 14.93 grams of methamphetamine, a distributive amount.
Hampton was on probation with the state of Missouri at the time she committed the instant federal offenses. She has continuously been on state probation for various misdemeanor and felony offenses for almost a decade; she has consistently received sentences of probation and community service hours in lieu of incarceration.
This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Keller. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Shaler Man Sentenced to More than 5 Years in Prison for Possessing Videos and Images of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to a term of imprisonment of 63 months to be followed by 5 years of supervised release on his conviction of Possession of Material Depicting the Sexual Exploitation of Minors, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
United States District Court Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on Brian R. Reddinger, age 37, of Mt. Royal Boulevard, in Shaler Twp., PA.
According to information presented to the court, in the fall of 2016, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) was conducting an online investigation into the internet sharing of child pornography. As part of the investigation, a special agent was able to connect to a device that was sharing material depicting the sexual exploitation of minors and download a suspected child porn file. The investigation led to Brian Reddinger. On November 1, 2016, agents executed a search warrant on Reddinger’s home. Reddinger admitted to searching, downloading, viewing and possessing child porn. He stated that his downloads are highly structured on his computer. He further stated that he downloaded files of individuals as young as 5 years of age. He stated that he searches for child porn once a week using child porn terms and that although he deletes a lot of files, he has "probably a gross number" of child porn. He asked the agents if they could delete or overlook the situation. Three of the items seized from Reddinger contained child porn. In total, there were 2,932 images and 60 videos of child porn on the devices.
Assistant United States Attorney Shanicka L. Kennedy prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
The Department of Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation leading to the prosecution of Brian Reddinger.
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 (CEOS), 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.justice.gov/psc.
Sedalia Man Indicted for Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Sedalia, Missouri, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for tax evasion.
Duane Dixon, 57, was charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Dixon was arrested today when he self-surrendered to federal authorities.
The federal indictment charges Dixon with one count of tax evasion and one count of obstructing the administration of tax laws.
Dixon allegedly failed to file timely tax returns for the years 1996 through 2010, and did not make any voluntary payment toward his taxes for those years. Dixon is specifically charged in the indictment with evading taxes for the calendar years 2005 through 2010, for which the IRS assessed Dixon’s tax due and owing in the total amount of $639,333.
Dixon hired a return preparer to prepare tax returns for the 2005 to 2010 tax years, the indictment says, but provided the preparer with false and incomplete information. Knowing that these returns omitted significant income, Dixon submitted the returns to the IRS.
Dixon formed Dixon Builders, LLC, on Feb. 28, 2012. Dixon then opened bank accounts, bought and sold real estate, and purchased a boat and vehicles in the LLC’s name, according to the indictment. During the 2013 and 2014 tax years, for example, Dixon purchased nine pieces of real estate outright in the name of Dixon Builders LLC. Dixon allegedly concealed assets by transferring several properties from Dixon Builders, LLC, to his adult children.
Dixon allegedly told an IRS revenue officer, who was attempting to collect payments from him, that he had no personal or business bank accounts, that he had no business such as an LLC, that he was self-employed as a handyman and had no employees, and that he did not own any rental homes or have any rentals in a business or other person’s name. Dixon allegedly knew these statements were false at the time he made them.
According to the indictment, Dixon filed bankruptcies at times when the IRS was attempting to assess or collect his taxes, to forestall levies and seizures of his property. Dixon failed to provide information or make payments, however, resulting in dismissals of cases by the bankruptcy court.
The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Larson. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.
San Antonio Businessman Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
In San Antonio today, 41-year-old Karen Mgerian admitted to conspiring to launder millions of dollars of purported drug proceeds through a scheme that included the sale of luxury cars, announced U.S. Attorney John F. Bash, Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Goss, Houston Field Office and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Acting Special Agent in Charge Steven S. Whipple, Houston Division.
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth S. Chestney, Mgerian pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Mgerian, who has remained in federal custody since his arrest on January 31, 2019, faces up to 20 years in federal prison. Sentencing, before U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, has yet to be scheduled.
By pleading guilty, Mgerian admitted that beginning in 2017 he and a co-conspirator carried out a money laundering scheme for undercover agents using government directed funds. The defendants would, generally, provide the laundering services for a 10-20% fee of the total amount of proceeds to be laundered. Moreover, Mgerian sought to sell his luxury car dealership, MGM Auto, to agents, proposing that he would buy it back from the agents at a reduced price, i.e., less his money-laundering fee.
Mgerian has six indicted co-defendants. Jose Luis Magallon, Jr., age 29 of San Antonio, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and seven substantive counts of money laundering. Jose Antonio Rodriguez-Hernandez, age 39, and Luis Emilio Mireles-Morales, age 26, are both charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two substantive counts of money laundering. Carlos Menendez-Stanziola, age 42, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one substantive counts of money laundering.
Upon conviction of each charge, Mgerian’s co-defendants face up to 20 years in federal prison. Jury selection is scheduled for 9:30am on May 11, 2019, before Judge Rodriguez in San Antonio.
The IRS-CI, DEA and the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office are investigating this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas Gardner, Gabriel Cohen and Daniel Castillo are prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.
It is important to note that an indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. Magallon, Rodriguez-Hernandez, Mireles-Morales and Menendez-Stanziola are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Returned Fugitive Sentenced to 2½ Years in Federal Prison for Role in Medicare Fraud Scheme Featuring Bogus Physical Therapy ClaimsRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – A former chiropractor who was on a federal “Most Wanted” list of fugitives was sentenced today to 30 months in federal prison for his role in a $15 million Medicare fraud scheme in which claims were submitted for physical therapy services that either were not reimbursable or were not provided.
David Y. Kim, 57, who previously lived in the Arlington Heights district of Los Angeles, was sentenced by United States District Judge David O. Carter. Judge Carter also ordered Kim to pay $690,519 in restitution to Medicare.
Kim pleaded guilty in September 2019 to one count of health care fraud and one count of receiving illegal kickbacks in exchange for Medicare referrals. In 2015, after meeting with federal law enforcement agents for an interview, Kim fled the United States for South Korea. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) later included Kim on its public list of Most Wanted Fugitives.
In February 2019, Kim was found to be residing in Vietnam and he was apprehended in Ho Chi Minh City pursuant to an Interpol Red Notice. FBI agents then brought Kim back to the United States, where he has remained in federal custody.
According to his plea agreement, between March 2012 and January 2014, Kim owned and operated New Hope Clinic, a Koreatown-based sole proprietorship where he caused fraudulent claims to be submitted to Medicare for physical therapy services that were not provided to patients. Kim received approximately 55 percent of the illegal Medicare proceeds. During the course of the scheme, Medicare paid $690,519 on the fraudulent claims from Kim’s clinic. Kim personally received illegal proceeds totaling $379,785.
Co-defendants Joseff Sales, 42, of Buena Park, Danniel Goyena, 42, also of Buena Park, the owners and operators of several companies involved in the scheme, paid New Hope for Kim’s referral of Medicare beneficiaries to their business. Sales, Goyena and Marlon Songco, 43, of Sylmar, hired licensed physical therapists to occasionally supervise Kim’s unlicensed staff, who performed services that were not reimbursable under Medicare guidelines.
While at New Hope, Medicare beneficiaries often received only a massage and acupuncture – services that Kim knew that Medicare did not cover – from individuals not licensed to provide physical therapy. Kim and his co-conspirators then caused fraudulent claims for physical therapy to be submitted to Medicare.
Sales, Goyena and Songco each pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges in this matter and were given prison sentences. Sales and Goyena were held jointly liable for $7,896,007 in restitution.
This matter was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alexander F. Porter of the Major Frauds Section and Ali Moghaddas of the General Crimes Section.
Repeat Gun Offender Sentenced for Selling Guns IllegallyRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Kwesi Noble, 25, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, was sentenced to serve 87 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Katelyn Hartford, who handled the case, stated that Noble illegally sold three firearms, two of which were loaded, to an individual in exchange for money in July 2019. The defendant was armed with a fourth gun, a loaded 9mm handgun, at the time of his arrest, which he threw over a fence as he fled from police.
Noble was previously convicted in March 2013 for Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, and as a result is legally prohibited from possessing firearms.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division, and the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief La’Ron Singletary.
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Rapid City Man Sentenced for Possession of a Firearm by a FelonRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person was sentenced by Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.
Gary D. Bledsoe, age 36, was sentenced on January 31, 2020, to 46 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Bledsoe was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2018. The case related to Bledsoe, a previously convicted felon who is prohibited from possessing firearms, unlawfully possessing a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol on July 2, 2018, at Rapid City. A Rapid City Police officer was dispatched to Bledsoe’s residence for a report of intentional damage to property. When the officer approached the residence, Bledsoe approached the officer with his right hand behind his back. Bledsoe ignored commands to show his hands and continued approaching the officer to within a distance of mere feet. Bledsoe swung his arm forward, brandishing the silver pistol and pointing it at the officer, who was able to successfully disarm Bledsoe and arrest him.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and local communities to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see: https://www.justice.gov/projectguardian.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Sazama.
Bledsoe was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Providence Man Pleads Guilty in Bogus Check, Bank Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE – A Providence man admitted on Monday to participating in a conspiracy to defraud area banks by depositing bogus checks and then, working with others, to quickly withdraw the funds before banks discovered that the checks were fraudulent.
Edmilson Rodrigues, 21, of Providence, admitted that he participated in a scheme to duplicate “real checks” provided to members of the conspiracy by insiders at local law firms, social services agencies, and local colleges.
According to information presented to the court, the bogus checks were deposited by Rodriques and others into actual bank accounts at bank branch offices in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. As part of the scheme, Rodriques and others quickly withdrew the funds, at times using stolen bank account and personal identifying information, before the bank determined that the deposited checks were bogus.
According to court documents, an investigation by Providence Police Detectives, the United States Secret Service, and the FBI determined that on at least eighteen occasions between May 2013 and February 2019, members of the conspiracy deposited bogus checks and withdrew funds, defrauding banks of well over $100,000. Rodrigues acknowledged that he joined the conspiracy in June 2017, depositing bogus checks and then either withdrawing the funds or having others do so at his direction.
Appearing on Monday before U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith, Edmilson Rodrigues pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and three counts of bank fraud, announced United States Attorney Aaron L. Weisman, Providence Police Chief Hugh T. Clements, Jr., Craig A. Marech, Resident Agent in Charge of the Providence Office of the United States Secret Service, and Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division Joseph R. Bonavolonta.
Rodrigues is scheduled to be sentenced on May 8, 2020.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William J. Ferland.
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Prison Sentences for California-Based Drug Trafficking Ring That Shipped Methamphetamine to Northeastern WisconsinRead the Press Release
Matthew D. Krueger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that five individuals received sentences after convictions for drug trafficking in the Fox Valley Region of Northeastern Wisconsin. The sentences, imposed by Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach, were the result of guilty pleas by the five individuals between August 30, 2019, and October 18, 2019:
Defendant
Charge of Conviction
Sentencing date
Months of Prison
Months of Supervised Release
Tou Lee Xiong, (Age: 45), formerly of Represa, CA
Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine
11/25/2019
240
60
Blia Lor, (Age: 38) formerly of Appleton, WI
Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine
11/26/2019
115
60
Meng Xiong, (Age: 43) formerly of Merced, CA
Possession with Intent to Deliver Methamphetamine
10/10/2019
120
60
Cher Yang, (Age: 31) formerly of Milwaukee, WI
Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine
12/5/2019
60
120
Gwen Biersteker, (Age: 41) formerly of Seymour, WI
Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine
3/3/2020
60
60
The investigation revealed that between October 2016 and November 2018, the defendants conspired amongst themselves and with others, and distributed a large quantity of methamphetamine in the Fox Valley region of Northeastern Wisconsin. The defendants and others arranged for shipments of methamphetamine to arrive by car couriers and postal shipments from northern California to Northeastern Wisconsin.
Tou Lee Xiong, who was a prisoner in the California prison system, used contraband phones to orchestrate shipments from sources in California. Blia Lor and Gwen Biersteker, along with others indicted and sentenced in previous cases, served as points of contact for local distribution in the Fox Valley and Green Bay areas. Yang provided funding for the endeavor, and transported methamphetamine from Milwaukee to the Appleton area. Xiong traveled from California in order to assume responsibility for local distribution networks and was caught by law enforcement with multiple pounds of methamphetamine and two handguns.
Evidence collected throughout the case suggests the amount of methamphetamine attributable to the group for the period it was active exceeded 100 pounds.
Senior Judge Griesbach pointed out the serious natures of the offenses, and noted the damage to the community caused by the defendants. The sale and distribution of a “poison” required stiff sentences as a deterrent to those who would consider engaging in this sort of activity. Senior Judge Griesbach also pointed out the defendants’ direct and indirect support of violent international drug cartels who perpetrated horrific violence against innocent citizens throughout the United States and elsewhere.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the United States Postal Inspection Service, Brown County Drug Task Force, Wisconsin Department of Justice – Division of Criminal Investigation, and Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew J. Maier.
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Public Information Officer Kenneth Gales 414-297-1700
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Pleasant Hills Woman Charged with Theft of Social Security FundsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA – A Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania resident has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge relating to theft of Social Security funds, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
The one-count Indictment named Kristie Marraccini, age 40, as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment, from in and around August 2016, to in and around December 2017, Marraccini knowingly received and converted Supplemental Security Income benefits to which she knew she was not entitled, in an amount exceeding $1,000.00.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than 5 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 Brian M. Czarnecki is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Pittsburgh Felon Charged with Illegally Possessing a FirearmRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA - A former resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of violating federal firearms laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
The one-count Indictment named Vashon Dewight Cotton, 29, as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment, on or about November 6, 2019, Cotton, a convicted felon, was found to be in possession of a firearm. Federal law prohibits a convicted felon from possessing a firearm.
The law provides for a sentence of not more than 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000.00 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. Indicate relevant bond/detention information if known
Assistant United States Attorney Christopher M. Cook is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Pine Ridge Man Charged with Aggravated Sexual AbuseRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Minor.
Charles Richards, Jr., age 49, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann and pleaded not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 60 years in a federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, up to life of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The charge relates to Richards sexually abusing a female less than 12 years old at Pine Ridge, between June 15, 2019, and July 2, 2019.
The charge is merely an accusation and Richards is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Poppen is prosecuting the case.
Richards was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has been set for April 7, 2020.
Pain Clinic Owner Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – Tom Wynne has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit tax evasion, one count of tax evasion, and seven counts of money laundering. He faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison for each of the tax-related counts and up to 10 years in federal prison for each money laundering count.
According to the plea agreement, Wynne owned and operated Pain and Wellness Clinic (“PWC”), a pain management clinic in Pinellas County. He hired medical doctors to prescribe for patients large quantities of Schedule II controlled substances, like oxycodone and hydromorphone, outside the usual course of professional practice. Wynne used the illegal proceeds generated from PWC to purchase real property in the Tampa Bay area.
For each tax year, beginning in 2014 and continuing through tax year 2017, Wynne underreported PWC’s gross receipts on his tax filings. He also conspired and agreed with PWC physicians to defraud the IRS by creating and preparing, among other false and fraudulent tax-related documents, false and fraudulent IRS Forms 1099 to pay the clinic’s two doctors.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and the Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit. The Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit was created by the Department of Justice to help combat the devastating opioid crisis. The Unit focuses specifically on opioid-related health care fraud, using data to identify and prosecute individuals contributing to the prescription opioid epidemic. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Greg Pizzo and Kelley Howard-Allen.
Owner of DC-Area Tax Preparation Business Pleads Guilty to FraudRead the Press Release
A tax return preparer pleaded guilty today to aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between 2013 and 2016, Renita Jenifer, 52, of District Heights, Maryland, operated RAJen Business Tax Service (RAJen), a return preparation business in D.C. During those years, Jenifer prepared false tax returns for clients that included fraudulent and inflated business expenses and itemized deductions, such as charitable contributions and unreimbursed employee expenses. By including these false items, Jenifer’s secured refunds for her clients from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to which they were not entitled.
In 2016, after IRS-Criminal Investigation executed a search warrant at RAJen’s office in D.C. and revoked Jenifer’s Electronic Filing Identification Number (EFIN), Jenifer formed DS Professional Tax Service LLC (DS Pro), a new tax preparation business in Maryland. As she had done at RAJen, Jenifer prepared false tax returns for clients of DS Pro. In 2018, Jenifer moved this new business to D.C. and continued to prepare false returns for clients. To conceal her fraud, Jenifer used the name of anothert individual to obtain an EFIN for DS Pro, and she listed that individual’s name on tax returns she prepared, instead of her own.
In 2013 and 2014, Jenifer also filed her false tax returns for herself, omitting income from her business. In 2017 and 2018, Jenifer did not file personal tax returns at all, despite earning income from DSPro. In total, Jenifer caused a tax loss to the United States of $373,090.
U.S. District Judge Kentaji Brown Jackson set sentencing for May 12, 2020. Jenifer faces a prison term of up to three years, as well as monetary penalties. As part of her plea agreement, Jenifer has agreed to pay $357,819 in restitution to the United States.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman thanked agents of IRS- Criminal Investigation and the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue, who investigated this case, and Trial Attorneys Melissa Siskind and William Guappone of the Tax Division, who prosecuted this case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
On President Trump’s State of the Union AddressRead the Press Release
Attorney General William P. Barr has released the following statement:
In his State of the Union Address, President Trump underscored that the rule of law is central to American freedom and prosperity. This principle is what drives Department of Justice initiatives like Operation Relentless Pursuit and Project Guardian, which are helping to reduce violent crime across our country. We have aggressively fought the opioid epidemic and drug-overdose deaths declined last year for the first time in three decades. We have implemented the President’s landmark criminal-justice reform initiative, the First Step Act, through which thousands of Americans are being given a chance at redemption. We have continued to defend religious liberty for all Americans. We will continue to fight the unlawful practice of sanctuary jurisdictions, which put Americans at risk while aiding criminal aliens who are here illegally.
The men and women of law enforcement have no greater supporter than President Trump, and America is a safer place under his leadership.
Ocala Man Sentenced to Twenty Years for Conspiring to Distribute Cocaine, Heroin, and FentanylRead the Press Release
Ocala, Florida – U.S. Senior District Judge James D. Whittemore today sentenced Jeremy Jermaine Willis (37, Ocala) to 20 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. The court also sentenced co-defendants Gary Eugene Hayes (38, Ocala) and Darren Michael Beatty (30, Ocala) to 15 years in federal prison each, for their involvement in the same conspiracy. All three men had pleaded guilty in 2019.
According to court documents, between January 2012 and May 2019, Willis, Hayes, and Beatty were members of a conspiracy that distributed hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and heroin through a network of stash houses in Marion County. Large quantities of the heroin were also laced with fentanyl.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Ocala Police Department, the Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team (UDEST), the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William S. Hamilton.
New Castle Man Facing Federal Gun and Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of New Castle, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of violating federal firearm and narcotics laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
The three-count Superseding Indictment named Samuel A. Cheeks, 31, as the sole defendant.
According to the Superseding Indictment, on or about July 23, 2017, and September 27, 2017, Cheeks unlawfully possessed a firearm and ammunition after having previously been convicted of crimes punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. The Superseding Indictment also alleges that, on September 27, 2017, Cheeks unlawfully possessed a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine.
The law provides for a maximum sentence of 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 offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey R. Bengel is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Ellwood City Police Department, and the New Castle Police Department conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime..
A Superseding Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
NDTX Round-Up February 4Read the Press Release
SENTENCING – DONNA WOODS
On January 30, Donna Woods was sentenced to 7 years and 3 months in federal custody and to paying $337,951.06 in restitution to the Federal Communications Commission for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and wire fraud. Woods had approved the granting of a federal telecommunications E-rate contract to a company called ADI Engineering which was owned by Woods’ coconspirator. Woods received $50,000 in exchange for her approval of ADI Engineering, a company known to have a shoddy record. She also falsely reported that ADI had correctly completed their job. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office and the Federal Communications Commission Office of Inspector General and prosecuted by AUSA Russ Fusco and AUSA Nick Bunch. Click here to read more about this case.
GUILTY PLEA – ARTURO CALDERON
On January 28, Arturo Calderon, 26, pled guilty to making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm. Between February 2018 and February 2019, Calderon purchased numerous firearms from licensed vendors. During the purchase of these firearms, Calderon responded falsely to the question on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Form that asks if the buyer is “the actual transferee/buyer of the firearms(s) listed on this form.” Calderon purchased at least 16 firearms that he then gave to an individual who covered the cost of the firearms, and then additionally compensated Calderon. Calderon faces up to 10 years in federal custody for his crimes. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and is prosecuted by AUSA Brian McKay.
SENTENCING – RAFAEL RUBI
On January 29, Rafael Rubi, 24, was sentenced to 17 years in federal custody for possession with the intent to distribute heroin, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Rubi and his coconspirator were stopped for a traffic violation, and officers observed a firearm in plain view. Rubi is a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing a firearm. In the preceding week, Rubi had been involved in multiple drive-by shootings with the intention of extorting payment for damages in a car accident. A search warrant was executed at Rubi’s residence and officers recovered heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, alprazolam, marijuana, a drug ledger, and two pistols. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and was prosecuted by AUSA Rebekah Ricketts. Please click here to read more about this case.
SENTENCING – CIERA WASHINGTON
On January 27, Ciera Washington, 23, was sentenced to 5 years in federal custody for robbery. Washington waited in a vehicle as an escape driver, while her coconspirators stole 68 packs of cigarettes and $343 from a Valero gas station after striking the store clerk on the head with a firearm. The coconspirators were pursued by the police, and Washington led them on a high-speed chase, until she hit a curb. The coconspirators fled and escaped, however, Washington was apprehended as she was several months pregnant. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Mesquite Police Department, and the Dallas Police Department and is prosecuted by AUSA Cara Pierce.
SENTENCING – JESSE BELL
On January 30, Jesse Bell, 26, was sentenced to 17 years in federal custody for felon in possession of a firearm, interference with commerce by robbery, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. He and his coconspirator robbed a Valero gas station at gun point and struck the store clerk on the head with the pistol. He and his coconspirators then led police on a high-speed chase that eventually ended in Bell’s capture. It was revealed during trial that Bell had also sold firearms to an undercover agent, despite being a convicted felon. This is a Project Guardian case that was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Mesquite Police Department. The case was prosecuted by AUSA Cara Pierce. Click here to read more about this case.
GUILTY PLEA – ELLIS JAY JOHNSON
On January 30, Ellis Jay Johnson, 42, pled guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. A cooperating individual working with the Hunt County Sheriff’s Department went to Johnson’s home and purchased methamphetamine. The individual was wearing a recording device, and the officers used that recording to obtain a warrant. When the warrant was executed, officers found three firearms and methamphetamine. He faces up to 20 years in federal custody for his crimes. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives, and the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office and is prosecuted by AUSA Suzanna Etessam.
SENTENCING – JUAN CARLOS FARIAS-LOYA
On January 29, Juan Carlos Farias-Loya, 34, was sentenced to 8 years in federal custody for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Through a confidential source, the Drug Enforcement Administration learned that Farias-Loya met the individual at both a Marshalls and a residence to sell methamphetamine. Later, Farias-Loya and his coconspirators used a money remitter business to wire proceeds to Mexico. Federal agents executed a search warrant at the residence and found a methamphetamine recrystallization laboratory, 6 kilograms of methamphetamine, receipts for money sent to Mexico, and $180,000 in proceeds. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by AUSA Suzanna Etessam.
Martinsburg man sentenced for using someone else’s social security numberRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Alberto Poblano Lopez, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, was sentenced today to five years probation for using a false social security number to obtain a driver’s license, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Lopez, age 37, pled guilty to one count of “False Representation of a Social Security Number” in September 2019. Lopez admitted to using someone else’s social security number in order to obtain a West Virginia Driver’s License in August 2018 in Jefferson County.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service investigated.
Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.
Martinsburg man sentenced for role in cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl distribution operationRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Bruce Scott Nicholson, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, was sentenced today to five years probation for his role in a cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl distribution operation, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Nicholson, age 53, pled guilty to one count of “Aiding and Abetting Travel Act - Promotion” in September 2019. Nicholson admitted to working with another to travel from West Virginia to Pennsylvania to obtain drugs to then distribute those drugs in West Virginia. The crime occurred in October 2018.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara K. Omps-Botteicher, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Lydia Lehman, also with the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and Assistant U.S Attorney Timothy D. Helman, prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation; the West Virginia State Police; the Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the Martinsburg Police Department, the Charles Town Police Department, and the Ranson Police Department 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.
Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.
Marshall County man faces firearms chargesRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Mack A. Tagg, of Moundsville, West Virginia, was indicted today on firearms charges, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Tagg, age 39, was indicted on one count of “Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm” and two counts of “False Statement to Acquire Firearm.” Tagg, a person prohibited from possessing a firearm, is accused of having three pistols, two rifles, and a firearms frame in 2019 in Marshall County. Tagg is also accused of falsifying forms to purchase firearms in March and April 2019 in Marshall County.
Tagg faces up to 10 years incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert H. McWilliams is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Marshall County Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
This case is part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see: www.justice.gov/projectguardian.
An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Manchester Woman Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Provide Federal Inmate with Drug ContrabandRead the Press Release
LONDON, Ky. - Keisha Pelote, 33, of Manchester, Kentucky, pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday, before U.S. District Judge Claria Horn Boom, to introduction of contraband to an inmate in federal prison.
Pelote admitted that on September 14, 2019, she went to FCI Manchester to visit her husband, an inmate at the prison. According to her plea agreement, she told facility staff that she wished to change in her car, and a correctional officer observed her engaging in suspicious activity in the car. A K-9 unit alerted officers to the presence of narcotics in the car; and upon search, the officers found 270 unopened buprenorphine and naloxone strips in the car. Pelote admitted that she also had 20 unopened strips of the same substances on her person.
Pelote was indicted in September 2019.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and John Gilley, Warden of FCI Manchester, announced the guilty plea.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Prisons with the assistance of the Department of Homeland Security. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick Rabold.
Pelote is scheduled to be sentenced on May 19, 2020. She faces up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. However, any sentence will be imposed by the Court after its consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal sentencing statutes.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
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Man pleads guilty to meth conspiracyRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 31-year-old Mexican national has admitted to conspiring with others to import approximately 25 kilograms of 100% pure meth from Mexico, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Pablo Xavier Castillo Jaramillo planned to import meth from Mexico on Aug. 22, 2019, along with Edgar Eliud Villarreal Munoz, a 43-year-old Mexican national. On that date, Munoz attempted to cross the border at the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge in Laredo driving a Chevrolet Silverado 1500 hauling a utility trailer. Upon his arrival, authorities conducted an inspection of the truck’s interior and found packages concealed within the door frame.
The packages were ultimately found to contain approximately 25.04 kilograms of meth.
Jaramillo admitted he was paid 10,000 pesos to build the compartments and conceal the narcotics inside Munoz’s vehicle.
Munoz pleaded guilty Nov. 4, 2019, admitting he expected to be paid $5,000 for importing and transporting the narcotics inside the vehicle.
U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo will set sentencing at a later date. At that time, both men face up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $10 million maximum fine.
Jaramillo and Munoz have been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with assistance from Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorney Yoona Lim is prosecuting the case.
Man Who Guarded Lightfoot Drug House Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – A former resident of Verona, PA, has been sentenced to federal prison on federal narcotics charges, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Chace Johnson, age 21, formerly of Harvest Drive, previously pleaded guilty to one count of maintaining a drug involved premises before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Mark R. Hornak. Yesterday, Judge Hornak sentenced Johnson to a term of 23 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
According to information presented to the court in August and September of 2017, Johnson guarded the drug house on Harvest Drive in Verona, PA run by Jamie Lightfoot, Jr. and other co-conspirators. In furtherance of this, Johnson guarded large sums of money used in the drug trafficking and also acquired drug packaging material to be used in re-packaging and distribution for the drugs coming into the house.
On November 5, 2017, an FBI and Pennsylvania State Police Task Force executed a search warrant at the Harvest Drive location. The search netted 52 kilograms of cocaine and heroin, 85 pounds of marijuana, illegal steroids, three firearms, and nearly a million dollars in cash.
Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy M. Lanni and Shaun Sweeney are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police, with assistance from the South Strabane Police Department, the Elizabeth Borough Police Department, the Penn Hills Police Department and the Perryopolis Police Department, conducted the investigation that led to the Indictment in this case.
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.
Magnolia man faces federal charges for shooting mail carrierRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – The 24-year-old man who allegedly shot two people in December 2019 is expected to appear in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Matthew Anthony Williams is expected to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina Bryan today at 2 p.m.
The Houston grand jury returned the indictment Jan. 30. Williams is charged with assaulting a federal employee with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence Dec. 28, 2019.
If convicted, Williams faces up to 20 years in prison for assaulting a federal employee. He also faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life for discharging the firearm during the assault which must be served consecutively to any other prison term imposed. He could also be ordered to pay restitution to the victims.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Houston Police Department and sheriff’s offices in Harris and Montgomery Counties. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Hanes and Heather Winter are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.Lynn Man Sentenced for Role in $1.4 Million Bank Fraud and Money Laundering SchemeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Lynn man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston in connection with receiving and laundering approximately $1.4 million fraudulently obtained from a Korean company.
Chukwuemeka Eze, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to 51 months in prison, five years of supervised release and ordered to pay $862,823 in restitution. In November 2019, Eze pleaded guilty to bank fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft. Eze was arrested in June 2019 and has been held in federal custody since that time.
Eze admitted that he used a victim’s name, date of birth and Social Security number without permission to open bank accounts in the victim’s name and in the name of a fictitious Massachusetts corporation that Eze created, Levistronix GMB Ltd. Eze selected the name for Levistronix because of its similarity to Levitronix GmbH, an actual Swiss company. In May and June 2018, others involved in the scheme sent fake Levitronix invoices totaling approximately $1.4 million to a Korean company that was a Levitronix customer. The fake invoices directed the company to send the $1.4 million to Eze’s deceptively-named Massachusetts bank account.
When Eze received the money, he withdrew cash, and spent tens of thousands of dollars on retail purchases, including Apple laptops and Zales’ jewelry. He also purchased $700,000 in bank checks payable to other fictitious companies that he controlled, which he deposited into bank accounts in those companies’ names. Eze in turn made cash withdrawals, retail purchases and wire transfers from those bank accounts, all to conceal the fact that the money was the proceeds of the fraud scheme. In doing so, Eze spent or disbursed more than $862,000 of the Korean company’s money.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B. Kosto of Lelling’s Cybercrime Unit prosecuted the case.
Long Island Man Convicted of Home Invasion Armed Robbery Conspiracies, Unlawful Use of Firearms and Firearms-Related MurderRead the Press Release
A federal jury in Central Islip returned a guilty verdict today against Tyrone L. Robinson on seven counts of Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy, seven counts of robbery and attempted robbery of drugs and drug proceeds, seven counts of unlawful use, brandishing and discharge of firearm, four counts of felon in possession of firearms and ammunition and one count of firearms-related murder. The verdict followed a four-week trial before United States District Judge Sandra J. Feuerstein. When sentenced, Robinson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 64 years in prison, and a maximum of life imprisonment.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and John B. Devito, Special Agent-in-Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, New York Field Division (ATF), announced the verdict.
The evidence at trial established that between August 2015 and May 2016, Robinson and his co-conspirators committed multiple armed home invasion robberies of drug dealers in Nassau and Suffolk counties. The victims were pistol-whipped, often times zip tied, threatened with death and shot. On March 25, 2016, Robinson committed an armed home invasion in Lake Grove and threatened to kill an eight-year-old girl if she did not find money for him. The following night, when Robinson returned to the scene of the Lake Grove home invasion, he dropped his cell phone and it was recovered by police responding to a call from neighbors. The cellphone was logged into Robinson’s online account which he had used to Google search for directions to his targeted locations and for news reports about the crimes he had committed. For example, after a violent robbery attack in Hempstead, Robinson Google searched, “man beaten in Hempstead.” During a home invasion robbery by Robinson on May 3, 2016 in Freeport, the victim Johnathan Isaac was fatally shot in the back. Five days before the murder, Robinson purchased the floor plans for the location of the murder using his Gmail account and, shortly after Isaac’s murder and the shooting of another victim in Freeport, Robinson Google searched “two shot Freeport” for news reports about the crimes.
“Over the course of two years, Robinson violently preyed upon multiple victims with firearms and his fists, inflicting permanent injuries and death to satisfy his greed,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “With today’s verdict, Robinson will now face serious punishment for terrorizing communities on Long Island.”
“Today’s verdict signals an end to a reign of terror that included brazen acts of violence and reckless disregard for human life,” stated ATF Special Agent-in-Charge Devito. “Tyrone L. Robinson is an example of the type of violent individual that presents a clear and present danger to the law abiding people in the community. ATF and our partners stand committed to identifying, arresting and prosecuting individuals like Robinson to ensure that our communities will not be further damaged by this violent scourge. I would like to thank our ATF Long Island Field Office and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York for their work on this case.”
Mr. Donoghue and Special Agent-in-Charge Devito expressed their grateful appreciation to the Nassau and Suffolk Police Departments and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision for their assistance with the investigation and prosecution.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorneys’ 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.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Allen Bode, Monica Castro and Anthony Bagnuola are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
TYRONE L. ROBINSON
Age: 34
Bay Shore, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Criminal Docket No. 16-545 (S-4)(SJF)
London Woman Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
LONDON, Ky.- Wilma Thompson, 41, of London, pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday, before U.S. District Judge Claria Horn Boom, to obtaining a controlled substance through the registration of another and identity theft.
In her guilty plea, Thompson admitted that she was employed as an office manager for a physician, that prescription tablets repeatedly went missing from the office, and that she was observed on multiple occasions taking Xanax at the office. Thompson’s employment with the office ended in October 2017; but in her plea agreement, she admitted that, in May 2018, she attempted to obtain 180 Hydrocodone tablets, using a forged prescription bearing her previous employer’s name and DEA registration number.
After obtaining a search warrant, officers seized 582 forged prescriptions, bearing the physician’s name and DEA registration number, and 23 empty prescription bottles. Thompson admitted that she had been forging prescriptions, monthly, since January 14, 2016, and she had obtained a total of 8,370 hydrocodone tablets and 2,358 alprazolam (Xanax) tablets.
Thompson was indicted in November 2019.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; James Robert Brown, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Chief Darrell Kilburn, London Police Department, jointly announced the guilty plea.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and London Police Department. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick Rabold.
Thompson is scheduled to be sentenced on May 19, 2020. She faces up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $500,000. However, any sentence will be imposed by the Court after its consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal sentencing statutes.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
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Lincoln Man Sentenced to 400 Months for Receiving Child Pornography and Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Joe Kelly announced that Jack Eugene Knight, age 54, was sentenced today in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for two counts of Receiving Child Pornography and two counts of Possessing Child Pornography. United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Knight to 400 months of imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After completing his term of imprisonment, Knight will begin a lifetime term of supervised release. Knight was convicted of the offenses following a four-day jury trial in October of 2019.
The evidence at trial established that a November 2017 CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploiting Children led federal law enforcements agents from the Department of Homeland Security to investigate Knight for committing federal child exploitation offenses. As part of the investigation, on August 22, 2018, federal agents executed a search warrant of Knight’s van which is where Knight was living at the time. Agents seized two cellular telephones, one laptop, and multiple external storage devices. Knight admitted to agents to collecting child pornography and told agents that child pornography would be located on the devices inside of his van. Knight also told agents that he had a storage unit in Lincoln, Nebraska which contained more devices containing child pornography. Agents traveled to Lincoln and collected three laptops from the defendant’s storage unit in Lincoln.
On September 24, 2018, after conducting initial forensics of some of Knight’s devices, agents arrested Knight in Valley, Nebraska. At the time of the arrest, Knight had a new cellular phone that he obtained after the August 22, 2018 search warrant. Knight admitted that additional child pornography would be located on this new cellular phone. Agents seized the new cellular phone for forensic analysis.
Agents conducted forensics analysis of Knight’s devices. Among Knight’s laptops, cell phones, and external storage devices, agents located more than 8,000 images of child pornography and 3,000 videos of child pornography. The images included children under the age of 12 and prepubescent minors engaging in sex acts.
Knight has prior convictions for attempted sexual assault of a child (1996- Lancaster County, Nebraska), Third Degree Sexual Assault of a Child (2013- York County, Nebraska), and Possession with Intent to Distribute Visual Depiction of Sexually Explicit Acts (2013- York County, Nebraska). Knight is a registered sex offender in the state of Nebraska.
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 Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security- Homeland Security Investigations.
Leader of Norfolk-Based Heroin Trafficking Group SentencedRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk man was sentenced today to over 21 years in prison for his role in a large-scale heroin trafficking conspiracy.
“Kyam Washington led a conspiracy that moved hundreds of thousands of dollars of heroin into Hampton Roads,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Heroin is a deadly poison, and its abuse starts a cascade of harm that permeates a user’s life and can have a devastating effect on everyone they come in contact with—their children, parents, friends, and the community as a whole. Washington played a significant role in pumping a massive amount of heroin into Hampton Roads, and the sentence delivered today is just punishment for his serious crimes.”
According to court documents, Washington, 46, was a lead drug dealer in a heroin ring that operated primarily from the Ocean View area of Norfolk that imported and sold multiple kilograms of heroin across Hampton Roads. The group imported bulk amounts of heroin from out-of-state sources and at times used a common cell phone number that addicts called to order heroin, which was then delivered by one of the conspirators.
The case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), Operation View Crew. 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; Jesse R. Fong, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division; Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; Larry D. Boone, Chief of Norfolk Police; and James A. Cervera, Chief of Virginia Beach Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew C. Bosse, Joseph E. DePadilla, and John F. Butler prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:19-cr-006.
Las Vegas Man Indicted for Child Exploitation ViolationsRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A federal grand jury indicted a Las Vegas man today for alleged federal child exploitation violations, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich for the District of Nevada.
Barry Allen Gabelman, 49, was charged with one count of coercion and enticement and one count of transferring obscene material to a minor. Gabelman is in federal custody pending his initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Albregts on February 11, 2020.
According to allegations contained in the complaint and indictment, from about October 31, 2019 to December 6, 2019, Gabelman exchanged sexually explicit messages and photos via his Skout social media account, as well as his WhatsApp messaging account, with individuals whom he believed to be an 11-year-old girl and her step-father. In reality, a law enforcement officer posed as both the girl and step-father. During their communications, Gabelman discussed having sex with the 11-year-old girl. On December 6, 2019, Gabelman traveled to a pre-determined location to have sex with the girl. Officers arrested Gabelman at the meeting place.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bianca Pucci is prosecuting the case.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted, Gabelman faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison for coercion and enticement and a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for transfer of obscene material to a minor. The defendant also faces a period of supervised release.
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.
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KC Man Sentenced for Illegal FirearmRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Missouri, man has been sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing a firearm.
Carl D. Edwards, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough on Monday, Feb. 3, to nine years and two months in federal prison without parole. Edwards was remanded to custody at the conclusion of yesterday’s sentencing hearing.
Edwards was convicted in a bench trial on June 17, 2019, of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Edwards was in possession of a Smith and Wesson .40-caliber handgun on Feb. 24, 2018. Kansas City police officers were dispatched that afternoon in response to a 9-1-1 call reporting a man high on PCP trying to get into a residence. Officers found Edwards lying in the driveway. The loaded handgun was tucked in his waistband.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Edwards has prior felony convictions for armed bank robbery, assault on a law enforcement officer, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, Edwards has an extensive history of violent activity going back 20 years, including misdemeanor convictions for disturbing the peace, multiple assaults, multiple inflictions of injury, and harassment.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Q. McCarther and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron M. Jolly. It was investigated by the Kansas City, 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.Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down Texas Tax Return PreparerRead the Press Release
The United States has filed a civil suit in the Eastern District of Texas seeking to bar Desmond I. Chizoba from owning or operating a tax return preparation business and preparing tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. The complaint also requests that the court require Chizoba, who operated tax preparation stores under the names Liberty Tax Service and Kish Tax Service, to disgorge ill-gotten fees that he obtained from the U.S. Treasury through the alleged false tax return preparation.
According to the government’s complaint, Chizoba prepares returns claiming false credits and fabricated businesses, related losses, and itemized deductions. For example, the government alleges that Chizoba prepared a return on which he concocted a business for a health insurance industry employee and fabricated a $29,510 loss for the phony business. By repeatedly underreporting tax liabilities and claiming bogus refunds on behalf of his customers, Chizoba has allegedly caused the United States to lose substantial tax revenue.
“Particularly during this time of year, when honest taxpayers are filing their returns, we want the public to know that the Justice Department will pursue those who would abuse our nation’s tax laws,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division Richard Zuckerman. “Fraudulent tax return preparers too often seek to take advantage of their customers and the U.S. Treasury, which undermines our tax system.”
Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams and taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers.
In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.
Justice Department Secures Denaturalization of Convicted Terrorist Who Sought to Help al Qaeda Destroy the Brooklyn BridgeRead the Press Release
On Feb. 3, Judge Staci M. Yandle of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois entered an order revoking the naturalized U.S. citizenship of convicted terrorist, Iyman Faris. Faris, a native of Pakistan, was convicted in 2003 of providing material support to al Qaeda and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Among other actions in support of al Qaeda, in 2002, Faris evaluated the practicality of a plot to collapse the Brooklyn Bridge in New York using gas cutters, communicating his assessment to al Qaeda via coded messages. In its order revoking his U.S. citizenship, the court found that Faris was ineligible for naturalization and unlawfully procured his citizenship through willful misrepresentation of material facts.
“A top priority at the Department of Justice is protecting our national security, and one of the things we do in support of that goal is tirelessly pursue denaturalization of known and suspected terrorists,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “What Faris did is unconscionable – he pretended to support the United States and the Constitution to naturalize while he actively supported Usama bin Laden and senior al Qaeda leadership in their plans to attack the United States. The denaturalization of Faris and of others who similarly defraud the United States helps defend the integrity of the immigration system, promote the rule of law, and make America safer.”
“Iyman Faris is a traitor to the oath he took renouncing foreign allegiances and pledging to defend the Constitution and our American way of life. He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing who took advantage of American generosity with plans to terrorize and murder. He does not deserve the honor of being an American citizen,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft for the Southern District of Illinois. “Becoming a naturalized citizen is a privilege. The process must be guarded for the safety of our nation and to protect and recognize the sacrifices, determination, and honor of those who earn that privilege honestly.”
Faris, 50, was convicted in 2003 in the Eastern District of Virginia of providing, and conspiring to provide, material support to al Qaeda, a designated foreign terrorist organization. Among other actions underlying that conviction, in 2000, Faris traveled to Afghanistan where he met Usama bin Laden and other high-ranking members of al Qaeda at an al Qaeda training camp, researched information about ultralight airplanes for a senior al Qaeda leader, and arranged for airline tickets to be issued to al Qaeda operatives.
In its Feb. 3 order, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois granted the government’s motion for summary judgment revoking Faris’s U.S. citizenship on multiple bases. The court found that Faris’s admitted affiliation with al Qaeda within five years after naturalizing established that he was not attached to the principles of the Constitution and well-disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States at the time he naturalized in 1999. The court also found that Faris was ineligible for naturalization based on his lies to immigration officers while under oath and his fraudulent entry into the United States in 1994 by using another person’s passport and visa.
Faris is currently serving his criminal sentence at the U.S. Penitentiary at Marion, Illinois, with a projected release date in August 2020. Because of the Court’s order, Faris is no longer a U.S. citizen and may be subjected to removal proceedings.
This case was investigated by the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation, District Court Section (OIL-DCS) National Security and Affirmative Litigation Unit (NS/A Unit), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with consultation and support from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The case was jointly prosecuted by Chief Tim Belsan and Counsel for National Security John Inkeles and Ed White (ret.) of OIL-DCS’s NS/A Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Biersbach of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois.
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.
Justice Department Releases $500 Million in Solicitations for Hiring Law Enforcement Officers, Improving School Safety and Combating Distribution of Illicit DrugsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced that the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) has released over $500 million in grant solicitations under the COPS Hiring Program (CHP) and several other grant programs that advance community policing, keep school students safe and promote the health and safety of our nation’s law enforcement officers.
“There is no more noble a profession than serving as a law enforcement officer and putting your life on the line to protect your community. Our police officers fight an unrelenting fight, and it is more important than ever to support them,” said COPS Office Director Phil Keith. “This funding will provide critical support to state, local, and tribal agencies so that they can bolster their ranks and reinforce community policing strategies and programs, and further our commitment to reducing violent crime.”
The COPS Hiring Program is a competitive award program intended to reduce crime and advance public safety through community policing by providing direct funding for the hiring of career law enforcement officers. In addition to providing financial support for hiring, CHP provides funding to state, local, and tribal law enforcement to enhance local community policing strategies and tactics. In a changing economic climate, CHP funding helps law enforcement agencies maintain sufficient sworn personnel levels to keep their communities safe. Funding through this program had been on hold since the spring of 2018 due to a nationwide injunction, which was recently lifted.
The 2020 Community Policing Development Program will fund projects related to a Law Enforcement Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation Program Toolkit; Recruiting the Next Generation of Officers and Deputies; Promising Practices in Law Enforcement Victim Support; Rural Law Enforcement Training Center; and Managing High-Risk Law Enforcement Vehicular Pursuits. This grant program provides guidance on promising practices through the development and testing of innovative strategies; building knowledge about effective practices and outcomes; and supporting new, creative approaches to preventing crime and promoting safe communities.
The Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act Program provides funding to improve the delivery of and access to mental health and wellness services for law enforcement through training and technical assistance, demonstration projects, and implementation of promising practices related to peer mentoring mental health and wellness programs. This year’s program will fund projects related to Peer Support Implementation Projects and a National Peer Support Program for Small and Rural Agencies.
The Preparing for Active Shooter Situations Program provides funding for scenario-based training that prepares officers and other first responders to safely and effectively handle active-shooter and other violent threats. This year’s program will train at least 20,000 first responders through scenario-based, multi-disciplinary training classes.
The COPS Office Anti-Heroin Task Force Program advances public safety by providing funds directly to state law enforcement to locate and investigate illicit activities through statewide collaboration related to the distribution of heroin, fentanyl, or carfentanil or the unlawful distribution of prescription opioids.
The COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program is designed to investigate illicit activities related to the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine. Funding must be used to locate or investigate illicit activities such as precursor diversion, laboratories, or methamphetamine traffickers.
The STOP School Violence Prevention Program provides funding to improve security at schools and on school grounds in the grantees’ jurisdictions through evidence-based school safety programs.
For more information on COPS Office funding, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/grants.
The COPS Office is a federal agency responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. Since 1994, the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of approximately 130,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training and technical assistance. For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov.
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.
Justice Department Releases $500 Million in Solicitations for Hiring Law Enforcement Officers, Improving School Safety and Combating Distribution of Illicit DrugsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced that the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) has released over $500 million in grant solicitations under the COPS Hiring Program (CHP) and several other grant programs that advance community policing, keep school students safe and promote the health and safety of our nation’s law enforcement officers.
“There is no more noble a profession than serving as a law enforcement officer and putting your life on the line to protect your community. Our police officers fight an unrelenting fight, and it is more important than ever to support them,” said COPS Office Director Phil Keith. “This funding will provide critical support to state, local, and tribal agencies so that they can bolster their ranks and reinforce community policing strategies and programs, and further our commitment to reducing violent crime.”
“In many communities, funding can be difficult to come by for critical public safety initiatives or law enforcement training and resources,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. “Over the last year, the Department of Justice has released a record amount of available grant funding. I encourage our Oklahoma partners, whether in urban or rural areas, to go to the COPS Office website to learn more and apply for these grants or to reach out to my office for application assistance.”
The COPS Hiring Program is a competitive award program intended to reduce crime and advance public safety through community policing by providing direct funding for the hiring of career law enforcement officers. In addition to providing financial support for hiring, CHP provides funding to state, local, and tribal law enforcement to enhance local community policing strategies and tactics. In a changing economic climate, CHP funding helps law enforcement agencies maintain sufficient sworn personnel levels to keep their communities safe. Funding through this program had been on hold since the spring of 2018 due to a nationwide injunction, which was recently lifted.
The 2020 Community Policing Development Program will fund projects related to a Law Enforcement Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation Program Toolkit; Recruiting the Next Generation of Officers and Deputies; Promising Practices in Law Enforcement Victim Support; Rural Law Enforcement Training Center; and Managing High-Risk Law Enforcement Vehicular Pursuits. This grant program provides guidance on promising practices through the development and testing of innovative strategies; building knowledge about effective practices and outcomes; and supporting new, creative approaches to preventing crime and promoting safe communities.
The Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act Program provides funding to improve the delivery of and access to mental health and wellness services for law enforcement through training and technical assistance, demonstration projects, and implementation of promising practices related to peer mentoring mental health and wellness programs. This year’s program will fund projects related to Peer Support Implementation Projects and a National Peer Support Program for Small and Rural Agencies.
The Preparing for Active Shooter Situations Program provides funding for scenario-based training that prepares officers and other first responders to safely and effectively handle active-shooter and other violent threats. This year’s program will train at least 20,000 first responders through scenario-based, multi-disciplinary training classes.
The COPS Office Anti-Heroin Task Force Program advances public safety by providing funds directly to state law enforcement to locate and investigate illicit activities through statewide collaboration related to the distribution of heroin, fentanyl, or carfentanil or the unlawful distribution of prescription opioids.
The COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program is designed to investigate illicit activities related to the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine. Funding must be used to locate or investigate illicit activities such as precursor diversion, laboratories, or methamphetamine traffickers.
The STOP School Violence Prevention Program provides funding to improve security at schools and on school grounds in the grantees’ jurisdictions through evidence-based school safety programs.
For more information on COPS Office funding, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/grants.
The COPS Office is a federal agency responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. Since 1994, the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of approximately 130,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training and technical assistance. For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov.
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.