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Tuesday 28 January 2020
Plan to Steal Guns in Iowa and Sell Them in Chicago Lands Sioux City Man in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A Sioux City man was sentenced January 23, 2020, to more than three years in federal prison.
Antwon Holeyfield, age 25, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 12, 2019, guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to possess stolen firearms and one count of possession of stolen firearms.
Information presented by the United States at the detention, change of plea, and sentencing hearings revealed, on November 26, 2018, Holeyfiled and others burglarized a rural Woodbury County, Iowa, home and sold guns stolen from that home to people in at least two other states. The guns were concealed until about February 16, 2019, when they were sold, traded or given to people from Iowa, Illinois, and South Dakota. Firearms were recovered in Sioux City, Iowa, rural South Dakota, and Chicago, Illinois.
Holeyfield was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Holeyfield was sentenced to 42 months’ imprisonment. He was ordered to make $7,522.75 in restitution. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Holeyfield is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). 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.
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. The United States Attorney’s Office has prosecuted this case with support from our Project Guardian partners. For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline.
The case was investigated by the Sioux City Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 19-4027.
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Pierre Woman Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Pierre, South Dakota, woman convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine was sentenced on January 27, 2020, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.
Nicole Marie Hopkins, age 35, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Hopkins was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 14, 2019. She pled guilty on November 4, 2019.
The conviction stemmed from a conspiracy beginning in the fall of 2018 and continuing through May 2019, in the District of South Dakota and elsewhere, in which Hopkins, her boyfriend Nathan Thoe, and others, intentionally distributed and possessed with intent to distribute between 500 grams and 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance.
During the course of the conspiracy, Hopkins and Thoe made numerous trips to Colorado to obtain methamphetamine. Thoe routinely carried a firearm on these trips. On the last trip in January 2019, Thoe and Hopkins were pulled over at a rest stop on I-90 near White Lake, South Dakota. Thoe disregarded commands to comply and reached for a handgun on the back of his hip and was shot and killed by law enforcement officers. At her feet, Hopkins had two BB guns that resembled handguns, which she stated, were for going out “Bonnie and Clyde style.” As a result of the stop, officers recovered 18 grams of methamphetamine.
Drug trafficking is an inherently violent activity. Firearms are tools of the trade for drug dealers. It is common to find drug traffickers armed with guns in order to protect their illegal drug product and cash, and enforce their illegal operations.
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 Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the Pierre Police Department, the Stanley County Sheriff’s Office, and the South Dakota Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.
Hopkins was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Picayune Woman Pleads Guilty to Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. – Angel Christine Labauve, 40, of Picayune, Mississippi, pled guilty today before Senior U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Kurt Thielhorn with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Labauve will be sentenced by Judge Guirola on April 29, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and up to $1,000,000 in fines.
In July, 2018, an individual made 4 purchases of heroin and cocaine from Labauve at her home in Picayune. Labauve sold a total of 1.5107 grams of heroin, some of which contained Fentanyl, for $350. She also sold an ounce of cocaine for $800.
The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms investigated the case. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Annette Williams.
Philadelphia Armed Robber Found Guilty at Trial of Two Robberies, ShootingsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Michael Hughes, 31, of Philadelphia, PA, was convicted today at trial of two counts of robbery which interferes with interstate commerce, and two counts of using, carrying, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence arising from two armed robbery and shooting incidents in August 2016.
In November 2017, Hughes and his co-defendant, Nashadeem Henderson, were charged in a five-count Indictment. The charges stem from Henderson’s and Hughes’s participation in an armed robbery and shooting of a marijuana dealer in the area of 2600 Allegheny Avenue in Philadelphia; and an armed robbery and shooting of a pizza deliveryman employed by Mimmo’s Pizza in the area of 3000 North Taney Street in Philadelphia. Henderson pleaded guilty prior to the trial.
“The defendants in this case had no regard for the lives of their victims – shooting at them indiscriminately, which could have easily killed them,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “Philadelphia is in the midst of a public safety crisis, with alarming rates of homicides and shootings. This crisis will not be solved by pretending that it does not exist or by coddling violent criminals. It will be solved through accountability for violent acts, and my Office is doing everything it can to investigate and aggressively prosecute violent crimes like those here.”
“Two armed robberies and two victims shot, in just five days,” said Michael T. Harpster, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “And had Hughes and his accomplice not been stopped, it’s no stretch to imagine what further mayhem they might’ve caused. It’s incredibly fortunate no one was killed by these two, so willing to use violence as a means to their criminal end. The FBI Violent Crimes Task Force will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who consider armed robbery a reasonable way to make themselves some money.”
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Philadelphia Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amanda Reinitz and Roberta Benjamin.
Parmelee Man Indicted on Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Parmelee, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person and Possession of a Firearm in a School Zone.
Justin Whiting, age 19, was indicted on January 14, 2020. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on January 27, 2020, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 10 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, 5 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on December 5, 2019, Whiting, knowing he was an unlawful user of and addicted to a controlled substance, knowingly possessed a firearm. The Indictment further alleges that Whiting possessed the firearm on the grounds of St. Francis Indian School.
The charges are merely accusations and Whiting is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and local communities to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see: https://www.justice.gov/projectguardian.
The investigation is being conducted by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson is prosecuting the case.
Whiting was released on bond pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Parkersburg Man Pleads Guilty to Drug OffenseRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Parkersburg man pled guilty to a drug crime, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Keith Saunders, 39, pled guilty to distribution of a quantity of methamphetamine.
“Saunders was selling roughly a half a pound of meth every week,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “Meth now plagues West Virginia communities and we are committed to holding drug dealers accountable.”
Saunders admitted that on two separate occasions in 2017, he met with confidential informants working with the Parkersburg Police Department and sold the informants methamphetamine. On October 29, 2019, Saunders admitted that he sold heroin to a confidential informant again working with the Parkersburg Police Department. On October 30, 2019, a state search warrant was executed at Saunders’ home where ammunition in addition to several digital scales were located. Saunders admitted to being addicted to methamphetamine for several years and told investigators that he sold approximately half a pound of methamphetamine a week in order to support his drug addiction.
Saunders faces up to 20 years in prison when sentenced on April 23, 2020.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Parkersburg Police Department conducted the investigation. Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney L. Alexander Hamner is handling the prosecution.
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Op-Ed: Congress Needs to Take Action on Fentanyl Legislation to Save LivesRead the Press Release
By:
Geoffrey S. Berman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York,
Richard P. Donoghue, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York,
Grant C. Jaquith, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York, and
James P. Kennedy, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New YorkFentanyl, while providing great help and hope to those suffering from chronic pain throughout the United States, has also been the cause of tragic suffering and death for hundreds of thousands of people.
Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and its chemical variants or analogues are significantly more potent and lethal than heroin. Carfentanil, for example, is an analogue of fentanyl that is approximately 100 times more potent than fentanyl and approximately 1,000 times more potent than heroin. Its commercial uses include serving as a tranquilizer for large animals such as elephants and rhinoceroses. Even the tiniest amount of a fentanyl analogue – just a few grains, less than an eighth the size of a penny – can be fatal to humans.
Over the past decade, each of our offices has charged large-volume illegal distributors of potentially lethal fentanyl. And yet, the death toll continued to rise because drug trafficking cartels responded to our enforcement efforts by manufacturing equally and even more dangerous analogues of fentanyl.
To address this deadly trend, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began using its scheduling authority – that is, its authority to designate substances as illegal narcotic drugs – to criminalize the distribution of particular synthetic analogues of fentanyl. The response of criminal syndicates, motivated by the high profitability of the trade in potentially lethal fentanyl analogues, was to alter the formulation of a particular prohibited analogue so that it fell outside the ban, which could sometimes be accomplished by changing a single molecule in the drug’s chemical composition.
Each time that new formulation was prohibited, the criminal producers would come up with a new analogue with a chemical formula that again fell outside the ban.
In February 2018, the DEA instituted a two-year ban on all fentanyl analogues to obviate the continual race to keep up with criminal producers. That ban has played an essential role in each of our offices’ efforts to combat the opioid epidemic, and to prosecute large-scale distributors responsible for peddling deadly fentanyl analogues in our communities.
Unfortunately, the DEA ban on fentanyl analogues will end on February 6 unless Congress acts. We urge Congress to pass a bill that ensures the permanent class-wide scheduling of fentanyl analogues. We are confident Congress can accomplish this without impeding responsible medical research or interfering with medically necessary prescriptions.
A number of organizations have voiced opposition to the proposed legislation, pointing out, among other things, that the bill does not embrace public health approaches to the overdose crisis.
We agree that a comprehensive approach to the opioid crisis is needed, and permanent class-wide scheduling should be viewed as part of a broader program. But a bill banning fentanyl analogues should not be opposed because it doesn’t also address addiction treatment. Outlawing fentanyl analogues will save lives.We urge Congress to make permanent the DEA’s temporary scheduling order for fentanyl analogues.
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Ohio man admits to cocaine distributionRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Keith Frazier, of Columbus, Ohio, has admitted to drug distribution, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Frazier, also known as “KK,” age 43, pled guilty to one count of “Distribution of Cocaine Base within 1000 feet of a Protected Location.” Frazier admitted to selling cocaine near Luau Manor in Ohio County in March 2019.
Frazier faces at least one and up to 40 years incarceration and a fine of up to $2,000,000. 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 Ohio Valley Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge James P. Mazzone presided.
Ohio Resident Charged with Jan. 15 Robinson Township Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA - A former resident of Wintersville, Ohio, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of armed bank robbery, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
The one-count Indictment named Montague Howard, 40, as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment, on Jan. 15, 2020, Howard entered the First Commonwealth Bank, located at 198 Park Manor Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15205, pointed what appeared to be a firearm at the tellers, and stole $8,583.00 in United States currency. Later that day, Howard was apprehended in Wintersville, Ohio with the assistance of the Wintersville Police Department.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 25 years in prison, a fine of $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. Howard remains incarcerated pending the resolution of the case.
Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca L. Silinski is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Robinson Township Police Department, and the Wintersville, Ohio Police Department 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.
Nurse Given Prison Sentence for Drug Theft and TamperingRead the Press Release
A nurse who tampered with drugs given to patients and stole pain medications from patients in her care was sentenced today to 4 years in federal prison.
Katie Louise Boll, age 31, from Manchester, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 3, 2019, guilty plea to one count of tampering with a consumer product, specifically liquid morphine prescribed to a patient, and one count of acquiring a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, deception and subterfuge.
In a plea agreement, Boll admitted she unlawfully acquired controlled substances including hydrocodone, morphine, oxycodone, codeine, and tramadol, from at least fourteen patients in her care at a nursing home by acquiring the pills by misrepresentation, fraud, deception and subterfuge. Boll also admitted tampering with a consumer product by diluting liquid morphine with mouthwash so the morphine was less than 2% of the strength listed on the bottle. Boll admitted that by reducing the strength of this pain medication was in reckless disregard and manifested an extreme indifference for the risk that her patient would be placed in danger of receiving bodily injury, including increased pain.
Boll was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Boll was sentenced to 48 months’ imprisonment. She was ordered to make $593.22 in restitution to the victims in her case, including Medicare, Medicaid and individual victims for the cost of the stolen drugs. She was also ordered to forfeit her nursing license. Boll must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Unscrupulous healthcare providers who steal patient medications hurt those vulnerable patients they have promised to help. This office will always stand ready to protect our most vulnerable members of society,” said United States Attorney Peter E. Deegan, Jr. “We especially thank the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations and the Iowa Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for their outstanding work investigating these cases.”
“Patients must have confidence in their health care provider that they are receiving appropriate medical care,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles L. Grinstead, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Kansas City Field Office. “We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to protect the public health and bring to justice those who tamper with medications and deny patients access to the treatments they need.”
Boll is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until she can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Reinert and was investigated by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals and the United States Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 19-CR-2044.
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North Side Felon Charged with Illegally Possessing Heroin, a Gun and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of violating federal narcotics and firearms laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
The three-count Indictment named Aaron Gale, 26, as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment, on or about January 16, 2020, Gale possessed with the intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, a Schedule I controlled substance. Gale, being a convicted felon, illegally possessed a SIG Sauer P226 9mm pistol and ammunition in furtherance of the drug trafficking crime. Federal law prohibits anyone who has been convicted of a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year to possess a firearm or ammunition.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of life in prison, a fine not to exceed $8,000,000 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 Nicole Vasquez Schmitt is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Drug Enforcement Administration 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.
Nine Indicted in Clarksville Drug Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – January 28, 2020 – Nine persons have been indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with conspiracies to distribute heroin, fentanyl and cocaine in the Clarksville, Tennessee area, announced U.S. Attorney Don Cochran for the Middle District of Tennessee. The indictments, the last of which were unsealed today, are the result of a joint investigation by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, which began in 2018 after a series of overdoses, including overdose deaths in the area.
The indictments were returned on December 19, 2019, after the investigation resulted in a number of controlled buys by law enforcement and the subsequent seizure of additional quantities of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and marijuana; several firearms; and drug paraphernalia used in the packaging and distribution of illegal drugs.
According to the indictments and other documents filed with the court, the conspiracy at times involved the distribution of more than one kilogram of heroin, causing bodily injury to another, by one or more of the defendants and more than 40 grams of fentanyl and more than 100 grams of heroin and fentanyl, by others, in the Clarksville area, including Springfield, Tennessee and Oak Grove, Kentucky. Court documents also indicate that one or more of the defendants may have been responsible for the distribution of more than 50 kilograms of heroin.
If convicted, the defendants face a minimum of five years and some face up to life in prison.
Those charged are:
Crystal Fruin, 32; Conley Johnson, 31; Colin McClain, 36; Delvin Samuels, 31; Randolph Scott, 36; Joshua Shandle, 30; Christopher Strickland, 48, all of Clarksville; and Tranisha Mitchell, 38, and Dewayne Strickland, 50, both of Detroit, Michigan.
All defendants are in custody with the exception of Colin McClain and Conley Johnson. They are fugitives and remain at large. Anyone with information on their whereabouts should call the Clarksville Police Department at 931-648-0656 or the ATF at 615-565-1400.
This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation; the Clarksville Police Department; the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office; the 19th Judicial District Drug Task Force; the Oak Grove, Kentucky Police Department; and the Christian County Kentucky Sheriff’s Department.
An indictment is merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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New Jersey Man Sentenced for Smuggling over 1,000 Illegally Collected Box Turtles from OklahomaRead the Press Release
A New Jersey man was sentenced Tuesday in federal court to conspiring with others to purchase, transport and sell more than 1,000 box turtles that were unlawfully collected from the state of Oklahoma, announced U.S. Attorney Trent Shores.
Chief U.S. District Judge John E. Dowdell sentenced William T. Gangemi, 27, of Freehold, New Jersey, to two years of probation. The Court also ordered Gangemi pay $250,000 in restitution to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and a $100,000 fine to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“Gangemi was part of a syndicate of wildlife smugglers that exchanged three-toed and western box turtles back and forth between the United States and China. I can’t say that I ever expected we’d be announcing a turtle smuggling prosecution, but I’ve learned just how prevalent this criminal enterprise is globally and the detrimental impact it has on our wildlife population in Oklahoma, not just today but for future generations,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. “I’m proud of this case and the result it achieved to better protect Oklahoma wildlife. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service teamed up with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation to investigate this case from Oklahoma to New Jersey. Their hard work is to be commended.”
“This case is an excellent example of how state and federal law enforcement agencies work together to combat the illegal wildlife trade," said Phillip Land, a Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "We will vigorously investigate wildlife crime in Oklahoma and in our great nation to hold traffickers accountable and protect imperiled species for future generations. We would like to thank the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and the U. S. Attorney's Office for their assistance with this case."
From May 1, 2017 to May 31, 2018, Gangemi knowingly facilitated the purchase and transport of unlawfully collected three-toed and western (ornate) box turtles from Oklahoma to New Jersey in order to sell them for profit.
By smuggling the turtles, Gangemi violated the Lacey Act, a federal law which makes it a felony to engage in the sale or purchase of protected wildlife with a market value in excess of $350 knowing that the wildlife was taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of laws or regulations of any state. In Oklahoma, the collection of both types of box turtles for commercial purposes is against the law. Box turtles reach sexual maturity at approximately 10 years of age and have a high nest and juvenile mortality rate. Due to these factors, the harvest of the turtles can have highly detrimental effects on populations.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan M. Roberts prosecuted the case.
NDTX Round-Up January 28Read the Press Release
GUILTY PLEA – DANIEL SANCHEZ-MENDOZA
On January 21, Daniel Sanchez-Mendoza, 27, pled guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Sanchez-Mendoza was pulled over by law enforcement for a traffic violation, and after consenting to a search, was found to be in possession of methamphetamine and heroin. In a later warranted search of Sanchez-Mendoza’s home, law enforcement found heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and three firearms within the apartment. Another firearm and part of an assault rifle were found in a storage unit used by Sanchez-Mendoza. He faces up to 20 years in federal custody. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Dallas Police Department and is prosecuted by AUSA Linda Requenez.
SENTENCING – KHAKI CAEKAERT
On January 14, Khaki Caekaert, 63, was sentenced to 9 years in federal custody for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Caekaert was found to be in possession of a kilogram of methamphetamine and 1.5 kilograms of heroin in his store located on Fuller Drive in Dallas. He also possessed 13 firearms and 3 explosive devices at this location. Law enforcement estimated that Caekaert had sold an ounce of methamphetamine each week for the two years prior to his arrest. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by AUSA PJ Meitl.
GUILTY PLEA – KARA LAMPKIN
On January 21, Kara Lampkin, 36, pled guilty to conspiracy to use a facility of interstate commerce in aid of a racketeering enterprise. Lampkin managed Relax2013, a brothel, at the direction of Jason Vo. She posted online advertisements to recruit sex workers, scheduled appointments, vetted both customers and workers to ensure they were not law enforcement, and managed the profits of this business. She ensured that both the advertisements and the business records were disguised and vague enough to avoid detection by law enforcement. Lampkin faces up to 5 years in federal custody. This case was investigated by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is prosecuted by AUSA Ryan Raybould.
SENTENCING – ZACHERY SEMAJ LEATCH
On January 23, Zachery Semaj Leatch, 25, was sentenced to 2 years and 3 months for being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm in a school zone. Leatch was found to be in possession of a pistol while at a youth basketball game. When police arrived on the scene, Leatch’s girlfriend warned him and Leatch set the gun on the floor before walking to the police officers. He admitted to possessing the firearm on a recorded jail call. This case was investigated by the Mesquite Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and prosecuted by AUSA John Boyle.
SENTENCING – ROBERT GUERRA IV
On January 23, Robert Guerra IV, 36, was sentenced to 15 years in federal custody for attempted production of child pornography. An undercover officer entered several chat rooms on Kik Messenger, posing as a 13 year old boy and later a 14 year old girl. Guerra attempted to solicit graphic content from the undercover detective. Guerra set plans to meet with the fake girl in person, however Garland Police officers and FBI agents were waiting to arrest him at the location. This case was investigated by the Grand Prairie Police Department, the Garland Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by AUSA Camille Sparks.
SENTENCING – JAMES EARLE CUDE
On January 23, James Earle Cude, 55, was sentenced to 14 years in federal custody for receipt of child pornography. Cude, a former band director at North Mesquite High School, admitted to using the instant messaging app Kik to download videos and images of the sexual exploitation of minors. He used various apps to initiate chats with dozens of minors, requesting inappropriate photos and suggesting sexual meetups. He was arrested while waiting for a meetup with an individual he believed was a 13-year-old boy, who was actually an undercover agent. This case was investigated by the Collin County Sheriff’s Office, Dallas Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by AUSA Camille Sparks. Click here to read more about this case.
GUILTY PLEA – EDWARD TORRES-SANCHEZ
On January 21, Edward Torres-Sanchez, 20, pled guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Torres-Sanchez was observed leaving his apartment with an unidentified white bag. Later, upon pulling Torres-Sanchez over for a traffic violation, Dallas Police Department officers found that he was driving without a license or insurance. Torres-Sanchez was lawfully arrested, and the ensuing search of his car resulted in the discovery of methamphetamine. Torres-Sanchez is also responsible for methamphetamine and drug proceeds found in his vehicle, as well as selling methamphetamine to an undercover officer. He faces up to life in federal custody. This case was investigated by the North Texas Strike Force and prosecuted by AUSA John Kull.
Moore Man Sentenced to a Decade in Federal Prison for Illegal Gun PossessionRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – PHILLIP CREIGHTON MONTGOMERY, 27, of Moore, Oklahoma, has been sentenced to ten years in prison for possessing firearms illegally, announced U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing.
According to Count 2 of a superseding indictment filed on March 5, 2019, Montgomery, having previously been convicted of a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year, knowingly and unlawfully possessed a Springfield XD40, .40 caliber pistol and a Glock 17, 9mm pistol. On May 7, 2019, Montgomery appeared before Senior U.S. District Judge Stephen P. Friot and entered a plea of guilty to Count 2 of the superseding indictment. Public records reflect Montgomery had felony convictions for concealing stolen property, burglary in the second degree, bringing contraband into a penal institution, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and obstructing an officer. Under federal law, Montgomery was prohibited as a convicted felon from possessing firearms.
At sentencing, Judge Friot sentenced Montgomery to ten years in prison—the statutory maximum—to be followed by three years of supervised release. In announcing the sentence, Judge Friot cited to the defendant’s brutal relevant conduct; namely, that he had battered a female while he possessed a firearm and thereafter threatened to further assault the female with the firearm.
"We will continue to bring firearms charges against perpetrators of violence who violate federal law," said U.S. Attorney Downing. "Through this case and others like it, the Department of Justice is preventing violence and protecting those in our communities."
This sentence is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with assistance from the Oklahoma City Police Department and the Moore Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary E. Walters.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods and Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiatives to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. For more information about Project Guardian, please see the Attorney General’s announcement here. The case is also part of "Operation 922," the district’s local implementation of Project Safe Neighborhoods and Project Guardian. "Operation 922" prioritizes firearms prosecutions connected to domestic violence, including domestic violence abusers who possess a firearm and are subject to a victim protective order or have been previously convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
Monongalia County woman sentenced for oxycodone distributionRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Kimberley Mozie, of Morgantown, West Virginia, was sentenced today to three years’ probation, with the first four months on home detention, for an oxycodone distribution charge, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Mozie, age 39, pled guilty to one count of “Aiding and Abetting Distribution of Oxycodone” in October 2019. Mozie admitted to distributing oxycodone in March 2017 in Monongalia County.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda E. Wesley prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Mon Metro Drug and Violent Crime Drug 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.
Senior U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley presided.
Monongalia County man sentenced for sex offender registry violationRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Earnest Parrie Dille, of Morgantown, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 18 months incarceration for failing to register as a sex offender, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Dille, age 63, pled guilty to one count of “Failure to Update Sex Offender Registration” in August 2019. Dille, a person required to register as a sex offender, admitted to traveling from Idaho to West Virginia without updating his sex offender registration from January 2018 to April 2019.
This case is prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Wagner prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The United States Marshal Service investigated.
Senior U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley presided.
Mitchell Man Sentenced for Conspiracy for Sex TraffickingRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Mitchell, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy for Sex Trafficking was sentenced on January 27, 2020, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Timothy Allan Bingham, age 58, was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100. Bingham also needs to register as a sex offender.
Bingham was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 6, 2018. He pled guilty on November 7, 2019.
The conviction stemmed from incidents between July 16, 2018, and July 23, 2018, when Bingham conspired with Walter Jandreau to knowingly and intentionally coerce a 16 year-old girl to engage in a commercial sex act. Bingham picked up Jandreau and the juvenile and took them back to his residence. Bingham provided methamphetamine to Jandreau in exchange for sexual contact with the minor.
Jandreau was sentenced on December 2, 2019, to 210 months in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Mitchell Police Department, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.
Bingham was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Missouri Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
Fayetteville, Arkansas – David Clay Fowlkes, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Bruce Richter, age 51, of Exeter Missouri, was sentenced today to 168 months in federal prison followed by four years of supervised release on one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute More Than 50 grams of a Mixture or Substance Containing Methamphetamine. The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.
In June of 2019, officers with the Rogers Police Department Narcotics Unit stopped a red GMC truck for a traffic violation. While officers spoke with the driver they noticed, the passenger later identified as Richter to have a bulge in his left front pocket that was suspected of being a weapon. During a pat down search, officers located a package of methamphetamine in Richter’s pocket. Richter admitted to having more methamphetamine in the vehicle and a subsequent search resulted in officers finding a small white box between the driver and passenger seat, which contained two additional bags of methamphetamine and several clear baggies used for packaging narcotics.
The methamphetamine field-tested positive for methamphetamine and was submitted to the Department of Homeland Security for additional testing. At sentencing, Richter was held accountable for 371.71 grams of actual methamphetamine.
Richter was indicted by a federal grand jury in August of 2019, and entered a guilty plea in October of 2019.
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security and the Rogers Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Sydney Butler prosecuted the case for the Western District of Arkansas.
Minnesota Business Owner Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison for Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced the sentencing of RANDAL SCOT BRINKMAN, 61, to 46 months in prison. BRINKMAN, who was found guilty on July 25, 2019, following a four-day jury trial, was sentenced today by Judge Joan N. Ericksen in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
As proven at trial, BRINKMAN owned and operated a Roseville-based construction company. From 1999 through 2018, BRINKMAN took steps to hide his income and to actively evade the assessment of taxes, including using sham businesses, closing his personal bank accounts, using money orders and cash to pay for daily expenses, and creating a fake religious organization in order to hide his income and assets. Following a 2007 IRS audit, BRINKMAN filed personal income tax returns for the calendar years 2002 through 2007, admitting that he owed more than $145,000 in federal income taxes for those years. Nevertheless, despite filing the returns, BRINKMAN didn’t pay any of the taxes he admitted he owed to the IRS. BRINKMAN also failed to file tax returns or pay any of his federal incomes taxes from 2012 through 2018.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS and the Minnesota Department of Revenue.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph H. Thompson and Alexander D. Chiquione.
Defendant Information:
RANDAL SCOT BRINKMAN, 61
Medina, Minn.
Convicted:
- Tax evasion, 6 counts
Sentenced:
- 46 months in prison
- 3 years supervised release
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United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600
Mexican Man Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Reentering the United States After Being Deported Two TimesRead the Press Release
A man who illegally returned to the United States after being deported was sentenced today to three months in federal prison.
Eduardo Sierra-Montes, age 46, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States and residing in West Liberty, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 4, 2019, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry into the United States.
At the guilty plea, Sierra-Montes admitted he had previously been deported from the United States and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government. Sierra-Montes was deported in February 2014 and again in April 2014.
On November 13, 2019, Sierra-Montes came to the attention of immigration agents in the parking lot outside the ICE office in Cedar Rapids. After admitting being illegally in the United States, Sierra-Montes fled on foot after being asked to step out of the vehicle. When he was apprehended a short distance away, immigration agents found a work identification card on Sierra-Montes bearing a different name. Further investigation showed that Sierra-Montes had been illegally working in West Liberty, Iowa, since October 2018, using the name and social security number of another person.
Sierra-Montes has a prior conviction for domestic violence in Kalamazoo County, Michigan in 1999. He also has a prior conviction for retail theft in Rock Island County, Illinois in 2004 where he was convicted under a different alias name.
Sierra-Montes was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States three months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Sierra-Montes is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 19-CR-125.
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Media Advisory - United States Attorney Mike Stuart to Hold Press ConferenceRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. –United States Attorney Mike Stuart, along with law enforcement and City of Huntington officials, will hold a press conference on Wednesday, January 29, 2020, at 3:00 p.m. regarding an indictment.
Where: Sidney L. Christie Federal Building
845 Fifth Avenue
Huntington, WV
When: Wednesday, January 29, 2020 @ 3:00 p.m.
Follow us on Twitter: SDWVNews
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Marion County man sentenced for firearms chargeRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – James G. Moore, Jr., of Fairmont, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 120 months for a firearms violation, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Moore, age 42, pled guilty to one count of “Unlawful Possession of a Firearm” in August 2019. Moore, who is prohibited from having a firearm, admitted to having 9mm pistol in February 2018 in Marion County.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). Project Safe Neighborhoods 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.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Traci M. Cook and Zelda E. Wesley prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office investigated.
Senior U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley presided.
Man Sentenced to 50 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiracy to Produce Child Pornography, Production and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Spokane – William D. Hyslop, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Mikhail Yuriy Ageyev, age 34, a citizen of Ukraine and a resident of Moses Lake, Washington was sentenced today after having pleaded guilty on October 21, 2019 to conspiracy to produce child pornography, production of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. Senior United States District Judge Wm. Fremming Nielsen sentenced Ageyev to a 50-year term of imprisonment, to be followed by a lifetime term of court supervision after he is released from federal prison.
According to information disclosed during court proceedings, Ageyev came to law enforcement attention through a series of CyberTips from Twitter and the Microsoft Corporation about suspected child pornography uploaded by Ageyev over the internet. CyberTips are reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) of illegal actions taken against children. In this case, as in many cases, the CyberTip pertained to child pornography. NCMEC receives the CyberTip and determines which law enforcement group (geographically) is best suited to respond to the tip. After NCMEC’s review is completed, the information in a CyberTip report is made available to that law enforcement group.
In this case, the first CyberTip was received by the Moses Lake Police Department on October 30, 2017. The Moses Lake Police Department quickly conducted additional investigation to include executing search warrants for various online accounts maintained by Ageyev. The CyberTips and search warrants revealed that Ageyev maintained an online presence where he professed an interest in incest and child pornography and where he traded child pornography images with others online.
On November 18, 2017, the Moses Lake Police Department executed search warrants at Ageyev’s residence in Moses Lake. During a subsequent interview at the Moses Lake Police Department, Ageyev admitted to law enforcement that he had child pornography files on his mobile phone. Ageyev also admitted that he exchanged links, images, and videos of child pornography with others using various methods over the internet. Ageyev also admitted that he produced child pornography by using his mobile phone to take sexually explicit video and still images of his girlfriend’s two-year old daughter. Ageyev was taken into custody the same day.
A subsequent forensic examination of Ageyev’s electronic devices, in particular his mobile phone, revealed child pornography images and videos that he had produced. It also revealed child pornography images and videos Ageyev had downloaded from the internet or received directly from other people over the internet.
A review of several of the child pornography videos found on Ageyev’s device demonstrated that Ageyev’s girlfriend, Katrina Michelle Maradee Adams, was also involved in the production of child pornography involving Adams’ two-year old daughter along with Ageyev. Search warrants were then obtained for electronic devices possessed by Adams and various online accounts maintained by Adams. These search warrants revealed discussions between Ageyev and Adams concerning the sexual abuse of Adams’ two-year old daughter which included Ageyev discussing future plans to sexually abuse and impregnate the child. Law enforcement also located video and still images depicting the sexual abuse of the two-year old victim.
On February 21, 2018, a federal Grand Jury in Spokane returned a multi-count indictment against Ageyev and Adams charging conspiracy to produce child pornography, production of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. On January 29, 2019, Adams pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce child and distribution of child pornography. Adams also agreed to testify against Ageyev at trial. Adams is due to be sentenced on February 24, 2020. Ageyev pleaded guilty on October 21, 2019 to conspiracy to produce child pornography, production of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.
At the sentencing hearing, Senior United States District Judge Wm. Fremming Nielsen said that “abusing young children in any way, using any method, is conduct that society as a whole agrees is the worst kind of conduct there is and unfortunately you were involved in it.” The Court also said that the “victim is a two and a half year old little girl whose life is now upside down and will never be the same.”
United States Attorney William D. Hyslop said “Sexual predation and exploitation upon a two-year old child. Producing child pornography. It is difficult to imagine a more heinous situation or more egregious situation. Just as terrible, or more egregious, every time a sexually explicit image is downloaded and viewed, the child who is shown is victimized again. Thank goodness Ageyev has now been convicted of three serious felony child pornography offenses and is now removed from society and the ability to hurt others.”
“This is why the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington, in collaboration with its federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners, uses every resource and tool available to investigate and prosecute aggressively those involved in child exploitation. This Office will continue to do all we can to protect vulnerable child victims of these horrible crimes by seeking lengthy prison sentences, like the one imposed today, for child pornographers.”
“The sentence in this case is representative of how completely reprehensible this defendant’s crimes are,” said Debra Parker, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle. “What the defendant didn’t count on was how equally passionate HSI and our law enforcement partners are about seeking and holding accountable those who wish to harm children.”
This case was pursued as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the United States Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. The Project Safe Childhood Initiative (“PSC”) has five major components:
· Integrated federal, state, and local efforts to investigate and prosecute child exploitation cases, and to identify and rescue children;
· Participation of PSC partners in coordinated national initiatives;
· Increased federal enforcement in child pornography and enticement cases;
· Training of federal, state, and local law enforcement agents; and
· Community awareness and educational programs.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources." This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Moses Lake Police Department, and the Southeast Regional Internet Crimes against Children Task Force (ICAC). This case was prosecuted by Alison L. Gregoire and James A. Goeke, Assistant United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Washington.
Licensed gun dealer sentenced for helping gun traffickers acquire gunsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Licensed firearms dealer Christopher Koninsky, who allowed multiple individuals to buy guns for other people, has been sentenced to federal prison. Those guns were sold at his business, Team 88 Enterprises, and trafficked to several states outside Georgia and into the hands of criminals.
“Licensed gun dealers have the responsibility to follow the laws and regulations that govern the privilege of selling guns,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “That includes preventing straw purchases from occurring and running background checks on the real buyers of the firearms they sell. Koninsky violated the trust invested in him and placed the community in grave danger when he allowed gun traffickers to acquire guns.”
“The majority of our firearms dealers are good people who are focused on running a business, helping customers and supporting their communities” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Arthur Peralta. “Mr. Koninsky willfully disregarded regulations that are designed to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands and as a result, he diverted guns into the criminal market.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: After running a background check on a prospective buyer, and learning that there was something in the would-be purchaser’s background that prohibited them from possessing firearms, Koninsky instead allowed another person to complete the necessary paperwork to acquire the firearms. He then watched the prohibited person walk away with the firearms.
This was not the first time that Koninsky had allowed a person to put his name on paperwork to acquire guns on behalf of another, a practice commonly used by gun traffickers called “straw purchasing.”
Christopher Koninsky, 52, of Mableton, Georgia, has been sentenced to six months in prison, followed by six months of home confinement, and two years of supervised release. Koninsky was convicted on these charges on May 30, 2019, after he pleaded guilty.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Keen and Michael J. Brown prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Law Enforcement Officer Facing Federal Indictment for Transportation of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal grand jury has indicted Anthony Michael Mileo, age 54, of Huntingtown, Maryland, on the federal charge of transportation of child pornography. The indictment was returned on January 22, 2020, and was unsealed at his initial appearance yesterday. Mileo is an officer with the Maryland National Capital Park Police Department.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge John Eisert of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; and Calvert County State’s Attorney Andrew Rappaport.
According to the indictment, on May 28, 2019, Mileo transported child pornography by computer. Mileo previously faced related charges in Calvert County, but those charges were dismissed in favor of federal prosecution.
If convicted, Mileo faces a mandatory minimum of five years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for transportation of child pornography. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. At his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, U.S. Magistrate Judge DiGirolamo ordered that Mileo be released under the supervision of U.S. Pretrial Services.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
This case 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 Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended HSI Baltimore and the Maryland State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force for their work in the investigation and thanked the Office of the State’s Attorney for Calvert County for its assistance. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy F. Hagan, who is prosecuting the federal case.
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Laurens, Iowa, Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A man who possessed child pornography was sentenced on January 27, 2020, to 7 years in federal prison.
Raymond Painter, Jr., age 31, from Laurens, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 19, 2019, guilty plea to one count of possession of child pornography.
In a plea agreement, Painter admitted that between April 15, 2013 and November 27, 2017, he possessed images and videos of child pornography. During the sentencing hearing, information was presented from Painter’s Google account that revealed online conversations between Painter and another individual during which Painter expressed a desire to have sex with very young girls, specifically girls between six and 11 years old.
Painter was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Painter was sentenced to 84 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Painter is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Duax and investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Iowa Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Laurens, Iowa Police Department and the Pocahontas County Sheriff’s Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 19-CR-3023.
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Laurel County Man Sentenced to Prison for Social Security Fraud and Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
LONDON, Ky. – Harold Arnold, 69, of London, was sentenced in federal court on Tuesday, by U.S. District Judge Claria Horn Boom, to 31 months in prison for defrauding the Social Security Administration (SSA) and committing aggravated identity theft.
Arnold previously admitted that, after escaping from custody in Georgia in 1979, he unlawfully assumed the identity of his deceased cousin and moved to Kentucky, where he worked under the assumed identity from 1981 to 2009. He then applied for and received Social Security benefits, from October 2010 through July 2016. Arnold failed to truthfully disclose his own identity, applied for benefits using a fraudulent identity; and was a fugitive from justice, rendering him ineligible for the payments that he received. According to his plea agreement, the total loss to the SSA was $83,561.90, which Arnold has been ordered to repay.
Under federal law, Arnold must serve, at a minimum, 85 percent of his prison sentence. He will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for one year after being released.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Rod Owens, Special Agent-in-Charge, SSA Office of the Inspector General, Atlanta Field Division—Nashville, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was directed by the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General. The United States was represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James T. Chapman.
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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Las Vegas Man Sentenced to Prison for $382K Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A former resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been sentenced in federal court to 27 months’ imprisonment and 3 years’ supervised release on his conviction of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on Yoandy Pou Torres, age 37.
According to information presented to the court, Pou Torres used counterfeit credit cards encoded with stolen bank account information to purchase MasterCard gift cards at Sam’s Club stores in the Pittsburgh area, as well as in Florida and California. During the month of December 2017, Pou Torres and his codefendant, Hector Podio Gutierrez, using an encoding device, created counterfeit credit cards, and then used the cards to make fraudulent gift card purchases totaling more than $382,000 at various Sam’s Club locations. As part of the sentence imposed, Pou Torres was ordered to pay $382,235 in restitution, and to make payments while imprisoned in connection with the United States Bureau of Prison’ Inmate Financial Responsibility Program, through which 50% of his prison salary will be applied to pay the restitution. Podio Gtierrez remains on bond pending trial.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Bissoon noted that Pou Torres had committed a significant fraud, and had previously been convicted of a similar offense as recently as 2017.
Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Brady commended the United States Postal Inspection Service and the United States Secret Service for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Pou Torres.
Lake Andes Man Charged with Aggravated Sexual Abuse and Abusive Sexual ContactRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Lake Andes, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Aggravated Sexual Abuse and Abusive Sexual Contact.
Frank Sanchez, age 65, was indicted on December 3, 2019. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy on January 24, 2020, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to life in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, life of supervised release, and up to $300 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that between June 1, 1996, and September 1, 1996, Sanchez knowingly engaged in, and attempted to engage in, a sexual act with a child who had not attained the age of 12 years. The Indictment also alleges that between June 1, 1996, and September 1, 1996, Sanchez knowingly engaged in, and attempted to engage in, sexual contacts with the same child who had not attained the age of 12 years.
The Indictment also alleges that between June 1, 2006, and September 1, 2006, Sanchez knowingly engaged in, and attempted to engage in, sexual contact with a second child who had not attained the age of 12 years.
The charges are merely accusations and Sanchez is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Hoffman is prosecuting the case.
Sanchez was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial, which has been set for March 31, 2020.
Jury convicts head of drug trafficking groupRead the Press Release
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A federal jury has returned guilty verdicts on all counts against a 40-year-old Brownsville man for his role in trafficking more than 1000 kilograms of cocaine involving $26 million in drug proceeds, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
The jury deliberated for less than three hours before convicting Rafael Villanueva following a six-day trial.
During trial, the jury heard from approximately 21 witnesses. They detailed Villanueva’s role as head of a drug transportation group that moved cocaine from the Rio Grande Valley and on to cities throughout the United States. He had customers in Mexico who needed transportation for cocaine to areas throughout the United States, including Houston; Chicago, Illinois; Jackson, Mississippi; as well as locations in South and North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia.
He also provided transportation for drug proceeds sold throughout the United States back to the Rio Grande Valley. The commercial vehicles were outfitted with special compartments to hide the cocaine and drug proceeds.
Several witnesses testified Villanueva hired them to move the cocaine north and the drug proceeds south. Villanueva paid them by the kilogram to transport the drugs and a percentage of the drug money coming south. Fellow drug traffickers also testified Villanueva borrowed their line of transport for the cocaine when commercial drivers Villanueva hired got arrested with loads of cocaine.
One of the witnesses was a young male who was only 16 when he started working for Villanueva.
The jury also heard about the search of Villanueva’s house where authorities found five guns and numerous documents showing his lavish lifestyle as well as several Lone Star cards.
The defense attempted to convince the jury the witnesses were all liars and authorities did poor work.
The jury ultimately found him guilty as charged for possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and conspiracy to do so, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, bulk cash smuggling and international money laundering.
U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. presided over the trial and set sentencing for May 4, 2020. At that time, Villanueva faces up to life in prison. He will remain in custody pending that hearing.
Several others have also been convicted for their respective roles.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force operation known as La Camelia. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen Betancourt, Jody Young and Paul Marian are prosecuting the case.
Joshua Small and Joni Amber Johnson Sentenced for Kidnapping Elderly VictimsRead the Press Release
Knoxville, Tennessee – On January 28, 2020, Joshua Small, 52, and Joni Amber Johnson, 36, both of Princeton, West Virginia, were sentenced by the Honorable Chief Judge Pamela Reeves in the United States Courthouse in Knoxville for their roles in a conspiracy to assault, kidnap, and rob elderly victims. Small received 30 years in federal prison with 5 years of supervised release. Johnson received 25 years in federal prison with 5 years of supervised release. Both Small and Johnson were also ordered to pay over $8,000 in restitution.
From May 2018 to July 2018, Small and Johnson went on a spree of armed home invasions and kidnappings throughout West Virginia, Virginia, and East Tennessee. Small and Johnson targeted the homes of elderly victims, forcing entry into their residences, holding victims at gunpoint, and binding their hands and feet. Small and Johnson would then ransack the homes, stealing jewelry, valuables, heirlooms, and cash.
The home invasions were noteworthy for the egregious amount of violence directed towards the victims. In a home invasion in Dandridge, Tennessee, Small struck a 72-year-old male victim in the neck, bound his hands and feet with power cords, and shoved him down a flight of stairs into the basement. During a home invasion in Princeton, West Virginia, the two surreptitiously entered the home of an 88-year-old woman, holding her at gunpoint and ripping off her Life Alert necklace. Small then struck her in the head, knocking her unconscious and causing a substantial injury before fleeing the home with her pocket book. In Jefferson County, Tennessee, Small and Johnson forced their way into an 81-year-old man’s home, struck him in the head and neck, bound his hands and feet, gagged him, robbed him of $3,200 and fled. In total, Small and Johnson attacked, terrorized, kidnapped and robbed seven elderly victims.
“The Department of Justice will always stand firmly against those who seek to terrorize, take advantage of, and abuse our country’s citizens. While this case is noteworthy for the extreme violence and the large geographical area of the crime spree, we know that this is not an isolated incident. Preventing further crimes such as those committed by Joshua Small and Joni Amber Johnson is one of our greatest priorities,” said U.S. Attorney J. Douglas Overbey.
"This investigation demonstrates that the victimization of our elderly citizens will not be tolerated by law enforcement. These offenses were vicious and had significant physical and mental impact on their victims. I am proud of the diligent work of Special Agent Leatham along with our local and federal law enforcement partners who worked to identify, arrest, and bring to justice these predators so they can’t victimize anyone again,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Joe Carrico.
Assistant United States Attorneys Alan Kirk and Kevin Quencer represented the United States at trial and sentencing.
Members of the public are urged to reach out to their local, state, and federal law enforcement offices to report instances of elder abuse, fraud, or victimization in their communities. The Department of Justice remains focused on protecting our nation’s most vulnerable citizens, and we rely upon public assistance to help identify and pursue cases involving elderly victims.
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It’s Time for a Permanent Ban on Fentanyl AnaloguesRead the Press Release
Joint Statement by California’s United States Attorneys: Robert S. Brewer, Southern District; Nicola T. Hanna, Central District; David L. Anderson, Northern District; McGregor W. Scott, U.S. Attorney, Eastern District
In 2017, almost 50,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses. In California alone, there were 2,428 fatal opioid overdoses in 2018. And it’s getting worse. In San Francisco and Los Angeles Counties, for instance, opioid fatalities have increased by 54% and 41%, respectively, since 2016. San Diego County and the Central Valley are also experiencing unprecedented levels of fatal opioid overdoses. This is a crisis, and illicitly produced fentanyl is largely responsible.
To fight this epidemic, law enforcement must have all the necessary tools at their disposal. One such tool is the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) 2018 order making all fentanyl-related drugs illegal in the United States. Unfortunately, that order was temporary and will expire in less than two weeks. The Senate recently passed bipartisan legislation approving a 15-month extension of the temporary order. While this is a step in the right direction, and the House should pass the Senate’s bill, a longer term solution is needed. We need a permanent ban on all fentanyl-like drugs.
Illicit fentanyl is manufactured in labs in China and Mexico and smuggled into the United States. It is 50 times more powerful than heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine. So powerful, in fact, that only a couple milligrams – the size of a few grains of salt – can kill the average person.
Fentanyl, however, is unique. Because it is made in labs using chemicals, its structure is easily manipulated. And the drug cartels that manufacture and traffic this synthetic poison into our neighborhoods understand American laws and know how to exploit them. They know that by changing a single molecule in the chemical structure of fentanyl, they have essentially created a new drug. One that, unlike fentanyl, is not illegal in the United States. These drugs, known as “fentanyl analogues,” do as fentanyl does: create more addicts and kill more Americans. The analogues – which can be up to 100 times more potent than fentanyl and 10,000 times more potent than morphine – will become legal if Congress fails to act.
The DEA’s 2018 decision to temporarily schedule – that is, to make illegal – all fentanyl-related substances was a response to the extraordinary legal loophole exploited by drug traffickers. In April 2019, China also outlawed all fentanyl-related substances. This is extraordinary progress, with one caveat. Unlike China’s law, the United States’ has an expiration date.
On Feb. 6, 2020, the DEA’s temporary order expires, and all drugs seized by U.S. investigators over the past two years that have tested positive as fentanyl analogues will no longer be illegal. If Congress fails to pass the legislation it will have a dramatic impact not just on the prosecutors and law enforcement officers who spend their lives investigating and prosecuting drug dealers, but on communities already hard hit by the opioid epidemic, many of which are right here in California.
Despite the tireless efforts of law enforcement, California continues to be a main thoroughfare for fentanyl and fentanyl-like drugs arriving from China and Mexico. In 2019, federal law enforcement agents seized about three-quarters of a ton of fentanyl at the six ports of entry we share with Mexico and in all places in between. That’s 20 percent more than in 2018. And our federal resources are not infinite; we need all the help we can get. Passing this legislation would provide invaluable support to us as prosecutors and the entire law enforcement community as we continue to combat the opioid crisis in California and throughout America.
A number of organizations have voiced opposition to the proposed legislation, arguing that the bill does not “embrace public health approaches to the overdose crisis.” We agree that a comprehensive approach to the crisis is needed, and a permanent fentanyl analogue ban should be viewed as part of a holistic effort. But time is running out: there is no doubt that drug traffickers are eagerly awaiting the temporary order’s expiration to start flooding our communities with these dangerous drugs. The passage of this legislation is quite literally a matter of life and death.
There should be nothing partisan about declaring fentanyl analogues illegal. There is certainly nothing partisan about saving lives and bringing justice to those who profit from addiction and death. For the safety of our communities, we urge Congress to pass legislation making permanent the DEA’s temporary scheduling of all fentanyl-related drugs.
It’s Time for a Permanent Ban on Fentanyl AnaloguesRead the Press Release
In 2017, almost 50,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses. To put that number into perspective, the amount of American lives lost due to opioid overdoses is nearly three times the population of the city of Martinsburg. It is apparent that West Virginia has been particularly hard hit by opioids. In fact, West Virginia has the most opioid overdose fatalities per capita in the country. Many of these overdose deaths are due to illicitly-produced fentanyl and its analogues. One such death was at the center of a trial that just finished in Clarksburg Federal Court. The jury found the defendant guilty of providing the deadly fentanyl to the young West Virginia woman, age 20. Her body was found dismembered in a Georgia landfill, once again demonstrating the depths of depravity those who deal these poisons will go.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid available lawfully only by a prescription. It has legitimate medical uses – primarily to manage severe pain and in palliative care – and is classified as a Schedule II drug by the Controlled Substances Act. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), abuse and/or recreational use of pharmaceutically-prescribed fentanyl occurs on a small scale. It is illicit fentanyl and its analogues that are responsible for most overdose deaths.
Illicit fentanyl is manufactured in labs in China and Mexico and smuggled into the United States. It is 50 times more powerful than heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine. So powerful, in fact, that only a couple milligrams – the size of a few grains of salt – can kill the average person.
Because fentanyl is made in labs using chemicals, its structure is easily manipulated. Drug cartels that manufacture and traffic this poison understand American laws and know how to exploit them. They know that by changing a single molecule in the chemical structure of fentanyl, they have essentially created a new drug. One that, unlike fentanyl, is not permanently illegal in the United States.
These drugs, known as “fentanyl analogues,” do as fentanyl does: creating more addicts and killing more Americans. These analogues can be up to 100 times more potent than fentanyl and 10,000 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl and its analogues are increasingly being pressed into pill form, causing extreme danger to users who might not know the true nature of the substance.
In West Virginia, fentanyl and its analogues were involved in 531 resident overdose deaths in 2018 – accounting for 41% of all fatal overdoses. Two of the hardest hit counties – Berkeley and Monongalia – are in the Northern District of West Virginia.
To address the crisis of opioid overdose deaths, law enforcement must have all the necessary tools at their disposal. One such tool is the DEA’s 2018 order, which classifies all illicit fentanyl-related drugs as Schedule I drugs. Unfortunately, that order was temporary and will expire in less than two weeks.
On January 17, 2020, the Senate passed the Temporary Reauthorization and Study of the Emergency Scheduling of Fentanyl Analogues Act. This bipartisan legislation, with the support of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, approved a 15-month extension of DEA’s temporary scheduling order. This is certainly a step in the right direction, and the House should follow suit and pass the Senate’s bill.
However, a longer term legislative solution is needed. A permanent ban on all fentanyl analogues would send a strong message to the cartels and sophisticated drug operations that peddle illicit fentanyl that the United States is serious about addressing this crisis. It would also protect the public by permanently placing these drugs where they rightly belong - in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, which is reserved for the most dangerous of drugs. There should be nothing partisan about making these deadly drugs permanently illegal. The issue of life and death transcends party lines.
On Feb. 6, 2020, the DEA’s temporary order expires. If Congress fails to pass legislation it will have a dramatic impact not just on the prosecutors and law enforcement officers who spend their lives investigating and prosecuting drug dealers, but also on communities already hard hit by the opioid epidemic, many communities which are right here in the Northern District of West Virginia.
There is little doubt that drug traffickers are eagerly awaiting the temporary order’s expiration to start flooding our communities with these dangerous drugs. The passage of this legislation is quite literally a matter of life and death.
Despite recent reductions in opioid-related overdose deaths in West Virginia, prosecuting drug dealers – particularly those who peddle heroin and fentanyl and profit from the misery of addiction and death– remains a top priority for my office. But our federal resources are not infinite; we need all the help we can get. Passing this legislation would provide invaluable support to the entire law enforcement community as we continue to combat the opioid crisis.
-U.S. Attorney Bill Powell, Northern District of West Virginia
Iowa Woman Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Sioux City, Iowa, woman convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine was sentenced on January 28, 2020, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.
Veronica Arciniega, age 42, was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, a $1,000 fine, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Arciniega was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 16, 2019. She pled guilty on November 7, 2019.
The conviction stemmed from a methamphetamine conspiracy beginning in at least February 2019, where Arciniega, who had the source of methamphetamine in Iowa, brought ounces of methamphetamine to a home in the Sicangu Village. Arciniega and others distributed the methamphetamine in and around the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, the Valentine, Nebraska Police Department, and the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.
Arciniega was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Iowa Drug Dealer Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A man who admitted selling drugs in the Northern District of Iowa was sentenced today to more than 19 ½ years in federal prison.
David Anthony Vargas, age 48, from Winthrop, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 3, 2019, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
In a plea agreement, Vargas admitted he worked with at least one other person to distribute methamphetamine in the Northern District of Iowa and elsewhere. Vargas admitted selling drugs to another person on three occasions totaling more than 180 grams of pure methamphetamine. Officers recovered another 386.2 grams of pure methamphetamine in Vargas’s possession when he was arrested in Burlington, Iowa, and additional methamphetamine at his residence in Winthrop, Iowa. Vargas was previously convicted in state court of possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine in 2007.
Vargas was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Vargas was sentenced to 235 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a ten-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Vargas is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Nydle and investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department, the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Department, the Independence Police Department, the Iowa State Patrol, the Oelwein Police Department, the Urbana Police Department, the Des Moines County Sheriff’s Department, the Tri-County Drug Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 19-cr-02043.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Harvard University Professor and Two Chinese Nationals Charged in Three Separate China Related CasesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today that the Chair of Harvard University’s Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department and two Chinese nationals have been charged in connection with aiding the People’s Republic of China.
Dr. Charles Lieber, 60, Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University, was arrested this morning and charged by criminal complaint with one count of making a materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statement. Lieber will appear this afternoon before Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler in federal court in Boston.
Yanqing Ye, 29, a Chinese national, was charged in an indictment today with one count each of visa fraud, making false statements, acting as an agent of a foreign government and conspiracy. Ye is currently in China.
Zaosong Zheng, 30, a Chinese national, was arrested on Dec. 10, 2019, at Boston’s Logan International Airport and charged by criminal complaint with attempting to smuggle 21 vials of biological research to China. On Jan. 21, 2020, Zheng was indicted on one count of smuggling goods from the United States and one count of making false, fictitious or fraudulent statements. He has been detained since Dec. 30, 2019.
Dr. Charles Lieber
According to court documents, since 2008, Dr. Lieber who has served as the Principal Investigator of the Lieber Research Group at Harvard University, which specialized in the area of nanoscience, has received more than $15,000,000 in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Defense (DOD). These grants require the disclosure of significant foreign financial conflicts of interest, including financial support from foreign governments or foreign entities. Unbeknownst to Harvard University, beginning in 2011, Lieber became a “Strategic Scientist” at Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) in China and was a contractual participant in China’s Thousand Talents Plan from in or about 2012 to 2017. China’s Thousand Talents Plan is one of the most prominent Chinese Talent recruitment plans that are designed to attract, recruit, and cultivate high-level scientific talent in furtherance of China’s scientific development, economic prosperity and national security. These talent programs seek to lure Chinese overseas talent and foreign experts to bring their knowledge and experience to China and reward individuals for stealing proprietary information. Under the terms of Lieber’s three-year Thousand Talents contract, WUT paid Lieber $50,000 USD per month, living expenses of up to 1,000,000 Chinese Yuan (approximately $158,000 USD at the time) and awarded him more than $1.5 million to establish a research lab at WUT. In return, Lieber was obligated to work for WUT “not less than nine months a year” by “declaring international cooperation projects, cultivating young teachers and Ph.D. students, organizing international conference[s], applying for patents and publishing articles in the name of” WUT.
The complaint alleges that in 2018 and 2019, Lieber lied about his involvement in the Thousand Talents Plan and affiliation with WUT. On or about, April 24, 2018, during an interview with investigators, Lieber stated that he was never asked to participate in the Thousand Talents Program, but he “wasn’t sure” how China categorized him. In November 2018, NIH inquired of Harvard whether Lieber had failed to disclose his then-suspected relationship with WUT and China’s Thousand Talents Plan. Lieber caused Harvard to falsely tell NIH that Lieber “had no formal association with WUT” after 2012, that “WUT continued to falsely exaggerate” his involvement with WUT in subsequent years, and that Lieber “is not and has never been a participant in” China’s Thousand Talents Plan.
Yanqing Ye
According to the indictment, Ye is a Lieutenant of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the armed forces of the People’s Republic of China and member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). On her J-1 visa application, Ye falsely identified herself as a “student” and lied about her ongoing military service at the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT), a top military academy directed by the CCP. It is further alleged that while studying at Boston University’s (BU) Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering from October 2017 to April 2019, Ye continued to work as a PLA Lieutenant completing numerous assignments from PLA officers such as conducting research, assessing U.S. military websites and sending U.S. documents and information to China.
According to court documents, on April 20, 2019, federal officers interviewed Ye at Boston’s Logan International Airport. During the interview, it is alleged that Ye falsely claimed that she had minimal contact with two NUDT professors who were high-ranking PLA officers. However, a search of Ye’s electronic devices demonstrated that at the direction of one NUDT professor, who was a PLA Colonel, Ye had accessed U.S. military websites, researched U.S. military projects and compiled information for the PLA on two U.S. scientists with expertise in robotics and computer science. Furthermore, a review of a WeChat conversation revealed that Ye and the other PLA official from NUDT were collaborating on a research paper about a risk assessment model designed to decipher data for military applications. During the interview, Ye admitted that she held the rank of Lieutenant in the PLA and admitted she was a member of the CCP.
Zaosong Zheng
In August 2018, Zheng entered the United States on a J-1 visa and conducted cancer-cell research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston from Sept. 4, 2018, to Dec. 9, 2019. It is alleged that on Dec. 9, 2019, Zheng stole 21 vials of biological research and attempted to smuggle them out of the United States aboard a flight destined for China. Federal officers at Logan Airport discovered the vials hidden in a sock inside one of Zheng’s bags, and not properly packaged. It is alleged that initially, Zheng lied to officers about the contents of his luggage, but later admitted he had stolen the vials from a lab at Beth Israel. Zheng stated that he intended to bring the vials to China to use them to conduct research in his own laboratory and publish the results under his own name.
The charge of making false, fictitious and fraudulent statements provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of visa fraud provides for a sentence of up to 10years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of acting as an agent of a foreign government provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of smuggling goods from the United States provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Michael Denning, Director of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Boston Field Office; Leigh-Alistair Barzey, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office; Philip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; and William Higgins, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement, Boston Field Office made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys B. Stephanie Siegmann, Jason Casey and Benjamin Tolkoff of Lelling’s National Security Unit are prosecuting these cases with the assistance of Trial Attorneys William Mackie and Davie Aaron of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
These case are part of the Department of Justice’s China Initiative, which reflects the strategic priority of countering Chinese national security threats and reinforces the President’s overall national security strategy. In addition to identifying and prosecuting those engaged in trade secret theft, hacking and economic espionage, the initiative will increase efforts to protect our critical infrastructure against external threats including foreign direct investment, supply chain threats and the foreign agents seeking to influence the American public and policymakers without proper registration.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Harvard University Professor and Two Chinese Nationals Charged in Three Separate China Related CasesRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that the Chair of Harvard University’s Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department and two Chinese nationals have been charged in connection with aiding the People’s Republic of China.
Dr. Charles Lieber, 60, Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University, was arrested this morning and charged by criminal complaint with one count of making a materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statement. Lieber will appear this afternoon before Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler in federal court in Boston, Massachusetts.
Yanqing Ye, 29, a Chinese national, was charged in an indictment today with one count each of visa fraud, making false statements, acting as an agent of a foreign government and conspiracy. Ye is currently in China.
Zaosong Zheng, 30, a Chinese national, was arrested on Dec. 10, 2019, at Boston’s Logan International Airport and charged by criminal complaint with attempting to smuggle 21 vials of biological research to China. On Jan. 21, 2020, Zheng was indicted on one count of smuggling goods from the United States and one count of making false, fictitious or fraudulent statements. He has been detained since Dec. 30, 2019.
Dr. Charles Lieber
According to court documents, since 2008, Dr. Lieber who has served as the Principal Investigator of the Lieber Research Group at Harvard University, which specialized in the area of nanoscience, has received more than $15,000,000 in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Defense (DOD). These grants require the disclosure of significant foreign financial conflicts of interest, including financial support from foreign governments or foreign entities. Unbeknownst to Harvard University beginning in 2011, Lieber became a “Strategic Scientist” at Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) in China and was a contractual participant in China’s Thousand Talents Plan from in or about 2012 to 2017. China’s Thousand Talents Plan is one of the most prominent Chinese Talent recruit plans that are designed to attract, recruit, and cultivate high-level scientific talent in furtherance of China’s scientific development, economic prosperity and national security. These talent programs seek to lure Chinese overseas talent and foreign experts to bring their knowledge and experience to China and reward individuals for stealing proprietary information. Under the terms of Lieber’s three-year Thousand Talents contract, WUT paid Lieber $50,000 USD per month, living expenses of up to 1,000,000 Chinese Yuan (approximately $158,000 USD at the time) and awarded him more than $1.5 million to establish a research lab at WUT. In return, Lieber was obligated to work for WUT “not less than nine months a year” by “declaring international cooperation projects, cultivating young teachers and Ph.D. students, organizing international conference[s], applying for patents and publishing articles in the name of” WUT.
The complaint alleges that in 2018 and 2019, Lieber lied about his involvement in the Thousand Talents Plan and affiliation with WUT. On or about, April 24, 2018, during an interview with investigators, Lieber stated that he was never asked to participate in the Thousand Talents Program, but he “wasn’t sure” how China categorized him. In November 2018, NIH inquired of Harvard whether Lieber had failed to disclose his then-suspected relationship with WUT and China’s Thousand Talents Plan. Lieber caused Harvard to falsely tell NIH that Lieber “had no formal association with WUT” after 2012, that “WUT continued to falsely exaggerate” his involvement with WUT in subsequent years, and that Lieber “is not and has never been a participant in” China’s Thousand Talents Plan.
Yanqing Ye
According to the indictment, Ye is a Lieutenant of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the armed forces of the People’s Republic of China and member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). On her J-1 visa application, Ye falsely identified herself as a “student” and lied about her ongoing military service at the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT), a top military academy directed by the CCP. It is further alleged that while studying at Boston University’s (BU) Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering from October 2017 to April 2019, Ye continued to work as a PLA Lieutenant completing numerous assignments from PLA officers such as conducting research, assessing U.S. military websites and sending U.S. documents and information to China.
According to court documents, on April 20, 2019, federal officers interviewed Ye at Boston’s Logan International Airport. During the interview, it is alleged that Ye falsely claimed that she had minimal contact with two NUDT professors who were high-ranking PLA officers. However, a search of Ye’s electronic devices demonstrated that at the direction of one NUDT professor, who was a PLA Colonel, Ye had accessed U.S. military websites, researched U.S. military projects and compiled information for the PLA on two U.S. scientists with expertise in robotics and computer science. Furthermore, a review of a WeChat conversation revealed that Ye and the other PLA official from NUDT were collaborating on a research paper about a risk assessment model designed to decipher data for military applications. During the interview, Ye admitted that she held the rank of Lieutenant in the PLA and admitted she was a member of the CCP.
Zaosong Zheng
In August 2018, Zheng entered the United States on a J-1 visa and conducted cancer-cell research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston from Sept. 4, 2018, to Dec. 9, 2019. It is alleged that on Dec. 9, 2019, Zheng stole 21 vials of biological research and attempted to smuggle them out of the United States aboard a flight destined for China. Federal officers at Logan Airport discovered the vials hidden in a sock inside one of Zheng’s bags, and not properly packaged. It is alleged that initially, Zheng lied to officers about the contents of his luggage, but later admitted he had stolen the vials from a lab at Beth Israel. Zheng stated that he intended to bring the vials to China to use them to conduct research in his own laboratory and publish the results under his own name.
The charge of making false, fictitious and fraudulent statements provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of visa fraud provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of acting as an agent of a foreign government provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of smuggling goods from the United States provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Field Division Joseph R. Bonavolonta; Michael Denning, Director of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Boston Field Office; Leigh-Alistair Barzey, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office; Philip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; and William Higgins, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement, Boston Field Office made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys B. Stephanie Siegmann, Jason Casey and Benjamin Tolkoff of Lelling’s National Security Unit are prosecuting these cases with the assistance of trial attorneys William Mackie and David Aaron at the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
These case are part of the Department of Justice’s China Initiative, which reflects the strategic priority of countering Chinese national security threats and reinforces the President’s overall national security strategy. In addition to identifying and prosecuting those engaged in trade secret theft, hacking and economic espionage, the initiative will increase efforts to protect our critical infrastructure against external threats including foreign direct investment, supply chain threats and the foreign agents seeking to influence the American public and policymakers without proper registration.
Grand Jury Returns Indictments in Project Guardian Gun CasesRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A grand jury in Wichita returned two indictments today charging federal gun crimes under the Justice Department’s new initiative called Project Guardian, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.
“We are working closely with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute gun crimes as part of Project Guardian,” U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.
Project Guardian calls for strict enforcement of federal firearms laws, as well as improved information sharing on denials of firearms transfers in an effort to disrupt potential mass shootings. Project Guardian also emphasizes the use of modern intelligence tools and technology such as the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) to investigate and prevent gun crime.
More information about Project Guardian is available at https://www.justice.gov/ag/about-project-guardian
Today’s firearms indictments include the following:
Rigoberto Ferrel Jr., 27, Garden City, Kan., is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The crimes are alleged to have occurred Aug. 20, 2019, in Finney County, Kan.
If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 and not less than five years and a fine up to $5 million on the drug charge. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Treaster is prosecuting.
Vario Jesus Portillo-Salinas, 26, Liberal, Kan., is charged with two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in July and August 2019 in Seward County, Kan.
If convicted, he could face a penalty of not less than 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $10 million on each of the drug counts, not less than five years and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and up to 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Treaster is prosecuting.
OTHER INDICTMENTS
Gonzalo Sandoval-Vizcaino, 45, Oxnard, Calif., is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. The crime is alleged to have occurred Nov. 2, 2019, in Ellis County, Kan.
If convicted, he could face a penalty of not less than 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $10 million. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Katie Andrusak is prosecuting.
Miguel Angel Ramirez, 29, is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The crime is alleged to have occurred Dec. 2, 2019, in Seward County, Kan.
If convicted, he could face a penalty of not less than 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $10 million. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch is prosecuting.
Kimberly A. Kirchner, 37, Atlanta, Kan., is charged with embezzling funds from the U.S. Postal Service while she was an employee. The crime is alleged to have occurred during a period from Sept. 23, 2019, to Jan. 3, 2020, in Cowley County, Kan.
If convicted, she could face up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch is prosecuting.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
Gloucester County Man Admits Using Fraudulent Invoices to Steal from Hospitals, Clinics and Doctors’ Offices Across U.S.Read the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Gloucester County, New Jersey, man today admitted mailing thousands of fraudulent invoices to hospitals, clinics and doctor’s offices throughout the United States, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Robert S. Armstrong, 49, of Turnersville, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman in Camden federal court to an information charging him with one count of mail fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Operating under the name of Pinnacle Medical Supplies, Armstrong prepared and caused to be prepared fraudulent invoices billing hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices across the United States for medical supplies such as diabetic test strips, EpiPens® and sanitizing wipes that the medical providers never ordered or received. In addition to billing for medical supplies never ordered or received, the invoices included fraudulent shipping information and a fraudulent address.
Armstrong then contracted with a legitimate bulk mailing company to mail more than 10,000 invoices to medical providers across the United States. Each invoice included a payment envelope preaddressed to Pinnacle Medical Supply at mail boxes Armstrong had set up with commercial mail receiving agents in Florida and Texas.
In response to the phony invoices, at least 943 medical providers sent $214,495 to Pinnacle Medical Supply. Armstrong deposited many of the checks from the victim medical providers into a bank account he opened in the name of Pinnacle Medical Supply.
The count of mail fraud is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000, twice the gross profits to Armstrong or twice the gross losses to the victims of his offense. In his plea agreement, Armstrong agreed to make full restitution to the victims.
This is Armstrong’s second mail fraud scheme. On Nov. 19, 2015, Armstrong was sentenced to 57 months in prison for committing a similar mail fraud scheme in the name of his company, Scholastic Book Supply. Armstrong caused the mailing of thousands of fraudulent invoices to schools throughout the United States billing them for books that the schools did not order or receive. Armstrong, who committed the present Pinnacle Medical Supply offense while on supervised release for the Scholastic Book Supply fraud, also pleaded guilty to three violations of his supervised release, for which he faces an additional 24 months in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for May 7, 2020.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited law enforcement officers of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge John Walker in Philadelphia, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana Carrig of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.
Defense counsel: Richard Coughlin Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Camden
Glassport Man Charged with Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Glassport, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
The one-count Indictment named Rory Shelton, 57, as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment, on or about May 7, 2019, Shelton possessed images and videos that depicted prepubescent minors, and minors who had not attained the age of 12, engaged in sexual activity.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than 20 years in prison, a fine of $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 Lee J. Karl is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Borough of Glassport Police Department and the Allegheny County Police Department 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.
Former Taneytown Police Chief Sentenced to Federal Prison for the Illegal Transfer and Possession of a Machine GunRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander today sentenced William E. Tyler, age 56, of Fairfield, Pennsylvania, to a year and a day in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for the illegal transfer and possession of a machine gun. Tyler is the former Chief of Police in Taneytown, Maryland. Judge Hollander also ordered that Tyler must forfeit assets obtained as a result of, or used to facilitate the commission of his illegal activities, including the two .223-caliber machine guns that he illegally transferred and possessed.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Toni Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division.
“Police officers, no matter their rank, are subject to the same laws as everyone else. No one is above the law,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “William Tyler lied to fellow officers in an attempt to cover up his crime. Now he will serve federal prison time—where there is no parole, ever.”
According to his guilty plea, in 2017 Tyler transferred two machine guns owned by and registered to the Taneytown Police Department to himself and another officer, for their personal use. According to court documents, Tyler created documents titled a “Bill of Sale,” purporting to sell one of the machine guns to himself for $100, although records were never located to confirm any payment to the Taneytown Police Department. Tyler did not attempt to report the transfer of the machine guns to the ATF’s National Firearms Act (NFA) Division, which is responsible for maintaining registration and transfer information about all NFA weapons in accordance with federal law, as any such transfer is illegal.
On January 15, 2019, law enforcement executed search warrants at the residences of Tyler and the officer and recovered the machine guns. Tyler was interviewed by the FBI and ATF, and was warned that it is a crime to make a materially false statement or representation to federal agents. Despite the warning, Tyler lied when he told agents that he had never fired the .223-caliber machine gun recovered in his home and did not know it was automatic, when in fact he had fired the weapon, and as a trained law enforcement officer was well aware that the weapon was automatic.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and ATF for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Derek E. Hines and Leo J. Wise, who prosecuted the case.\
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Former Pittsburgh Man Facing Multiple Charges Stemming from an Attempted Kidnapping in September 2018Read the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – A former resident of Pittsburgh, PA, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh and charged with violations of the federal robbery, extortion, firearms, and narcotics laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
The seven-count Superseding Indictment named Kevin Harris, age 37, as the defendant.
According to the Superseding Indictment, from in and around September 1, 2017 to September 18, 2018, Harris conspired to possess with the intent to distribute and distribute marijuana. Also on September 18, 2018, Harris is charged with committing the offenses of attempted Hobbs Act extortion, Hobbs Act robbery, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and/or a drug trafficking crime, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. According to information presented to the Court in previous hearings, the charges in this case stem from an attempted kidnapping of a victim over a drug debt on September 18, 2018 in Monroeville, PA.
The law provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 17 years in prison and up to life, a fine of $1,000,000 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 Timothy M. Lanni is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation – Western District of Pennsylvania Opioid Task Force conducted the investigation leading to the Superseding Indictment in this case. This Task Force is comprised of FBI Special Agents and state and local Task Force Officers, including officers from the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Allegheny County Sheriff’s Department, Allegheny County Police, Port Authority Police, Munhall Police Department, Stowe-Rox Police Department, and Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.
A superseding indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former McKeesport Resident Indicted for Illegally Possessing Heroin and a HandgunRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA- A former resident of McKeesport, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on violations of federal narcotics and firearms laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
The two-count Indictment named Jared Ogrosky, 22, formerly of McKeesport, PA.
According to the Indictment, which follows a criminal complaint that was filed on May 10, 2019, Ogrosky possessed with the intent to distribute approximately nine bricks of heroin and a Glock model 19x, 9 millimeter handgun in furtherance of the drug trafficking crime, all of which were seized by law enforcement officials during the execution of a federal search warrant at Ogrosky’s former residence in McKeesport.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than five years in prison, a fine not to exceed $2,250,000 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 Rebecca L. Silinski is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case. This case was brought under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former Massapequa High School Teacher Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Transporting Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Joseph Zanco, a former Massapequa High School teacher, was sentenced today at the federal courthouse in Central Islip to five years’ imprisonment by United States Circuit Court Judge Joseph F. Bianco for transporting child pornography in interstate and foreign commerce. As part of his sentence, Zanco must serve seven years of supervised release following his imprisonment during which time he must register as a sex offender and may not have unsupervised contact with minors. Zanco pleaded guilty in April 2019.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), announced the sentence.
In April 2018, Zanco began uploading hundreds of images of child pornography to the cloud-based Google Drive storage feature of his Google account. After receiving notification from Google, law enforcement authorities obtained search warrants and recovered child pornography from his Google account. Additional images and videos containing child pornography were recovered from Zanco’s cell phone and laptop computer.
“As a licensed teacher, Zanco had a mandatory obligation to report crimes against children, and today he was punished for doing just the opposite: perpetuating their victimization by his transportation and possession of child pornography,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “The protection of children will always be a priority of this Office.”
“Zanco, a man who was entrusted to teach our youth, violated that trust by engaging in the transmission and possession of child pornography,” stated HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Fitzhugh. “We expect our teachers to educate and care for our children and when one violates that position of trust by sharing these alarming depictions, HSI and our law enforcement partners will stop at nothing to put an end to the facilitation and creation of children being victimized. One of HSI’s priorities will continue to be centered around child exploitation investigations to protect our most innocent – our children
This prosecution is 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 United States Attorneys’ Offices, 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 government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorney Michael Maffei is in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
JOSEPH M. ZANCO
Age: 45
Massapequa, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-412 (JFB)
Former Labor Union President Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement of Union AssetsRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. announced that today in federal court, KEITH ALAN LUDLUM, 48, of Bladenboro, North Carolina pled guilty to Conspiracy and Embezzlement of Labor Union Assets. At sentencing before Chief United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle, LUDLUM faces a combined maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, a fine of $10,000, and restitution. On February 26, 2019, TERRY SLAUGHTER pled guilty to Embezzlement of Labor Union Assets. At sentencing, SLAUGHTER faces a maximum sentence 5 years imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, a $10,000 fine, and restitution.
LUDLUM was charged in an Indictment filed on April 17, 2019. According to the Indictment and information presented at the hearing, in 2011, LUDLUM was elected President of the United Food and Commercial Workers (“UFCW”), Local Union 1208. SLAUGHTER was elected Secretary/Treasurer. Local Union 1208 encompasses North and South Carolina and has approximately 3600 active members. As President, LUDLUM was the primary fiduciary officer. LUDLUM and SLAUGHTER had financial oversight of the Local’s expenditures.
In 2014, the UFCW initiated an audit of the Local after receiving complaints from union members regarding the theft and misuse of union funds by LUDLUM and SLAUGHTER. The audit and a subsequent criminal investigation revealed that between January 2012 and March 2015, LUDLUM and SLAUGHTER embezzled and misused more than $200,000 in union funds by issuing unauthorized checks and making unauthorized purchases with their assigned debit cards.
The United States Department of Labor, Office of Labor Management Standards conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Toby Lathan represented the government.
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The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
Former Illinois State Senator Pleads Guilty to Federal Bribery and Tax OffensesRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — Former Illinois State Sen. MARTIN A. SANDOVAL pleaded guilty today in federal court in Chicago to bribery and tax offenses included in an information filed in federal court Monday.
Sandoval, 56, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to one count of federal program bribery, which is punishable by a maximum sentence of ten years in federal prison, and one count of willfully filing a false income tax return, which is punishable by up to three years. As part of a plea agreement, Sandoval has agreed to fully and truthfully cooperate in any matter in which he is called upon by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The government requested that Sandoval’s sentencing be delayed until his cooperation is complete. U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood did not immediately set a sentencing date.
The guilty plea was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the FBI; Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; and Andrea Kropf, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Department of Transportation-Office of Inspector General in Chicago. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Stetler and James P. Durkin.
Sandoval admitted in the plea agreement that he solicited and accepted financial and other benefits from an individual affiliated with a Chicago-area red-light camera company, in return for Sandoval using his official position as a state senator to block legislation harmful to the red-light-camera industry. Sandoval also admitted that he engaged in corrupt activities with other public officials and accepted money from other individuals in return for using his official position to attempt to benefit those individuals and their business interests. Sandoval admitted accepting more than $250,000 in bribes as part of criminal activity that involved more than five participants.
In addition to the bribery, Sandoval admitted that he willfully caused his accountant to file income tax returns that Sandoval knew underreported his income for the calendar years 2012 through 2017. Sandoval admitted in the plea agreement that his tax offenses caused a total loss to the IRS of at least $72,441, and a loss to the Illinois Department of Revenue of at least $13,384.38, which he has agreed to pay.
Former Executive Assistant Sentenced in Connection with Embezzling over $3 MillionRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The former executive assistant of a Waltham-based technology company was sentenced today in connection with a fraud and embezzlement scheme that netted over $3 million.
Shivani Patel, 38, of Vineyard Haven, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to four years in prison, five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $3,819,366 and forfeiture of $3,076,369. In October 2019, Patel pleaded guilty to one count each of bank fraud, money laundering and filing false tax returns.
As an executive assistant to the chief financial officer, Patel’s duties included retrieving incoming mail containing customer checks made payable to her employer, recording the checks into the payment system and depositing the checks into her employer’s bank account.
From at least February 2012 through July 2017, Patel embezzled approximately $3,076,369 from her then employer for her personal use. Specifically, in February 2012, Patel created a company with a name nearly identical to that of her then employer — using her employer’s name but just adding an “s” to the end — and opened a business banking account in the sham company’s name. Thereafter, Patel took customer checks payable to her employer from the mail, deposited those checks into the sham company’s bank account, and concealed her embezzlement by making false entries in her employer’s billing system. To disguise and conceal the nature of these funds, Patel funneled this money through multiple bank accounts.
In addition, Patel filed income tax returns for the tax years 2012 through 2016 in which she intentionally underreported her income by failing to disclose the money she had stolen from her employer.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin D. O’Connell of Lelling’s Securities and Financial Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.
Former Cameron High School Teacher Sentenced to 20 Years for Using Hidden Camera to Produce Child PornographyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former Cameron, Missouri, high school teacher was sentenced in federal court today for secretly recording pornographic videos of three teenage victims in his bathroom.
William Derek Williams, 40, of Cameron, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Williams to 10 years of supervised release following incarceration. Williams formerly was a high school language arts teacher and more recently a part-time high school multimedia teacher at the time of the offense.
Williams pleaded guilty on Aug. 26, 2019, to one count of producing child pornography. Williams admitted that he secretly filmed three different victims over a five-year period from January 2013 to September 2018 while they were in the basement bathroom of his residence.
A then-15-year-old victim discovered a hidden camera, designed to look like a cell phone charger plug, on Sept. 6, 2018. The victim opened the device and retrieved a micro SD card, which he inserted into his cell phone in order to view its contents. The card included a secretly-recorded video of the victim.
The child victim turned the device over to investigators. On Sept. 8, 2018, investigators with the Clinton County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant at Williams’s residence and seized a laptop computer and an SD card. Each of those devices contained pornographic videos of two more teenage victims who were secretly recorded in the basement bathroom. The laptop contained five distinct videos produced on five different days of a then-16-year-old victim. The laptop and the SD card contained several pornographic videos of a third victim who was then between 14 and 16 years old.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Luna. It was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Clinton County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."Federal Jury Convicts Raleigh Man for Heroin Overdose Death and ConspiracyRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – Robert J. Higdon, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announces that today in federal court, JAYSON MCNEIL, a 28-year-old resident of Raleigh, was convicted following a four-day trial before United States District Judge James C. Dever III. The jury found MCNEIL guilty of Distribution of Heroin and Fentanyl Resulting in Death of a Person, Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with the Intent to Distribute One Kilogram or More of Heroin. Sentencing is scheduled for the April 27, 2020 term of court in Raleigh. MCNEIL faces at least twenty years’ and up to life imprisonment.
The evidence at trial showed that MCNEIL operated a long-standing heroin organization in the city of Raleigh, North Carolina, distributing heroin and fentanyl to numerous individuals and which resulted in multiple overdoses. This culminated in the May 30, 2018 overdose death of a 27 year old man in the Raleigh area. A co-conspirator, Destin McLean, pled guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute one (1) kilogram of heroin before trial.
Mr. Higdon commented: “This case is one example of the danger that the distribution and use of fentanyl and heroin presents for people all across this country. We are grateful that the trial jury found our evidence persuasive and have held this defendant accountable for his drug trafficking crimes and for the pain and suffering it caused. This office will pursue those who are pouring these dangerous drugs into our streets and who are jeopardizing the health and welfare of our citizens.”
The Wake County Sheriff’s Office, the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, United States Attorney’s Office and the United States Marshals Service conducted the investigation in this matter. Special Assistant United States Attorney Kelly L. Sandling and Assistant United States Attorney Thomas L. Crosby prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.