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9 December 2019
Social Media Influencer Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison after Plotting to Hijack Internet DomainRead the Press Release
A man who enlisted his cousin to break into a Cedar Rapids man’s home and order him at gunpoint to transfer an Internet domain was sentenced today to 14 years in federal prison.
Rossi Lorathio Adams II, age 27, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, also known as “Polo,” received the prison term after an April 18, 2019, jury verdict finding him guilty of one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by force, threats, and violence.
The evidence at trial showed that Adams founded the social media company “State Snaps” while a student at Iowa State University in 2015. State Snaps operates on a variety of social media platforms, including Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter. At one time, Adams had over a million followers on his social media sites, which mostly contained images and videos of young adults engaged in crude behavior, drunkenness, and nudity. In 2015, a Des Moines area television station aired a news segment in which Adams, who in the interview would only identify himself as “Polo,” was continuing to operate his social media sites despite the objections of Iowa State University administrators and the policies of the social media platforms.
Adams’ followers often used the slogan, “Do It For State!” Adams tried to purchase the Internet domain “doitforstate.com” from a Cedar Rapids resident who had registered the domain with GoDaddy.com. Between 2015 and 2017, Adams repeatedly tried to obtain “doitforstate.com”, but the owner of the domain would not sell it. Adams also threatened one of the domain owner’s friends with “gun emojis” after the friend used the domain to promote concerts.
In June 2017, Adams enlisted his cousin, Sherman Hopkins, Jr., to break into the domain owner’s home and force him at gunpoint to transfer doitforstate.com to Adams. Hopkins was a convicted felon who lived in a homeless shelter at the time.
On June 21, 2017, Adams drove Hopkins to the domain owner’s house and provided Hopkins with a demand note, which contained instructions for transferring the domain to Adams’ GoDaddy account. When Hopkins entered the victim’s home in Cedar Rapids, he was carrying a cellular telephone, a stolen gun, a taser, and he was wearing a hat, pantyhose on his head, and dark sunglasses on his face.
The victim was upstairs and heard Hopkins enter the home. From the top of a staircase, the victim saw Hopkins with the gun on the first floor. Hopkins shouted at the victim, who then ran into an upstairs bedroom and shut the door, leaning up against the door to stop Hopkins from entering.
Hopkins went upstairs, kicked the door open, grabbed the victim by the arm and demanded to know where he kept his computer. When the victim told Hopkins that he kept his computer in his home office, Hopkins forcibly moved the victim to the office. Hopkins ordered the victim to turn on his computer and connect to the Internet. Hopkins pulled out Adams’ demand note, which contained a series of directions on how to change an Internet domain name from the domain owner’s GoDaddy account to one of Adams’ GoDaddy accounts.
Hopkins put the firearm against the victim’s head and ordered him to follow the directions on the demand note. Hopkins then pistol whipped the victim several times in the head. Fearing for his life, the victim quickly turned to move the gun away from his head. The victim then managed to gain control of the gun, but during the struggle, he was shot in the leg. The victim shot Hopkins multiple times in the chest. He then contacted law enforcement.
Adams was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Adams was sentenced to 168 months’ imprisonment. He was ordered to make nearly $9,000 in restitution. Adams was also ordered to pay costs of prosecution in the amount of $3,957.45 and to repay the Court $22,000 in attorney fees. Adams had court-appointed counsel during trial, but the Court later discovered Adams was earning significant amounts of money while the case was pending. Adams must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
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. For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline.
Adams 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 Attorneys Timothy L. Vavricek and Matthew J. Cole and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 18-CR-86-CJW.
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Senegalese National Sentenced to Federal Prison after Impersonating Deceased U.S. Citizen for 31 yearsRead the Press Release
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey D. Hill (619) 546-7924
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – December 9, 2019
SAN DIEGO – Almamy Baba Ly was sentenced in federal court this morning to 30 months in prison for misusing the identity of a deceased American citizen for 31 years in order to obtain identification documents and thousands of dollars in federal, state and local government benefits.
U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Battaglia also ordered Ly, 63, to pay restitution of $88,551 to the U.S. Department of Education and the County of San Diego. Ly will likely be deported at the conclusion of his prison sentence.
Ly pleaded guilty on September 12, 2019, admitting that he assumed the identity of Lyle Lindsey in 1988. Lindsey, a native San Diegan and the son of a military veteran, died in a tragic automobile accident as a toddler in 1957. Ly admitted that he actually was born in Senegal in 1955, that he lacked any legal status in the United States, and that in 1988 he used an altered copy of Lindsey’s birth certificate to apply for a Social Security number and a California Identification Card and Driver’s License. Ly thereafter committed many crimes, including drug sales and robbery, and went to prison under Lyle Lindsey’s identity on multiple occasions. Ly also admitted that he used Lindsey’s identity to apply for and receive federal student loans and Pell Grants, and CalFresh/Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits that he was not legally entitled to receive.
“I commend the work of Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Hill and our law enforcement partners in stopping this decades-long fraud and bringing to justice a man who exploited the identity of an American citizen,” said United States Attorney Robert Brewer. “This prison sentence sends a message to those who commit fraud and identity theft: There will be consequences, and your crimes will not go unpunished.”
On behalf of the United States Border Patrol, San Diego Deputy Chief Patrol Agent Aaron M. Heitke said: “I am proud of the hard work and tenacity that has led to the conviction and now sentencing of this man, who has broken U.S. laws for over 30 years.”
In July 2019, U.S. Border Patrol agents served a search warrant and arrested Ly at his residence in La Mesa, California. During the search, agents seized a recently-issued Senegalese national identification card that revealed Ly’s true name and date of birth. The arrest and search warrant were the culmination of a lengthy investigation by the Border Patrol, with the assistance of the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of State, and the United States Embassy and Homeland Security Investigations in Dakar, Senegal.
DEFENDANT Case Number 19-cr-2864-AJB
Almamy Baba Ly La Mesa, California.
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Unlawful Production of an Identification Document – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1028(a)(1)
Theft of Public Property – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 641
AGENCIES
United States Border Patrol – Sector Intelligence Unit / Chula Vista Station
United States Homeland Security Investigations
California Department of Motor Vehicles Investigations Division
Bureau of Public Assistance Investigations, County of San Diego
San Joaquin County Doctor Indicted for Prescribing Opioids to Patients Without a Medical NeedRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — On Dec. 5, a federal grand jury brought a 14-count indictment against a physician, Edmund Kemprud, of Dublin, charging him with prescribing opioids to patients outside the usual course of professional practice and not for legitimate medical purpose, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, Kemprud was a physician licensed to practice medicine in California and maintained a medical practice in Dublin and Tracy. On 14 occasions between Sept. 6, 2018 and March 13, 2019, Kemprud allegedly prescribed highly addictive, commonly abused prescription drugs, including Hydrocodone, Alprazolam, and Oxycodone – outside the usual course of professional practice and not for legitimate medical purpose. The controlled substances affect the central nervous system and may only be prescribed when medically required. Kemprud was arrested today and pleaded not guilty at his arraignment.
U.S. Attorney Scott stated: “Diversion of drugs with a legitimate purpose to those who abuse them or sell to abusers is a costly and dangerous enterprise. Fortunately, with the cooperative efforts of our state and local partners, we have the ability to track powerful prescription drugs and find those who attempt to divert them. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has made it a top priority to prosecute those who engage in prescription drug diversion.”
“Doctors who violate their position of trust must be held accountable,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. “Prescription drug diversion and the resultant abuse has led to a public health crisis that affects communities and families across California and the nation. It takes all of us working together to combat this epidemic and heal our communities. Our office and special agents will continue to work with our federal, state, and local partners to investigate and prosecute bad actors. At the California Department of Justice, we stand ready to use the tools at our disposal to protect our communities.”
“Doctors take an oath to ‘first, do no harm.’ Prescribing powerful opiates without legitimate medical purpose violates that principle and the law. It places profits above patient welfare and the community suffers the consequences,” stated DEA Acting Special Agent in Charge William C. Fallin. “DEA and our counterparts will continue to work diligently to hold accountable those fueling the prescription drug crisis.”
“When doctors prescribe powerful and dangerous drugs for illegitimate purposes, the results can be deadly,” said Steven J. Ryan, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Working closely with our Federal and State law enforcement partners, we continue fighting to protect beneficiaries, government healthcare programs, and taxpayers picking up the bills.”
This case is the product of an investigation by the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse Drug Diversion Team, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Office of Inspector General for the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Vincenza Rabenn is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Kemprud faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
San Diego Woman Sentenced to Nearly Six Years in Federal Prison for Ponzi Scheme Run via Sham Commercial Real Estate InvestmentsRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – A San Diego woman who ran a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme was sentenced today to 70 months in federal prison for deceiving investors by falsely claiming their money would be used to make short-term construction loans to other investors seeking to defer capital gains taxes through “1031 like-kind exchanges.”
Susan Margaret Werth, 58, was sentenced by United States District Judge James V. Selna, who ordered her to pay $6,290,510 in restitution to her victims.
Werth, who pleaded guilty on May 2 to one count of wire fraud, solicited millions of dollars from victims by falsely claiming their funds would be used to provide short-term construction loans to clients who were engaged in like-kind exchanges of commercial properties. She ran the Ponzi scheme out of two San Diego-based companies, Commercial Exchange Solutions, Inc. (CES) and Exchange Solutions Company, Inc. (ESC).
A 1031 like-kind exchange is a method of deferring the payment of capital gains taxes pursuant to section 1031 of the tax code in which a taxpayer sells an investment property and reinvests the proceeds to buy a like-kind investment property of equal or greater value.
Werth and others working at her direction falsely promised victims that their investments were risk-free and 100 percent guaranteed by CES’s “collateral account” at Wells Fargo. She lulled her victims by creating fictitious Wells Fargo bank statements to show that CES had an account with a balance of $7.2 million, as well as fabricating emails she claimed were from an employee of Wells Fargo Asset Management. Werth also falsely told investors that her companies were investing in properties that had been evaluated by the international valuation firm of Duff & Phelps.
In return for their short-term investments of 30 to 90 days, Werth promised victims a rate of return of at least 15 percent.
In reality, Werth knew the representations were false and fraudulent because she operated CES and ESC as a Ponzi scheme, in which the vast majority of its incoming revenue was comprised of victim-investor funds, which defendant Werth used to repay prior victim-investors, to pay her personal expenses, to withdraw cash, to repay investors’ principal, and to make fictitious profit payments to some investors.
The total loss resulting from Werth’s Ponzi scheme exceeded $6 million.
“[Werth’s] conduct affected honest citizens who entrusted [her] with significant amounts of money, some, their retirement funds and savings,” the prosecution wrote in its sentencing memorandum.
One victim lost two-thirds of his life savings to Werth and was forced – at age 72 – to seek employment in an attempt to recoup the money he lost. Another victim – a 62-year-old woman – planned to retire in the near future, but could not do so after losing more than $800,000 to Werth, according to court documents.
In December 2018, a default judgment was entered in a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit against Werth in this matter.
The FBI investigated this matter.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Valerie L. Makarewicz of the Major Frauds Section.
Robert Dear Indicted by Federal Grand Jury for 2015 Planned Parenthood Clinic ShootingRead the Press Release
Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband and U.S. Attorney Jason R. Dunn for the District of Colorado announced today that a federal grand jury in Denver has returned a 68-count indictment charging Robert Lewis Dear Jr., 61, with crimes related to the Nov. 27, 2015, shooting at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where three people died, including a police officer. Eight others were wounded, including four police officers. Dear was taken into federal custody early this morning at the State Mental Hospital in Pueblo, Colorado. The defendant is scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nina Y. Wang in Denver at 2:00 p.m. for an initial appearance, where he will be advised of his rights and the charges pending against him.
According to facts contained in the indictment, on Nov. 27, 2015, Dear traveled to the Planned Parenthood clinic intending to wage “war” because the clinic offered abortion services. Dear had with him four SKS rifles, five handguns, two additional rifles, a shotgun, more than 500 rounds of ammunition, as well as propane tanks. Dear first shot at people parked next to his truck, killing one and seriously injuring the other two. He then repeatedly shot at three additional people who were in various locations in front of the clinic, killing one and injuring another.
Dear then forced his way into the clinic by shooting through a door to the side of the main entrance. At the time, 27 healthcare providers, employees, patients, and companions were in the clinic and hid in various rooms until they were rescued by law enforcement. During his attack, Dear shot one of these civilians when a bullet he fired went through the wall and into the room where the individual was hiding.
After forcing his way into the clinic, Dear engaged in an approximately five-hour standoff with officials from several law enforcement and public safety agencies, including the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD), El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO), University of Colorado -- Colorado Springs Campus Police (UCCS), and the Colorado Springs Fire Department. Dear repeatedly shot at the firefighters and law enforcement officers, killing one officer and injuring four more.
The defendant fired approximately 198 bullets during the attack. Dear also placed a propane tank in the parking lot and when a law enforcement tactical vehicle was near the propane tank, Dear shot the tank in an attempt to create an explosion.
Dear was ultimately arrested and was subsequently charged in state court with first-degree murder. Subsequent court-ordered mental competency evaluations determined Dear was not competent to proceed at the time of those evaluations. He has remained in a state mental hospital in Pueblo, Colorado, since then.
Dear faces 65 counts of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (the FACE Act -- 18 USC 248(a)(1) and (b)) and three counts of use of a firearm during a crime of violence resulting in death where the killing is a murder. If convicted, Dear faces a maximum penalty up to and including death. In the absence of death, he faces up to life imprisonment.
No decision has been made on whether to seek the death penalty in this case. The department will follow the usual rigorous protocol to thoroughly consider all factual and legal issues relevant to that decision, which will necessarily involve consultation with the counsel for the defendant. In addition, consultation with the victims’ families is an important part of this decision making process and no decision will be made before conferring with them. This investigation was led by the CSPD with the assistance of the FBI, ATF, EPSO, and the UCCS. The state prosecution was handled by the District Attorney for the 4th Judicial District, Dan May.
Dear is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Pegeen Rhyne and Rajiv Mohan along with Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Mary Hahn. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Robert Dear Indicted by Federal Grand Jury for 2015 Planned Parenthood Clinic ShootingRead the Press Release
DENVER – United States Attorney Jason R. Dunn and Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband announced today that a federal grand jury in Denver has returned a 68-count indictment charging Robert Lewis Dear, Jr., age 61, with crimes related to the November 27, 2015, shooting at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs where three people died, including a police officer. Eight others were wounded, including four police officers. Dear was taken into federal custody early this morning at the State Mental Hospital in Pueblo, Colorado. The defendant is scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nina Y. Wang in Denver at 2:00 p.m. for an initial appearance, where he will be advised of his rights and the charges pending against him.
According to facts contained in the indictment, on November 27, 2015, Robert Dear traveled to the Planned Parenthood clinic intending to wage “war” because the clinic offered abortion services. Dear had with him four SKS rifles, five handguns, two additional rifles, a shotgun, more than 500 rounds of ammunition, as well as propane tanks. Dear first shot at people parked next to his truck, killing one and seriously injuring the other two. He then repeatedly shot at three additional people who were in various locations in front of the clinic, killing one and injuring another.
Dear then forced his way into the clinic by shooting through a door to the side of the main entrance. At the time, twenty-seven healthcare providers, employees, patients, and companions were in the clinic and hid in various rooms until they were rescued by law enforcement. During his attack, Dear shot one of these civilians when a bullet he fired went through the wall and into the room where the individual was hiding.
After forcing his way into the clinic, Dear engaged in an approximately five-hour standoff with officials from several law enforcement and public safety agencies, including the Colorado Springs Police Department (“CSPD”), El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (“EPSO”), University of Colorado -- Colorado Springs Campus Police (“UCCS”), and the Colorado Springs Fire Department. Dear repeatedly shot at the firefighters and law enforcement officers, killing one officer and injuring four more.
The defendant fired approximately 198 bullets during the attack. Dear also placed a propane tank in the parking lot and when a law enforcement tactical vehicle was near the propane tank, Dear shot the tank in an attempt to create an explosion.
Dear was ultimately arrested and was subsequently charged in state court with first-degree murder. Subsequent court-ordered mental competency evaluations determined Dear was not competent to proceed at the time of those evaluations. He has remained in a state mental hospital in Pueblo, Colorado since then.
“The dozens of victims of this heinous act, as well as the Colorado Springs community itself, deserve justice,” said U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn. “After four years of lengthy delays in state court, and in consultation with the 4th Judicial District Attorney and victims, this office made the decision to charge Mr. Dear.”
Dear faces 65 counts of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (the FACE Act -- 18 USC 248(a)(1) and (b)) and three counts of use of a firearm during a crime of violence resulting in death where the killing is a murder. If convicted, Dear faces a maximum penalty up to and including death. In the absence of death, he faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life imprisonment.
No decision has been made on whether to seek the death penalty in this case. The Department will follow the usual rigorous protocol to thoroughly consider all factual and legal issues relevant to that decision, which will necessarily involve consultation with the counsel for the defendant. In addition, consultation with the victims’ families is an important part of this decision making process and no decision will be made before conferring with them.
This investigation was led by the Colorado Springs Police Department (“CSPD”) with the assistance of the FBI, ATF, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (“EPSO”), and the University of Colorado -- Colorado Springs Campus Police (“UCCS”). The state prosecution was handled by the District Attorney for the 4th Judicial District, Dan May.
Dear is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Pegeen Rhyne and Rajiv Mohan along with Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Mary Hahn. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Q&A Regarding Robert Dear Prosecution
Q: Why are the charges being filed now?
A: Given that the incident happened over 4 years ago, that the state case has failed to advance, the applicable 5 year statute of limitations under the FACE Act, and in consideration of the views of both the 4th Judicial District Attorney and victims, the decision was made to file charges now.
Q: Why has this case not yet gone to trial at the state level?
A: Since May of 2016, Dear has been deemed incompetent by the state District Court in El Paso County to decide whether he can represent himself, as he has requested.
Q: Where will Dear be held in federal custody?
A: Assuming that he is detained following his detention hearing, the U.S. Marshals will make that determination.
Q: Where was Dear being held prior to this?
A: He was being held at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo.
Q: How was he transferred into federal custody?
A: Federal agents took custody of Dear at the CMHIP on Dec. 9th and drove him to Denver, where he appeared in federal court.
Q: Why do the charges not include homicide, as was charged by the state?
A: Federal law does not have an applicable homicide offense.
Q: When were the victims informed that the DOJ was taking over the case?
A: They were told after Dear was arrested and before he made his initial appearance. A victim’s advocate in the USA’s office is in touch with them.
Q: What is happening to the state charges?
A: The state charges remain pending.
Retired CHP Officer from Redding Charged with Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned an indictment on December 5, against Timothy Allen Horwath, 50, of Redding, charging him with receipt of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, between Feb. 25 and Oct. 10, Horwath knowingly received visual depictions of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Horwath was arrested today at his residence and made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison Claire.
This case is the product of an investigation by the California Highway Patrol’s Computer Crime Investigation Unit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Sacramento Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, a federally and state-funded task force managed by the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department with agents from federal, state, and local agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina McCall is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Horwath faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and restitution to the victims of the offense. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.
President and Chief Financial Officer of New Jersey Company Charged with $17 Million Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – The president and the chief financial officer of a now defunct New Jersey-based marble and granite wholesaler have been arrested for allegedly orchestrating and participating in a scheme to defraud a bank in connection with a $17 million secured line of credit, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Rajendra Kankariya, 61, of Tenafly, New Jersey, and Rakesh Sethi, 44, of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, are charged by complaint with one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution. Both defendants made their initial court appearances today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor in Newark federal court and were each released on $500,000 bonds secured by property.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From late 2015 to early 2016, Lotus Exim International Inc. (LEI) obtained from the victim bank a $17 million line of credit to discharge a prior debt and gain working capital. The line of credit was to be secured by LEI’s accounts receivable and assets. In reality, LEI’s accounts receivable and assets were insufficient to serve as collateral for the line.
In order to conceal the lack of sufficient collateral, LEI and its employees, including Kankariya and Sethi, devised a scheme to create fake email addresses on behalf of LEI’s customers so they could pose as those customers and answer the bank’s and outside auditor’s inquiries about the accounts receivables. The scheme involved numerous fraudulent accounts receivable where the outstanding balances were either inflated or entirely fabricated. The scheme caused the victim bank losses of approximately $17 million.
Conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million or twice the gross gain or loss derived from the offense, whichever is greater.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation leading to these charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sammi Malek of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defense counsel: Kankariya: Michael Baldassare Esq., Newark
Sethi: Danielle M. Corcione Esq., West Orange, New JerseyPhiladelphia Man Sentenced to a Decade in Prison for Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A resident of Philadelphia, Pa. has been sentenced in federal court in Johnstown to 10 years (120 months) in prison and three years’ supervised release on his conviction of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson imposed the sentence on Kenneth Watts, 35.
According to information presented to the court, from March 6, 2018, through April 2, 2018, Watts and a co-defendant conspired to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine base, heroin, and fentanyl.
Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Mr. Brady commended the Laurel Highlands Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cambria County Drug Task Force for the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of Watts.
Paramedic Sentenced to Prison for Tampering with Fentanyl and Ketamine VialsRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – COLIN ANDREW DAVIS, 34, of Oklahoma City, has been sentenced to six months in prison for tampering with fentanyl and ketamine vials while working as a paramedic for an emergency air evacuation company, announced U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing.
On April 30, 2019, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed an information that charged Davis with tampering with the labeling and container for consumer products in November 2017 in Weatherford, Oklahoma. According to the information, Davis removed fentanyl and ketamine from vials and replaced them with a sterile saline solution. As a result, patients undergoing emergency air evacuation could have received saline when medical professionals intended to administer fentanyl or ketamine. Fentanyl is a Schedule II controlled substance in the opioid family; ketamine is a Schedule III analgesic often used in anaesthesia.
According to the government’s charges, Davis acted with reckless disregard for the risk that another person would be placed in danger of death or bodily injury and under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to that risk. In a court filing in anticipation of sentencing, the United States stated that a narcotics log showed medical professionals had administered fentanyl to three patients and ketamine to one patient before Davis admitted to his employer that he had tampered with the vials. The government also pointed out that a life flight had to be canceled because Davis was so confused and disoriented he was unable to perform his duties.
Today, U.S. District Judge Charles B. Goodwin sentenced Davis to six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
"When medical professionals tamper with pharmaceuticals, the risk of patient harm warrants criminal prosecution, particularly when the patients at issue are so badly injured they need emergency evacuation," said U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing. "I am thankful to the Food and Drug Administration for its partnership in addressing the opioid crisis."
"Patients deserve to have confidence that they are not only receiving the proper treatment from those entrusted with providing their medical care, but also that they are not being placed at an increased risk of harm," said Special Agent in Charge Charles L. Grinstead, of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, Kansas City Field Office. "We will continue to protect the public health and bring to justice health care professionals who take advantage of their unique position and compromise their patients’ health and comfort by tampering with needed drugs."
This case was the result of an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn M. Hutzell prosecuted the case.
Reference is made to court filings for further information.
Nora Springs Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A man who possessed child pornography pled guilty on December 6, 2019, in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Aaron Olson, age 36, from Nora Springs, Iowa, was convicted of two counts of possession of child pornography, including depictions of prepubescent children. At the plea hearing, Olson admitted that, between 2017 and 2019, he knowingly possessed child pornography on a computer and a memory card.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Olson remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Olson faces a possible maximum sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, $10,200 in special assessments, and supervised release for 5 years to life following any imprisonment. In a plea agreement, Olson agreed to be sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Nora Springs Police Department.
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.”
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 19-2029.
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Nigerian Citizen Extradited to Memphis in Connection with Prosecution of Africa-Based Cybercrime and Business Email Compromise ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – A Nigerian citizen residing in Accra, Ghana, has been extradited to Memphis to stand trial for an indictment charging him with wire fraud, money laundering, computer fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant of the Western District of Tennessee, and Special Agent in Charge M.A. Myers of the FBI’s Memphis Field Office made the announcement.
On Aug. 23, 2017, a federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee indicted Babatunde Martins, 64, and others with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit computer fraud and aggravated identity theft. Following his extradition, Martins’ initial appearance was made today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charmiane G. Claxton for the Western District of Tennessee.
The indictment alleges that various Africa-based co-conspirators committed, or caused to be committed, a series of intrusions into the servers and email systems of a Memphis-based real estate company in June and July 2016. Using sophisticated anonymization techniques, including the use of spoofed email addresses and Virtual Private Networks, the co-conspirators identified large financial transactions, initiated fraudulent email correspondence with relevant business parties and then redirected closing funds through a network of U.S.-based money mules to final destinations in Africa. Commonly referred to as business-email compromise, or BEC, this aspect of the scheme caused hundreds of thousands in loss to companies and individuals in Memphis.
In addition to BEC, the defendant is also charged with perpetrating romance scams, fraudulent-check scams, gold-buying scams, advance-fee scams and credit card scams. The indictment alleges that the proceeds of these criminal activities, both money and goods, were shipped and/or transferred from the United States to locations in Africa through a complex network of both complicit and unwitting individuals that had been recruited through the various Internet scams. The defendant is specifically alleged to have owned and operated a company called Afriocean LTD that he used in furtherance of these crimes. The defendant, along with his co-conspirators, is believed to have caused millions in loss to victims across the globe.
An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Five other individuals have pleaded guilty to being involved in the scheme. Two others, Olufalojimi Abegunde, 33, and Javier Luis Ramos-Alonso, 30, were convicted in March after a seven-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Abegunde received a 78-month sentence and Ramos-Alonso received a 31-month sentence for their roles in the scheme. Several individuals remain at large.
The FBI led the investigation. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, as well as the FBI’s Legal Attaché in Accra, the FBI Transnational Organized Crime of the Eastern Hemisphere Section of the Criminal Investigative Division, the FBI’s Major Cyber Crimes Unit of the Cyber Division, and FBI’s International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center all provided significant support in this case, as did the U.S. Marshals Service, INTERPOL Washington, the INTERPOL Unit of the Ghana Police Service, the Republic of Ghana’s Office of Attorney General, and Ghana’s Economic and Organized Crime Office.
Senior Trial Attorney Timothy C. Flowers of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra L. Ireland of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case, with significant assistance from the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.
For more information or to view a list of aliases used by members of the conspiracy on dating websites and social media, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdtn/victim-witness-program.
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Nigerian Citizen Extradited in Connection with Prosecution of Africa-Based Cybercrime and Business Email Compromise ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A Nigerian citizen residing in Accra, Ghana, has been extradited to stand trial for an indictment charging him with wire fraud, money laundering, computer fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant of the Western District of Tennessee, and Special Agent in Charge M.A. Myers of the FBI’s Memphis Field Office made the announcement.
On Aug. 23, 2017, a federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee indicted Babatunde Martins, 64, and others with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit computer fraud and aggravated identity theft. Following his extradition, Martins’ initial appearance was made today before U.S. Magistrate Judge U.S. Magistrate Judge Charmiane G. Claxton for the Western District of Tennessee.
The indictment alleges that various Africa-based coconspirators committed, or caused to be committed, a series of intrusions into the servers and email systems of a Memphis-based real estate company in June and July 2016. Using sophisticated anonymization techniques, including the use of spoofed email addresses and Virtual Private Networks, the co-conspirators identified large financial transactions, initiated fraudulent email correspondence with relevant business parties and then redirected closing funds through a network of U.S.-based money mules to final destinations in Africa. Commonly referred to as business-email compromise, or BEC, this aspect of the scheme caused hundreds of thousands in loss to companies and individuals in Memphis.
In addition to BEC, the defendant is also charged with perpetrating romance scams, fraudulent-check scams, gold-buying scams, advance-fee scams and credit card scams. The indictment alleges that the proceeds of these criminal activities, both money and goods, were shipped and/or transferred from the United States to locations in Africa through a complex network of both complicit and unwitting individuals that had been recruited through the various Internet scams. The defendant is specifically alleged to have owned and operated a company called Afriocean LTD that he used in furtherance of these crimes. The defendant, along with his coconspirators, is believed to have caused millions in loss to victims across the globe.
An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Five other individuals have pleaded guilty to being involved in the scheme. Two others, Olufalojimi Abegunde, 33, and Javier Luis Ramos-Alonso, 30, were convicted in March after a seven-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Abegunde received a 78-month sentence and Ramos-Alonso received a 31-month sentence for their roles in the scheme. Several individuals remain at large.
The FBI led the investigation. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, as well as the FBI’s Legal Attaché in Accra, the FBI Transnational Organized Crime of the Eastern Hemisphere Section of the Criminal Investigative Division, the FBI’s Major Cyber Crimes Unit of the Cyber Division, and FBI’s International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center all provided significant support in this case, as did the U.S. Marshals Service, INTERPOL Washington, the INTERPOL Unit of the Ghana Police Service, the Republic of Ghana’s Office of Attorney General, and Ghana’s Economic and Organised Crime Office.
Senior Trial Attorney Timothy C. Flowers of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra L. Ireland of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case, with significant assistance from the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.
For more information or to view a list of aliases used by members of the conspiracy on dating websites and social media, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdtn/victim-witness-program.
New York Man Sentenced to 72 Months’ Imprisonment for Child Exploitation OffensesRead the Press Release
WILLIAMSPORT - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that United States District Court Judge Matthew W. Brann sentenced Leonard Lewis, age 58, of New York City, New York, to 72 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release on December 5, 2019, for the production and distribution of obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children.
According to United States David J. Freed, Lewis created images depicting sexual acts by placing the image of a minor on photographed bodies of adult men engaged in sexual activity. He then sent these images to the minor along with marijuana, solicited the minor to take photographs of himself to send to Lewis, and attempted to entice the minor to travel to New York to have sex with Lewis.
The matter was investigated by the United States Postal Service. Assistant United States Attorneys Chelsea Schinnour and Geoffrey MacArthur prosecuted the case
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
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Monongalia County man sentenced to more than 15 years for methamphetamine distributionRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Khareem Sampson, of Morgantown, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 188 months incarceration for distributing methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Sampson, age 30, pled guilty to one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine” in April 2019. Sampson admitted to distributing methamphetamine in July 2018 in Monongalia County.Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda E. Wesley prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Greater Harrison Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
The investigation was funded in part by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.
U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
Monongalia County man sentenced for drug chargeRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Lemar Sheldon Conliffe, of Morgantown, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 72 months incarceration for a drug charge, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Conliffe, also known as “AB,” age 43, pled guilty to one count of “Aiding and Abetting Distribution of Cocaine Base” in April 2019. Conliffe admitted to working with another to sell cocaine base in April 2018 in Monongalia County.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda E. Wesley prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Mon Metro Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
Mississippi man sentenced to more than 12 years for role in a methamphetamine distribution operationRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Kedric Pearson, of Waynesboro, Mississippi, was sentenced today to 148 months incarceration for his involvement in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Pearson, age 35, pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine” in April 2019. Pearson admitted to working with others to distribute methamphetamine in Harrison County and elsewhere from the fall of 2017 to September 2018.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda E. Wesley prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Greater Harrison Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
The investigation was funded in part by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.
U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
Marshall County man admits to firearms chargesRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Demetrius Moore, of Benwood, West Virginia, has admitted to firearms charges, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Moore, age 46, pled guilty to one count of “Prohibited Possession of a Firearm” and one count of “Possession of a Stolen Firearm.” Moore, having previously been convicted for a felony, is accused of illegally having a 7.62 caliber rifle and a 9mm caliber pistol from July to August 2018 in Marshall County. The rifle was allegedly stolen.
Moore is facing up to 10 years incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Perri is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated.
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.
U.S. Magistrate Judge James P. Mazzone presided.
Madison Man Pleads Guilty under Project EJECT to Possessing a Firearm as a Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss – John Robert Beck, 55, of Madison, pled guilty today before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Daniel P. Jordan to possessing a firearm after having been previously convicted of a felony crime, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Kurt Thielhorn, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
On September 25, 2018, Beck was stopped for a traffic violation by a Hinds County Sheriff’s deputy on McDowell Road in Jackson. Once stopped, Beck was asked to step outside of his car to speak with the deputy. For his safety, the deputy asked Beck if he had any weapons. Beck responded that he had a handgun on him and a .40 caliber handgun was removed from beneath Beck’s clothes. During their ensuing conversation, the deputy learned that Beck was a convicted felon, that he had been previously convicted in the Circuit Court of Madison County of possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
On February 20, 2019, Beck was charged in a federal indictment with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
Beck will be sentenced by Judge Jordan on April 3, 2020 at 9:00 a.m., and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bert Carraway.
This case is part of Project EJECT, an initiative by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). EJECT is a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to fighting and reducing violent crime through prosecution, prevention, re-entry and awareness. EJECT stands for "Empower Justice Expel Crime Together." PSN is bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions 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.
Luzerne County Man Sentenced to Six Years’ Imprisonment for Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
WILKES-BARRE - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Lee Crawford, age 58, formerly of Kingston, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on December 6, 2019, by Senior U.S. District Court Judge A. Richard Caputo, to 72 months’ imprisonment and four years on supervised release for cocaine trafficking.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Crawford previously pleaded guilty in July 2019, for distributing cocaine to another individual in Luzerne County in 2013.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and the Kingston Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement 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 enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce crime.
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Luzerne County Man Pleads Guilty to Theft of MailRead the Press Release
WILKES-BARRE - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Mark Kerpovich, age 29, of Shavertown, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on December 6, 2019, before U.S. District Court Senior Judge A. Richard Caputo to theft of mail.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Kerpovich admitted to stealing mail between October 2017 and October 2018. The thefts were discovered after postal customers in Hanover Township, Luzerne County, complained about mail that was not received and/or mail that was received with contents missing. Some of the missing contents included cash, gift cards, and lottery tickets.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara is prosecuting the case.
Judge Caputo ordered that a presentence investigation take place. Sentencing is scheduled for May 1, 2020.
The maximum penalty for the charge under federal law is up to five years in prison, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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Local officer charged with civil rights violationRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A 40-year-old resident of Weslaco is now in custody on allegations he violated the civil rights of a San Juan man, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Authorities took Juan P. Galindo into custody today. He is expected to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Juan F. Alanis Dec. 10 at 11 a.m.
Galindo is a sergeant with the San Juan Police Department.
The indictment, returned Dec. 4, alleges he violated the civil rights of an individual in December 2015 while acting under his authority as a uniformed police officer. Galindo allegedly physically assaulted the man while he was in custody. According to the charges, the victim had been handcuffed and under police control when Galindo hit him in the groin area with his knee.
If convicted, Galindo faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.
The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney K. Alejandra Andrade is prosecuting the case.
Lauren S. Zurier Sworn in as Assistant United States Attorney, Named Appellate Chief for the District of Rhode IslandRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE – United States Attorney Aaron L. Weisman today announced the appointment and swearing-in of veteran Rhode Island state prosecutor Lauren S. Zurier as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island.
Ms. Zurier, who has worked in the appellate unit of the Rhode Island Department of the Attorney General since 1993, and briefed and argued over 180 cases in the Rhode Island Supreme Court, has been appointed by United States Attorney Aaron L. Weisman as Appellate Chief.
In announcing Ms. Zurier’s appointment, United States Attorney Aaron L. Weisman commented, “The United States Attorney’s Office is so fortunate to be able to welcome Lauren Zurier to its ranks. Lauren’s more than two-decades-long experience prosecuting many of Rhode Island’s most significant and complex criminal appeals – which followed her graduation from Harvard College and Law School, a federal clerkship, and work as an associate in a large Rhode Island law firm – will make her an invaluable and most welcome addition to the United States Attorney’s Office. And Lauren’s devotion to criminal justice, under five Attorneys General, is practically legendary to the Rhode Island criminal bench and bar.”
Prior to joining the Rhode Island Department of the Attorney General, Ms. Zurier clerked for the Honorable Frank Kaufman, Senior Judge in the U.S. District Court in Maryland, and worked as a civil litigation associate at law firms in Boston and Providence.
Ms. Zurier graduated from Harvard College magna cum laude in 1984, and from Harvard Law School, cum laude, in 1987.
Las Vegas Businessman Sentenced to Prison for Trafficking More Than $1 Million in Counterfeit ElectronicsRead the Press Release
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas W. Pilchak (619) 546-9709
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – December 9, 2019
SAN DIEGO – A Las Vegas business owner was sentenced to prison today for running a years-long conspiracy to import counterfeit electronics from China into the United States.
Saad Ahmed was sentenced to six months in custody today by U.S. District Judge Thomas J. Whelan, based on Saad’s conviction for Conspiracy to Traffic in Counterfeit Goods.
Ahmed, 32, owns and operates PhonePartsUSA, a Las Vegas, Nevada-based company that sells cellular telephone parts and other electronics throughout the United States—including to customers in San Diego. In his plea agreement, Ahmed acknowledged conspiring with a variety of individuals in China to bring counterfeit cell phone parts and accessories from China to the United States. The conspiracy stretched back to at least September 2012.
PhonePartsUSA trafficked $1,499,999 worth of counterfeit goods during this period, per Ahmed’s plea agreement. The phony merchandise bore trademarks from Samsung, Apple and the electronic quality certification company UL, but the goods were actually inauthentic copies. Court filings relate that some of Ahmed’s customers had quality complaints about counterfeit parts purchased from his business.
Part of Ahmed’s scheme involved grossly undervaluing his international imports to deflect U.S. Customs’ attention from his shipments, according to court documents. Ahmed then directed his staff to destroy the false undervalued invoices when the shipments arrived at his warehouse.
Ahmed agreed to pay restitution to the three trademark holders in an amount totaling $269,681, which constituted the proceeds Ahmed’s business received from trafficking in the counterfeit merchandise. Ahmed also agreed not to contest the forfeiture of 4,453 cell phone parts and accessories seized from PhonePartsUSA as part of a search by Homeland Security Investigations in June 2018.
“Counterfeit merchandise is a threat to consumers, to legitimate producers, and to the entire economy,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer. “The public is entitled to trust that a trademark means a product is authentic, and not that an unscrupulous merchant is trying to make a quick buck at their expense. Counterfeit goods are not easy money. They are a crime.”
“HSI takes great pride in getting justice for the victims of this counterfeit merchandise scheme, which preyed on unsuspecting customers,” said Francisco Burrola, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (Nevada). “Counterfeiting and intellectual property rights violations are anything but victimless crimes—they harm legitimate businesses, consumers and governments.”
DEFENDANT Case Number 19-cr-3401-W
Saad Ahmed Las Vegas, NV Age: 32
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Traffic in Counterfeit Goods – Title 18, U.S.C., Sections 371 & 2320(a)
Maximum penalty: Five years in prison, $250,000 fine (or twice the pecuniary gain or loss), restitution and forfeiture.
AGENCIES
Homeland Security Investigations
U.S. Customs & Border Protection
Laboratory to Pay $26.67 Million to Settle Allegations of Kickbacks to PhysiciansRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Laboratory Boston Heart Diagnostics Corporation (Boston Heart), of Framingham, Massachusetts, has agreed to pay $26.67 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations involving payments for patient referrals in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law and claims otherwise improperly billed to federal health care programs for laboratory testing, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced today.
The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering, paying, soliciting, or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and other federally funded programs. The Stark Law forbids a laboratory from billing Medicare and Medicaid for certain services referred by physicians that have a financial relationship with the laboratory. The Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law are intended to ensure that medical providers’ judgments are not compromised by improper financial incentives and are instead based on the best interests of their patients.
The settlement resolves allegations that Boston Heart provided physician practices with in-office dieticians in exchange for physician referrals for laboratory testing. These allegations were originally made in a case filed in the Eastern District of California under the whistleblower, or qui tam, provision of the False Claims Act. The Act permits private parties to sue for fraud on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery. The settlement also resolves allegations that Boston Heart directly or indirectly paid processing and handling fees and waived patient copayments and deductibles. These allegations were originally made in the District of Columbia under the Act. Whistleblowers Chris Riedel and Claudia Bradshaw will receive approximately $4.36 million of the settlement.
In addition, the settlement resolves allegations that Boston Heart conspired with others to pay doctors kickbacks disguised as investment returns and conspired with certain Texas hospitals and others to submit claims for outpatient laboratory testing for patients who were not hospital outpatients, in order to receive higher reimbursements from federal health care programs.
“This office will continue to take all appropriate action to prevent improper inducements that can corrupt the integrity of physician decision-making,” said U.S. Attorney Scott.
The civil settlement was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern District of California, the Eastern District of Texas, and the District of Columbia, along with the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, OIG-HHS, and DCIS. The two lawsuits are captioned United States ex rel. FBH1 LLC v. Boston Heart Diagnostics Corp., No. 17-cv-206 (E.D. Cal.) and United States ex rel. Riedel v. Boston Heart Diagnostics Corp., No. 12-cv-1423 (D.D.C.). Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine J. Swann handled the Eastern District of California matter for the United States. The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
KCK Man Sentenced to 7+ Years for Unlawful Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. - A Kansas City, Kan., who barricaded himself in an apartment when police responded to a call of a domestic disturbance, was sentenced today to 94 months in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.
Nikko D. Pike, 38, Kansas City, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. In his plea, he admitted that on April 2, 2017, he was involved in a domestic disturbance with a woman. During the argument he discharged a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson that required the victim to seek treatment in an emergency room at University of Kansas Medical Center.
When officers arrived, they saw Pike with a gun protruding from his pocket. Pike barricaded himself in an apartment before surrendering to police. Police found the pistol hidden a child’s bedroom closet.
At the time of the crime, Pike was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of a prior felony conviction. He was convicted in Wyandotte County District Court in 2009 on a charge of aggravated battery.
McAllister commended the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jabari Wamble for their work on the case.
Justice Department Seeks to Denaturalize Chicago-Area Gymnastics Coach and Former Olympian Who Sexually Abused Multiple Minor Female AthletesRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit seeking to revoke the naturalized U.S. citizenship of José Vilchis, who allegedly concealed from U.S. immigration authorities his repeated sexual abuse of at least three minor female athletes. According to the Department’s civil complaint, Vilchis, a native of Mexico, sexually assaulted the girls at various gymnastics training centers in the greater Chicago, Illinois, area over a span of decades. The complaint alleges that beginning as early as 1985, Vilchis sexually assaulted gymnastics students – some as young as 12 – whom he was coaching, and then concealed his conduct throughout multiple immigration proceedings. The complaint was filed in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois.
“The Department of Justice will do everything in its power to hold accountable those who sexually abuse minors,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “This individual’s abuse of his position of authority and trust to prey on his students is reprehensible, and but for his fraud on our immigration process, he never would have been granted a green card and never would have been permitted to naturalize as a U.S. citizen.”
“Vilchis fraudulently gained U.S. citizenship by lying about the horrific, ongoing crimes he was committing against innocent children,” said acting ICE Director Matthew T. Albence. “His crimes and his fraud have justifiably returned to haunt him as the government pursues his denaturalization. The United States will not allow itself to be a safe haven for sexual predators.”
According to the complaint, Vilchis, 68 – who competed in gymnastics for Mexico during the 1968 Summer Olympics – coached aspiring gymnasts at the Beverly Gymnastics Center in Chicago, the American Academy of Gymnastics in Wheeling, and other gyms in the Chicago area. Vilchis became a permanent resident of the United States in 1991 and a naturalized citizen in 1997. The complaint alleges that in his applications for those benefits, Vilchis concealed his criminal conduct, which began in the 1980s and continued through the time he naturalized, and therefore never lawfully obtained either status.
Vilchis is currently awaiting trial in Will County, Illinois, where he faces 18 criminal charges for sexually assaulting a minor in 2013 and 2014. Those allegations, which concern conduct that occurred after Vilchis naturalized, are separate from the allegations concerning whether he unlawfully naturalized by concealing similar conduct against other minor victims in the 1980s and 1990s.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations and the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation, District Court Section (OIL-DCS), with consultation and support from ICE’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor. The case is being prosecuted by Aaron Petty and Kathryne Gray of OIL-DCS’s National Security and Affirmative Litigation Unit.
The claims made in the complaint are allegations only, and there have been no determinations of liability.
Members of the public who have information concerning this matter are encouraged to contact U.S. law enforcement through the DHS tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or to complete its online tip form at https://www.ice.gov/webform/hsi-tip-form. Callers may remain anonymous.
Justice Department Files Statement of Interest Supporting Campus Free SpeechRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today filed a Statement of Interest in a federal lawsuit in Mississippi, explaining that public colleges cannot trample on their students’ First Amendment rights to free speech. The lawsuit is brought by a student organization and J. Michael Brown, a former student at Jones County Junior College, a public institution of higher education in Mississippi. The college’s policies require campus administrators to preapprove all “meetings or gatherings,” and Mr. Brown alleges that college officials called the campus police on him when he sought to engage on campus with fellow students about topics such as free speech and civil liberties.
“The United States of America is not a police state,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Civil Rights Division. “Repressive speech codes are the indecent hallmark of despotic, totalitarian regimes. They have absolutely no place in our country, and the First Amendment outlaws all tyrannical policies, practices, and acts that abridge the freedom of speech.”
“Unconstitutional restrictions on our first freedoms to speak and assemble directly threaten our liberty as Americans,” said United States Attorney Mike Hurst for the Southern District of Mississippi. “While some may disagree with the content of one’s speech, we should all be fighting for everyone’s Constitutional right to speak. I pray JCJC will do the right thing, change its policies to comply with the U.S. Constitution, and encourage its students to speak and assemble throughout our free state.”
“This is yet another concerning example of students encountering limits on what, when, where, and how they learn,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. “This is happening far too often on our nation’s campuses. This Administration won’t let students be silenced. We stand with their right to speak and with their right to learn truth through the free exchange of ideas—particularly those with which they might disagree.”
Jones County Junior College’s speech policies require students to schedule all meetings and gatherings on campus with college administrators at least three days before the event. College officials reserve the right to schedule or not schedule any activity, and there are no exceptions for even the tiniest of meetings or gatherings. Violations of the college’s speech policies can be grounds for student discipline, which may include expulsion from school. In his lawsuit, Mr. Brown alleges that campus officials twice called the campus police on him as he and one or two others spoke with students on the college’s open central quadrangle about free speech, civil liberties, and marijuana legalization. In both instances, Mr. Brown contends that he was brought to the campus police chief’s office, and was intimidated by the police chief and other campus officials. After these incidents, Mr. Brown says that he stopped engaging in expressive activity on campus for fear of disciplinary action or arrest.
The government’s Statement of Interest points to Supreme Court case law explaining that the First Amendment rights of speech and association extend to the campuses of state universities. While Jones County Junior College’s “extreme preconditions to speech might not be out of place in Oceania, the fictional dystopian superstate in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four,” the Statement of Interest explains, “[t]he First Amendment to the United States Constitution . . . ensures that preconditions like these have no place in the United States of America.”
Justice Department Files Statement of Interest Supporting Campus Free SpeechRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today filed a Statement of Interest in a federal lawsuit in Mississippi, explaining that public colleges cannot trample on their students’ First Amendment rights to free speech. The lawsuit is brought by a student organization and J. Michael Brown, a former student at Jones County Junior College, a public institution of higher education in Mississippi. The college’s policies require campus administrators to preapprove all “meetings or gatherings,” and Mr. Brown alleges that college officials called the campus police on him when he sought to engage on campus with fellow students about topics such as free speech and civil liberties.
“The United States of America is not a police state,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Civil Rights Division. “Repressive speech codes are the indecent hallmark of despotic, totalitarian regimes. They have absolutely no place in our country, and the First Amendment outlaws all tyrannical policies, practices, and acts that abridge the freedom of speech.”
“Unconstitutional restrictions on our first freedoms to speak and assemble directly threaten our liberty as Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst for the Southern District of Mississippi. “While some may disagree with the content of one’s speech, we should all be fighting for everyone’s Constitutional right to speak. I pray JCJC will do the right thing, change its policies to comply with the U.S. Constitution, and encourage its students to speak and assemble throughout our free state.”
“This is yet another concerning example of students encountering limits on what, when, where, and how they learn,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. “This is happening far too often on our nation’s campuses. This Administration won’t let students be silenced. We stand with their right to speak and with their right to learn truth through the free exchange of ideas—particularly those with which they might disagree.”
Jones County Junior College’s speech policies require students to schedule all meetings and gatherings on campus with college administrators at least three days before the event. College officials reserve the right to schedule or not schedule any activity, and there are no exceptions for even the tiniest of meetings or gatherings. Violations of the college’s speech policies can be grounds for student discipline, which may include expulsion from school. In his lawsuit, Mr. Brown alleges that campus officials twice called the campus police on him as he and one or two others spoke with students on the college’s open central quadrangle about free speech, civil liberties, and marijuana legalization. In both instances, Mr. Brown contends that he was brought to the campus police chief’s office, and was intimidated by the police chief and other campus officials. After these incidents, Mr. Brown says that he stopped engaging in expressive activity on campus for fear of disciplinary action or arrest.
The government’s Statement of Interest points to Supreme Court case law explaining that the First Amendment rights of speech and association extend to the campuses of state universities. While Jones County Junior College’s “extreme preconditions to speech might not be out of place in Oceania, the fictional dystopian superstate in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four,” the Statement of Interest explains, “[t]he First Amendment to the United States Constitution . . . ensures that preconditions like these have no place in the United States of America.”
Justice Department Announces More Than $376 Million in Awards to Promote Public SafetyRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT/LAFAYETTE/ALEXANDRIA/LAKE CHARLES/MONROE - United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana David C. Joseph announced that the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs has awarded more than $376 million in grant funding to enhance state, local and tribal law enforcement operations and reinforce public safety efforts in jurisdictions across the United States. The awards include $1,024,834 million to support public safety activities in the Western District of Louisiana.
“These public safety grants will give our local, state, and community partners additional resources to assist them in the fight against violent crime,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph. “I want to thank the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Program, for making these grants available to organizations within the Western District of Louisiana. Working together with our law enforcement and community partners, we are making Louisiana safer for its citizens.”
“Crime and violence hold families, friends and neighborhoods hostage, and they rip communities apart,” said OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan. “These programs help restore the health and safety of crime-ravaged communities by supporting prevention activities, aiding in the apprehension and prosecution of perpetrators, facilitating appropriate sentencing and adjudication, and providing communities and their residents the means for recovery and healing.”
The awards announced support an array of crime-fighting initiatives, including the quarter-billion dollar Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grants Program, which funds public safety efforts in 929 state, local and tribal jurisdictions. Funding also supports sex offender registration and notification, law enforcement-based victim services, the testing of sexual assault kits, and programs designed to address youth with sexual behavioral problems. Other awards will focus on wrongful convictions, intellectual property enforcement, innovative prosecution strategies and the safety and effectiveness of corrections systems.
The following awards were made to organizations in the Western District of Louisiana:
BJA Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program – Local Awards
- City of Shreveport - $127,686
- City of Bossier City – $39,115
- City of Lake Charles - $44,309
- City of Opelousas - $17,834
- City of Natchitoches - $15,632
- Ouachita Parish - $127,351
- Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office - $72,222
- Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office - $82,155
- Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office - $36,553
- St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office - $13,477
OVC Law Enforcement-Based Victim Specialist Program
- Lafayette City Parish Consolidated Government - $448,500
BJA Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program – State Awards
- Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement - $3,169,999
Information about the programs and awards announced December 4, 2019, is available here: Public Safety Fact Sheet. For more information about OJP awards, visit the OJP Awards Data webpage.
The Office of Justice Programs, directed by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan, provides federal leadership, grants, training and technical assistance, and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, assist victims and enhance the rule of law by strengthening the criminal and juvenile justice systems. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Louisiana is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Western District of Louisiana, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao-wdla.
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Jury Convicts Denison, Iowa Man for Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine was convicted by a jury on December 6, 2019, after a 3-day trial in federal court in Sioux City.
Jose Carlos Ramirez-Martinez, 31, from Denison, Iowa, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. The verdict was returned following about two hours of jury deliberations.
The evidence at trial showed that Ramirez-Martinez was involved in a conspiracy that distributed more than 500 grams of methamphetamine from October 2015 through September 2016, from the Denison, Iowa, area. Evidence showed that Ramirez-Martinez would often have co-conspirators travel for him from Denison to Worthington, Minnesota to deliver ½ lb quantities of methamphetamine to a co-conspirator for further re-distribution in Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Ramirez-Martinez was taken into custody by the United States Marshal after the verdict was returned and will remain in custody pending sentencing. Ramirez-Martinez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Drug Enforcement Administration; Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement; Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; Buffalo Ridge Task Force (Worthington/ Nobles County, Minnesota); and the Internal Revenue Service.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 17-4025. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Iowa Man Charged with Interstate and Cyber StalkingRead the Press Release
Michael Shawn McGuire, age 56, from Cresco, Iowa, has been charged with two counts of interstate stalking and one count of cyber stalking. The charges are contained in an Indictment unsealed on December 3, 2019, in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The Indictment alleges that, on or about August 25, 2018, and May 25, 2019, McGuire traveled from Iowa to Minnesota with the intent to harass the victim and caused the victim to experience substantial emotional distress. The Indictment further alleges, that, between on or about September 10, 2018, and September 20, 2018, McGuire engaged in a course of conduct by using Facebook to harass, intimidate, and cause substantial emotional distress to the victim.
If convicted on all charges, McGuire faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, a $750,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
McGuire appeared today in federal court in Cedar Rapids and after a hearing, was held without bond. Evidence at the hearing established that on August 25, 2018, and May 25, 2019, numerous yard signs were posted in Minnesota, where the victim resides. The signs were sexually explicit and contained the victim’s name, telephone number, address, and email address. During this same time period, various friends, family members, and associates of the victim received sexually explicit mailings with semi-nude photos of the victim. In addition, various Facebook profiles sent similar semi-nude photos to some of the victim’s contacts through Facebook and various fake dating profiles associated with the victim were created.
McGuire’s next appearance for trial is set for February 3, 2020.
As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams and was investigated by the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 19-CR-2075.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
International Anti-Corruption Day Observed by the Justice DepartmentRead the Press Release
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training (OPDAT) and International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) helps foreign governments combat corruption. OPDAT provides expert assistance and case-based mentoring to foreign counterparts to help develop justice systems that can effectively combat corruption in furtherance of U.S. national security. ICITAP helps foreign governments combat corruption by building capacity of law enforcement institutions and other government entities to investigate misconduct and corruption and to implement internal controls that encourage professional conduct among government employees.
OPDAT’s Senior Counsel on Global Anticorruption provides specialized technical advice, training, and consultation to foreign prosecutors, judges, and investigators around the world. OPDAT’s anticorruption program assists counterparts from other jurisdictions in analyzing, investigating, and prosecuting corruption pursuant to international standards, including the UN Convention Against Corruption. OPDAT’s anticorruption program aids U.S. law enforcement efforts by strengthening international cooperation and promoting evidence sharing around the globe. Most recently, during the weeks of October 21 and 28, at the International Law Enforcement Academies in Botswana and Ghana, respectively, OPDAT led two anticorruption programs for prosecutors and judges.
In its bilateral programs, OPDAT’s Resident Legal Advisors, Intermittent Legal Advisors, and International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Advisors have also provided expert anticorruption assistance and case-based mentoring to foreign counterparts. Notable recent successes include:
- In Indonesia, the OPDAT Indonesia-mentored Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested the mayor of Indonesia’s third largest city, Medan, for allegedly receiving bribes of approximately $25,000. Medan’s public works chief, a protocol official, the mayor’s personal aide, and three businessmen were also arrested. According to the KPK, the mayor had used the funds to cover his family member’s travel expenses.
- In Colombia, an OPDAT-mentored prosecutor helped secure the conviction of the former mayor of Bogotá on 34 fraud and corruption counts related to a public contracting scheme worth $63 million.
- In El Salvador, a judge found that OPDAT-mentored prosecutors had submitted sufficient evidence for the former minister of health and 15 other defendants to be re-tried for defrauding the government of $2.7 million.
- In Paraguay, an OPDAT-mentored organized crime prosecutor oversaw the takedown of a police protection and corruption scheme, filing charges against 21 police officers who were taken into custody for having collaborated with Brazilian transnational criminal organizations, including the Primer Comando Capital and the Comando Vermelho.
- In Serbia, OPDAT supported legislative reforms and institutional capacity building that helped the Ministry of Justice establish four specialized anti-corruption prosecutorial, police, and judicial departments. Since their creation, OPDAT has trained and mentored prosecutors, investigators, and judges assigned to the new departments. The Republic Public Prosecutor’s Office, in close cooperation with Serbia’s Ministry of Interior and regulatory bodies, has secured hundreds of convictions successfully using a task-force model and proactive approach, as trained by OPDAT. In Nis, Serbia, the OPDAT-mentored anti-corruption prosecutorial department has recently garnered positive media attention for achieving significant convictions and having hundreds of ongoing investigations.
Building effective anticorruption investigative capacity depends on institutions having sound management practices and human resource systems. ICITAP helps host-country law enforcement institutions improve their ability to direct and train employees to follow new laws and procedures, to recruit and retain qualified personnel, and to manage them effectively through leadership, discipline, and merit-based incentives. ICITAP also promotes public education campaigns and transparency and assists in setting up units and training personnel to handle citizen complaints in a professional manner. In addition, ICITAP provides training in a range of investigative methods and skills, which are necessary to build a successful anticorruption case.
ICITAP’s team of forensic specialists design and guide critical assistance to foreign laboratories that supports counterparts’ efforts around the world to combat corruption, terrorism, and transnational criminal organizations. Funded primarily through agreements with the U.S. Department of State, ICITAP’s work supports the efforts of the international community and host-country partners to implement and comply with the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
To learn more about OPDAT and ICITAP’s capacity-building efforts around the world, go to: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-opdat and www.justice.gov/criminal-icitap.
- In Indonesia, the OPDAT Indonesia-mentored Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested the mayor of Indonesia’s third largest city, Medan, for allegedly receiving bribes of approximately $25,000. Medan’s public works chief, a protocol official, the mayor’s personal aide, and three businessmen were also arrested. According to the KPK, the mayor had used the funds to cover his family member’s travel expenses.
Indianapolis Man Sentenced for Pharmacy RobberyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Joe Kelly announced today that Senior U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp sentenced Otis Brown, III, 18, to 8 years and one day in federal prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Brown was also ordered to pay $61,154.00 in restitution. Brown previously pleaded guilty to a Hobbs Act robbery; that is, robbing a business involved in interstate commerce and brandishing a firearm during the robbery.
On October 28, 2018, at approximately 9:33 am, Brown, Billy Adell, and Daewoo Robertson robbed the CVS Pharmacy, 1701 Galvin Road South, Bellevue, Nebraska at gunpoint. Robertson, Adell, and Brown are from Indianapolis and drove to Bellevue to commit the robbery. Adell was the driver. Robertson and Brown went into the store. Robertson was armed with a Glock .40 caliber handgun that he pointed at employees and a customer while he and Brown zip-tied them. Robertson and Brown fled the store in Adell’s waiting vehicle, with $60,196.50 in controlled substances. They were caught shortly thereafter when their car was stopped. Officers searched the car and found the gun, zip-ties, and a garbage bag with the stolen drugs. Once the drugs leave the store, they cannot be taken back and resold by CVS and have to be destroyed.
Adell is currently pending trial.
Robertson was previously sentenced to 9 years’ imprisonment, 5 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $61,154 in restitution.
The FBI Great Plains Violent Crime Task Force, comprised of FBI agents, Omaha Police Department detectives, Nebraska State Patrol Investigators and Papillion Police Department Detectives, is responsible for the investigation of the robbery. The task force was assisted by the Bellevue Police Department.
Indian Businessman Pleads Guilty to Drug Importation, Smuggling and Money Laundering OffensesRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA - A citizen of India pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to import Schedule II and Schedule IV controlled substances, one count of conspiracy to smuggle misbranded drugs, and one count of money laundering conspiracy, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Jeetendra Harish Belani, a/k/a Jeetu, 37, of Nagpur, India, pleaded guilty before Chief United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak.
During his plea hearing, Belani admitted that he operated a drug-distribution entity based in India called LeeHPL Ventures. Belani also maintained an associated website—www.leehpl.com. Between 2015 and 2019, Belani admitted that he and his co-conspirators, through LeeHPL Ventures, imported into the United States various drugs available only by prescription, including tapentadol, a Schedule II controlled substance, as well as tramadol, carisoprodol, and modafinil, all Schedule IV controlled substances. In addition, Belani admitted that between 2015 and mid-2017, he worked with two co-conspirators in the United States—William Kulakevich and Julia Fees—to unlawfully smuggle a drug known as etizolam into the United States so that Kulakevich and Fees could resell it via a website they operated—www.etizy.com. Etizolam is part of a class of drugs similar to benzodiazepines, which are often used to treat insomnia and anxiety and carry a potential for abuse and overdose. To evade detection by United States Customs and Border Protection officials, Belani admitted that he and his co-conspirators used false customs declarations that mischaracterized and undervalued the contents of packages sent to the United States by LeeHPL Ventures. In addition, Belani caused drug shipments to be broken into smaller quantities and shipped to multiple addresses to help ensure delivery and avoid interception by United States customs authorities. Likewise, Belani admitted that he caused co-conspirators to initiate payments totaling tens of thousands of dollars from accounts in the United States to accounts he controlled in India or in other locations outside the United States, all as a means to promote his continued efforts to smuggle drugs into the United States.
Belani was arrested in the Czech Republic on June 3, 2019, and he was subsequently extradited to the United States to face the charges contained in an eight-count Indictment returned by a federal grand jury on June 26, 2019.
In addition to the three counts to which Belani pleaded guilty, he also accepted responsibility, pursuant to a written plea agreement, for the conduct charged in the remaining five counts of the Indictment: two additional smuggling charges, two additional drug importation charge, and one additional money laundering charge. Belani also agreed to forfeit a total of $100,000.
Belani faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $1,000,000 for the drug importation conspiracy charge; a maximum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 for the smuggling conspiracy charge; and a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $500,000 for the money laundering conspiracy charge 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 Eric G. Olshan is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Food and Drug Administration – Office of Criminal Investigations and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance during the investigation of this matter.
Houston Man Sentenced to over 11 Years in Federal Prison for Marijuana Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – Kevin Lawrence, 45, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced on December 4, 2019, by Chief U.S. District Daniel P. Jordan III, to 135 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Lawrence was also sentenced to 3 years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $2,000.00 fine.
On March 24, 2013, DEA seized approximately 262 pounds of marijuana at the Pilot Travel Center located in Jackson, Mississippi, from Kendrick Applewhite and Steven Davison. During the course of the investigation, agents learned that Kevin Lawrence ordered the marijuana and coordinated the pickup of the marijuana with Applewhite and Davison. The three were indicted on December 13, 2017.
Davison and Applewhite previously pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana. Davison was sentenced to 100 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a fine of $1,500.00. Applewhite was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a fine of $1,500.00.
On October 4, 2018, Lawrence was found guilty, after a four-day trial in U.S. District Court, of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, possessing marijuana with intent to distribute, and using a communication facility to commit the offense.
This case was investigated by the DEA Jackson District Office, DEA Gulf Coast HIDTA and the Jackson Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Chris Wansley and John Meynardie.
Fourth Defendant Convicted in Immigrant Kidnapping and Extortion Scheme Sentenced to 135 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that LUCILO CABRERA, 46, of Bronx, New York, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 135 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in a kidnapping and extortion scheme.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on several occasions, Cabrera and his co-conspirators targeted individuals after they exited buses at the Port Authority in New York. The victims included women, men and children from Central American countries who did not speak English and were seeking asylum in the U.S. Some of the victims planned to travel from New York to Connecticut. After the victims were told that their connecting bus was not available and that they would provide transportation, the co-conspirators coerced the victims into vehicles. Cabrera and others would then drive the victims around, sometimes for hours, and refused to release them until they or their families agreed to pay the co-conspirators an exorbitant amount of money, on average more than a $1000.
At times, co-conspirators posed as an immigration officer to intimidate the victims further.
Cabrera, who is a citizen of the Dominican Republic and a Lawful Permanent Resident of the U.S., has been detained since his arrest on June 22, 2016. On March 9, 2018, a federal jury in Bridgeport found Cabrera and two co-conspirators, Francisco Betancourt and Carlos Antonio Hernandez, guilty of kidnapping, extortion and conspiracy offenses. On November 14, 2019, Betancourt was sentenced to 168 months of imprisonment, and on November 18, 2019, Hernandez was sentenced to 96 months of imprisonment.
On October 12, 2018, a fourth defendant, Pascual Rodriguez, pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping. On July 2, 2019, he was sentenced to 135 months of imprisonment.
This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vanessa Richards.
Four South Florida Residents and Jet Link, Inc. Sentenced for Roles in Aircraft Parts Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
On Friday, December 6, 2019, the last of four South Florida residents was sentenced to prison in connection with the operation of Jet Link, Inc., an aircraft parts broker in Margate, Florida.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Wendell W. Palmer, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations - Office of Procurement Fraud, Detachment 5, Dobbins ARB, GA; Special Agent Jozette Gillespie, Acting Director, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit (CID-MPFU); Cyndy Bruce, Special Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office; and Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office announced the sentencing of Robert Cantone, 74, of Coral Springs, Alex Cantone, 41, of Sunrise, Brenda Snelgrove, 58, of Coconut Creek, Ronald Burns, 45, of Hollywood, and Jet Link, Inc., for their roles in an aircraft parts fraud scheme.
The defendants and the corporation previously pled guilty for their respective criminal conduct (Case No. 18cr60329). On December 6, 2019, U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman sentenced R. Cantone to 18 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered the defendant to pay $91,095.70 in restitution. Previously, co-defendant Burns was sentenced to 12 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $6,340 in restitution. Co-defendant Snelgrove was sentenced to 3 years of probation, with six months of house arrest, and ordered to pay $18,581 in restitution. Co-defendant A. Cantone was given Pre-trial Diversion. Jet Link, Inc. was sentenced to 3 years of probation and ordered to pay $91,095.70 in restitution.
According to the court record, Jet Link, Inc. and the co-defendants are now prohibited from conducting further business with the Department of Defense, and during the defendants’ terms of supervised release, they will all be prohibited from purchasing, selling, distributing, or acquiring of aircraft parts, both commercial and military, and shall further be prohibited from associating with or being employed by, any company involved with the purchase or sale of aircraft parts, both commercial and military.
According to court records and evidence presented during hearings, R. Cantone, A. Cantone, Snelgrove, and Burns, would unjustly enrich themselves by fraudulently winning contracts for the supply of military aircraft parts to the Defense Logistics Agency (“DLA”), by supplying the DLA with false certifications on their electronic bid quotations, by stating Jet Link “currently possesses the material,” and that the parts were “inspected for correct part number and for absence of corrosion or any obvious defects,” were “in its original package,” and were “new, unused, and not of such age or so deteriorated as to impair its usefulness or safety,” when, in fact, these parts were not purchased until after the contracts had been awarded by DLA. These parts were thereafter shipped to the Department of Defense, and were often either non-conforming or substandard.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, U.S. Army CID-MPFU, DCIS, and ICE-HSI. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Former DOD Subcontractor Facing Federal Indictment for Allegedly Submitting False Claims for Hours WorkedRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Melissa Heyer, age 44, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, with submitting false claims to the United States, specifically for claiming to have worked hours on a government contract when she allegedly was not at work.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Teresa A. Moses, Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)- Office of Inspector General (OIG); and Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Craig, Jr., of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service - Mid-Atlantic Field Office.
Company A was a subcontractor for Company B, providing employees that performed national security duties for the Department of Defense (DOD). From January 2017 until March 2019, Heyer worked for Company A, but was assigned on a day-to-day basis to work for the DOD on national security matters at the National Security Agency (NSA), in Fort Meade, Maryland.
According to the five-count indictment, from January 2017 through March 2019, Heyer held a Top Secret-Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) security clearance and performed her duties for Company A and the DOD at a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) at the NSA facility where she worked. She used a badge reader to gain access to the SCIF. The indictment alleges that on at least five occasions between January 2017 and March 2019, Heyer falsely represented to her employer that she had been working at the NSA SCIF when she was actually elsewhere. Heyer allegedly caused false claims to be submitted to the DOD that resulted in the government paying more than $100,000 to Company A, Company B, and Heyer, to which they and Heyer were not entitled.
If convicted, Heyer faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each of the five counts of making a false claim. 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 today’s initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Beth P. Gesner ordered that Heyer be detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for Wednesday, December 11, 2019.
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.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DIA OIG and DCIS for their work on the investigation and thanked the U.S. CYBERCOM Office of Inspector General for its assistance. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Harry M. Gruber, who is prosecuting the case.
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Former Clovis Resident Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Receipt and Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Aric Matthew Salazar, 36, formerly of Clovis, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison, for receipt and distribution of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to a criminal complaint, Salazar was detected by law enforcement investigators when he was sharing numerous child pornography files on a BitTorrent file-sharing network in October 2016. He admitted to investigating agents that he had used file-sharing programs for several years to obtain child pornography. He admitted in a plea agreement that he had received and distributed more than 600 images of child pornography from at least July 2015 through July 2017. Some of the images were depictions of minors being subjected to violence or sadistic conduct.
The sentence imposed includes a term of supervised release of 15 years during which, Salazar’s access to minors, computers, and the internet will be restricted. He will also be required to register as a sex offender, pay restitution of $12,000 to five victims who filed claims, and pay penalty assessments totaling $5,100.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.
Fleming County Magistrate Pleads Guilty to Crop Insurance Fraud and Tax FraudRead the Press Release
FRANKFORT, Ky. – Christopher G. Hickerson, a Fleming County Magistrate and tobacco farmer, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Monday, before U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove, to charges of conspiracy to commit crop insurance fraud and tax fraud.
According to his plea agreement, Hickerson admitted that from Crop Year 2009 to Crop Year 2016, he made material misrepresentations on his federal crop insurance paperwork, for the purpose of getting money from the federal government that he was not entitled to receive. He admitted that he produced more tobacco crop than he reported to his insurance company, hiding that tobacco by selling it in other people’s names or simply not reporting it to his insurance adjuster.
In his plea agreement, Hickerson acknowledged that in Crop Year 2014, he accomplished this through an agreement, with Debra Muse and another individual identified as R.W., to obtain fake grade sheets and tobacco sales receipts from Clay’s Tobacco Warehouse, which he could submit to his insurance adjuster. Hickerson admitted that the grade sheets – which showed that his tobacco was no-grade or low-grade – were for tobacco that either did not exist or did not belong to him. Hickerson further admitted to failing to report all of his tobacco sales on his tax returns in 2012, 2013, and 2015.
Hickerson is scheduled to be sentenced on April 29, 2020. He faces up to five years in prison on the conspiracy to commit crop insurance fraud conviction and three years in prison on the tax fraud conviction. He faces a $250,000 fine on each charge. Before imposing a sentence, the Court will take into consideration the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and federal sentencing statutes.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Bethanne Dinkins, Acting Special Agent in Charge, United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General; James Robert Brown, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; Heather Manzano, Deputy Administrator for Compliance, United States Department of Agriculture-Risk Management Agency; and Willie Skeens, Director, Kentucky Department of Insurance Fraud Investigation Division, jointly announced the conviction. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Roth and Kathryn Anderson.
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Five Dominican Nationals Charged with Identity TheftRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Five men have been charged in federal court in Boston as the result of a federal investigation targeting document and benefit fraud.
The following individuals have each been charged with aggravated identity theft and false representation of a Social Security number, and one has also been charged with making a false statement relating to a federal health care program:
1. Raymer Alfredo Soto Mareta, 28, a Dominican national residing in Lynn. Soto Moreta is charged with using the identification of another person to obtain a Massachusetts driver’s license. Soto Mareta also used this stolen identity to obtain MassHealth benefits, Social Security benefits and to apply for unemployment benefits.
2. Reynold Pereyra Diaz, 38, a Dominican national residing in Taunton. Pereyra Diaz is charged with using the identification of another person to obtain a Massachusetts driver’s license. Pereyra Diaz also used this stolen identity to obtain MassHealth benefits and to finance a vehicle costing more than $48,000.
3. Yohnny Peguero Villalona, 33, a Dominican national residing in Lynn. Peguero Villalona is charged with using the identification of another person to obtain a Massachusetts driver’s license. Peguero Villalona, also used this stolen identity to obtain MassHealth benefits
4. Roberto Melo Guerrero, 39, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence. Melo Guerrero is charged with using the identification of another person to obtain a Massachusetts driver’s license and to obtain MassHealth benefits.
5. Hector Antonio Cruz Ciprian, 31, a Dominican national residing in Lowell. Cruz Ciprian is charged with using the identification of another person to obtain a Massachusetts driver’s license.
Soto Mareta, Pereyra Diaz, and Peguero Villalona were arrested today on criminal complaints and appeared in federal court in Boston. Melo Guerrero and Cruz Ciprian are currently in state custody on unrelated charges, and will be transported to federal court at a later date.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigation’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF), a specialized investigative group comprising personnel from various state, local, and federal agencies with expertise in detecting, deterring and disrupting organizations and individuals involved in various types of document, identity and benefit fraud schemes. The DBFTF is currently investigating suspected aliens who are believed to have obtained stolen identities of U.S. citizens born in Puerto Rico. The DBFTF has investigated individuals who have used stolen identities to obtain public benefits that they otherwise would not be eligible to receive, including Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles identity documents, Social Security numbers, MassHealth benefits, public housing benefits and/or unemployment benefits.
In July 2018, a DGFTF-led investigation resulted in the arrests of 25 individuals on charges of identity theft and Social Security fraud. Separate DBFTF-led investigations resulted in multiple arrests in December 2018, April 2019, June 2019 and September 2019.
The charge of aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence that must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charges of false representation of a Social Security number and making a false statement relating to a federal health care program each provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Jason Molina, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Phillip M. Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General, made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General; U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; and the Lynn, Lawrence and Taunton Police Departments.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bill Abely, Adam Deitch and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Burzycki of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit are prosecuting the cases.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Firearm Violation Results in Prison Sentence of More Than Nine YearsRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – JOSE MANUEL GUTIERREZ, 35, of Oklahoma City, has been sentenced to 110 months in prison for possessing a firearm after a felony conviction, announced U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing.
On February 19, 2019, a grand jury indicted Gutierrez for possessing a .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol on December 20, 2018, after having been convicted of a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment of more than one year. He pleaded guilty on June 7, 2019.
Today, Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti sentenced Gutierrez to 110 months—or nine years and two months—in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. The court took into account threats Gutierrez made with a loaded gun in the presence of minor children and a person with whom he was in a domestic relationship at the time. It also considered his lengthy history of abusive and violent behavior spanning the past 15 years, with six prior felony convictions involving firearms.
This case was the result of an investigation by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and the Oklahoma City Police Department. It is part of “Operation 922,” the district’s local implementation of Project Safe Neighborhoods, DOJ’s initiative against violent crime. "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. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wilson D. McGarry and Mary E. Walters prosecuted the case.
Reference is made to court filings for further information.
Felon headed to prison for multiple illegals firearms purchasesRead the Press Release
HOUSTON - A 41-year old previously convicted violent offender has been ordered to federal prison for lying on a firearms application to purchase multiple handguns, announces U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Javier Cruz is from Puerto Rico but resided in Houston. He pleaded guilty Sept. 16.
Today, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen handed Cruz a 46-month sentence to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.
At the time of his plea, Cruz admitted he unlawfully purchased four firearms Feb. 9. As part of the purchase, he was required to fill out Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) form 4473 in order to complete a background check. Cruz fraudulently signed the form in that he claimed he never had a felony conviction.
However, Cruz actually had multiple prior convictions for violent felony offenses in Puerto Rico – theft by means of violence, robbery, carrying a firearm without a license and possession of a controlled substance. The investigation also revealed that on Feb. 10, Cruz attempted to unlawfully purchase a fifth firearm from the same dealer, again by falsifying information on form 4473. That second attempt failed.
Cruz will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
ATF conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew R. Peneguy prosecuted the case.
Fairview, PA Man Sentnced for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A resident of Fairview, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to one day in jail, 12 months home detention, and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine on his conviction of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Matthew E. Poese, 48.
According to information presented to the court, Poese possessed computer images depicting prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Brady commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Poese.
Dominican National Sentenced for Unlawful ReentryRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dominican national was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for illegally reentering the United States after being deported.
Diostene Pimental, 42, a Dominican national formerly residing in Boston, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf to 16 months in prison and two years of supervised release. In September 2019, Pimental pleaded guilty to one count of unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported.
Pimental was removed from the United States in November 2012 and subsequently re-entered without permission. Pimental had been deported after being convicted of an aggravated felony.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Marcos D. Charles, Acting Field Office Director, Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Boston, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Abely, Deputy Chief of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit, prosecuted the case.
Convicted Felon Sentenced to Nearly 7 Years in Prison for Illegally Possessing Loaded Gun and 61 Rounds of AmmunitionRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A convicted felon has been sentenced to nearly seven years in federal prison for illegally possessing a loaded handgun and 61 rounds of ammunition in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago.
ANTONIO BROWN, 25, of Chicago, illegally possessed the gun and two extended-capacity magazines in the 7500 block of South Dante Avenue on Sept. 22, 2018. Brown was in the front passenger seat of a stolen vehicle that had been pulled over by officers from the Chicago Police Department. He initially tried to hide the gun and ammunition under his seat to avoid detection, but the officers discovered the items during an ensuing search of the vehicle.
Brown was not legally allowed to possess a firearm after previously being convicted in state court of the attempted armed robbery of a nail salon. He was released from state prison seven months before the traffic stop.
Brown pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a felon. U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman imposed the 82-month sentence Thursday in federal court in Chicago.
The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the FBI; and Charlie Beck, interim Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.
“In a city plagued by traumatic injuries and death from bullets being indiscriminately sprayed on the street, the public is truly fortunate that CPD was able to interdict defendant and seize his arsenal before any harm could come to anyone,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Devlin N. Su argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “By illegally packing a devastating amount of firepower, defendant dramatically increased the risk of violence to the community.”
According to evidence and arguments presented to the Court during the federal case, Brown has appeared in several music videos and photographs posted on YouTube or Facebook holding handguns equipped with laser sights and extended-capacity magazines similar to the type he possessed during the traffic stop. Brown is frequently seen in the videos and photos aiming the guns directly at the camera.
Holding convicted felons accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods – the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy. In the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Attorney Lausch and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, including by prosecuting individuals who illegally possess firearms. The U.S. Attorney’s Office also participates in Project Guardian, an initiative from the Department of Justice that serves as a complementary effort to the success of PSN. Project Guardian focuses specifically on investigating, prosecuting, and preventing gun crimes, and it emphasizes the importance of using modern technologies to promote gun crime intelligence.
Clinton Man Sentenced to Almost 7 Years in Federal Prison Under Project EJECT for CarjackingRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – Cedric Winfield, 24, of Clinton, was sentenced Friday before Chief United States District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III to 83 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for carjacking, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Michelle A. Sutphin, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Winfield was also ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution to the victim.
On November 7, 2017, while Darrell Moore was on bond for murder in Hinds County, Alexus Guster, Moore, and Cedric Winfield agreed to rob and carjack a victim at gunpoint. At the instruction of Moore and Winfield, Guster lured the victim to the location where Winfield and Moore were waiting to carjack and rob him. Guster and Winfield spoke to the victim while standing at the passenger side of the vehicle. While the victim was distracted, Moore approached the driver’s side of the vehicle, pulled the victim out of the car at gunpoint, and forced him to give up his money and the vehicle. The victim then fled the scene on foot as Moore fired his gun twice in the direction of the victim. Winfield drove the car to his residence where Moore and Guster met him to search the car for valuables.
Winfield pled guilty on October 16, 2018. Moore pled guilty on November 13, 2018, and was sentenced by Judge Jordan to over 12 years in federal prison on May 13, 2019. Guster pled guilty on January 23, 2019, and was sentenced by Judge Barbour to time served and a $1,000 fine.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Jackson Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mary Helen Wall and Kimberly Taft Purdie.
This case is part of Project EJECT, an initiative by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). EJECT is a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to fighting and reducing violent crime through prosecution, prevention, re-entry and awareness. EJECT stands for "Empower Justice Expel Crime Together." PSN is 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. Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions 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.
Charleston Man Pleads Guilty to Role in Federal Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Charleston man pled guilty today in federal court for his role in a conspiracy that involved large quantities of methamphetamine which were transported from Akron and sold in West Virginia, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Jared Matthew Whittington, 30, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
“Whittington participated in a significant meth trafficking network operating between Akron, Ohio and West Virginia,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “He was responsible for distributing up to 500 grams of meth. A collaborative investigation by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies shut down this group of meth traffickers. We’re working together to close off the steady pipeline of drugs coming from Akron.”
Whittington admitted that during the months of June and July of 2019, he participated with multiple individuals to distribute methamphetamine in the Southern District of West Virginia. During the conspiracy, Whittington obtained various quantities of methamphetamine which were transported from Akron to be sold in multiple cities in West Virginia including Teays Valley and Charleston. Whittington admitted that he supplied methamphetamine to other West Virginia based meth dealers on a recurring basis and that he was aware the methamphetamine he sold would be re-distributed in West Virginia. As part of his plea agreement, Whittington admitted that he was responsible for distributing up to 500 grams of methamphetamine.
Whittington faces 5 to 40 years in prison when sentenced on March 9, 2020.
This joint investigation was spearheaded by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Other agencies which participated and assisted in the investigation include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Ona Violent Crime and Drug Task Force West, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), the West Virginia State Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force, the Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit, the United States Marshals Service, the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department, the Charleston Police Department, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Akron, Ohio Police Department, and the Brecksville, Ohio Police Department. United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is handling the prosecution.
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California Woman Charged and Agrees to Plead Guilty in College Admissions CaseRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A California woman will plead guilty to charges filed today alleging that she paid $9,000 to have an individual take online classes for her son, in order to earn credits to facilitate his graduation from Georgetown University.
Karen Littlefair, 57, of Newport Beach, Calif., will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled by the Court. According to the terms of the plea agreement, the government will recommend a sentence of four months in prison, one year of supervised release, a fine of $9,500 and restitution.
According to the charging documents, Littlefair agreed with William “Rick” Singer and others to pay approximately $9,000 to have an employee of Singer’s for-profit college counseling business, The Edge College & Career Network (“The Key”), take online classes in place of Littlefair’s son and submit those fraudulently earned credits to Georgetown to facilitate his graduation. The Key employee allegedly completed four classes for Littlefair’s son at Georgetown and elsewhere, and in exchange, Littlefair paid Singer’s company approximately $9,000. Littlefair’s son graduated from Georgetown, using the credits earned by the Key employee, in May 2018.
Singer previously pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the government’s investigation.
Case information, including the status of each defendant, charging documents and plea agreements are available here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/investigations-college-admissions-and-testing-bribery-scheme.
The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; 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. Attorneys Eric S. Rosen, Justin D. O’Connell, Leslie A. Wright and Kristen A. Kearney of Lelling’s Securities and Financial Fraud Unit are prosecuting the cases.
The details contained in the court documents are allegations and the remaining defendants are presumed not guilty unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.