Latest Records
Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
27 November 2019
Justice Department Issues Business Review Letter to the GSMA Related to Innovative eSIMs Standard for Mobile DevicesRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division announced today that it completed a nearly two-year long investigation into the standard-setting activities of the GSM Association (GSMA), a trade association for mobile network operators. The Antitrust Division’s investigation revealed that, in recent years, the GSMA used its industry influence to steer the design of eSIMs technology in mobile devices. In response to the investigation, the GSMA has drafted new standard-setting procedures that will incorporate more input from non-operator members of the mobile communications industry. The new standard-setting process will have a greater likelihood of creating procompetitive benefits for consumers of mobile devices; it will also curb the ability of mobile network operators to use the GSMA standard as a way to avoid new forms of disruptive competition that the embedded SIMs (eSIMs) technology may unleash.
The GSMA expressed its intent to adopt the new procedures in a request for a business review letter from the Antitrust Division. After completing its investigation, the division is today issuing a business review letter that expresses concern about the past procedures and some of the resulting provisions in the standard. The letter concludes, however, that the proposed changes appear to adequately address those concerns. In light of these planned changes, the Antitrust Division has no present intention to bring an enforcement action against the GSMA or its mobile network operator members.
“I am pleased that the GSMA is ready to use its standard-setting process to create a more consumer-friendly eSIM standard,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim. “The GSMA’s old procedures resulted in certain eSIMs rules that benefitted only its incumbent mobile network operators at the risk of innovation and American consumers. The new procedures proposed going forward significantly reduce that risk and should result in new innovative offerings for consumers.”
The mobile communications industry has begun to migrate away from traditional SIM cards—a removable plastic card that is preprogrammed to connect to a single mobile network—and toward innovative eSIMs, which perform the same function as a SIM card but are soldered into the device and capable of being remotely programmed and re-programmed to connect to different operators’ mobile networks. The mobile industry refers to this process as Remote SIM Provisioning (RSP).
According to the Antitrust Division’s investigation, the GSMA and its mobile network operator members used an unbalanced standard-setting process, with procedures that stacked the deck in their favor, to enact an RSP Specification that included provisions designed to limit competition among networks. When standard-setting organizations are used in an anticompetitive manner, the division stands ready to evaluate that conduct under the antitrust laws and take whatever action is necessary to restore competition.
The GSMA is a non-profit association with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom, and additional offices throughout the world, including offices in Atlanta, Georgia, and San Francisco, California. The GSMA is a trade association representing mobile operators worldwide, including more than 750 operators and over 350 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem. GSMA’s membership includes all of the major mobile network operators worldwide, including the major, national carriers in the United States.
Under the Department of Justice’s business review procedure, an organization may submit a proposed action to the Antitrust Division and receive a statement as to whether the division currently intends to challenge the action under the antitrust laws based on the information provided. The department reserves the right to challenge the proposed action under the antitrust laws if the actual operation of the proposed conduct proves to be anticompetitive in purpose or effect.
Copies of the business review request and the department’s response are available on the Antitrust Division’s website at https://www.justice.gov/atr/business-review-letters-and-request-letters, as well as in a file maintained by the Antitrust Documents Group of the Antitrust Division. After a 30-day waiting period, any documents supporting the business review will be added to the file, unless a basis for their exclusion for reasons of confidentiality has been established under the business review procedure. Supporting documents in the file will be maintained for a period of one year, and copies will be available upon request to the FOIA/Privacy Act Unit, Antitrust Documents Group at [email protected].
Informational: Federal Court arraignmentsRead the Press Release
The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the following persons were arraigned or appeared this week before U.S. Magistrate judges on indictments handed down by the Grand Jury or on criminal complaints. The charging documents are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty:
Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on Nov. 26 was:
Lynn Robert Kuntz, 40, of Billings, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute meth and distribution of meth. If convicted of the most serious crime, Kuntz faces a minimum mandatory 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Kuntz was released pending further proceedings. The case was investigated by the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force. Pacer case reference. 19-144.
Patrick Bryan Cleveland, 39, of Billings, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth, possession with intent to distribute meth and distribution of meth. If convicted of the most serious crime, Cleveland faces a minimum mandatory five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Cleveland was detained pending further proceedings. The case was investigated by the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force. Pacer case reference. 19-144.
Jonathan Coey Beaumont, Sr., 44, of Pryor, on charges of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor. If convicted of the most serious crime, Beaumont faces a minimum mandatory 30 years to life in prison, a $250,000 fine and at least five years of supervised release. Beaumont was released pending further proceedings. The case was investigated by the FBI. Pacer case reference. 19-143.
Roberto Castillo-Iscoa, 37, of Honduras, on charges of illegal re-entry. If convicted of the most serious crime, Castillo-Iscoa faces a maximum two years in prison, a $250,000 fine and one year of supervised release. Castillo-Iscoa was detained pending further proceedings. The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Pacer case reference. 19-126.
If any of the above cases are of interest to your media organization and the community it serves, we encourage you to monitor the progress of the case regularly through the U.S. District Court calendar and the PACER system.
To establish a PACER account, which will allow you to review documents filed in the case, please go to, http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the district court’s calendar, please go to https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.
XXX
Husband and wife sentenced to prison for health care fraudRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Hilliard couple were sentenced in U.S. District Court for conspiring to commit and committing health care fraud. The husband and wife owned and managed a pharmacy and Suboxone clinic in Dublin.
Darrell L. Bryant, 44, was sentenced to 84 months in prison and Gifty Kusi, 35, was sentenced to 24 months incarceration, including six months at a post-release facility and six months home confinement.
A jury convicted Bryant and Kusi following a two-week trial in December 2018.
Bryant and Kusi owned and managed Health and Wellness Pharmacy on Blazer Parkway in Dublin. Bryant, Kusi, and Dr. Jornell Rivera also owned and operated Health and Wellness Medical Center, a suboxone clinic, also located in Dublin. Rivera served as the Medical Director for the medical center.
According to court documents and testimony, Bryant, Kusi and their co-conspirators marketed prescription creams in low-income neighborhoods and mailed those creams to Medicaid customers. They also billed for counseling services that weren’t provided, and billed for individual counseling sessions that actually occurred in a group setting.
As part of the conspiracy, Medicaid was billed for compound creams to treat pain, scarring and acne. Health and Wellness Pharmacy billed Medicaid $2 million for the creams.
The pharmacy marketed the compound creams at Clinic 5 (a Suboxone clinic), Sav-a-Lot and through a mobile van unit. Patients with CareSource were targeted and told they were receiving free samples of pain cream. Then they began to receive more cream in the mail without requesting more. These were also billed to CareSource.
Customers at Sav-a-Lot and in low-income neighborhoods were asked to fill out a survey asking about any conditions that they suffered from. Then, they would receive the compound creams in the mail every month, even when customers directed the co-conspirators to stop sending them. Many of these customers never met with a doctor, nor did they know the prescribing physician.
“Exploiting the poor to cash in on the Medicaid program isn’t just immoral, it’s illegal,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said. “I’m proud of my team and grateful to all our partners for bringing this pair to justice.”
Also as part of the health care fraud scheme, Health and Wellness Medical Center submitted fraudulent claims to Medicaid for psychotherapy services that were never rendered to patients.
Specifically, patients indicated they would sit in a room with a timer. When the timer went off, they were allowed to leave and receive their Suboxone prescription. No counseling services were provided during this time. Some patients reported coloring in coloring books during the time they were in the room.
Co-conspirators Rivera and Dr. Michael Alexander have pleaded guilty to making false statements related to health care matters. Alexander also pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute controlled substances.
A jury convicted another co-conspirator, Dr. Bernard Oppong, 61, of Blacklick, Ohio, in May 2019. Oppong was convicted on five counts related to the health care fraud scheme.
“These defendants failed to provide quality care to their patients and used them to submit fraudulent claims to Medicaid in order steal taxpayer money” said Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General - Chicago Region. “The OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that those who deceive patients and attack federally funded health care programs are held accountable.”
“Collaboration is essential for rooting out fraud and preserving the integrity of our health care system,” said State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy Executive Director Steven Schierholt. “I am grateful to our staff and our state and federal partners for bringing these individuals to justice.”
David M. DeVillers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; Joseph M. Deters, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Keith Martin, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost; and Steven W. Schierholt, Executive Director, State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy announced the sentences handed down yesterday evening by Chief U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley. Assistant United States Attorneys Kenneth F. Affeldt and Maritsa A. Flaherty are representing the United States in this case.
# # #
Georgia man indicted in $6.5+ million dollar online romance scam and business email compromise fraudRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Nnamdi Marcellus MgBodile has been arraigned on twenty counts of bank fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
“Online romance scams and business email compromise frauds have increasingly become the method of choice for transnational fraudsters targeting U.S. residents and companies,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “In this case, a single victim allegedly lost millions. This is a stark reminder that users of online dating websites should be aware of such scams and exercise extreme caution if asked for money by anyone online or over the phone.”
“This investigation and subsequent indictment demonstrates the commitment the Secret Service and our partners have in aggressively pursuing those who commit online fraud scams,” said Malcolm D. Wiley, Sr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Atlanta Field Office. “This case serves as a reminder to all, particularly during the holiday season, to ensure protocols related to cyber hygiene are observed.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: MgBodile was allegedly involved in two fraudulent schemes, a romance scam that defrauded a Virginia woman out of more than $6.5 million, and a business email compromise (“BEC”) scam in which MgBodile and others attempted to defraud a Georgia company of nearly $350,000.
Romance scams are a type of online fraud in which victims are targeted by individuals posing as potential paramours. The fraudsters create fake online dating profiles (often with photographs of attractive men or women) and use these fake personas to express a romantic interest in the victims in order to trick them into sending money to them or their co-conspirators under false pretenses. Romance scams frequently target vulnerable individuals who possess significant financial assets, such as retired widows or widowers.
The indictment alleges that at the end of November 2017 a Virginia woman, who had a sizable trust, met a person through an online site. She was soon convinced that she was in a romantic relationship with the defendant who she had come to know as “Jimmy Deere.” Over the next month, the victim communicated via email with Deere, whom she believed had fallen for her. Deere said he wanted to start a life with her and was excited to live with her, but first had to resolve an investment opportunity—an opportunity that was totally fraudulent and fictitious.
Deere told the victim that he was a fund manager and he was on the verge of receiving a sizeable commission (“the funds”) for services provided to an unnamed client. He explained to the victim that he needed her to be his “representative partner” and have the funds deposited into the victim’s bank account to avoid an alleged conflict of interest.
In January and February 2018, after luring the victim, Deere and conspirators started requesting via email that she pay various “fees” and “taxes” so that the funds could be released. Between approximately January 2, 2018 and February 12, 2018, and in response to representations made by Deere and others regarding the funds, the victim made approximately twenty-five wire transfers totaling more than $6.5 million from the victim’s trust account into various bank accounts. At least $1.1 million was wired to business bank accounts controlled by MgBodile. These bank accounts were for fake companies that did not have physical premises, earn legitimate income, or pay wages to employees. After the fraudulent funds hit the accounts controlled by MgBodile, he allegedly wired the funds to other accounts controlled by MgBodile, or overseas accounts in China and the Middle East.
BEC scams commonly involve an employee of a company who has been fooled into responding with email messages that appear to be, but are not, legitimate (“spoof emails”). Here, the indictment alleges that in March 2019, MgBodile and others attempted to defraud a Georgia company out of nearly $350,000 after the Georgia company received emails from what it believed was Oxford Finance, a company that had provided financing to the victim company. The emails fraudulently represented that the victim needed to wire Oxford Finance a quarterly payment rather than being drawn via ACH. None of the emails purporting to be sent from Oxford Finance was actually sent by Oxford Finance. Rather, these “spoof emails” were sent from a domain, “oxfordfiinance.com,” which appeared to be Oxford Finance’s, but was not. The emails also appeared to come from Oxford Finance because the purported sender is an actual employee of Oxford Finance and the email’s signature line contained Oxford Finance’s correct physical address.
Nnamdi Marcellus MgBodile, 35, of Marietta, Georgia, was arraigned on November 19, 2019 U.S. Magistrate Judge Janet F. King. A federal grand jury indicted MgBodile on November 6, 2019. Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is part of the Department Of Justice Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force. The Strike Force focuses on investigating and prosecuting defendants associated with foreign-based fraud schemes that disproportionately affect American seniors. These include romance scams, phone scams, mass-mailing fraud schemes, and tech-support fraud schemes. For further information on these scams, see https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/senior-scam-alert.
The U.S. Secret Service is investigating this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex R. Sistla is prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Former Tucson Man Found Guilty of Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. – Last week a federal jury found Van Raymond Brollini, 70, a former resident of Tucson, Ariz., guilty of tax evasion, corrupt interference with tax administration, and four counts of failure to file a tax return. The case was tried before U.S. District Judge Cindy K. Jorgenson. Sentencing is scheduled for January 29, 2020.
The evidence presented at trial demonstrated that Brollini, a former engineer at National Semiconductor Corporation, willfully evaded payment of taxes from 2002 through 2004 and failed to file a return as required for four consecutive years.
A conviction for tax evasion carries a maximum penalty of 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, or both. A conviction for corrupt interference with tax administration carries a maximum penalty of 3 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, or both. A conviction of failure to file carries a maximum penalty of one year imprisonment, a $100,000 fine, or both.
The investigation in this case was conducted by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. The prosecution was handled by the Financial Crimes Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson.
Former Suamico and Kaukauna Used Car Dealer John Solberg Indicted on Fifteen Counts of FraudRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Matthew D. Krueger of the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on November 26, 2019, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against John M. Solberg (age: 37), of Green Bay, Wisconsin on a charge of conspiracy to commit mail, wire, and bank fraud, contrary to Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349; one count of mail fraud, contrary to Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341; and thirteen counts of wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.
The indictment alleges that Solberg conspired to “defraud automobile sellers, automobile buyers, financial institutions, and others through the use of the United States mail, by means of interstate wire communications, and by concealing material facts from federally insured financial institutions.” It further alleges that Solberg and others working at his direction “sought out individuals advertising their automobiles for sale on Craigslist … and convinced them to turn over their automobiles to be sold on consignment.” Solberg is alleged to have then sold the vehicles without approval and without notifying the owners of the sale. Solberg then allegedly created counterfeit vehicle titles, allowing the purchaser of the vehicle to believe they “owned the vehicle free and clear of any liens.”
Solberg is alleged to have operated, directed, and supervised dealerships under the names “Backwoods Bargains,” “Standard Pre-Owned,” “Suamico Investment Group,” and “Bella Investments, LLC” at locations in Suamico and Kaukauna, Wisconsin.
“Fraud schemes not only harm their victims but also erode trust within communities, making people less willing to engage in commerce with each other,” said United States Attorney Krueger. “These charges demonstrate a strong commitment by law enforcement at all levels to investigate and prosecute fraud aggressively.”
The conspiracy count carries a maximum of 30 years’ imprisonment and up to a $1,000,000 fine. The remaining counts each carry a maximum of 20 year’s imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine.
This case was investigated by the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles, the Kaukauna Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
For Additional Information Contact:
Public Information Officer Kenneth Gales 414-297-1700
Follow us on Twitter
Florence Man Sentenced to 8 Years for ShootingRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – On November 25, 2019, Michael Joseph Davis, 36, of Florence, Arizona, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dominic W. Lanza to 8 years in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. The defendant pleaded guilty on August 12, 2019, to Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury.
On October 7, 2018, the defendant shot the victim three times with a shotgun, causing serious bodily injury. The shooting took place on the Gila River Indian Community, and both the defendant and victim were Gila River tribal members.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Gila River Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Raynette Logan, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
Final member of federal firearms dealer burglary crew convicted following a jury trialRead the Press Release
ROME, Ga. - Demontra Sharod Lucear has been convicted by a jury of conspiring to steal guns from federally licensed firearms dealers and to possessing stolen firearms. Lucear was one of seven defendants charged with conspiracy to burglarize ten gun stores in Georgia and Alabama from October through November 2015.
“Burglarizing gun stores and trafficking those stolen guns to convicted felons and other prohibited persons presents a serious threat to our community,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Thanks to our federal, multi-state, and local law enforcement partners, Lucear and his co-defendants are off the streets and can no longer continue their criminal enterprise.”
“Anyone who steals guns does so for one purpose,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Arthur Peralta. “They steal guns to use them in a violent criminal act. These seven individuals did not consider the harm they would cause by putting these guns on the street. I sincerely hope their arrest and conviction serves to deter anyone else who would consider this type of criminal act. Georgia law enforcement agencies are working together to identify and arrest anyone who steals guns.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Lucear and his six co-defendants burglarized seven federally licensed firearms dealers, and attempted to burglarize three more, between October and November 2015. In all, the crew stole 132 firearms which they later sold to others. Law enforcement officers recovered several of the firearms during criminal arrests. Lucear’s co-defendants previously pleaded guilty as follows:
- On July 18, 2016, Eric Jerome Moore pleaded guilty to theft of firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer and to being a felon in possession of a firearm;
- On June 24, 2016, Jakeisia Miller pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal firearms;
- On July 25, 2016, Dillon James Leborgne pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal firearms, and theft of firearms, from a federally licensed firearms dealer;
- On August 1, 2016, Jacquez Miller pleaded guilty to theft of firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer;
- On November 14, 2016, Jameel Yusuff Drinkard pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal firearms, and theft of firearms, from a federally licensed firearms dealer, and to being a felon in possession of a firearm; and
- On November 17, 2016, Terry Eugene Brown pled guilty to conspiracy to steal firearms, and three counts of theft of firearms, from a federally licensed firearms dealer.
Sentencing for Demontra Sharod Lucear, 29, of Atlanta, Georgia, is scheduled for January 6, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. before United States District Judge Mark H. Cohen. In determining Lucear’s actual sentence, the Court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating this case. Agents of ATF worked closely with multi-state and local law enforcement offices to connect the thefts and develop information on the conspirators. These agencies include the Tallapoosa Police Department, Dalton Police Department, Clayton County Police Department, Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, Monroe Police Department, Thomson Police Department, Athens-Clarke County Police Department, Warner Robbins Police Department, Lagrange Police Department, and the Pearl, Mississippi Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Keen is prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
- On July 18, 2016, Eric Jerome Moore pleaded guilty to theft of firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer and to being a felon in possession of a firearm;
Federal Inmate Sentenced for Stabbing Another InmateRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. –Christopher Betances, 34, of New York, New York, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps to 57 months of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release. Betances had previously pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon.
On November 19, 2017, Betances, while serving time in a federal penitentiary, stabbed another inmate in the face, neck, and upper body areas with a shank.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Prisons. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Raquel Arellano and Corey J. Mantei, District of Arizona, Tucson.
Fayetteville Man Sentenced to More than 6 Years for Gun OffenseRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. announced that in federal court yesterday, Chief United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced DAIQONE MICHAEL HOFMAN, 25, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, to 75 months’ imprisonment, followed by a 3 year term of supervised released.
On March 21, 2019, HOFFMAN was named in a one-count Indictment in which he was charged with Felon in Possession of a Firearm. On July 29, 2019, MALLOY pled guilty to the Indictment.
On August 27, 2018, HOFFMAN was in the passenger seat of a vehicle that was stopped at a red light at the intersection of Morgantown Road and Skibo Road in Fayetteville, NC. HOFFMAN exited the vehicle with a gun in hand and approached a vehicle that was also stopped in the adjacent lane. HOFFMAN fired two shots at the victim vehicle before fleeing on foot. One shot hit the driver of the other vehicle, while the other shot struck the frame of the victim’s vehicle. Officers with the Fayetteville Police Department responded and quickly apprehended HOFFMAN after a brief pursuit.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Since 2017 the United States Department of Justice has reinvigorated the PSN program and has targeted 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.
That effort has been implemented through the Take Back North Carolina Initiative of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices in those communities on a sustained basis to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement. For more information about this initiative click here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/tbnc.
The Fayetteville Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation in this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Bryan M. Stephany prosecuted the case for the government.
Fayetteville Man Sentenced for Narcotics and Firearms ViolationsRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. announced that today in federal court, Chief United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced BERNARD HARVEY FERGUSON, 33, of Fayetteville, North Carolina to 100 months imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release.
FERGUSON was named in a two-count Criminal Information filed on July 15, 2019 charging him with possession with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, 280 grams or more of cocaine base (Crack), and 500 grams or more of cocaine (Count One), and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime (Count Two). On August 8, 2019, FERGUSON pled guilty to those charges.
On March 12, 2018, investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were notified by the Texas Highway Patrol of a large drug trafficking organization that was delivering marijuana to an address on Milford Road in Fayetteville, and began investigating that residence. A vehicle parked outside of the residence was identified as being registered to FERGUSON. FERGUSON was also identified as having the public utility services for the residence registered in his name.
The same day, investigators made contact with FERGUSON at the Milford Road residence and executed a search warrant of the residence. During the search, investigators located in the kitchen: a plastic bag containing approximately 32.9 grams of cocaine base; baking soda; three digital scales; a stolen .40 caliber Glock handgun which was loaded with a high-capacity magazine; a locked briefcase which contained several large bags of cocaine; seven bags of cocaine base; a gallon-sized bag of marijuana; a box for a Smith and Wesson .40 caliber handgun; a handgun holster; and, more marijuana.
In the dining room, investigators found a storage container holding twenty gallon-sized bags of marijuana.
In the garage, investigators located nine large bales of marijuana wrapped in cellophane, each weighing between 48 to 67 pounds.
In the master bedroom, investigators discovered a stolen .40 caliber Smith and Wesson handgun, 4 gallon sized storage bags of marijuana, and approximately one ounce of cocaine. In a second bedroom, investigators recovered another loaded .40 caliber Smith and Wesson handgun and a backpack with three semi-automatic handguns (one of which was reported stolen) as well as magazines and ammunition. The Drug Enforcement Agency laboratory determined the drugs seized to be 735 grams of cocaine, 307 grams of cocaine base (crack), and 193 kilograms of marijuana.
FERGUSON admitted to investigators that the house was his and claimed ownership of the marijuana, cocaine, cocaine base (crack), and all of the seized firearms. FERGUSON stated that the large bales of marijuana were going to be broken down into 1-pound increments and sold. FERGUSON additionally stated that he purchased the cocaine in powder form and had a friend convert a portion of it to crack cocaine at the residence.
This case is part of the United States Attorney’s Office’s Take Back North Carolina Initiative. This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement. For additional information about this initiative, click here https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/tbnc.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Fayetteville Police Department investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Scott Lemmon represented the government.
Duo Indicted for Odometer Tampering and Conspiracy in Northeast WisconsinRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Matthew D. Krueger of the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on November 26, 2019, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Robert J. Solberg (age: 35), of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Joshua A. Taylor (age: 38) of Crivitz, Wisconsin, on charges of criminal conspiracy and odometer tampering, contrary to Title 18, United States Code, Sections 371 and 2; as well as Title 49, United States Code, Sections 32703(2) and 32709(b).
The indictment alleges that Solberg and Taylor purchased used vehicles and subsequently altered or replaced the odometers on those vehicles before selling them to unsuspecting buyers. The indictment alleges that hundreds of thousands of miles were removed from some vehicles prior to sale. Solberg and Taylor are also alleged to have misrepresented the age of the vehicles in order to increase profits.
Upon conviction each defendant faces up to 5 years’ incarceration on the conspiracy count and up to 3 years’ incarceration as to each tampering count. As to each count, the defendants face a fine of up to $250,000.
This case was investigated by the Green Bay Police Department with the assistance of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
For Additional Information Contact:
Public Information Officer Kenneth Gales 414-297-1700
Follow us on Twitter
Doctor Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Scheme to Illegally Distribute Massive Quantity of OxycodoneRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Dr. EMMANUEL LAMBRAKIS, a state licensed doctor, pled guilty to conspiring to unlawfully distribute medically unnecessary oxycodone. LAMBRAKIS pled guilty on November 26, 2019 before U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III, and will be sentenced by Judge Pauley on February 7, 2020. LAMBRAKIS previously pled guilty on March 1, 2018 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein, but later withdrew his plea. Trial against LAMBRAKIS had been scheduled to start on December 2, 2019.
According to the Complaint, the Indictment to which LAMBRAKIS pled guilty, and other court documents, as well as statements made in public court proceedings:
Oxycodone is a highly addictive, narcotic opioid that is used to treat severe and chronic pain conditions. Oxycodone prescriptions are in high demand and have significant cash value to drug dealers. In fact, oxycodone tablets can be resold on the street for thousands of dollars. For example, 30-milligram oxycodone tablets have a current street value of approximately $20 to $40 per tablet in New York City, with street prices even higher in other parts of the country. A single prescription for 120 30-milligram tablets of oxycodone can net an illicit distributor $2,400 in cash or more.
From at least approximately January 2011 until December 2016, LAMBRAKIS operated two medical clinics in Queens, New York, where LAMBRAKIS wrote numerous medically unnecessary prescriptions for large quantities of oxycodone in exchange for cash payments. LAMBRAKIS typically charged between $250 to $150 in cash for “patient visits,” and these visits often involved numerous “patients” being seen by LAMBRAKIS at the same time in the same examination room. During these “patient visits,” LAMBRAKIS would perform simple, perfunctory body manipulations (such as rotating the patient’s arm or leg) and engage in little or no conversation with the purported “patient.” Nonetheless, LAMBRAKIS would then issue to the patient a prescription for a large quantity of oxycodone, most often 120 30-milligram tablets or more.
Between January 2011 and December 2016, LAMBRAKIS wrote thousands of oxycodone prescriptions, resulting in the illicit distribution of more than two million oxycodone tablets, which have a street value in the tens of millions of dollars. On numerous occasions, LAMBRAKIS wrote 100 or more prescriptions for 30-milligram oxycodone pills in a single day. As a result of LAMBRAKIS’s actions, LAMBRAKIS collected approximately more than $2 million in fees from his “patients.”
* * *
LAMBRAKIS, 72, of Manhattan, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiring to unlawfully distribute and possess with intent to distribute oxycodone. This offense carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad, which comprises agents and officers from the DEA, the NYPD, the New York State Police, Town of Orangetown Police Department, Rockland County Drug Task Force, Westchester County Police Department, and New York City Department of Investigation. He also acknowledged the assistance of the Department of Health & Human Services, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the New York City Human Resources Administration, and the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly J. Ravener, Jessica K. Fender, Ryan Finkel, Sarah Mortazavi, and Joshua A. Naftalis are in charge of the prosecution.
Dilkon Man Sentenced to Prison for Sexual Abuse of a MinorRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – On November 12, 2019, Cody Mitchell, 28, of Dilkon, Arizona, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow to 57 months in prison followed by 30 years of supervised release. Mitchell had previously pleaded guilty to one count of Sexual Abuse of a Minor.
Mitchell admitted that he committed a sexual act against the victim, who was then under the age of 16 years. The sexual abuse took place on the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation, where Mitchell and the victim are members.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the FBI and the Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations. The prosecution was handled by Sharon Sexton and Brian Kasprzyk, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix
Detroit Man Sentenced to 90 Months for Trafficking HeroinRead the Press Release
COVINGTON, Ky. - A Detroit man, Aaron Smith, 46, who previously admitted to possessing over 300 grams of heroin with the intent to sell it, was sentenced Wednesday to 90 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning.
According to Smith’s guilty plea, he admitted to possessing 308 grams of heroin in route from Detroit, with the intention to deliver and distribute the heroin in Lexington, Kentucky. He was stopped on Interstate 75 by law enforcement, who seized the drugs which were hidden behind the dashboard of the vehicle.
Smith pleaded guilty in May 2019. Smith was previously convicted in 2012, for trafficking in heroin and codeine, in the Jefferson Circuit Court.
Under federal law, Smith must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence; and upon his release, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 5 years.
Robert M. Duncan Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Commissioner Richard Sanders, Kentucky State Police, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by Kentucky State Police. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Wade Thomas Napier.
— END —
Department of Justice Announces Update to Policy on Use of Unmanned Aircraft SystemsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today the publication of its updated Policy on the Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems. In light of advancements in unmanned aircraft system (UAS) technology, and lessons learned from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s limited use of UAS, the Policy enables the Department of Justice’s law enforcement components to safely and responsibly employ UAS technology within a framework designed to provide accountability and protect privacy and civil liberties.
“UAS technology assists the Department in protecting public safety and, most importantly, reduces risks to officers and the public,” said Beth A. Williams, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy. “Our new policy promotes the responsible, appropriate, and effective use of UAS by the Department and can serve as a model for our state, local, tribal, and territorial public safety partners as they develop their own UAS programs and best practices.”
The Policy permits the use of UAS only in connection with properly authorized investigations and activities. It also requires compliance with the Constitution and all applicable laws and regulations, including regulations issued by the Federal Aviation Administration. Department of Justice components anticipate using UAS to support crime scene response and investigation, search and rescue, and site security, among other authorized uses. In order to ensure accountability and airspace safety, the Department requires UAS operations to be approved at an appropriate level and conducted by personnel who meet Department-wide training standards. Importantly, the new policy also requires components to evaluate UAS acquisitions for cybersecurity risks, guarding against potential threats to the supply chain and DOJ’s networks.
The Policy reflects the Department’s strong commitment to the protection of privacy and civil liberties, mandating annual privacy reviews of UAS programs and assessments of new UAS technology from a privacy perspective. It also places limits on data retention, generally requiring privacy sensitive data to be deleted within 180 days, unless certain exceptions are met.
In addition to utilizing UAS as a law enforcement tool, the Department takes seriously the threat posed by unlawful and unsafe uses of UAS. The Department has trained federal prosecutors and agents across the country on the criminal and civil enforcement tools available to counter the misuse of UAS, such as the use of drones to smuggle contraband into prisons or violate restricted airspace. Department of Justice personnel have also trained and collaborated with senior state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement officials who face this new threat on a daily basis. The Department welcomes lawful and beneficial uses of UAS, which promise to enhance the economy and transform the delivery of goods and the provision of critical services ranging from search-and-rescue to industrial inspections. At the same time, the Department will not hesitate to take action against those who threaten the safety of our skies and the public.
The updated Policy announced today draws on the Department’s long history of leveraging cutting-edge technology to protect the public while promoting our values and the rule of law.
The publication of the updated policy can be found here.
Defendant Found Guilty in Corruption Scheme Involving Introduction of Illegal Items into Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – After a seven day bench trial before United States District Judge Carlton W. Reeves, Kpanah Kollie, of Georgia, was found guilty yesterday of conspiracy to introduce contraband into a federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge James F. Boyersmith with the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (DOJ OIG) Miami Field Office.
“Those who commit public corruption and participate in corrupt schemes endangering the public and others will swiftly be brought to justice by this office. I applaud the tenacity of the special agents, BOP personnel, and our federal prosecutors in prosecuting this difficult case. The actions by law enforcement here in stopping further cellphones and other contraband from entering the prison may have saved lives,” said U.S. Attorney Hurst.
“Contraband in federal prisons, such as the drugs and cell phones in this case, undermines the safety and security of staff, inmates, and the community. Today’s verdict shows that all persons involved in smuggling schemes, including persons outside the prison like Kollie, will be held accountable,” said James F. Boyersmith, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Miami Field Office.
In 2015, Kollie worked with inmates and correctional officers at the federal prison in Yazoo City, Mississippi, to smuggle illegal contraband into the facility for prisoners. The illegal contraband included illicit drugs and unauthorized cell phones. Correctional officers introduced these items, inmates sold them within the prison to other prisoners, and Kollie and others ensured that the officers and inmates were paid for their efforts.
Kollie is the fourth defendant convicted for her role in the corrupt scheme. Two guards and one inmate previously pled guilty.
Kollie will be sentenced on March 3, 2020, by Judge Carlton W. Reeves. She faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison, followed by up to 3 years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by special agents of the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Justice and staff from the Federal Correctional Complex at Yazoo. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael FiggsGanter, Assistant U.S. Attorney Candace Mayberry, and others in the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Crandon Sex Offender Indicted on Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Matthew D. Krueger of the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on November 26, 2019, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Justin D. Bula (age: 35) of Crandon, Wisconsin.
According to the indictment, in April of 2018, Bula distributed images of child pornography. He is also alleged to have possessed images of child pornography almost a year later in March of 2019. The indictment further reflects that Bula was convicted on October 7, 2015, in Forest County Circuit Court, for the crime of possession of child pornography and is a lifetime sex offender registrant in the State of Wisconsin.
Bula faces one charge of distribution of child pornography, contrary to Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252A(a)(2)(A), and possession of child pornography, contrary to Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252A(5)(b). He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 40 years of incarceration in federal prison.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations with the assistance of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006, by the U.S. Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
For Additional Information Contact:
Public Information Officer Kenneth Gales 414-297-1700
Follow us on Twitter
Couple Sentenced in O’Neill Harboring CaseRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Joe Kelly announced that Juan Pablo Sanchez-Delgado and his wife, Magdalena Castro-Benitez were sentenced today, November 27, 2019, by Chief United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard for their roles in a conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens across north central Nebraska. Chief Judge Gerrard described the conspiracy as “one of the most egregious financial crimes,” that he had seen before sentencing Sanchez-Delgado to the maximum allowable time by statute, 120 months in federal prison. The Court also sentenced Sanchez-Delgado to a $150,000 fine and approved a preliminary order of forfeiture based on ICE seizures of over $130,000 in cash along with 3 Las Vegas residences owned by both Sanchez-Delgado and Castro-Benitez. The residences have an estimated worth in excess of 1.5 million dollars. Castro-Benitez was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for serving as Sanchez Delgado’s “money manager.” Both defendants were ordered to serve a term of three years of supervised release each to follow their respective terms of imprisonment.
The conspiracy as a whole resulted in hundreds of undocumented workers being harbored and financially exploited by Sanchez-Delgado and his wife for years leading up to their arrests by Homeland Security Investigations on August 8, 2018. Several of the workers testified at a recent trial that Sanchez-Delgado was wrongfully taking money from their paychecks, not paying them for all of the hours they worked, and indicated that Sanchez-Delgado would take income tax withholdings and Social Security and Medicare withholdings form their paychecks but not actually pay that money in to state and federal taxation authorities. Another worker testified that Sanchez-Delagdo charged him $300 a month for utilities for a one bedroom apartment because the worker could not get the utilities in his own name. Some workers were not paid their wages at all, and all of the workers were charged money to cash their checks at Sanchez-Delgado’s grocery store, where they were also forced to buy food from him. At the same time that undocumented workers were being defrauded, Sanchez-Delgado and his wife, Castro-Benitez, were acquiring expensive homes in Las Vegas with the proceeds of the harboring scheme and hoarding cash generated by the conspiracy at their various residence and business locations.
Sanchez-Delgado and his wife conducted over 9 million dollars in financial transactions with the money generated by this conspiracy, and they received over 5 million dollars from labor contracts with agricultural businesses like O’Neill Ventures, LLC, the first company to partner with Sanchez-Delgado at the inception of this conspiracy and a tomato plant located in O’Neill, Nebraska. A human resources officer for the tomato plant, Mayra Jimenez, was recently convicted by a jury at trial for her own participation in the conspiracy and for her efforts to aid Sanchez-Delgado in harboring undocumented workers at the plant. Corporate emails admitted at trial revealed that Jimenez was aware that Sanchez-Delgado was not paying in taxes on his workers to government authorities and that his workers were likely paid less than lawful workers at the plant.
The victims will be allowed additional time to provide the United States Attorney’s Office and the Court with the money owed to them as restitution for these crimes, and Chief Judge Gerrard will determine the final restitution to be paid to the workers on a future date.
This case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations.
Chilchinbeto Man Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison for Assault with FirearmRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – This week, Jerracy Gilmore, of Chilchinbeto, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dominic W. Lanza to six years of imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release. Gilmore had previously pleaded guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
On February 26, 2019, Gilmore fired a gun multiple times at an occupied vehicle. One of the shots he fired struck a victim in the ankle. The crime occurred outside a residence in Chilchinbeto, Ariz., on the Navajo Nation, and both Gilmore and the victim are enrolled members of the Navajo Nation.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Samuels, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
Charlotte Couple Indicted on Conspiracy to Distribute Prescription OpioidsRead the Press Release
Abingdon, VIRGINIA – A federal grand jury sitting in U.S. District Court in Abingdon indicted a Charlotte, North Carolina-based doctor and his wife earlier this week on charges that they conspired to illegally distribute prescription opioids to patients in the Western District of Virginia and then made a false statement about their conduct, United States Attorney Thomas T. Cullen announced today.
David Francis Lelio, 56, and Nadja Siiri Kujanson-Lelio, 50, both of Charlotte, N.C., were each charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute prescription opioids, specifically oxycodone. David Lelio was charged with an additional count of making a false statement. If convicted, the defendants each face a term of imprisonment of up to 20 years on the conspiracy charge.
“As alleged in the indictment, this physician diverted prescription opioids without a legitimate medical purpose and was untruthful with federal investigators about his misconduct,” U.S. Attorney Cullen stated today. “We will continue to prioritize the investigation and prosecution of health-care providers who engage in illegal drug distribution.”
According to the indictment, between 2016 and 2019, Dr. David Lelio wrote more than 60 prescriptions for oxycodone to patients, some of who resided in Wythe County, Virginia, without a legitimate medical purpose. As part of the conspiracy, Dr. Lelio wrote opioid prescriptions in his patients’ names, with the understanding that some or all of the prescriptions would be shared with his wife, Nadja Kujanson-Lelio. Dr. Lelio and his wife then reimbursed the patients for the cost of filling the prescriptions. When asked by law enforcement about the conspiracy, David Lelio falsely stated there was no agreement with any of his patients to return or share the prescription opioids with his wife.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Wythe County Sheriff’s Office, the Virginia State Police, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorneys Randy Ramseyer and Lena Busscher will prosecute the case for the United States.
A Grand Jury Indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. The defendants are entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Casa Grande Man Sentenced to over 17 Years for Second Degree MurderRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – On November 18, 2019, Timothy Wayne Lewis, Jr., 34, of Casa Grande, Arizona, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Susan M. Brnovich to 17.5 years in prison, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. The defendant pleaded guilty on May 20, 2019, to second degree murder.
On September 26, 2018, the defendant shot and killed the victim. The murder took place on the Gila River Indian Community, and the victim was a Gila River tribal member. Lewis is a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Gila River Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Raynette Logan, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
Buhl Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Attempting to Use Interstate Facilities to Transmit Information About a MinorRead the Press Release
BOISE – Larry James Cline, 31, of Buhl, Idaho, was sentenced on November 19, 2019 in U.S. District Court to 60 months in federal prison followed by 5 years supervised release, for attempted use of interstate facilities to transmit information about a minor, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced. Cline pleaded guilty on August 22, 2019.
According to court records, on April 6, 2019, Cline responded to a post on an anonymous social media and chat application posted by an undercover officer posing as a thirteen-year-old girl. During the communications, Cline requested pictures of the minor and her address, and described sex acts he wanted to engage in with the minor. The undercover officer gave Cline an address, which he traveled to, resulting in his arrest.
At sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Cline to forfeit the cellular phone he used in the commission of the offense. As a result of his conviction, Cline will be required to register as a sex offender.
The investigation was part of “Operation Snake Byte,” a joint state and federal undercover operation conducted in Twin Falls County, Idaho in April 2019 to identify individuals predisposed to meet minors for sexual contact. Participating agencies included Homeland Security Investigations, Twin Falls Police Department, Twin Falls County Sheriff’s Office, Twin Falls County Probation Office, Idaho State Police, United States Postal Inspection Service, Rupert Police Department, Jerome County Sheriff’s Office, Idaho Criminal Intelligence Center, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), Twin Falls County Prosecutor’s Office, and United States Attorney’s Office.
Cline is the last of four defendants charged in federal court as a result of Operation Snake Byte to be sentenced. Previously, the following defendants were sentenced in federal court as a result of Operation Snake Byte:
- Yabet Arizmendi-Sanchez, 33, of Buhl, was sentenced by Judge Winmill to 60 months imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for attempted use of interstate facilities to transmit information about a minor on October 10, 2019.
- Andrew Wayne Jackson, 52, of Meridian, was sentenced by Judge Winmill to 60 months imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for attempted use of interstate facilities to transmit information about a minor on November 5, 2019.
- James Cory Koyle, 41, of Burley, was sentenced by Judge Winmill to 120 months imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for attempted coercion and enticement of a minor on November 7, 2019.
These cases were 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.”
# # #
Broome County Man Sentenced to 36 Months for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Jack Hiller, age 56, of Port Crane, New York, was sentenced on Monday to 36 months in prison, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release, for possessing child pornography. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and James N. Hendricks, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
As part of his previously entered guilty plea, Hiller admitted that in February 2018, he used the Kik computer software application to receive sexually explicit images of children, some under 12 years of age. Hiller also admitted that he knowingly stored photos and videos of child pornography on one of his electronic devices.
This case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Gadarian as part of Project Safe Childhood. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and is designed to marshal federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Broome County Man Pleads Guilty to Receiving and Attempting to Receive Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Chad Swartwood, age 41, of Castle Creek, New York, pled guilty on Monday to attempting to receive and receiving child pornography.
The announcement was by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Kevin Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
As part of his plea, Swartwood admitted that from approximately December 2017 through December 2018, he operated multiple social media accounts on different platforms. He presented himself as a teenage female interested in online, sexual interactions with minor boys. While impersonating a teenage female, Swartwood engaged in sexually explicit text conversations with people he believed to be boys, sent sexually explicit images that he claimed to be of himself as a teenage female, and solicited sexually explicit images from boys.
Swartwood faces at least 15 years and up to 40 years in prison, because of a prior conviction, from November 2000, for Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, an offense that involved a 9-year-old child. Sentencing is scheduled for March 18, 2020 before Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
This case was investigated by HSI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Gadarian as part of Project Safe Childhood. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and is designed to marshal federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Brooklyn Man Arrested for Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISISRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice today announced that Zachary Clark, 40, of Brooklyn, New York, was arrested today in Brooklyn. Clark is charged in a criminal Complaint with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and distributing bomb-making instructions. Clark is expected to be presented later today before Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger in Manhattan federal court.
“The defendant allegedly provided instructions for how to plan attacks on U.S. soil, encouraging ISIS supporters to attack in well-populated locations,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers. “The National Security Division is committed to identifying and holding accountable those who support foreign terrorist organizations and pose a threat to our communities.”
“As alleged, Zachary Clark twice pledged allegiance to ISIS, and posted on encrypted pro-ISIS chatrooms numerous exhortations and instructions on bomb-making and other terrorist acts to be carried out in New York. Thanks to the Joint Terrorist Task Force, Clark now faces serious criminal charges for his alleged support of a terrorist organization bent on killing Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman for the Southern District of New York.
“As alleged, Clark championed his support for ISIS, disseminated hate-filled messages via encrypted chatrooms, and encouraged like-minded individuals to carry out vicious attacks in the name of jihad, said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. “While today’s arrest reminds us that there are still people out there who embrace the idea of inflicting harm on others in this way, it also presents evidence of the dedication and resolve of the FBI’s JTTF here in New York who, along with our many partners, successfully confronts threats of this nature head-on, day in and day out.”
“Today’s arrest in Brooklyn is a reminder that New York City remains a top terrorism target in the United States," said NYPD Commissioner James P. O'Neill. "The NYPD and all of our law-enforcement partners remain vigilant in this ongoing fight against terror and anyone who would plot to do us harm.”
As alleged in the criminal Complaint, filed on Nov. 25, 2019, in Manhattan federal court:
Clark pledged allegiance to ISIS twice, first in or about July 2019, to its then-leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and then in or about October 2019, to ISIS’s new leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Sashemi al-Qurayshi, who was elevated after al-Baghdadi’s death. Beginning in at least March 2019, Clark disseminated ISIS propaganda through, among other avenues, encrypted chatrooms intended for members, associates, supporters, and potential recruits of ISIS. Clark’s propaganda included, among other things, calls for ISIS supporters to commit lone wolf attacks in New York City. For example, on or about Aug. 3, 2019, Clark posted instructions about how to conduct such an attack, including directions on how to select an attack target, how to conduct preoperational surveillance, how to conduct operational planning, and how to avoid attracting law enforcement attention when preparing for and conducting the attack. On another occasion, Clark posted a manual entitled “Knife Attacks,” which stated, among other things, that discomfort at “the thought of plunging a sharp object into another person’s flesh” is “never an excuse for abandoning jihad” and that “[k]nives, though certainly not the only weapon for inflicting harm upon the kuffar [non-believers,] are widely available in every land and thus readily accessible.” Clark urged the participants in encrypted chatrooms to attack specific targets, posting maps and images of the New York City subway system and encouraging ISIS supporters to attack those locations. Clark’s guidance also included posting a manual entitled “Make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom,” which included detailed instructions about constructing an explosive device.
Clark is charged with (1) one count of attempting to provide material support to ISIS, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and (2) one count of distributing information relating to explosives, destructive devices, and weapons of mass destruction, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
Assistant Attorney General John Demers and Mr. Berman praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which consists principally of agents from the FBI and detectives from the NYPD.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gillian Grossman and Sidhardha Kamaraju are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorneys Jason Denney and Chad Davis of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Brooklyn Man Arrested for Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISISRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the Police Department for the City of New York (“NYPD”), announced that ZACHARY CLARK was arrested today in Brooklyn, New York. CLARK is charged in a criminal Complaint with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (“ISIS”), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and distributing bomb-making instructions. CLARK is expected to be presented later today before Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger in Manhattan federal court.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As alleged, Zachary Clark twice pledged allegiance to ISIS, and posted on encrypted pro-ISIS chatrooms numerous exhortations and instructions on bomb-making and other terrorist acts to be carried out in New York. Thanks to the Joint Terrorist Task Force, Clark now faces serious criminal charges for his alleged support of a terrorist organization bent on killing Americans.”
Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers said: “The defendant allegedly provided instructions for how to plan attacks on U.S. soil, encouraging ISIS supporters to attack in well-populated locations. The National Security Division is committed to identifying and holding accountable those who support foreign terrorist organizations and pose a threat to our communities.
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “As alleged, Clark championed his support for ISIS, disseminated hate-filled messages via encrypted chatrooms, and encouraged like-minded individuals to carry out vicious attacks in the name of jihad. While today’s arrest reminds us that there are still people out there who embrace the idea of inflicting harm on others in this way, it also presents evidence of the dedication and resolve of the FBI’s JTTF here in New York who, along with our many partners, successfully confronts threats of this nature head-on, day in and day out.”
NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill said: “Today’s arrest in Brooklyn is a reminder that New York City remains a top terrorism target in the United States. The NYPD and all of our law-enforcement partners remain vigilant in this ongoing fight against terror and anyone who would plot to do us harm.”
As alleged in the criminal Complaint,[1] filed on November 25, 2019, in Manhattan federal court:
CLARK pledged allegiance to ISIS twice, first in or about July 2019, to its then-leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and then in or about October 2019, to ISIS’s new leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Sashemi al-Qurayshi, who was elevated after al-Baghdadi’s death. Beginning in at least March 2019, CLARK disseminated ISIS propaganda through, among other avenues, encrypted chatrooms intended for members, associates, supporters, and potential recruits of ISIS. CLARK’s propaganda included, among other things, calls for ISIS supporters to commit lone wolf attacks in New York City. For example, on or about August 3, 2019, CLARK posted instructions about how to conduct such an attack, including directions on how to select an attack target, how to conduct preoperational surveillance, how to conduct operational planning, and how to avoid attracting law enforcement attention when preparing for and conducting the attack. On another occasion, CLARK posted a manual entitled “Knife Attacks,” which stated, among other things, that discomfort at “the thought of plunging a sharp object into another person’s flesh” is “never an excuse for abandoning jihad” and that “[k]nives, though certainly not the only weapon for inflicting harm upon the kuffar [non-believers], are widely available in every land and thus readily accessible.” CLARK urged the participants in encrypted chatrooms to attack specific targets, posting maps and images of the New York City subway system and encouraging ISIS supporters to attack those locations. CLARK’s guidance also included posting a manual entitled “Make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom,” which included detailed instructions about constructing an explosive device.
* * *
CLARK, 40, of Brooklyn, New York, is charged with (1) one count of attempting to provide material support to ISIS, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and (2) one count of distributing information relating to explosives, destructive devices, and weapons of mass destruction, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Berman and Assistant Attorney General Demers praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which consists of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, and over 50 other federal, state and local agencies.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gillian Grossman and Sidhardha Kamaraju are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorneys Jason Denney and Chad Davis of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein are only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Berkeley County woman charged with theft of government propertyRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Crystal M. Tress, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, was arrested today and had an initial appearance after being indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in Martinsburg on November 16, 2019, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Tress, age 41, was indicted on one count of “Theft of Government Property.” Tress is accused of embezzling more than $1,000 that belonged to the United States government while she was employed at the Veterans Canteen Service. The crime allegedly took place from April 2018 to March 2019 in Berkeley County.
Tress faces up to 10 years incarceration. 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 Kimberley D. Crockett is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Department of Veterans Affairs Police investigated.
An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Berkeley County man indicted on child pornography chargeRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Jeffrey Allen Johnson, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, was arrested today and had an initial appearance after being indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in Martinsburg on November 16, 2019, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Johnson, age 49, was indicted on one count of “Distribution of Child Pornography” and one count of “Possession of Child Pornography.” Johnson is accused of having and distributing child pornography in December 2018 and May 2019 in Berkeley County.
Johnson faces no less than five years and up to 20 years incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000 for the distribution charge and faces up to 20 years incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000 for the possession charge. 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.
This case is prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberley D. Crockett is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The West Virginia State Police investigated.
An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Batavia man sentenced to 25 years in prison for bank robberiesRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI – A Batavia man was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 300 months in prison for using a gun to rob the Cheviot Savings Bank and robbing Cincinnatus Savings and Loan.
Bruce Lee Felix, 52, was convicted by a jury in July 2019 following a two-and-a-half-week trial.
Court documents and trial testimony said that Felix, wearing a mask and brandishing a gun, surprised a maintenance man at the Cheviot Savings Bank on Stone Drive in Harrison, Ohio, at approximately 8am on June 17, 2015 when the maintenance man was entering the back door of the bank.
Felix placed his gun to the maintenance man’s temple and demanded that he open the vault. Once he realized only bank tellers could open the vault, he ordered the victim down on the floor of the break room, zip-tied his hands behind his back and his feet together, removed the victim’s boots and waited for the tellers to arrive. When the tellers arrived, Felix ordered them to open the vault and remove the money. He then fled the bank.
The jury also convicted Felix of robbing the Cincinnatus Savings and Loan on Springdale Road on Feb. 4, 2015 when he jumped out of the bushes as two employees were getting ready to enter the bank around 8am. He forced them to open the vault and remove the money before ordering them to lie on the ground and tying their hands behind their back.
Felix was arrested on Feb. 4, 2017 in Batavia.
The jury found Felix guilty of one count of bank robbery, one count of armed bank robbery and one count of use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
David M. DeVillers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Joseph M. Deters, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Colerain Township Police Chief Mark C. Denney; Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot K. Isaac; Harrison Police Chief Charles Lindsey; and Michael S. Masterson, Director of Enforcement, Ohio Casino Control Commission announced the sentence imposed yesterday afternoon by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Black. Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony Springer and Ebunoluwa Taiwo are representing the United States in this case.
# # #
Baltimore Fentanyl Dealer Pleads Guilty to Federal Charge for Distributing Fentanyl in Tablets Made to Resemble OxycodoneRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Last week, three defendants facing fentanyl distribution charges appeared in federal court—a Baltimore man pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl and two defendants had their initial appearances on federal indictments charging them for allegedly distributing fentanyl. One of the defendants is charged federally for distributing fentanyl which resulted in death. These cases are part of the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office’s focus on combatting the growing fentanyl crisis. According to statistics for the first-half of 2019, there are projected to be almost 2,000 fentanyl deaths statewide, and in Baltimore alone there are projected to be more than twice as many fatal fentanyl overdoses as homicides.
The guilty plea and indictments were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jesse R. Fong of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department; Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey R. Gahler; Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare; Carroll County Sheriff James DeWees; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.
“Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine and just 2 milligrams of fentanyl can kill you. Law enforcement partners are working together to arrest and prosecute those who peddle deadly fentanyl on our streets and in our neighborhoods,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Drug traffickers are on notice that dealing in fentanyl increases their odds of federal prosecution. We are determined to reduce the number of opioid overdose deaths in Maryland.”
On November 19, 2019, Earl Joseph Morris, III, age 42, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty to the federal charge of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. According to Morris’ plea agreement, on November 29, 2018, an undercover Baltimore County Police detective purchased $400 worth of fentanyl tablets from Morris—31 tablets of fentanyl, which resembled 15 mg Oxycodone pills, weighing 3.32 grams. Law enforcement subsequently obtained search and seizure warrants. On December 6, 2018, search warrants were executed on Morris’ vehicle, his home, and his person, after Morris met an undercover detective who had arranged to purchase additional fentanyl tablets from Morris. Law enforcement seized of 1,859 tablets of suspected fentanyl from Morris’ vehicle, as well as additional pills. Subsequent lab analysis indicated that the 1,859 tablets tested positive for fentanyl or a mix of heroin/fentanyl. The total weight of these tablets was 192.81 grams.
Morris faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander has scheduled sentencing for February 20, 2020, at 2:00 p.m.
On November 6, 2019, a federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment charging Khalil Shaheed, a/k/a “T,” age 26, of Baltimore, for crimes that allegedly occurred in October and November 2017, specifically, distribution of fentanyl resulting in death, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession of a firearm in relation to drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Shaheed is charged in a separate federal indictment for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances in August 2019. Both indictments were unsealed on November 20, 2019, when Shaheed had his initial appearance on the federal charges. U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah L. Boardman ordered Shaheed to be detained pending trial.
A federal grand jury indicted Jacob Leister, age 28, of Glenville, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 2019, and he was arrested the following day by DEA, the Anne Arundel County Police, and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office. Leister had his initial appearance on November 22, 2019, on a four-count federal indictment charging Leister for distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and alprazolam. Leister remains in custody.
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.
If convicted, Shaheed faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years and a maximum of life in federal prison for distribution of fentanyl resulting in death; a mandatory minimum of five years in federal prison, consecutive to any other sentence imposed, and a maximum of life in federal prison for possession of a firearm in relation to drug trafficking crime; and a maximum of 10 years in federal prison for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Shaheed and Leister each face a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for each count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. 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.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA for their work in all three cases; the Baltimore County Police Department for its investigation in the Morris case; the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, and the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City for their work in the Shaheed cases; and the Anne Arundel County Police Department for its investigation in the Leister case. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anatoly Smolkin and Kenneth S. Clark, who are prosecuting the Morris and Leister cases, respectively, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Oldham and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey M. Hann, a cross-designated Baltimore City Assistant State’s Attorney, who are prosecuting the Shaheed case.
# # #
Armed Drug Dealer Sentenced to over Fourteen Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A man described as “dangerous and out of control” by the judge was sentenced November 26, 2019, to more than fourteen years in federal prison.
Paul Hoff, age 40, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 13, 2019 guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of firearms in furtherance of that drug trafficking crime.
Information at sentencing showed that on February 18, 2019, law enforcement was attempting to arrest Hoff on an outstanding arrest warrant. Officers located Hoff in a Chevy Tahoe. Hoff drove the vehicle towards a car containing law enforcement officers, before swerving and getting stuck on a snowbank. As officers approached the Tahoe on foot, Hoff continued spinning the wheels in an attempt to get unstuck. Hoff refused commands to exit the vehicle and officers had to deploy tasers to take him into custody. Officers found over a 138 grams of methamphetamine and two handguns in the car.
In sentencing Hoff, the District Court noted his long criminal history and prior behavior. Hoff’s first involvement with the criminal justice system came at the age of 10. He has previously been convicted of assault, thefts, interference with official acts, burglary, OWI, disorderly conduct for punching a man in the face several times, drug trafficking, intimidation with a dangerous weapon, felon in possession of a firearm, and escape. Additionally, on August 17, 2018, Hoff fled from law enforcement officers in a car, driving recklessly and dangerously, and striking a parked car. Hoff also tossed a handgun from the car while eluding the police. Officers eventually found a shotgun and a bulletproof vest in the trunk of the car.
Hoff was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Hoff was sentenced to 178 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Hoff is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, the Jones County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, 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-29.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Antiquities Dealer Charged with Trafficking in Looted Cambodian ArtifactsRead the Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Peter C. Fitzhugh, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), announced today the unsealing of an indictment charging antiquities dealer DOUGLAS LATCHFORD, a/k/a “Pakpong Kriangsak”— with wire fraud, smuggling, conspiracy and related charges pertaining to his trafficking in stolen and looted Cambodian antiquities. LATCHFORD remains at large, residing in Thailand.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As alleged, LATCHFORD built a career out of the smuggling and illicit sale of priceless Cambodian antiquities, often straight from archeological sites, in the international art market. This prosecution sends a clear message to the art market and to those who profit from the illegal trafficking of cultural treasures: the United States and the Southern District of New York will use every legal tool to stop the plundering of cultural heritage.”
HSI Special Agent in Charge Peter C. Fitzhugh said: “The theft and trafficking of cultural property and priceless national treasures is a global concern. Historical artifacts are living sources of knowledge, objects of worships, and symbols of hope that must be safe guarded for future generations. Through the investigative efforts of HSI special agents, three stolen artifacts from Cambodia and another from India, valued at a total of $750,000, were successfully recovered and will be returned to their rightful homeland. In addition, an alleged major player in a multi-billion dollar cultural property transnational criminal network was identified and revealed. Working hand in hand with our partners at the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, HSI will not waiver in its commitment to stopping the illicit distribution of cultural property, both domestically and abroad.”
According to the allegations in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:[1]
Background on Looting of Cambodian Antiquities
From the mid-1960s until the early 1990s, Cambodia experienced continuous civil unrest and regular outbreaks of civil war. During these times of extreme unrest, Cambodian archeological sites from the ancient Khmer Empire, such as Angkor Wat and Koh Ker, suffered serious damage and widespread looting. This looting was widely publicized and well-known to participants in the international art market.
Looted artifacts usually entered the international art market through an organized looting network. Local looters, often working with local military personnel, would remove statues and architectural elements from their original locations, sometimes breaking and damaging the antiquities in the process of excavation and transportation. The antiquities would be transported to the Cambodia-Thailand border and transferred to Thai brokers, who would in turn transport them to dealers of Khmer artifacts located in Thailand, particularly Bangkok. These dealers would sell the artifacts to local or international customers, who would either retain the pieces or sell them on the international art market. Widespread looting of ancient Khmer and Cambodian antiquities continued into the 1990s.
The Scheme to Sell Looted Cambodian Antiquities
At all times relevant to this Indictment, DOUGLAS LATCHFORD, a/k/a “Pakpong Kriangsak,” the defendant, was a prominent collector and dealer in Southeast Asian art and antiquities, in particular, ancient Cambodian art. Starting in or about the early 1970s, LATCHFORD supplied major auction houses, art dealers, and museums around the world, including in the United States, with Cambodian antiquities from the ancient Khmer Empire. LATCHFORD, a dual citizen of Thailand and the United Kingdom, maintained residences in Bangkok and London.
From at least in or about 2000, up to and including at least in or about 2012, LATCHFORD engaged in a fraudulent scheme to sell looted Cambodian antiquities on the international art market, including to dealers and buyers in the United States. As part of that scheme, in order to conceal that LATCHFORD’s antiquities were the product of looting, unauthorized excavation, and illicit smuggling, and to encourage sales and increase the value of his merchandise, LATCHFORD created and caused the creation of false provenance for the antiquities he was selling. In the context of art and antiquities, provenance refers to records and other evidence documenting the origin and history of ownership of an object. In particular, LATCHFORD misrepresented the provenance of Cambodian antiquities in letters, emails, invoices, and other communications. As part of the scheme, LATCHFORD also falsified invoices and related shipping documents to facilitate the international shipment of the antiquities to dealers and buyers, and to avoid restrictions on the importation of Khmer antiquities into the United States.
Beginning in or about the early 1970s, LATCHFORD regularly supplied an auction house based in the United Kingdom (“Auction House-1”) with looted Khmer antiquities, including from the archeological site of Koh Ker in Cambodia. LATCHFORD conspired with representatives of Auction House-1 and others to conceal the real provenance of looted Khmer antiquities and to create false export licenses and documentation. Many of the antiquities that LATCHFORD consigned to Auction House-1 were eventually sold to museums and collectors in the United States. In or about 2011, an auction house in New York (“Auction House-2”) offered for sale one of the Koh Ker statues that LATCHFORD had originally supplied to Auction House-1, a stone guardian figure called the “Duryodhana.” During the course of preparing to sell the Duryodhana in or about 2010, Auction House-2 asked LATCHFORD and a scholar closely associated with LATCHFORD (the “Scholar”) to help trace the provenance of the Duryodhana back to the early 1970s. LATCHFORD falsely stated to Auction House-2 that he had the Duryodhana in London in 1970, and that he had consigned it with Auction House-1 in 1975; whereas in truth and in fact LATCHFORD had exported the Duryodhana from Cambodia in or about 1972. About a month later, LATCHFORD changed his story, telling Auction House-2, in substance and in part, that he had never owned the Duryodhana. Around the same time that LATCHFORD falsely denied owning the Duryodhana, the Scholar warned LATCHFORD in an email, “I think maybe you shouldn’t be known to have been associated with the Koh Ker Guardian figures[.] . . . Let’s fudge a little, and just put the blame squarely on [Auction House-1] . . . .”
Over the course of his lengthy career, LATCHFORD continued to act as a conduit for recently looted Cambodian antiquities. LATCHFORD advertised purportedly newly discovered and excavated pieces for sale to trusted associates, including a Manhattan-based dealer in Southeast Asian art (the “Dealer”). For example, on or about August 12, 2005, LATCHFORD emailed the Dealer photographs of a bronze seated Buddha, visibly covered in earth. Latchford explained that the photographs showed the statue “before cleaning” by a restorer, and “[w]hen it was found they took off most of the mud, or as it was, a sandy soil, it was found near Sra Srang, the lake in front of Banteay Kedi, right in the Angkor [Wat] Complex.” Similarly, on or about March 13, 2006, LATCHFORD sent the Dealer an email labeled “PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL -------- FOR YOUR EYES ONLY.” The email contained a photograph of a bronze head. LATCHFORD explained that the head “was recently found around the site of the Angkor Borei group in the N E of Cambodia, in the Preah Vihar area. They are looking for the body, no luck so far, all they have found last week were two land mines !! What price would you be interested in buying it at? let me know as I will have to bargain for it.” On or about April 23, 2007, LATCHFORD sent the Dealer another email, attaching a photograph of a standing Buddha statue that appears to be covered in dirt. LATCHFORD wrote, “Hold on to your hat, just been offered this 56 cm Angkor Borei Buddha, just excavated, which looks fantastic. It’s still across the border, but WOW.”
In order to facilitate the sale and international transportation of the antiquities to buyers and to conceal that the antiquities were looted, LATCHFORD, created false letters of provenance and false invoices, including letters of provenance purporting to have been drafted by a particular art collector (the “False Collector”). For example, in or about 2000, LATCHFORD sold a 12th Century stone Khmer sculpture to a museum in Colorado (the “Colorado Museum”). LATCHFORD informed the Colorado Museum that he had purchased the piece from the False Collector in June 1999, and provided the Colorado Museum with a letter of provenance purportedly from the False Collector as part of the sale. However, LATCHFORD also supplied the Colorado Museum with records indicating that the statue was transported from LATCHFORD’s residence in Bangkok to London in 1994, long before he claimed to have purchased it from the False Collector. The False Collector died in or about 2001. Thereafter, LATCHFORD continued to provide numerous provenance letters purportedly provided by the False Collector, while claiming, falsely, that the False Collector was still alive.
On other occasions, LATCHFORD directed third parties to create false provenance documents and false invoices for him. For example, in or about September 2005, LATCHFORD sold the Dealer a 12th Century Angkor Wat-style standing Buddha statue for $90,000. LATCHFORD told the Dealer that the Buddha “needs to be cleaned, as there is surface corrosion and earth still on it,” indicia of recent excavation. LATCHFORD arranged to ship the Buddha from Bangkok to an “antique consultant/collector” in Singapore (the “Singapore Collector”), and from Singapore to the Dealer’s gallery in Manhattan. LATCHFORD instructed the Singapore Collector to “re-invoice[]” the Buddha on the Collector’s letterhead, “mentioning it has been in your collection for the past 12 years.” The Singapore Collector followed LATCHFORD’s instructions, creating a new, false invoice and letter of provenance stating that the Buddha had been in the Singapore Collector’s private collection in Singapore for the last 12 years, omitting any mention of LATCHFORD, and falsely describing the statue as a “17th C. Bronze Standing Figure from Laos.” The Singapore Collector then shipped the Buddha with the false invoice and false provenance to the Dealer in Manhattan.
As part of the scheme to sell looted Cambodian antiquities in the United States, from at least in or about 2005 up to and including in or about 2011, LATCHFORD supplied false information to the United States Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) regarding the antiquities he imported into the United States for resale. In particular, LATCHFORD’s false invoices misstated the nature, age, country of origin, and/or value of the Cambodian antiquities. LATCHFORD misrepresented the country of origin and the age of the goods in particular in order to conceal that they were looted antiquities, and to avoid an embargo on the importation into the United States of Khmer antiquities exported from Cambodia after 1999. Frequently, LATCHFORD listed the “country of origin” as “Great Britain” or “Laos,” rather than Cambodia, and often described the objects as “figures” from the 17th or 18th century.
* * *
LATCHFORD, 88, of Bangkok, Thailand, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, substantive wire fraud, and smuggling, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years; conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment; entry of goods by false statements, which carries a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment; and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory term of two years’ imprisonment.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of Homeland Security Investigations in this case.
This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Feinstein is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Looted Cambodian art for sale by Douglas Latchford
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Alaska Pilot Convicted by Jury for Obstructing Investigations for the 2014 Atigun Pass Airplane CrashRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced today that on Nov. 25, 2019, an Anchorage jury convicted Forest M. Kirst, 62, of Fairbanks, Alaska, of two counts of obstruction of proceedings before federal agencies.
Trial evidence demonstrated that a Ryan Navion airplane piloted by Kirst, d/b/a Kirst Aviation, was involved in an accident near Atigun Pass, Alaska, on Aug. 24, 2014. Three Canadian tourists were passengers aboard the airplane on a one-day sightseeing excursion before beginning an Alaska cruise. Kirst left Bettles, Alaska, and began flying too low over infrastructure. After circling over a moose in a pond, the airplane lacked the power and altitude to clear Atigun Pass in the Brooks Range. The airplane crashed on the side of the mountain below the Dalton Highway and above a pipeline maintenance road.
Fortunately, numerous people were in the vicinity maintaining the Dalton Highway and servicing the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and were able to respond to the crash. All passengers sustained serious injuries and one of the passengers died 35-days later as a result of his injuries. The accident was investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Kirst’s airman certificate was revoked by the FAA following the accident and Kirst appealed the revocation.
Kirst was convicted of lying to the NTSB and FAA during agency proceedings when he stated during an interview with NTSB officials that he was at a higher altitude than GPS evidence showed, and lying during the FAA administrative hearings when he testified that his airplane dropped in altitude approximately 1,500 feet just prior to the crash.
The NTSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States, among other duties. The NTSB conducts investigations to determine the “probable cause” of transportation accidents and to formulate safety recommendations to improve transportation safety. The NTSB also serves as the “court of appeals” for any airman whenever certificate actions, such as a revocation, have been taken by the FAA.
Sentencing is scheduled Feb. 20, 2020, before United States District Court Judge Ralph R. Beistline. Kirst faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or both. Under federal sentencing statutes, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
The Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of this case. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Retta Randall and Charisse Arce.
26 November 2019
Worcester Business Owner Convicted of Money Laundering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The former owner of two Worcester restaurants pleaded guilty today in federal court in Worcester to conspiring with an employee to use drug proceeds to renovate and operate her Shrewsbury Street restaurant.
Stacey Gala, 29, of Worcester, pleaded guilty to an indictment charging her with conspiracy to commit money laundering. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman scheduled sentencing for March 11, 2020.
During the plea hearing, Gala admitted that she owned and operated The Usual Restaurant on Shrewsbury Street beginning in October 2016, along with her husband Kevin Perry. Gala and Perry employed Joseph Herman as the manager of The Usual. In March 2017, federal authorities arrested Perry after he was charged with money laundering and drug distribution offenses.
After Perry’s arrest, Gala learned that Perry had concealed a significant amount of drug proceeds at a self-storage locker in Northborough. In May 2017, after Perry’s arrest, Gala and Herman conspired to retrieve the drug proceeds and to use them to renovate The Usual restaurant and to re-open the business under a new name and ostensibly new management.
In October 2017, Perry pleaded guilty to the money laundering and drug distribution charges and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. In January 2019, Herman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, making false statements to federal investigators and attempted witness tampering. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 24, 2020.
The charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved. 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; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; and Joseph W. Cronin, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Boston made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Greg A. Friedholm and John T. Mulcahy of Lelling’s Worcester Branch Office are prosecuting the case.
Western Iowa Methamphetamine Traffickers SentencedRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa - United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum announced on November 22, 2019, Colby Dunn, age 29, of Omaha, was sentenced to 100 months in prison and Laura Rauch Anderson, age 36, also of Omaha, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine in the Southern District of Iowa and elsewhere. United States District Court Chief Judge John A. Jarvey sentenced both defendants.
The sentencings were the result of a lengthy investigation by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement with the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force. The investigation revealed methamphetamine was brought into the Omaha, Nebraska area from Mexico and then transported to various location in Nebraska and Western Iowa for distribution.
Previously sentenced to prison as part of this investigation were Bernave Navarrete to twenty years; Joseph Brown to ten years; Chris Rouse to twenty years; Jackie Thielen to ten years; Brandy Kumpula to eight years; Chase Richard to fifteen years; Jessica Snavely to ten years; and William LaBenz to five years. Pending sentencing are Omar Martinez, and Manda May Rowell.
This matter was investigated by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force; Omaha Police Department; Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force; Council Bluffs Police Department; Harlan, Iowa Police Department; Shelby County Sheriff’s Department; and the Lincoln, Nebraska Police Department. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
United States Files Brief Explaining That Maryland Improperly Excluded Christian School from Scholarship ProgramRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education today filed a Statement of Interest in federal court in Maryland, explaining that the Maryland State Department of Education discriminated against Bethel Christian Academy when it excluded the school from its BOOST Scholarship program due to the school’s beliefs regarding marriage and gender set forth in its Parent-Student Handbook. The United States’ brief explains that the school is likely to succeed on its claims under the First Amendment’s Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses, and thus may be entitled to a preliminary injunction from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.
“The First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution protect religious schools from coercive government actions that force them to choose between abandoning or betraying their faith and participating in public programs,” said Eric Dreiband, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to fight for the rights of religious people and organizations, whether or not their beliefs are popular with government officials.”
“Americans do not give up their religious liberty protections simply because they may participate in a government program or interact with a state government,” said Robert S. Eitel, Senior Counselor to the Secretary of Education. “The U.S. Department of Education cannot sit on its hands as the First Amendment rights of Bethel Christian Academy are violated. We are pleased to work with the Justice Department in this important matter.”
Maryland’s BOOST program provides scholarships to students from low-income backgrounds to attend nonpublic schools. Bethel Christian Academy is a nonpublic K-to-8 school in Savage, Maryland run by Bethel Ministries, a Pentecostal church. Bethel Christian Academy provides a rigorous academic program for a diverse student body that is 85 percent nonwhite.
Since its inception in 2016, the BOOST program has required participating schools to accept scholarship students without regard to race, color, national origin, or sexual orientation. Starting in 2019, the program added a requirement that schools not discriminate at all on these bases as well as on gender identity or expression. The nondiscrimination provisions provide, however, that they do not “require any school or institution to adopt any rule, regulation, or policy that conflicts with its religious or moral teachings.”
Bethel Christian Academy states that it does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, and that it has no intention of doing so in the future. However, it states in its Parent-Student Handbook that it supports “the biblical view of marriage defined as a covenant between one man and one woman” and that it believes “that God immutably bestows gender upon each person at birth as male or female to reflect His image.”
As a result of this language, in 2018, Maryland officials removed Bethel Christian Academy from the BOOST program, and demanded the return of $102,600 for previously paid scholarships. The school filed suit and, on Oct. 31, 2019, asked the court for a preliminary injunction.
The United States’ Statement of Interest explains that the Maryland officials’ actions violated the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses of the Constitution. Regarding free speech, the United States explains that while states may prohibit discriminatory conduct, the school has represented that it will not discriminate against students based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Accordingly, the officials are punishing the school for its beliefs and expression in violation of the First Amendment. With regard to the free exercise of religion, the United States points out that two years ago, in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Comer, the Supreme Court made clear that a private organization cannot be required to renounce its religious character to participate in a public benefit program.
In July 2018, the Department of Justice announced the formation of the Religious Liberty Task Force. The Task Force brings together Department components to coordinate their work on religious liberty litigation and policy, and to implement the Attorney General’s 2017 Religious Liberty Guidance.
Two “SCO” Gang Members Plead Guilty in Drug Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA – Two Pittsburgh-area residents pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of narcotics trafficking, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Richard Coto-Wheat, age 26, formerly of Wilmerding, PA, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin before United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab.
James Wells, age 32, formerly of Braddock, PA, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and one count of conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base, commonly known as crack, also before Judge Schwab.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that the Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force conducted a long-term investigation of drug trafficking occurring in and around the Braddock section of Pittsburgh. Coto-Wheat, Wells, and other individuals, were identified as members or associates of a neighborhood based street gang, self-titled “SCO”, which illegally distributed controlled substances in the Greater Pittsburgh region. In January of 2019, investigators obtained authorization to conduct a federal wire investigation, which continued through May of 2019.
As to Coto-Wheat, the Court was informed that intercepted communications confirmed that Coto-Wheat was conspiring with others to possess with intent to distribute and distribute controlled substances. Coto-Wheat admitted, in conjunction with his guilty plea, that he is a member of “SCO.” On June 12, 2019, law enforcement executed both a search and arrest warrant at the defendant’s residence on Airbrake Avenue in Braddock and seized numerous items indicative of drug trafficking, including: scales, stamps, stamp pads, masks, strainers, suspected controlled substances as well as $456.00 in U.S. Currency. Coto-Wheat accepted responsibility for the distribution of at least 100 but less than 400 grams of heroin.
As to Wells, the Court was informed that intercepted communications confirmed that Wells was conspiring with others to possess with intent to distribute and distribute controlled substances. Wells admitted, in conjunction with his guilty plea, that he is a member of “SCO.” The court was further advised that the defendant was actively involved in the trafficking of heroin and cocaine base in the Western District of Pennsylvania, supplying a number of regular customers, and was a higher-level member of the conspiracy. On June 12, 2019, during a search of the residence Wells was living at during the investigation, law enforcement executed a search warrant and seized 15 bricks and several bundles of suspected heroin and smaller quantities of crack and marijuana, as well as a Glock 9mm pistol, ammunition, and two digital scales. Wells accepted responsibility for the distribution of 173.17 grams of heroin and 28 grams of cocaine base.
Judge Schwab scheduled sentencing for Coto-Wheat on May 6, 2020, at 9:00 AM, and on May 7, 2020, at 11:00 AM for Wells. As to Coto-Wheat, the law provides for a sentence of not less than five years and not more than 40 years in prison, a fine of not more than $5,000,000, or both. As to Wells, the law provides for a sentence of not less than 10 years and not more than life years in prison, a fine of not more than $8,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca L. Silinski is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation led the multi-agency investigation of this case, which also included the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, United States Marshals Fugitive Task Force, Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, Allegheny County Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office Bureau of Narcotics, and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. Other assisting agencies include the Monroeville Police Department, Penn Hills Police Department, Wilkinsburg Police Department, and Allegheny County Adult Probation.
The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.
Two Rapid City Men Found Guilty of CarjackingRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that Moses Crowe, age 26, was found guilty of Carjacking Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, Discharge of Firearm During a Crime of Violence, and Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person; and Ranson Long Pumpkin, age 33, was found guilty of Carjacking Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury and Discharge of Firearm During a Crime of Violence, following a federal trial in Rapid City, South Dakota. The verdict was returned on November 21, 2019.
The Carjacking charge carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in federal prison, and/or a $250,000 fine, and 5 years of supervised release. The Discharge of a Firearm charge carries a mandatory 10 years up to life in prison, and/or a $250,000 fine, and 5 years of supervised release. The charge of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, and/or a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release. Each charge also carries a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Evidence at trial established that Crowe, Long Pumpkin, and a third person, Saul Crowe, were part of a carjacking of an occupied van on October 13, 2017. They held the victim at gunpoint and drove him to an isolated area north of Rapid City, where they pistol-whipped and beat him. Crowe then fired multiple rounds near the victim, while Long Pumpkin continued to assault him. Bullet casings from the location of the carjacking and beating were forensically matched to a weapon Crowe later abandoned in a vehicle after fleeing police. Prior to trial, Saul Crowe pled guilty to Carjacking Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury and Discharge of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence and was sentenced to 20 years in federal custody.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and local communities to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team; the Rapid City Police Department; the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office; the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and the RCPD/PCSO Special Response Team. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather Sazama and Gina Nelson prosecuted and tried the case. ATF Special Agent Riley Cook was the lead case agent.
Presentence investigations were ordered and sentencing dates will be set. Crowe and Long Pumpkin were remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Two Plead Guilty to Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA – A two residents of Southwestern Pennsylvania pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of narcotics trafficking, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Larry Dandridge, age 24, formerly of Monroeville, PA, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin before Senior United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab.
Damien Franklin, age 26, of Trafford, PA, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, also before Judge Schwab.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that the Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force conducted a long-term investigation of drug trafficking occurring in and around the Braddock area. In January of 2019, investigators obtained authorization to conduct a federal wire investigation, which continued through May of 2019.
As to Dandridge, intercepted communications confirmed that Dandridge was conspiring with others to possess with intent to distribute heroin in the Western District of Pennsylvania. The Court was further informed that Dandridge accepted responsibility for the distribution of 95 grams of heroin and seven pounds of marijuana between of April of 2019 and May of 2019.
As to Franklin, intercepted communications confirmed that Franklin was conspiring with others to possess with intent to distribute cocaine in the Western District of Pennsylvania. The Court was further informed that during at least two occasions, law enforcement seized a total of 672 grams of cocaine from Franklin’s drug customers. Franklin accepted responsibility for the distribution of at least 1,246 grams of cocaine.
Judge Schwab scheduled sentencing for Dandridge on May 5, 2020 at 10:00 AM, and on May 7, 2020 at 9:00 AM for Franklin. As to Dandridge, the law provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years, a fine of not more than $1,000,000, or both. As to Franklin, the law provides for a maximum sentence of not less than five and not more than 40 years in prison, a fine of not more than $5,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. Dandridge remains detained and Franklin remains on bond pending sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca L. Silinski is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation led the multi-agency investigation of this case, which also included the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, United States Marshals Fugitive Task Force, Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, Allegheny County Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office Bureau of Narcotics, and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. Other assisting agencies include the Monroeville Police Department, Penn Hills Police Department, Wilkinsburg Police Department, and Allegheny County Adult Probation.
The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.
Trio Charged with Wire FraudRead the Press Release
FORT WAYNE – Brian Nordan, 42, of Auburn, Indiana, Dustin Coleman, 42, of Cassopolis, Michigan and Angela Jasinski, 29, of Granger, Indiana were charged in an Indictment alleging 13 counts of wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.
Nordan was charged in all counts, while Coleman was charged in 3 of the counts, and Jaskinski was charged in 2 of the counts.
According to documents in this case, it is alleged that since March 2006 Nordan was a salaried employee in the position of Chief Marketing Officer and General Manager of a local Fort Wayne Company. He was in charge of managing the Company’s practice, with authority over the day to day operations of the business for which he was entrusted with access to the Company’s accounts and finances. Coleman was Nordan’s domestic partner and eventual spouse and Jasinski is Nordan’s sister.
According to the allegations in the Indictment, between August 8, 2012, and June 1, 2018, in the Northern District of Indiana and elsewhere, Nordan knowingly devised and intended to devise a scheme to defraud and to obtain money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, and representations from the Company, aided and abetted by Coleman and Jasinski. The purpose of the scheme was allegedly to divert/embezzle money from the Company for the personal use and benefit of Nordan, Coleman, and Jasinski. The loss to the Company from the fraudulent scheme totaled approximately $3,038,857.05. The Manner and Means used to carry out the scheme, as alleged, included the following ”the unauthorized use of company issued credit cards”, “the unauthorized use of company funds to pay personal credit cards”, “the unauthorized use of company funds for claimed reimbursement expenses”, “the unauthorized use of company funds to pay non business related vendors”, “the unauthorized use of company funds to pay non employees’ wages and benefits”, and “the unauthorized use of company funds which were invested in a tooth paste business.” For the purposes of executing the scheme, the individuals allegedly caused to be transmitted by means of wire, 13 communications in interstate commerce. The wires involve conduct between May 2017 and May 2018 and include payment from the Company’s accounts to pay personal credit card debts, charges at Lowe’s, and payroll payments from the company’s third party payroll vendor to Coleman and Jasinski.
“Employers hire individuals with the understanding that they will be honest and not exploit them for personal financial gain,” said United States Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II. “When, as alleged in this indictment, individuals do exploit their employers for illegal financial gain, my Office and our law enforcement partners will investigate and prosecute.”
The United States Attorney’s Office emphasizes that an Indictment is merely an allegation and that all persons are presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty in court.
If convicted, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Indiana Financial Crimes Task Force with the assistance of the Organized Crime and Corruption Unit of the Indiana State Police. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tina L. Nommay.
###
Three Jamestown Residents Indicted for Operating A Methamphetamine RingRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Richard E. Kinsey Jr., 35, Brandi M. Whitford, 23, and Terrence M. McRae, 39, all of Jamestown, NY, with narcotics conspiracy. Defendants Kinsey and Whitford are also charged with using and maintaining a drug-involved premises and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, while defendant McRae is charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a $10,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua A. Violanti, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment and a previously filed complaint, between September 2019 and October 23, 2019, the defendants conspired to sell methamphetamine in the Jamestown, NY area.
On September 6, 2019, members of the Jamestown Metro Drug Task Force executed a state search warrant at the residence of defendants Kinsey and Whitford. Kinsey and Whitford were home at the time and McRae was also present. As officers entered, McRae was observed exiting the residence to a second story porch roof, where he made a throwing motion. Officers observed a firearm flying through the air from McRae's direction to the ground where it was recovered.
During the search warrant, investigators recovered three additional firearms, eight ounces of suspected methamphetamine throughout the apartment, approximately $11,000 in US currency, assorted ammunition, and drug paraphernalia to include scales and packaging material.
All three defendants have been arraigned and are being detained.
The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ray Donovan, New York Field Division; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division; and the Jamestown Metro Drug Task Force, under the direction of Jamestown Police Chief Harry Snellings.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
# # # #
Texas Orthopedic Surgeon to Pay $300,000 to Settle False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
Dr. Ian Reynolds, 71, of Friendswood, Texas, agreed to pay the United States $300,000 to resolve False Claims Act allegations that he accepted illegal kickback payments from OK Compounding, LLC, announced U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. This is the twelfth kickback settlement involving OK Compounding, LLC, since November 2018.
“Thanks to the work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Affirmative Civil Enforcement team, taxpayer dollars that should have gone to fund federal insurance programs have been recovered from a corrupted doctor who wrote prescriptions to a specific pharmacy in exchange for kickbacks,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. “Unethical healthcare professionals will be held accountable when they violate rules intended to safeguard the integrity of our federal health care system. Doctors and pharmacists are on notice that there will be consequences if they abandon patient centered care in exchange for kickbacks that line their pockets.”
This civil settlement resulted from an investigation into numerous health care providers writing prescriptions for pain creams compounded and sold by OK Compounding in return for the kickback payments.
From April 2013 through September 2015, Dr. Reynolds prescribed pain creams to his patients, facilitating the sale and distribution of the creams. As compensation for his services, OK Compounding paid Dr. Reynolds what was characterized by the parties as “medical director fees” based upon an hourly rate; however, the payments Dr. Reynolds received from OK Compounding were, in actuality, “kickbacks.” Because some of the patients were federally insured by Medicare, TRICARE, the Veterans Health Administration and the Federal Employees Compensation Act Program (FECA), the kickbacks were in violation of the False Claims Act.
It is illegal to pay or receive “kickbacks” in conjunction with federal health care insurance. Prohibitions against kickbacks are crucial to insure that financial motives do not undermine the medical judgment of physicians and other health care providers. The civil False Claims Act is an important tool used to protect the integrity of taxpayer-funded health care programs.
To report fraud and abuse against the Federal government in the Northern District of Oklahoma, please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 918-382-2700 and speak to a member of the ACE Unit.
This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Harrington, and is the product of a collaborative investigation by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Department of Labor–Office of Inspector General (OIG), IRS–Criminal Investigation Division, U.S. Postal Service–OIG, FBI, Department of Veterans Affairs–OIG and the Department of Health and Human Services–OIG.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.
Suburban Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Trafficking Fentanyl in the Chicago AreaRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A suburban man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for his role in transporting fentanyl and other drugs to the United States from China and selling it on the streets of Chicago.
NESTOR BURGOS, 32, of River Grove, pleaded guilty earlier this year to federal drug and firearm charges. Burgos admitted dealing narcotics and possessing two handguns and a silencer in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities.
U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis imposed the 15-year sentence Monday in federal court in Chicago.
The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; James M. Gibbons, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago; and Craig Goldberg, Inspector-in-Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago.
“Fentanyl is a powerfully lethal opioid which defendant brought to the streets of Chicago,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Terry M. Kinney argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Words cannot begin to describe the horrific damage that fentanyl has unleashed upon American society.”
“Criminals like Burgos are profiting from deadly addictions, and the snares of these addictions entrap more people every day,” said HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Gibbons. “Let this sentence serve as a reminder that HSI will work tirelessly with its law enforcement and judicial partners to bring to justice those who supply our streets with fentanyl and other deadly synthetic opioids.”
Burgos admitted in a plea agreement that in the summer of 2017 he worked with ROLANDO ESTRADA to transport fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, heroin, and cocaine via mail from China to Chicago. At the time, Estrada, formerly of Elmwood Park, was residing in Mexico and had ordered the drugs via the internet. After selling the fentanyl and other drugs in the Chicago area, Burgos used bitcoins to pay Estrada a portion of the illicit proceeds.
Estrada was also charged as part of the investigation. He was arrested in April 2018 in Querètaro, Mexico. After being extradited to Chicago, Estrada pleaded guilty to federal drug charges earlier this month before U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman. Estrada admitted in a plea declaration that he trafficked cocaine and a fentanyl analogue in the Chicago area in 2015 and 2016. Judge Guzman set Estrada’s sentencing for Feb. 19, 2020, at 10:00 a.m.
Stoughton Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing FentanylRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Stoughton man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to distributing fentanyl and crack cocaine.
Matthew Pizarro, 30, pleaded guilty to two counts of distribution of fentanyl, one count of distribution of 40 grams or more of fentanyl and one count of possession with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel scheduled sentencing for Feb. 20, 2020. Pizarro was indicted in October 2018, and has been in custody since his arrest in August 2018.
In July 2018, agents began an investigation into an overdose death, and learned that the victim obtained fentanyl from a friend, who had purchased the fentanyl from Pizarro. As part of the investigation, over the course of the next month, Pizarro sold approximately 100 grams of fentanyl to an undercover agent. On Aug, 7, 2018, Pizarro was arrested. A search of his residence resulted in the seizure of approximately 45 grams of crack cocaine, 20 grams of powder cocaine and a .25 caliber handgun and ammunition.
The charges of distribution of 40 grams or more of fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine provide for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 40 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of four years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million. According to court documents, Pizarro has a prior drug conviction; therefore, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, at least eight years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $8 million. 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; Sean Smith, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office; and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Ferguson and Alathea Porter of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting the case.
Statement from Attorney General William P. Barr on President Trump's Executive Order Establishing a Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska NativesRead the Press Release
Attorney General William P. Barr issued the following statement:
“American Indian and Alaska Native people suffer from unacceptable and disproportionately high levels of violence, which can have lasting impacts on families and communities. Native American women face particularly high rates of violence, with at least half suffering sexual or intimate-partner violence in their lifetime. Too many of these families have experienced the loss of loved ones who went missing or were murdered. President Trump establishing the Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives will enable us to further strengthen the federal, state, and tribal law enforcement response to these continuing problems.”
Southbury Movie Theater Makes Changes to Comply with Americans with Disabilities ActRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has reached a settlement agreement with Riverview Theater, LLC doing business as Riverview Cinemas 8 (“Riverview”) in Southbury, to resolve allegations that the movie theater facility was not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”).
The settlement agreement resolves an ADA complaint filed by an individual with disabilities alleging that Riverview’s movie theater facility was not fully accessible for individuals with physical disabilities. Riverview is in the process of making the changes required by the settlement agreement. The changes include providing additional accessible parking spaces, ensuring that there are accessible tables in the lobby seating area, installing accessible signage, ensuring that the theater has sufficient hearing aid compatible assistive listening receivers, lowering countertops for its vendor café, and ensuring that its restrooms are fully accessible. Riverview will continue to make improvements over the next six months.
Under federal law, private entities that own or operate places of “public accommodation,” including movie theaters, are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of disability. The ADA authorizes the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate complaints and undertake periodic reviews of compliance of covered entities. The Justice Department is also authorized to commence a civil lawsuit in federal court in any case that involves a pattern or practice of discrimination or that raises issues of general public importance, and to seek injunctive relief, monetary damages, and civil penalties.
“This office is committed to enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act so that individuals with disabilities are able to access and enjoy Connecticut’s movie theaters and other places of public accommodation,” said U.S. Attorney Durham. “I commend the owners of Riverview Cinemas for their cooperation throughout our investigation and their clear commitment to complying with the requirements of the ADA.”
This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica H. Soufer of the District of Connecticut in coordination with the Disability Rights Section of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.
Any member of the public who wishes to file a complaint alleging that any place of public accommodation or public entity in Connecticut is not accessible to persons with disabilities may contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 203-821-3700.
Additional information about the ADA can be found at www.ada.gov, or by calling the Justice Department’s toll-free information line at (800) 514-0301 and (800) 514-0383 (TTY). More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt.
South Florida Pain Management Doctor Sentenced to 17 ½ Years in Prison for Illegally Dispensing Opioid Drugs and Jumping BondRead the Press Release
Dr. Jeanne E. Germeil, 55, of Aventura, Florida was sentenced today to a total of 210 months in prison after having been convicted at trial of illegally dispensing opioid pain medications and contempt of court pending sentencing.
U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Adolphus P. Wright of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division and Gadyaces S. Serralta, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Florida made the announcement.
“You cannot run from the law,” stated U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan. “Dr. Jeanne Germeil was apprehended and brought back to the United States to face justice for her crimes of conviction. She will now serve years in prison for dispensing pain medications without a legitimate medical purpose and fueling the opioid epidemic. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to target medical professionals who seek to profit off of a public health crisis and evade prosecution.”
“Upon Dr. Germeil’s guilty verdict at trial, she fled to her native country of Haiti to avoid her punishment. DEA, and our law enforcement partners worked tirelessly to find and capture Dr. Germeil, ensuring she answers for her crimes”, said DEA Miami Field Division Special Agent in Charge Adolphus P. Wright. “In light of the current opioid crisis this country is facing, DEA is committed to targeting criminals who sell and dispense these dangerous and deadly substances to our communities.”
“The capture and subsequent extradition of fugitives to face justice is what the U.S. Marshal Service endeavors on a daily basis,” stated U.S. Marshal Seralta. “Dr. Germeil’s capture, extradition and sentencing is another example of law enforcement partners working together to bring those complicit in the furtherance of the opioid crisis, to justice.”
On January 31, 2019, Dr. Germeil was convicted of eleven counts of dispensing controlled substances, opioid pain medications, without a legitimate medical purpose. According to evidence admitted at trial, Dr. Germeil ran Germeil Medical, Inc., a family medicine and pain management clinic, in North Miami Beach, Florida. Beginning in or around March 2016 and continuing through November 2017, Dr. Germeil prescribed controlled opioid pain medication to patients. The true and intended purpose of the consultations was to improperly issue prescriptions to patients for opioids, such as Hydromorphone, Oxycodone, and Oxycodone-Acetaminophen, in exchange for cash, cash co-pays, and other payments. Pursuant to Dr. Germeil’s instructions, office staff were required to obtain an MRI from patients to create a façade of legitimacy before an office consult. After passing the gate-keeping function, Dr. Germeil prescribed opioids at levels consistent with treating end of life, cancer, and terminally ill patients and maintained those prescription levels throughout the duration of the patient visits. Between February 1, 2016 and September 26, 2017, Dr. Germeil wrote 13,759 prescriptions to patients for 1,458,727 units of Hydromorphone, Oxycodone, and/or Oxycodone-Acetaminophen. Dr. Germeil was not providing a medically meaningful consultation but was in fact acting outside the scope of her professional practice and without legitimate medical purpose.
Dr. Germeil was originally scheduled to be sentenced on April 19, 2019, but failed to appear in court. A warrant was issued for her arrest. Dr. Germeil was apprehended in Haiti on July 18, 2019 and pled guilty to failure to appear and contempt of court on August 29, 2019. U.S. District Judge Ursula M. Ungaro sentenced Dr. Germeil to a term of 188 months in prison for illegally dispensing opioids (Case No. 18cr20769), to run consecutively to a sentence of 22 months in prison for failing to appear and contempt of court (Case No. 19cr20474).
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigation conducted by the DEA, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Aventura Police Department, City of Miami Police Department, Miami-Dade Police Department, Miami Gardens Police Department, North Miami Beach Department and Florida Department of Health’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, E-FORCES. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andy R. Camacho and Kurt Lunkenheimer of the Southern District of Florida.
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.
Sioux Falls Man Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that Paul Erickson, age 58, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, appeared before District Judge Karen E. Schreier on November 26, 2019, and pled guilty to an Indictment that charged him with one Count of Wire Fraud and one Count of Money Laundering.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is 20 years in federal prison, and/or up to $500,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $200.
Erickson solely operated a business venture to develop land in the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota. Through his business, he became acquainted with several individuals with whom he developed strong professional and personal relationships. He approached many of those individuals about investing in his business. However, he falsely represented to investors that he would use the money to purchase real estate and the construction of single-family homes in North Dakota, which he did not do.
On March 1, 2017, he accepted a $100,000 wire transfer that was deposited into his Wells Fargo bank account, which was supposed to be an investment in his business. He told the investor that the money would be used for the development of real estate in North Dakota and that the amount would be repaid no later than August 28, 2017. However, he did not invest the money received into the Bakken oil fields venture and he did not repay the investor.
Furthermore, from the $100,000 Erickson received on March 1, 2017, he conducted a financial transaction and transferred $1,000 to someone.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper.
A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date was set for March 2, 2020. The defendant was released on bond pending sentencing.
Sioux City Bounty Hunter Sentenced to Federal Prison for Unlawfully Transferring a Gun to a FelonRead the Press Release
A Sioux City man, who was a part-time bounty hunter and cement contractor, was sentenced to one month in federal prison on November 22, 2019, for providing an employee a firearm knowing that employee was a felon.
Troy Cooke, age 47, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 25, 2019, guilty plea to one count of transferring a firearm and ammunition to a prohibited person.
Evidence produced by the United States at the change of plea and sentencing hearings revealed that Cooke allowed felons access to his guns and, on one occasion, actually gave a felon a gun as collateral on a debt.
Cooke was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Cooke was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment. He was fined $15,000. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Cooke was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the United States Marshals on January 2, 2020.
The case was investigated by the Sioux City Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 19-4010.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.